Enchanted

Episode 1: The Office Ghost

Monday’s gray sky pressed down on Seraphina Vale like a weight she couldn’t shake. The biting wind bit through her thrift-store blazer, and her shoes pinched with every step—two sizes too small, but the only pair she could afford.

She stepped onto the packed bus, swallowed by a crowd of weary commuters, their murmurs, cologne, and rustling newspapers blending into the city’s relentless hum. Another day to vanish into the background.

Rhodes Corporation loomed ahead—a monolith of glass and steel that glinted coldly under the dull morning light. This was a place that breathed power and wealth, where people like her answered to people like him.

The lobby smelled of freshly brewed espresso and polished ambition. Seraphina tapped her ID card and hurried toward the elevator, heart pounding beneath her thrifted blouse.

Her desk awaited—a tiny island of flickering screens and cold metal on the thirtieth floor. Then, her phone buzzed with a new alert:

> URGENT – Report to CEO’s Office, Floor 30. Immediate.

Her breath hitched. The CEO’s floor.

She swallowed the knot in her throat, smoothed her hair, and pressed the elevator button again. The doors slid open to a quiet world of marble floors and glass walls. The silence was sharp, almost reverent.

She stepped inside the outer office, empty except for her echoing footsteps.

Then, the inner door opened.

Caelan Rhodes.

He sat behind a sleek desk, his navy suit impeccable, dark hair tousled like it had been ruffled by a storm. His eyes — a stormy steel — met hers with cool calculation, unreadable and sharp.

“You’re the new assistant?” His voice was calm but edged with skepticism.

“Yes, sir.” She straightened her back, willing her hands not to tremble.

He leaned back, fingers steepled. “You don’t seem like you’ll last a week.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks, but she met his gaze steadily. “Then I’ll just have to prove you wrong.”

A slow, almost amused smirk tugged at his lips. “We’ll see, Ms…?”

“Vale. Seraphina Vale.”

He slid a printed schedule across the desk. “Fix this. You have twenty minutes.”

With a nod, she turned on her heel, heels clicking sharply against the polished floor. She didn’t look back.

---

Downstairs, her fingers flew over the keyboard. The schedule was a mess — time zones tangled, appointments overlapping dangerously. Seraphina worked fast, her eyes scanning for every error.

Fifteen minutes later, she strode back upstairs, the corrected spreadsheet in hand. Caelan barely glanced up as he flicked through the pages.

“Huh. You’ve got some teeth,” he muttered.

“I was told competence is valued here,” she replied, voice steady.

His gaze lifted slowly, holding hers with quiet challenge. “Let’s see how long that lasts.”

---

As the elevator doors slid shut behind her, Seraphina exhaled for the first time that morning.

Unbeknownst to her, this moment had just rewritten the script of her life.