Chapter Two-the impossible CEO
1744 Words
Mia Carter discovered three things during her first week at Blake International.
First, the company was much larger than she had imagined.
Second, Adrian Blake had absolutely no concept of normal working hours.
And third—
Adrian Blake was impossible.
Completely, unbelievably, professionally impossible.
By eight-thirty on her first morning, Mia was sitting at her new desk in the creative department, staring at a computer screen and trying to understand approximately fifty different files that had been sent to her.
She had barely finished organizing her folders when a man stopped beside her desk.
"You're Mia, right?"
She looked up.
The man was around Adrian's age, perhaps a little older, wearing a gray suit and carrying a tablet.
"Yes."
"I'm Daniel."
"Daniel?"
"Adrian's assistant."
Mia immediately understood.
"Oh."
Daniel smiled.
"That reaction is normal."
She laughed.
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize. I had the same reaction when I started."
"How long have you worked with him?"
"Four years."
Mia stared at him.
"Four years?"
Daniel nodded.
"How are you still alive?"
He laughed.
"Coffee."
Mia smiled.
"Good to know."
Daniel placed a folder on her desk.
"These are the documents you'll need for today's meeting."
Mia opened the folder.
"Today's meeting?"
"Ten o'clock."
"With who?"
Daniel gave her a look.
"Adrian."
Mia sighed.
"Of course."
"Don't worry."
"I'm not worried."
"You are."
"I am."
Daniel smiled.
"You'll get used to him."
"I doubt it."
"Most people do."
Mia looked at the folder again.
"What exactly am I supposed to do?"
"Review these, organize the presentation, and be ready to answer questions."
"Questions?"
"Adrian asks a lot of them."
"Wonderful."
Daniel laughed.
"You'll be fine."
He started walking away.
"Daniel?"
He turned.
"Yes?"
"One more question."
"Sure."
"Does he ever smile?"
Daniel thought about it.
"Yes."
"When?"
"Usually when someone makes a mistake."
Mia stared at him.
"You're joking."
"I wish I was."
Then he walked away.
Mia looked at her computer.
"Great."
She spent the next two hours working.
By the time the meeting started, she had checked every document twice.
She entered the conference room carrying her laptop and notebook.
Adrian was already there.
Of course.
He sat at the head of the table, reading something on his tablet.
He looked up when she entered.
"You're early."
Mia sat down.
"You told me not to be late."
"I did."
"So I listened."
"Good."
She opened her laptop.
The meeting began.
For the next forty minutes, everything went smoothly.
Until Adrian looked at her.
"Where is the revised report?"
Mia blinked.
"The report?"
"Yes."
"You asked me to finish it by Friday."
"I know."
"It's Wednesday."
"Thursday."
Mia looked at the clock.
Then at him.
"It is Wednesday."
Adrian checked his phone.
"You're right."
Mia waited.
He looked back at her.
"I need it today."
She stared at him.
"You need it today?"
"Yes."
"You said Friday."
"I changed my mind."
Mia slowly closed her laptop.
"You could have told me."
Adrian looked at her calmly.
"I just did."
Daniel, who was sitting nearby, suddenly became very interested in his notes.
Mia looked at him.
Daniel avoided eye contact.
She turned back to Adrian.
"Do you enjoy making everyone's life difficult?"
The room became silent.
Someone at the other end of the table suddenly stopped typing.
Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly.
"No."
Mia nodded.
"Could have fooled me."
Daniel coughed to hide a laugh.
Adrian noticed.
"Daniel."
"Yes, sir?"
"Do you have something to say?"
"No, sir."
"Then continue."
"Of course."
Mia tried not to smile.
Adrian looked at her again.
"The report."
"Today?"
"Today."
"Fine."
She opened her laptop again.
"By what time?"
"Four."
Mia checked the clock.
"That's less than four hours."
"I know."
"That's unreasonable."
"I know."
"Then why are you asking me to do it?"
"Because I believe you can."
Mia stopped.
She looked at him.
For a second, she didn't know what to say.
Adrian returned his attention to the documents.
"Meeting over."
Everyone began gathering their things.
Mia stood and followed Daniel into the hallway.
She looked at him.
"Did he just compliment me?"
Daniel smiled.
"That was practically a standing ovation."
Mia laughed.
"He's unbelievable."
"You'll get used to it."
"I keep hearing that."
"And?"
"I still don't believe it."
The next few days followed the same pattern.
Mia would arrive in the morning with a perfectly organized schedule.
Adrian would destroy it before lunchtime.
She would finish an assignment.
He would change the instructions.
She would prepare a presentation.
He would ask her to redesign half of it.
And every time she thought she had finally figured him out, he did something completely unexpected.
One afternoon, Mia was working on a presentation when Adrian appeared beside her desk.
"Why is this slide like this?"
She looked up.
"Because that's the design we agreed on."
"I don't remember agreeing."
"You approved it yesterday."
"I changed my mind."
Mia stared at him.
"You change your mind a lot."
"I adapt."
"You change your mind."
"There's a difference."
"Not from where I'm sitting."
Adrian looked at the screen.
"The title is too large."
"You said you wanted it noticeable."
"Noticeable, not enormous."
"It's thirty-two-point font."
"It's enormous."
Mia sighed.
"Fine."
She changed it.
Adrian watched.
"Better."
"Anything else?"
"The image."
"What about it?"
"Replace it."
"Why?"
"I don't like it."
Mia turned toward him.
"That's your professional opinion?"
"Yes."
"That's incredibly helpful."
He looked at her.
"You're sarcastic."
"Only when necessary."
"And is it necessary now?"
"Very."
For a moment, Adrian looked as though he might argue.
Instead, he walked away.
Mia stared after him.
"Unbelievable."
A voice came from behind her.
"You said that yesterday."
She turned.
Daniel was standing there.
"And I'll probably say it tomorrow."
Daniel smiled.
"You're becoming predictable."
Mia shook her head.
"Your boss is impossible."
Daniel lowered his voice.
"You should know something."
"What?"
"He doesn't usually explain himself."
"Clearly."
"He doesn't usually listen to criticism either."
Mia raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Then why does he listen to me?"
Daniel smiled.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out."
Mia didn't answer.
She didn't know either.
Maybe it was because she wasn't afraid of him.
Or maybe because she simply didn't care about his reputation.
To everyone else, Adrian Blake was the CEO.
To Mia, he was the man who changed deadlines without warning and criticized fonts like they were matters of national importance.
That was all.
At least, that's what she told herself.
As the weeks passed, something unexpected began to happen.
Mia started noticing things about Adrian that didn't fit his reputation.
One evening, she was still working at her desk when she heard voices in the hallway.
She looked up.
Adrian was speaking to one of the junior employees.
The employee looked nervous.
"I'm sorry, sir. I made a mistake in the numbers."
Mia expected Adrian to be angry.
Instead, he calmly looked at the report.
"Fix it."
"Yes, sir."
"And don't stay late trying to finish it."
The employee looked surprised.
"But—"
"You have a family waiting for you?"
The employee nodded.
"Then go home."
The employee smiled.
"Thank you, sir."
Adrian nodded and walked away.
Mia watched him.
That wasn't the behavior of a cruel boss.
A few days later, another employee had a problem with a project.
Adrian stayed nearly an hour after everyone else had left to help solve it.
Mia noticed.
She didn't say anything.
But she noticed.
There were other things too.
He remembered the names of employees who had been with the company for years.
He personally reviewed important projects instead of leaving everything to his assistants.
He never raised his voice during meetings.
He expected a lot from people, but he seemed to expect even more from himself.
Mia began to wonder if there was more to him than the cold expression and expensive suits.
One Friday afternoon, she was carrying a stack of folders down the hallway when she almost collided with him.
"Sorry."
He caught one of the folders before it fell.
"Careful."
"I'm fine."
He handed it back.
"You're carrying too much."
"I can handle it."
"I didn't say you couldn't."
Mia looked at him.
"That sounded almost like concern."
"It wasn't."
She smiled.
"Of course not."
He started walking away.
"Mia."
She turned.
"Yes?"
"Good work on the presentation."
She blinked.
"Thank you."
He nodded and continued walking.
Mia stood there for a moment.
That was it.
No criticism.
No correction.
Just good work.
She smiled.
Maybe Adrian Blake wasn't completely impossible.
Then her phone buzzed.
A message from Daniel appeared.
Daniel: Did he just compliment you?
Mia looked toward Adrian's disappearing figure.
She typed back.
Mia: Apparently.
A few seconds later, Daniel replied.
Daniel: Historic moment.
Mia laughed.
She put her phone away and returned to her desk.
That evening, the office slowly emptied.
One employee after another left.
Mia finished her work and packed her bag.
As she walked toward the elevator, she glanced toward Adrian's office.
The lights were still on.
She shook her head.
"Of course."
She pressed the elevator button.
The doors opened.
Before stepping inside, she looked back one last time.
Adrian was still working.
For a moment, she wondered why.
Why did someone with so much power work so hard?
Why did he seem to carry every problem personally?
And why, despite his impossible personality, did she find herself wanting to understand him?
Mia immediately pushed the thought away.
"No."
She stepped into the elevator.
"Absolutely not."
She had come to Blake International for a job.
Nothing more.
She wasn't there to understand Adrian Blake.
She wasn't there to become his friend.
And she certainly wasn't there to get involved in his complicated world.
The elevator doors closed.
Upstairs, Adrian finally looked away from his computer.
His office was quiet.
He glanced toward the clock.
It was late.
He leaned back in his chair.
For some reason, he thought about Mia.
The way she challenged him.
The way she refused to be intimidated.
The way she always seemed to find something to argue about.
He shook his head.
She was trouble.
He was certain of it.
But strangely enough, he didn't mind.
Outside, the city lights filled the dark windows.
And somewhere between impossible deadlines, arguments over presentations, and unexpected moments of understanding, something had begun.
Neither Mia nor Adrian knew what it was.
Neither of them was looking for it.
And neither of them was ready for what would happen next.
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