Her Ceo’s Obsession

Elena yawned loudly for the umpteenth time. It was past one in the morning. She was revising the designs her boss had turned down, trying to stay awake, which was harder than she thought. She had tried coffee, immersed her legs in cold water, and even dropped water into her eyes, but she still caught herself dozing off. Her mind went back to her first encounter with Zach. He didn't even have to comment on her dressing; his eyes said it all. She knew she didn't have something impressive on, but that's what she had. She went down the only memory lane she could remember, or that just seemed to replay itself when she woke up from a supposed coma. The first name that left her was Zach, but her mother thought she said 'snack' and gave her cheerios. When no one spoke of the name, she just assumed she was thinking things, but the memory was constant. She was 13 years old at the time. She named her imaginary friend Zach, bought a male doll and named it Zach. Her math textbook went by Zach, and every chance she got to name something, she named it Zach. When Zach crossed her mind, all traces of sleep went into the dark night. She wasn't expecting to see a man she thought was just her illusion. She was excited she wasn't crazy after all, but least expected to be treated that way. "Elly," Raka murmured sleepily. He stirred slightly before opening his eyes. "What's the problem, dear?" she asked him as she joined him on the bed, stroking his shoulder lightly. "Why are you still awake, Elena? You hardly sleep since getting this new job. You wake up at 4 in the morning so that you can get to work early, you come back late, and still stay awake all night," Raka said, rubbing his tired eyes. Elena smiled at her brother. "It's okay, Raka. Soon, everything will fall into place. Remember that huge villa you've always wanted to live in? I'm on that path," she said, kissing his cheek. "Is your boss giving you a hard time?" Raka innocently asked. Elena only sighed, "Come on, go back to sleep. You need your beauty rest." She pecked him again and covered him with the duvet. She went back to her designs and ended up dozing off at half past three. Her alarm blared at 4 and the struggle continued. She got to work early, panting several blocks away but composed herself before entering her workplace. As usual, Kayla was on the phone, talking to God knows who. She issued a quick good morning, only to be met by Kayla's middle finger. She retracted and headed to her own department. Her phone rang, and she picked it up after seeing Mia as the caller. "Hey girl, what's up?" Mia's jovial voice said from across the phone. "I'm doing good. How are you too, Mia?" "I'm at your house right now and Raka said you barely sleep anymore. What is happening? Is it your boss or the other staff? I can come over there and give them a piece of my mind," Mia said, earning a laugh from Elena. "It's okay, Mia. I'm fine…" "Well, you're not. Look, you and Raka should move in with me. It's just a bus ride from my house to TrendyMe.co." Elena's files in her bag caught her attention, and she quickly ended the conversation to submit the file before Mr CEO had something to complain about. "I've got to go, Mia. Catch up with you later. Oh, and if I get back, we can talk more." She dropped the phone and hurried to the elevator with her remodified designs in hand. She got in front of his door and knocked lightly, but no answer was heard. She knocked again, but nothing happened. Then she decided to push it open and let herself in. The huge office was empty; the flat screen TV was on, signifying that he had arrived, but she couldn't find him anywhere. She decided to just drop the file and leave. On her way out, she suddenly stopped and turned back, heading toward his table. She looked around and huffed. She folded her arms against her chest and started mocking his nagging. "Elena this, Elena that. Why can't you do it right? I hate these designs, all of it! Just a couple of billions turned you into a monster. You were a pretty different person in my head, asshole," she huffed and went over to his chair. She ran her hand down it. "You ain't perfect, Mr. CEO. Looking down on me is underestimating your own death," she said seductively. Then she switched characters, playing Zach's role. "Oh really, Elena. Give me a reason to fall in love with you." She went back to being herself again and said in a flirtatious way, "I'm potent. When I snap, I'll have your tie tied around your neck, slap you really hard, and drag your dirty ass around this office. That's how you know not to mess with me." And she leaned in close to the chair, making kissy faces. Zach cleared his throat from the door and said, "Can I reclaim my office now? If you're done yet." She was taken by surprise and jolted backwards, wondering how long he had been standing there. Zach's eyes went up into the corner of the ceiling overhead, and Elena's eyes followed them. Right at the corner was an enabled micro CCTV camera. How did she not notice that before? "If I hadn't seen the life stage performance, I would have had to still watch it later on," he said, walking into the office, as if he had read the question on her mind. He took her file and flipped through it. "So I'm underestimating the death that could possibly kill me? I think I should be more worried about our next fashion exhibit though, with these ridiculous excuses for a design." He slammed the file on the table, and Elena bowed her head. "You changed the colors and removed some sleeves, the design remains the same. What do you take me for, Miss Finland?" He said, his piercing ash orbs boring into hers when she finally looked up. "I-I don't see what's wrong with the designs. So, I thought whether the colors or some changes would convince you," she said, using her legs to draw invisible lines on the floor. He came closer to her and she stepped back. He closed the distance between them and brought his face close to hers. "I liked the old ones better. The models would be arriving soon, you can help out in the showroom. I had them create your former designs already, so we won't be needing this one. I just got bored and played around a little bit. Hope you don't mind?" he smirked, tossing the file into the bin. Elena's eyes widened as her long night of hard work settled at the base of the bin. She couldn't believe the bastard asked her to remodify on purpose when he was already satisfied with the first. Elena made her way to the exit, and Zach's voice stopped her midway. "Someday, I'd like to see how potent," he said, amusement dancing in his voice. Elena didn't turn back anymore and just exited the office. She wiped away the tear that fell unexpectedly. She wished she could just crawl into a hole and die. She sniffed back tears that were threatening to fall, hurrying down the hall to catch an elevator back to her office. She could really use the comfort of her desk. She took a quick bend around the corner and ran into a tall figure. He had brown eyes, a trimmed jaw, and a well-built body. “Hello, miss, are you okay?” He said softly in a thick British accent. Elena took a moment staring at the good-looking guy in front of her before returning back to reality. “Uh, yeah. I-I'm fine,” she said, and he pulled her up. He wore black skinnies with rips and a loose white shirt. He had a bag slung across his shoulder. “I'm sorry,” Elena murmured, but he smiled softly, wiping the last of her tears. “Troy, you’re here already. Quite an early man,” Kayla appeared out of nowhere and tried to flirt in a British accent but failed miserably. Troy nervously scratched his head. “Yeah, I just got here. I need to see Mr. Knight before the shoot,” he said, wishing she would leave him with the damsel he just ran into. “So uhm, stranger, I still haven't gotten your name,” he addressed Elena, ignoring Kayla's presence. “It's Elena,” she said nervously, and Kayla shot her a death glare. “I’m Troy, and if you don't mind, you can lead me to Mr. Knight's office.” Elena was about to respond when another voice took the floor. “There won't be a need for that. I'm right here,” Zach said, going over to them. “You're here early. To what do I owe the punctuality? I can't have you running around and flirting with my staff, Troy. Focus on what you came here for," Zach said before adding, "You two should get back to your work.” He went towards his office, and Troy looked back at Elena. When Zach saw this, he waited for Troy to get into the office first before he went in after him. Elena went back to her own office. The incident began to run through her mind. Was Zach jealous? Is it possible that he could he be into her, at least, even if it's just a little bit? She smiled and excitedly swirled her swivel chair. It was a glimmer of hope in an otherwise difficult day.