The billionaire's Second Chance

Chapter 5

It was a clear morning the next day. I had not found James by my side on the bed, he had left the house early to answer something urgent. According to grandpa, it was the D-day I have been waiting for– The Monday I was finally set to resume work at Murphy Stone’s group of companies.

The day had dawned with brilliant white radiance; the clouds resemble giant, sparkly bulbs of wool floating above. Fully dressed in an all-black knee-length skirt, a matching long-sleeved blouse, and low closed-toe heels, I stood before my mirror to check myself out. I was all set.

“Go girl,” I cheered myself beneath my breath.. wishing James had waited a bit longer to cheer me up as well.

“Kate, breakfast is ready honey. Please hurry up, you’re going to be late…” Grandpa’s voice echoed in.

“Just a minute, grandpa. I will be right with you.” I echoed back.

After breakfast with Grandpa, he escorted me to the front gate while the Uber I had ordered awaited me.

“I’m so proud of you, you can’t even imagine.” Grandpa said holding my hands. His voice was solemn, and I could tell by the depth of his stare that seeing me this morning dressed so beautifully heading where I was going, along with all I have achieved these past few years, I had become something more than just his granddaughter, I had become his breathing monument of unbroken hope, a reflection of not just all that he has lost, but also a testament to the fact that he survived. I had become his testimony of defiant survival.

He hugged me very tightly and gently planted a kiss on my forehead before he said “Go make poppa proud.”

“I will, poppa,” I said softly, rubbing his back and hugging him the second time.

“I will be back in no time.” I whispered.

He nodded and started to wave as I hopped into the blue sedan. When we had gone many meters further and was about to make a turn towards the next bend, I checked the rear mirror and still saw the proud, stooped figure of grandpa waving. I smiled.

The taxi breezed through several bends. Immediately past the company’s estate entrance, the roads became smoother, the atmosphere more serene and graceful. We continued until we saw the golden signpost that read: Murphy Stone International Head Office. Turn Left.'

When we finally arrived, I walked into the tall, monstrous glass house, my head held high, trying to keep calm and not expose the bubbling excitement causing a commotion inside of me. The automated doors opened on their own accord, and even the floors were made of shiny glass.

“Miss Kate?” someone with a familiar-sounding voice mouthed my name. I turned around, but I saw a bald-headed man in corporate attire whom I could hardly recognize signal at me with his finger.

“Me?” I asked.

“Yes, you… or are you not Miss Kate? The secretary appointee?” The man asked with an air of authority.

“Yes, please… I mean, sorry. I didn’t really recognize the face.”

“It's fine. I’m Mr. Davis,” he said, extending his hand for a handshake.

“A pleasure to meet you, sir,” I said, taking his hand.

“My pleasure” he replied, putting his hand back in his pocket.

“I’m the head of the IT department and also double up as the HR supervisor… I was the one who called you.”

“Oh, I suspected as much,” I said, smiling.

“Yes,” he said dryly,

“You will come with me now, and after the necessary bureaucracies, you will then go ahead to meet the CEO, whom you will serve directly as his secretary.” He paused for a moment, looking doubtful, and then asked, “Are you sure you are ready for this?”

“Ready? Yes, of course, sir,” I said, trying to sound confident.

He nodded and said, “Okay,” but still looked doubtful. Then he added,

“Working directly with the CEO requires a lot, I mean, a lot.” After a pause, he asked again, “I hope you understand this?”"

Sure,” I said, wondering why he sounded this way. Murphy Stone was rumored to be the Founder and CEO of the corporation. Many things were said about him, but I’ve never met him. All I knew was his name revolved around the family’s popularity without really understanding Murphy Stone himself.

“I haven’t really done much research on him,” I thought. For a moment, I wondered if that was unwise. Shouldn’t I have checked to know more about him? His likes, dislikes, temperament? Anyway, I believe if there are any surprises, I wouldn’t have trouble dealing with them.

“Miss Kate”, Mr. Davis’s voice brought me back to the present.

“Oh, y-yes sir,” I stammered in response.

“Follow me,” he ordered. “Some staff are gathered in the conference room and will be meeting you now.”

“Okay, sir.”

We walked steadily together as we approached a large hall with the roof studded with many twinkling bright lights. A long, sleek glass table stretched from one end of the hall almost to the other, surrounded by seated men and women in corporate attire. They all stood up to clap as soon as Mr. Davis and I walked into the hall.

“Please have a seat, ladies and gentlemen,” he motioned.

“Beside me here is the newly employed personal secretary to our Boss. Her name is Miss Kate” His statement was met with an applause that took a little too long to subside before he spoke again.

“As I was saying, she will be serving as our boss’s secretary. As it is custom here, I would like us to show the courtesy of welcoming her with a handshake or two.” He gestured for me to move forward, and I went around the table, exchanging handshakes with older colleagues of mine.

When we finished, he emphasized the need for dedication and steadfastness in the workplace, using the Stone family line as an example. Then, he placed a series of documents on the table with bold demarcated spaces for my signature. Once I finished signing, he turned to me and said, “The moment we’ve been waiting for is here.” Taking a deep breath, I noticed he, too, had become nervous for the first time.

“Follow me. I will be introducing you now to the CEO.”

Exiting the conference room and passing through a door that opened by itself, we entered a place that looked like the CCTV control room. As we reached the main hallway to take the elevator to the uppermost floor, we encountered a tall woman with wavy hair, in a brown knee-length gown. She appeared elegant and poised.

“Miss Amanda?” Mr. Davis called, walking up to her.

“Davis,” she replied informally. Her eyes moved slowly from him to me.

“Who is she?” she asked, almost too suspiciously.

“Oh, her?” Mr. Davis laughed, turning to me as if he had just noticed I was by his side all along. He even sounded more animated than he had been when I first arrived a few hours ago.

“She’s my CEO’s freshly employed secretary.”

“I was even taking her to him when I saw you.”

“Really?” she said, edging closer to me, her eyes scrutinizing the detail from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet.

Then she smiled and said, “She’s beautiful. I hope Murphy doesn’t stress the living daylight out of her.” She smiled again and walked off, already some steps away before she added, “He’s not in. Wait for him, I guess he went to make trouble on the second floor. He’ll be back soon.”

Mr. Davis laughed nervously, turning to me and said, “Miss Kate take a deep breath.” I did, but from what I was seeing, he needed the deep breath more than I.

Davis fidgeted as he fingered the floor number of the CEO’s office. Then, the hoist-way twin doors of the elevator slid open, and we got in. When I arrived at the uppermost floor, it slid open again, and we dispersed.

When we got to the CEO’s office door, he turned to me and asked, “Should we wait?”

“I don’t know, sir. Should we?” I asked back; his nervousness was now making me nervous.

The entirety of the top floor was dedicated to the CEO’S office, and only a very few staff seemed to have access to the place as it was completely cut off from the rest of the building. So, when we started to hear the calm measured footsteps coming from the opposite end of the hall, we immediately knew it was the CEO. I couldn’t help taking a deep breath, and before I was done, Mr. Davis had already taken three deep breaths.

“I see I have august visitors,” the CEO’s voice came from behind with a sharp, haunting, familiar precision. Mr. Davis, who was facing him directly, immediately started to chatter, “Sir, I brought your secretary; she has already been grounded and given all the necessary orientation, inclu…”

“My secretary?” The CEO blurted, cutting him off, sounding surprised. “Turn around,” the CEO bellowed to me.

Slowly, I started to turn. Something in my gut was churning, and my head ached stubbornly because the more the CEO spoke, the more resentfully familiar his voice sounded.

Upon turning, the sight before me almost made me slump with shock as I closed and opened my eyes doubtfully. Right before me was the face of my new boss, that same man at the coffee shop, same one that had called me blind, and I called him worse. We stared at each other, and I could immediately see the disbelieving, yet raging disgust in his eyes.

“You?” he snarled at me, gazing angrily.

Mr. Davis took a step back and glanced at me again before he turned back to ask, “Sir, have you met Miss Kate before?”