The CEO'S Obsession

The head office of Vanguard Group loomed over the city like a temple built for god's instead of men. Glass wall reflected the ashen dawn while black luxury cars glided silently through the entrance below, Even before sunrise company staff crowded into the building with fear, anxious look and footsteps echoed in haste, each person carrying the same silent burden. Inside the vanguard company, fear was part of the company culture and lifestyle and at the center of that fear stood one man. Damien Laurent, The CEO, The Destroyer, A threat. The man, Employees whispered and muttered about like a uproar and storm no one could survive. Evelyn Hart stepped out of the elevator on the 48th floor exactly at 6:45am, stabilizing two cups of coffee in one hand while grabbing a tablet device full of pending reports in the other hand. She had slept barely three hours again, but fatigue no longer shocked her, it had become part of her quite long ago. Her heels clicked softly and calmly against the marble floors as she walked towards the executive office, the Hallway was quiet except for the outlying sound of keyboards and ringing phones. Most personnel's arrived early, Evelyn arrived earlier because errors made inside vanguard company weren't forgiven, there we're penalized. She stopped shortly outside the large black doors of Damien Laurent office and gasped carefully before entering. The cabin looked exactly like it's owner, cold, sharp, emotionless, fearful, floor-to- ceiling windows, over looked the city skylines while dark furnishings filled the massive office with terrifying classiness. Damien sat behind his desk examining some pending financial reports without recognizing her presence, Even seated, he exuded authority. At 34, Damien Laurent had become one of the most terrifying businessmen in the country, Prosperous, Opulent, Brilliant and Ruthless. The Press and Media called him an innovator and visionary, Employee's called him a dread and a nightmares. "You're late" His voice suddenly broke the silence instantly. Evelyn looked briefly at the clock, 6:58, "I apologize", She said gently, Traffic" I don't care about excuses" Damien finally lifted his eyes towards her, Even after four years of working together, his intense way of looking at her still made her feel nervous. "You should've arrived at 6:30, Evelyn nodded unconsciously; I'll do better tomorrow. For a long moment, he simply stared at her, observing, analyzing, Damien noticed everything; "The faint dark mark under her eyes, suggesting she was tired, stressed and overworked, The stress and nervousness she was trying to hide and the exhaustion she tried to disquise with professionalism". "You look exhausted", He said emotionlessly. Most people would've been offended but Evelyn simply nodded; "I'm fine" "You're becoming irresponsible" His voice and manners carried no care and affection, only criticism and condemning, still something about the observation made her chest tighten pain and disappointed unexpectedly, because it's meant he noticed and somehow felt dangerous. Damien returned his attention to the pending reports in front of him "The merger meeting starts in one hour, prepare the final project, contact the legal department and make sure the board receives updated files before 7:30". "Yes, Sir" And Evelyn?" She paused near the door; "If anything goes wrong today, I'll hold you personally responsible " She nodded once ; "Understood" Then she left the office quietly. The moment the door closed behind her, She released a slow breath, Everyday felt like surving a battlefield, but she had no option than to comply. Her phone vibrated unexpectedly in her pocket; The Hospital, Fright immediately tangled through her chest, She picked up instantly, "Hello?" "Miss Evelyn Hart" The nurse responded calmly, Your mother encountered complications again during the night. Evelyn was paralyzed; The hallway around her blurred faintly, "Is She Okay?" Her condition is stable at the moment, but the doctor wants to proceed with the treatment immediately, which means more money will be needed. "Always more money"! Evelyn closed her eyes shortly "How much?" The amount nearly made her knees worn out. She thank the nurse calmly before ending the call. For a few seconds, she was frozen, battling unbearable burden compressing her from every direction. Her mother's illness, The family dept, The endless workload and the constant humiliation. Sometimes she doubting how much longer she could endure like this, but survive didn't Care about sentiment. So Evelyn adjusted her shoulder and kept walking. Around eight o'clock, the entire executive floor had exploded into crisis, Assistant rushed through hallway carrying reports while board members clashed loudly inside hall; The billion dollar merger vanguard had spent months bargaining was reaching it's final stage and all employees was frightened because Damien Laurent tolerate flawlessness and excellence, nothing less. Evelyn moved promptly between departments organizing schedules, correcting errors, calming executive and solving challenges before they become crisis. It's was what she is good at, being useful. By Noon, She had already skipped breakfast forgotten about her coffee and attended almost two hundred pending emails. "Then after some hours," everything crumbled; The emergency boardroom door's burst open. An executive rushed outside looking shock, "The merger leaked" he whispered anxiously. The hallway froze "What?" "Confidential proposal reached the investors this morning but someone exposed the negotiation".. Panic attack expanded in a flash inside the conference room, Noise exploded. Evelyn entered carefully with updated reports only to find complete crisis awaiting for her. Executive clashed aggressively across the conference room; Board members ordered for clarifications and Damien Laurent stood at the center of it's all looking totally horrifying. His facial expressions remained composed which was far worse than anger. "Who had access to the documents?" Damien asked coldly. No one responded. "Interesting" he whispered "So everyone here is incompetent" Everywhere was silence, Heavy and suffocating; One of the executive finally spoke nervously "We're investigating possible internal leaks" "You should've investigated before losing billions" Damien replied, Everywhere fell silent again. Evelyn quietly placed the documents besides Damien without interrupting. His eyes shifted towards her quickly and order her to stay, so she remained besides him throughout the crisis. Hours passed, Investors withdraw support, The merger officially collapsed. Vanguard Group lost hundred of millions in a single afternoon. In the evening, Fear and Constant heart beat poisoned the entire building, Employees whispered about staff reductions and executive started blaming each other. Damien Laurent became more dangerous with every passing hour's, "No one should leaves this hall, "he ordered immediately" The security immediately locked everyone in one place, another emergency meeting began, as time goes on, more accusations and destruction strikes. One senior executive attempted to defend himself but Damien humiliated him publicly in twickls of an eye "You failed at the one responsibility I assigned you " Damien said angrily, "Explain why I shouldn't sanction you with an immediate effect. The man felt embarrassed and humiliated. Evelyn looked down at her file instead, She hates every moment like this, because Damien's intelligence and reasoning existed something brutal and everyone inside vanguard suffered under it Hours later, long after midnight, the building finally cleared, she was extremely tired beyond reason, Evelyn walked outside into the cold rain and waited silently on the sidewalk for a taxi. It was nighttime in the city, the wet streets reflected the colorful glowing lights and a freezing wind blew against her clothes as she walked; She wrapped he arms around herself tightly. For the first time all days, Silence enclosed her and all of a sudden the burden she carried felt unendurable; Her mother was in critized condition, Her hard earn savings were disappearing, Her boss frightened her and even though sacrificing everything, her life never improved. A nice looking black car stopped by the roadside sidewalk, Evelyn moved back carefully, the tinted window lowered slowly, A man look at her from inside, Calm blue eye, Dark tailored suit, Elegant features sharpened by quiet confidence, Recognition hit instantly. "Adrian Vale", CEO Of Vale Industries Damien Laurent's biggest rival, Adrian marched out into the rain holding an umbrella, "Miss Evelyn Hart" he said flawlessly, Evelyn gazed at him in confusion. "What are you doing here", "She asked, sounding surprised" "I should be asking you that", Staring briefly across her exhausted face, it's past midnight " he replied. " I worked late" "You looked exhausted " Adrian said quietly. Evelyn almost laughed and said "You can probably say that about everyone at vanguard company today " "Maybe" His expression softened slightly "But you're carrying the entire company alone" The sudden compassion caught her unaware, Most people underestimated assistants completely but Adrian looked directly at her like she mattered. "I'm fine" She answered calmly "No" he said softly "you're really not" Those words hit harder than she can imagine, because no one has ever asked whether Evelyn Hart was okay, No one noticed when she was falling apart, For one terrifying second, Emotions tightened painfully in her throat. Adrian seems to notice, but instead of pushing, he majestically opened the passenger door of his car. "Let me drive you home" "That's unnecessary" "It's raining and moreover it's already midnight, A dizzy smile touched his lips, "And despite what your boss thinks, you are still human" Something inside her crumbed slightly at those words. "Human?" She had almost forgotten what that felt like, After a long delay, Evelyn cautiously entered the car and neither of them realized that this very moment become the beginning of everything because Adrian Vale had not approached her randomly. He had been observing Evelyn Hart for months, monitoring her, studying her, Understanding her value Because somewhere inside vanguard group company will be falling apart and the key to it's downfall is in hand of a woman named "Evelyn Hart".