CHAPTER 6 - RAGE
1249 Words
…..But it lasted only a moment
“But you should know the ethics of this company.”
Her brows pulled together slightly.
“Sir, I-”
He continued as though she had not spoken.
“Punctuality is not optional here. Deadlines are not suggestions. Professional conduct is expected from every member of staff, including interns.”
Elena opened her mouth again, wanting to explain, wanting to say she had stayed up until nearly 3 in the morning, finishing the work he had dropped on her without warning.
But Adrian kept speaking.
“If you are given an assignment meant to be submitted first thing in the morning, then it should be on my desk first thing in the morning. Not over two hours late.”
His tone remained calm.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Elena felt his rising under her skin.
“Yes, Sir, but with all due respect-”
“Excuses,” he said coolly, closing the file. “—are usually the refuge of people who lack discipline.”
That did it.
Elena’s jaw tightened.
The words hit her like a slap. Her morally grounded nature flared into white-hot anger.
“Well, maybe if important work wasn’t thrown at people at the very last minute, they’d have a fair chance to meet impossible expectations.”
The silence that followed was immediate.
Sharp.
Elena froze.
The anger drained from her face almost as quickly as it had come.
What has she just said?
Her eyes widen slightly.
“I—I’m sorry, sir. I didn't mean—”
Adrian leaned back slightly in his chair, studying her with a look that made her feel even smaller.
“You are remarkably bold for someone so easily discarded.” his eyes darkened.
“You come in late,” he said, each word precise, “submit an important assignment late, and you are still rude.”
Elena lowered her head at once.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
He said nothing.
That silence again.
Heavy. Controlled. Awful.
Then at last, his voice came, low and cold.
“You may leave my office.”
Elena swallowed.
“Yes, sir. I'm sorry again, sir.”
She turned quickly and walked towards the door, her dignity, barely hanging together. The moment she stepped outside and shut the door behind her, she stopped.
Her face twisted.
She hissed under her breath at the closed door.
Her hands balled into fists. “Arrogant prick,” she muttered, marching toward the elevator.
“So annoying.”
“Who does he think he is? He’s nothing but a glorified around boy for a thief like Sebastian.”
She hit the down button so hard in the elevator. She was angry. “Errand boy, pffftt.”
Her irritation flared hotter with every step.
The nerve of him.
The absolute nerve.
She, Elena Whitmore. Daughter of Richard Whitmore. Heir to Whitmore Global, the rightful CEO of this company; had just stood there and been spoken to like she was a nobody.
By him.
A man who doesn't know who she truly was.
To everyone in this building, she was just Elena Hayes, an ordinary intern.
No one knew she was the hidden daughter of the company’s late owner.
That the empire her uncle sat on is rightfully hers.
And yet here she was, being lectured on company, ethics, and punctuality by a man working under the authority of the same family that had stolen everything from her.
Her jaw clenched.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered.
Being insulted by an errand boy.
The thought made her want to laugh and scream at the same time.
“Ugh. So irritating.”
And yet, annoyingly, the image of his face when he had looked up and said, “Good work”, still lingered in her mind.
Which only irritated her more.
Elena stepped out of the elevator. With her jaw still tight on her expression, stormy.
She made her way back to the interns’ office. Still boiling from the encounter upstairs. Adrian’s cold voice seemed to trail after her, along with that maddeningly composed look on his face.
She hated that look.
The moment she entered the office area, Jenna looked up from her desk.
“Oh my,” she said, eyes widening. “What happened to you?”
Elena said nothing.
Jenna leaned forward in her chair. “You definitely got an earful from Mr. Adrian, didn’t you?”
Still no response.
Elena walked straight to her desk, dropped her bag onto the chair, and sat down a little harder than necessary.
Cameron reached over and slightly tapped Jenna’s arm.
“Let her be,” he murmured. “She probably got into trouble. When she’s ready, she’ll talk..”
Jenna pursed her lips, then nodded. “Fair”
A quiet understanding passed through the room after that.
No one said another word.
The teasing energy that normally floated around the office faded, replaced by soft sounds of keyboards clicking, chairs shifting, papers turning. Elena opened her computer, but her mind was far from the screen in front of her.
Her anger still pulsed under her skin.
She inhaled slowly and forced herself to focus on the work in front of her.
Upstairs, Adrian Cole sat behind his desk with Elena‘s report still open before him.
The office was silent, except for the low hum of the air conditioner, and the occasional rustle of paper as he flipped through the pages again, slower this time.
His gaze moved carefully over the revised budget structures, the flagged inconsistencies, financial recommendations, and margin adjustments. Every annotation had been placed with intention. Every correction had been sharp, thorough, and annoyingly good.
He leaned back slightly in his chair, the file still in his hand.
“This girl is exceptional,” he said under his breath.
There was no denying it.
Her work was beyond what he would have expected from an intern. Far beyond. In fact, she had not only understood the data, but she had seen through its weak points and proposed practical solutions with the kind of precision that trained analysts sometimes failed to deliver.
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“And feisty.”
That made him think of her face again.
The spark in her eyes.
The heat in her voice.
The way she stood in front of him, tired and late, and clearly trying not to lose her temper, only to let that sharp remark slip anyway—-
Well, maybe if important work wasn’t thrown at people at the very last minute, they would have a fair chance to meet impossible expectations.
A faint smirk touched the corner of his mouth before he could stop it.
She had nerves.
And yet….
His smirk faded.
Why was she still in his mind?
It was absurd.
She’s just an intern. A temporary one.. Nothing more.
Adrain closed the file and set it down on his desk.
He reached for the telecom.
“Mrs. Ivy. I need you in my office.”
A few minutes later, there was a knock at his door.
“Come in.”
Mrs. Ivy entered with her usual composed efficiency, a tablet in her hand. “Sir?”
Adrian glanced up at her. “There was a meeting scheduled with Mr. Whitmore this morning.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied at once. “By 11. It was moved to 12pm due to his delay. The executives have already been informed.”
Adrian gave a short nod.
- Writer
