Keeping My Mask On
1333 Words
Emillia
No…
If he’d caught me, he wouldn’t have called me into his office. He would’ve called Security.…Wouldn’t he?
I glanced at the connecting door.
Taking one last breath, I smoothened the wrinkles from my blazer.
The tightness in my chest had eased, but my pulse still refused to cooperate.
I squared my shoulders.
One step. Then another.
The connecting door stood only a few feet away.
I raised my hand and knocked twice.
“Come in.” His voice was calm.
I wrapped my fingers around the handle and pushed the door open.
Adrian Ashford’s office was almost twice the size of mine.
Dark walnut shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, filled with books arranged with military precision. A floor-to-ceiling window overlooked London’s skyline, bathing the room in muted afternoon light.
Every document on his desk was perfectly aligned.
Every pen rested exactly where it belonged.
Nothing was out of place. Not even by an inch. Miss Rachel hadn’t been exaggerating.
“Close the door.”
The words pulled me from my thoughts.
I turned and quietly shut it behind me.
When I faced him again, Adrian Ashford was no longer looking out the window.
He was looking directly at me. “Take a seat, Miss Carter.”
I obeyed.
He remained standing.
For several long seconds…he simply watched me.
No expressions. Just those unreadable dark eyes studying me as if I were a page in one of the books lining his shelves.
The silence stretched.
Long enough to make me wonder if this was some kind of test.
Finally…He spoke. “Are you nervous?”
I blinked. “…A little.”
“I expected as much.”
He walked around his desk with unhurried confidence before taking his seat.
“My employees usually are on their first day.”
I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
Maybe…maybe this wasn’t about the phone after all.
Then his next words made my heart stop.
“I don’t tolerate dishonesty.” The words hit harder than they should have.
“If you make a mistake…” he continued “I expect you to tell me.”
My fingers curled slightly at my sides. “I understand.”
“If you don’t know something…Ask.”
Another nod.
“I don’t expect perfection.”
That caught me off guard.
“I expect accountability.”
Silence settled between us.
Then he walked around his desk and slid a slim folder toward me.
“Tomorrow’s board briefing. Read it tonight. You’ll be taking minutes.”
“On my first day—” I stopped myself and let out a quiet breath. “I mean… my second day?”
“If you weren’t capable…I wouldn’t have hired you.”
I nodded quietly
Adrian closed the folder in front of him. “This company moves fast, Miss Carter.”
“I’ve noticed.”
His lips twitched.
Not quite a smile. Just enough to make me wonder if I’d imagined it.
“You’ll make mistakes.”
I looked up.
“Everyone does.” His expression returned to its usual calm. “What matters is whether you learn from them.”
“I will.”
“I expect you to.”
He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands on the desk.
“I’ve already read your employment file.”
I stayed quiet
“Your academic records are exceptional.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“You speak English, French, and Italian.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You also declined three job offers before accepting ours.”
I blinked. He knew that?
“You’ll discover something about me very quickly, Miss Carter.”
I waited.
“I don’t believe in micromanaging.”
Relief flickered through me.
“But…”
It disappeared just as fast.
“…I notice patterns.”
My heartbeat slowed.
“If an employee arrives late once…I assume traffic.” A slight pause “A second time…I assume poor planning. A third time…” He held my gaze. “I assume disrespect.”
The room fell silent.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.”
He picked up another file and signed the last page with a fountain pen before placing it neatly to one side.
“My previous assistant worked for me for eight years.”
Eight years?
“She retired just a week ago”
There was no emotion in his voice. Only acknowledgment.
“She knew my routines.” He looked up again. “You should by—”
“Not yet.” The words slipped out before I could think.
For the first time…A genuine smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
It was brief. Gone almost as quickly as it appeared. But I’d seen it.
“So,” he said, setting down the pen.
“Learn.”
“I intend to.”
“I hope so.” He stood.
The meeting was over.
I rose with him.
As I reached for the folder, his voice stopped me.
“One more thing.”
I looked back.
His expression had turned serious again. “In this office…” He paused. “…trust is earned.”
His words lingered in the air between us.
For reasons I couldn’t explain…They felt less like a warning, and more like a promise.
I nodded once. “I understand.”
Turning on my heel, I reached for the connecting door.
“Miss Carter.”
My hand froze on the handle. “Yes, sir?”
Without looking up from the document he’d begun reading, he asked,
“Why Blackwood Holdings?”
The question caught me off guard.
I turned slowly. “I’m sorry?”
“Three multinational firms offered you positions after graduation.”
His eyes lifted to meet mine. “You declined every one of them.”
He leaned back slightly. “So…Why us?”
For a split second, my mind went blank.
I couldn’t tell him the truth.
Because my father had spent my entire life preparing me to destroy you.
I forced myself to smile. “I wanted a challenge.”
His expression remained unreadable. “People usually say they admire our company.”
“I’ve never been interested in saying what people expect to hear.”
The answer slipped out before I had time to rethink it…Again. Always.
Silence.
Adrian studied me. Long enough for my confidence to begin slipping.
Then— “Interesting.”
“I’ve read enough interviews to know Blackwood Holdings demands excellence.”
I met his gaze. “I wanted to learn from the best.”
That, at least, wasn’t entirely a lie.
One corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. “Flattery.”
“I wasn’t flattering you.”
“No?”
“No, sir.”
“I don’t need admiration from my employees.”
“I wasn’t offering admiration.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“I was stating a fact.”
Another long silence settled between us.
Finally, he gave a small nod. “You may go.”
Relief washed over me. “Thank you, sir.”
I opened the connecting door.
“Miss Carter.”
I stopped again.
What now!!? I almost groaned aloud before catching myself. “Yes?”
“Tomorrow.”
I turned.
“Wear comfortable shoes.”
I frowned, confused.
“Our board meetings have a habit of running longer than expected.”
For the first time since walking into his office…
A smile threatened to tug at my lips. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
This time, he didn’t stop me.
I stepped back into my office and quietly closed the connecting door behind me.
Only then did I allow myself to breathe.
What was that? That hadn’t felt like an interrogation, nor had it felt like a welcome.
It was as if Adrian Ashford had been measuring me…testing me.
Trying to decide whether I’d fit into the world he’d built.
If only he knew…I wasn’t there to fit into it. I was there to tear it apart.
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