CHAPTER 5- FAMILIAR
669 Words
Victoria took a slow, steadying breath as she stepped through the grand glass doors of Illusionary Design Enterprise. The cool air of the lobby brushed against her skin, laced with the scent of fresh polish and something sharper—ambition, maybe.
It was her second week at the firm.
A prestigious role she fought hard to earn. She should’ve felt proud.
But something about this morning felt… off.
There was a strange buzz in the air—an unspoken alert that had every employee whispering, straightening their shirts, lowering their voices.
She paused near reception, where three colleagues spoke in hushed tones.
“Today’s the day,” one whispered, eyes wide.
“Who said so?” another asked.
“I heard it from a board assistant. The CEO is here.”
Victoria’s ears perked up. The CEO?
The elusive, feared, untouchable man who’d built the company into a global empire but had never once been seen in the company.
Rumors about him floated through every hallway.
Cold. Calculating. Charismatic—but cruel.
It was said he once shut down an entire department in under ten minutes. Some even claimed he never smiled.
Victoria adjusted her blouse and tried to shrug off the nerves tingling in her spine. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She was good at her job. Still, the idea of being near someone with that much power…
She headed to her department, hoping the storm wouldn’t reach her desk.
As she was now a free woman who broke up with her scumbag boyfriend.
---
Meanwhile — Top Floor, Executive Office.
The elevator doors opened with a soft chime.
Kelvin stepped into his penthouse-level office, his custom Italian suit molding perfectly to his frame. His assistant, Raymond, trailed behind him, juggling a tablet and a folder.
Kelvin said nothing.
His dark eyes swept the space, then moved to the glass wall that overlooked the company below.
He often watched them from here.
The tiny people.
The moving parts that made his machine run.
He glanced downward—bored—until a flicker of movement caught his eye.
A woman.
She wasn’t doing anything remarkable. Just flipping through files, nibbling absently at the end of her pen. Her hair was pulled back, her expression focused.
But something tugged at his mind.
Her.
She looked... familiar.
Kelvin tilted his head slightly.
“Raymond,” he said suddenly, not taking his eyes off the floor below. “Do we have new admin staff?”
“Yes. A couple this month. Why?”
Kelvin’s brow furrowed faintly. “The one with the black skirt and cream blouse. Who is she?”
Raymond glanced down. “Hmm… I’ll find out.”
Kelvin said nothing for a moment, then turned away from the glass.
“She reminds me of someone,” he murmured, more to himself.
He couldn’t place it.
Not her face exactly. Not clearly.
Just a sensation.
Familiarity.
Something in the shape of her mouth, the quietness of her movement.
It unsettled him.
He didn't like not remembering.
"How is the investigation of that woman?"
"We are still working on that sir?"
"It's as if I would find a new reliable assistant since you are so slow. Just a simple woman you can't find" Kelvin said as he hit the table and sat on his executive chair with an unreadable face.
"I will bring it in an hour sir"
"You better do"
---
Back on the ground floor
Victoria sat at her desk, flipping through reports, but her focus slipped.
She had seen him briefly through the tinted elevator glass.
A man in a dark suit. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Sharp profile.
Something about him gnawed at her.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
But a strange familiarity.
As if she'd seen him before.
Touched him.
She shook her head quickly. Don’t be ridiculous, Victoria.
She had no time for fantasies, no room for daydreams.
Still, she couldn't help but glance toward the elevator again—toward the man she didn’t know, yet somehow, already did.
- Writer
