My CEO Lover Hates Me

Two

Brogan went through the files in front of him, taking care to look at the pictures in determining the right candidate for the job.

One could call him partial for insisting that looks matter, but it was his company, and he could do whatever. Besides, what good would it do to hire someone who would act as his secretary- the first person that people who come to see him will see- and having a person who, instead of bringing more investors, will only serve to drive them away.

All the candidates had a good background, and his assistant made sure. Since they would all fit as good secretary material, the least he could do was make sure he had eye candy by his side.

Male or female.

“So? What do you say? Which one will we be hiring?” Luke asked.

“I don’t know. I’m not trying to have people hit on my secretary, yet I want to make the right decision,” Brogan replied.

Who knew trying to pick according to aesthetic quality would be so challenging?

Luke stood up and walked over to where Brogan was seated, taking the files from him and proceeding to go through them himself.

He pointed at the first one he opened.

“You don’t want this guy.”

Brogan frowned. “Why?”

“Well, for one, we know what your reputation is. You don’t go out with women in the company or this industry.

You don’t see the same woman for more than a month, and when you move to another, you make sure they are miles apart from each other.”

“And?”

Luke shrugged slowly. “I’m afraid it hasn’t done well to increase your reputation as a ladies' man. Instead, it has only served to spark rumors.”

Brogan lifted a brow. “What rumors?

He knew that rumors were bound to go around in the workplace, but he tried his best not to listen to them. He knew from experience that a person could get easily swayed by rumors, and Brogan did not know how he would feel if any rumors were of him being a secret nerd.

How he hated the label.

“To put it frankly, some people think you are gay. Or bi. The die isn’t cast yet. However, they are votes being cast as we speak. Bets are being polled, and a minority say you are sapiosexual but only for men.”

What the…?

He found men attractive because they were smart? What about the women that could best him at almost anything?

“That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. And I have heard a lot of ludicrous assumptions.”

“Same,” Luke agreed with a nod. “Which is why, when you want to pick, I’d advise you to go for a woman, one that you know everyone is going to talk about.

To ease the rumors for a while, later, you can fire her. If she isn’t good enough.”

Brogan agreed. He was willing to do almost anything to protect his reputation. High school bullies were harsh, but employees bit harder. He could not afford the rumors going on to become a scandal.

He rifled through the files again, discarding the male applicants, but keeping them in a folder in case he needed them later on.

“I feel sad for them,” Luke commented. “Imagine not being picked for a job because you’re a guy or your picture doesn’t look attractive enough. It seems so unfair.”

“And yet you suggested it,” Brogan pointed out. He was not about to feel the guilt alone. Luke was the one who told him about the rumors.

“I know. I know. That’s why I’m still here.”

They went through the files in silence- there were over twenty of them, and Brogan was having a difficult time sticking to just one option.

Personally, he did not want to seem shallow, knowing that he was taking away the chances of others that would have done a far better job. But, he consoled himself with the assurance that he could hire someone else at any time. It was only for the rumors to go away.

He was also grateful that Luke did not question why he was going ahead with his idea or why he was still affected by what happened to him years ago.

The truth was, he should have gotten over it by now, but no matter how hard he tried, it came back during his lowest moments and took him out.

“Here,” Luke pointed to a picture, “she looks fantastic. Although, I don’t know if she’s the right fit. She seems to have the lowest qualifications out of all of the others.

She has only two years of experience, which is the only job she has been employed in. And, she doesn’t seem to have any references from her former employer. In fact, he refused to comment, and the only thing there is “no comment.”

Who added this-?” Luke closed the document and was about to throw it to the floor when Brogan took it from him.

“Why?”

“I know I did not add that form to the others. She’s underqualified to a fault, even if she fits the other standard. It would be a mistake to hire her.”

Still, Brogan was curious. He opened it, checked it a little closer, and read her name. Maya Lovett Anderson.

Why did the name sound so familiar? Why did it leave a bitter taste in his mouth- so bitter he wanted to spit it out?

And then, he took a fourth look at the picture, peering closer. Wait..the woman looked familiar. She had..no away. It couldn’t be..could it? That the past was in front of him?

Was this the meaning of the dream he had? And why would Maya- the person responsible for most of the bullying done to him in high school, be applying to be his secretary?

He smiled at how the tables were about to turn.

“I’ll go with her,” he announced.

“Her? She isn’t half as good-

“She’ll learn,” Brogan grinned. She would suffer a little too.

•••

Brogan went to bed thinking about the woman that made his life miserable. How did the years treat her? Why was she applying to work in his company when she was voted as most likely to succeed? Oh, well..he would find out once she attended the interview.

He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

“I’m not a nobody!” He screamed, bolted upright from his sleep, tangled with the sheets and fell to the floor.

After a few minutes of trying to get himself together, Brogan picked himself up from the floor and sat on the edge of the bed.

That damn nightmare again. He thought after getting to college, working out everyday and attending online classes with therapy sessions for his self-esteem, that it would change.

But it kept on coming back, haunting him whenever it wanted.

He ran his fingers through his hair- came up short, and then realized that he had gone to cut his hair the day before. His secretary commented that he was beginning to look like a nerd- and Brogan went straight to the salon to cut it all off.

He did not want to look like, or be called a nerd. It annoyed him. Which was why he had laser surgery two years ago, and never thought about contact or medicated glasses again. The darned thing had broken a week before the operation was scheduled to hold, so it had to be fate.

Brogan walked into the bathroom, bent his head under the sink tap and let the water pour down his face. He took a towel from the rack and dried his hair, looking up to see his reflection.

He smiled. He looked good- like the CEO of a telecommunications and apps company, than a nerd who spent most of his time writing codes. Not that he did not spend most of, all of his time writing codes, but he did not want it to be the first thing people saw when they looked at him.

“You are a hot, red-blooded male, Brogan. How many girls made a pass at you this past week?” He slapped his cheek.

“Four, five? See, you’ve lost count. That’s because you are the man now. You are not some short kid who peed his pant when he tried to ask the girl he had a crush on, out on a date.

He walked into the kitchen and poured coffee beans into the machine, leaning against the counter and taking deep breaths in sync to the sound of the machine.

Coffee was the only thing that kept him going, and it was a ritual for him to wake up at midnight or in the early hours of the morning and make a cup or two, before going back to bed. He drank it black, savoring the bitter taste on his tongue and the warmth that teased his stomach.

If he had to meet up with a deadline, he would go into his home office and work until dawn. If he didn’t, he would go back to sleep. Contrary to opinions, black coffee and espresso helped Brogan sleep better.

He bought his first coffee machine, the month after he began working on an idea that wormed its way into his mind, after his first rejection in college.

Brogan was in his junior year, but his roommate was a sophomore who had no intention of graduating. He pushed Brogan to ask a girl out, after he confessed that he had a crush on her. She turned him down over a text, and Brogan did not get the message until he showed up in front of her dorm with a bouquet of flowers.

He went back in shame to his dorm room, and it was then the text came in. It was mid crying- his tears blurring his vision and the screen of his phone, that the idea struck.

Being an engineering major and a nerd- of course, he thought using the knowledge he had, would help get somewhere.

With the added task of going to classes, submitting assignments and reading for exams, he had to turn to coffee for help. The machine belonged to a friend of his roommate, and Brogan had to pay a lot to get it. But, that coffee maker alone changed everything for him.

He bonded with a friend over coffee, and was invited to the gym. He found relief from his stress at the gym, and then the added benefit of changing who he was, to whom he had always wanted to be.

By his second year, Brogan had gone from a shy nerd who had no self-esteem to someone who people wanted to be around. His fame went from zero to being one of the most popular people in his department.

The friend, who later became his present assistant, taught Brogan everything he needed to know about being an attractive man. He taught him how to talk to the girls, how to keep them coming, the best way to fake self-confidence.

Brogan confided in him about the nightmare, and Luke found the best way for him to keep them at bay. He was to go on at least a date every week, and not date for more than a month.

It kept him busy for the most part, and Brogan found a way to balance his academic life, social life and self-esteem.

Why then, had the nightmares been plaguing him for a week? Was it a premonition that he could not decipher? Where was Maya, and why was she in his dreams?