CHAPTER TWO
1521 Words
Her first week as an intern at LK Holdings passed surprisingly quickly. She was learning the ropes, growing familiar with the building, yet she still hadn’t seen the CEO in person. She wasn’t overly concerned , some people never got to meet the CEO, or only saw him at company events. Samantha, on the other hand, seemed obsessed. Eden often overheard her asking when she would finally meet him. One would think Samantha had applied just for that chance. Eden wouldn’t have been shocked if that were true.
“Eden. We hardly get to see each other even though we’re in the same department,” Mai whined, dragging her out of her thoughts. Over the past week, they’d only seen each other twice. Mai’s supervisor was famously strict.
“Mrs. Leah makes me want to jump off the company building sometimes,” Mai groaned, and Eden laughed.
“It’s not funny. It’s like she argues with her husband every morning before coming to work or something.”
“Shh…” Eden muttered.
“Let’s exchange,” Mai said, her eyes wide and pleading.
“Even if I wanted to, which I don’t, you know we can’t,” Eden replied, organizing the documents Damien had asked her to deliver.
“You suck!” Mai called, and Eden waved her off, stacking the papers carefully.
She didn’t want to make a two-way trip, so even though the pile nearly blocked her view, she balanced it and headed toward the elevator.
Her phone buzzed with Damien’s earlier text: Front Desk, eighth floor.
She punched in the number and waited as the elevator slowly counted up.
At seven, the doors opened, and two men stepped in. Eden couldn’t see their faces thanks to the mountain of documents in her arms. They were busy talking, and she felt invisible.
When the elevator reached the eighth floor, they stepped out. Her phone rang, and as she reached into her purse, her foot caught, sending documents , and herself , sprawling across the floor.
Ground, swallow me whole, she thought, closing her eyes.
One of the men from earlier rushed to her side.
“You okay?” he asked, offering a hand.
“Yes. I’m sorry. I slipped,” she said, accepting his hand and gathering the scattered papers.
“Don’t apologize. It happens,” he said. Eden looked at him more carefully. Cute was the word. Curly brown hair, round brown eyes behind thick-rimmed glasses, and so close she could see every detail.
She glanced behind him. The man he had been with earlier had a phone to his ear and was walking away. Jerk.
She hadn’t realized she’d said it aloud until Vincent chuckled.
“You must be new. That’s our beloved CEO, Mr. List. I’m his secretary. Call me Vincent.”
Her mouth formed an ‘O,’ and heat rushed to her cheeks.
“Please don’t tell him I said that. I’d hate to lose the job before I even started,” she pleaded.
“You must be an intern, Miss?”
She debated lying in case he planned to report her , but lying might backfire worse.
“Eden.”
“Nice to meet you, Eden,” he said, handing her the last of the scattered papers.
“Thank you.”
“Vincent!” called a deep voice. Vincent waved and jogged off to his boss.
Whew! If the CEO had overheard her earlier comment, she would have been fired in less than a week. She had barely seen his face, and she was curious.What made him worth all the fuss?
She handed the documents to the receptionist.
“Mr. Damien asked me to drop these off,” she said. The woman didn’t look up, only tapped her desk. Eden left and headed back to her floor.
Five minutes before the end of lunch break, everyone gathered, laughing and gossiping. Eden stayed quiet , not because she didn’t have opinions, but because she was too lazy to speak them aloud. She analyzed silently.
She had eaten twice her usual lunch and felt enormous.
Mrs. L entered, and the room fell silent. She looked excited, rather than her usual polite self. She cleared her throat twice before speaking.
“I just received news that Mr. List will be visiting the Marketing Department in a few minutes. For those who don’t already know—or have forgotten , Mr. List is the CEO. No side chatter is permitted.”
As if on cue, the glass doors opened. Eden immediately spotted Vincent, and beside him, the man from earlier. Before, she had only seen his back. Now, she could see him clearly.
The room went completely silent. His aura commanded attention. Posture upright, shoulders back, long legs taking confident strides.
The rumors hadn’t been wrong , but they weren’t right, either. He was far more striking than described.
At 6’2”, with jet-black hair and piercing grey eyes, a sculpted jaw, and a fully built frame - he was impressive. But it wasn’t just that.
No… it can’t be.
Those grey eyes ... so familiar , reminded her of someone she had never forgotten. Yet he was different. Hair gelled perfectly back, eyes… cold, empty.
The eyes she remembered were always warm, full of life. His were shallow. Deathly.
A shiver ran down her spine. Snap out of it, Eden. Years have passed. Kaiden List isn’t Asher.
She realized he had been speaking. His eyes rested on her. She froze. His gaze felt like it was dissecting her , yet not in a lustful way. His face gave nothing away as he walked toward her until they were face-to-face.
He didn’t hear me call him a jerk earlier, did he?
“What’s your name?” he asked, his voice deep and steady.
All eyes were on her. Damien’s posture at the edge of the room showed concern.
“My name is Eden. Eden Stone,” she said.
No recognition crossed his face. A pause stretched into eternity.
“You’re the woman who tripped earlier. Be more careful next time,” he said. She raised a brow. Why pretend to care now?
A fleeting smirk appeared, gone before she could confirm it.
He continued speaking, but she barely listened, distracted by the resemblance she couldn’t shake. It can’t be him. Even if he didn’t recognize my face, my name would’ve sparked recognition.
Nothing. His expression revealed nothing.
Finally, he left, and tension dissipated.
“Whoa! For a second, I thought you’d already landed in trouble,” Simon said.
“He’s in love with you,” Mai squealed.
“Where did that come from?” Tony asked.
“I mean, did you see that concentrated gaze?” Mai said dreamily. Eden rolled her eyes.
“You watch too many movies. I tripped earlier when Mr. Damien asked me to drop documents on the eighth floor, and he happened to be there with his secretary,” she explained.
“That’s embarrassing,” Samantha chirped. She had appeared quietly, smiling with obvious satisfaction.
***
Back at her apartment, Eden collapsed onto her bed, replaying the day.
A certain pair of grey eyes refused to leave her mind. Asher Monte`. The first boy she had ever loved.
She remembered the first time she had seen him. She and her family had just moved into their new house. Her parents marveled at the view; her sister was upstairs, excitedly setting things up. Eden had wandered around when she spotted him. Green collared shirt, grey khakis, sprinkling the plants along their driveway.
She had watched, holding her breath. Their eyes locked. She couldn’t breathe for a second.
His eyes , so warm, so alive , stole her attention.
She had run to him. “You have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen,” she had said boldly. He smiled. She felt her insides twist and turn.
“I’m Eden,” she had grinned, extending her hand.
He squatted slightly, noticing her need to look up.
“Hi, Eden,”
“What’s your name?”
“Asher" he'd replied.
Her phone rang pulling her back to the present. It was her mother calling.
Sighing she picked the call. “Hello, Mom.”
“Eden! You never call!”
“I’m sorry. The pastweek kept me busy. I’d come home, eat, sleep, and it was morning again before I realized.”
“Well, don’t overwork yourself, honey,” her mother said. Noise and laughter in the background indicated her little cousins were visiting.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“The house next door, where the Monte’s used to live… has anyone occupied it yet?”
“Bought a year ago. I haven’t seen anyone move in though,” her mother replied.
“Hmm… why did you ask?”
“Nothing,” she said. Her mother hummed, unconvinced but letting it slide.
“Gotta go, Mom. I need to shower, eat, and say hi to Pops for me.”
“Okay. Take care of yourself.”
“You too.”
Eden forced herself out of bed, shaking off thoughts of a certain grey-eyed man.
- Writer
