Chapter 4 – The CEO
609 Words
The office was too eerily, too quiet. José liked it that way.
Silence made people uncomfortable, It made them talk less and reveal more. He thrived on it.
His gaze stayed on the skyline beyond the glass wall, Paris stretched out, sleek and alive. His empire. His responsibility.
Hérmes Tech wasn’t just a company. It was his bloodline. His father had built it. He was here to perfect it. To sharpen it. And no one, no one, got in without proving their worth.
“Mr. Hérmes,” his assistant’s voice crackled through the intercom. “The new applicant files you requested.”
“Send them in.”
A folder slid across his desk moments later. José flipped it open, scanning resumes the way he always did fast, clinical, brutal. Degrees. Experience. Patterns. Weaknesses.
Until one file stopped him.
Amelia Peterson.
He read her cover letter twice. No Ivy League background. No glamorous history. Just… raw skill. Code samples that weren’t polished, but alive. Clever. Original.
His lips twitched not quite a smile, but close.
He leaned back in his chair, tapping the page. “Peterson…” he murmured. “Interesting.”
A knock on the door. Catherine Mackay strolled in without waiting. She always did. Tall, blonde, effortlessly confident , the CEO of Night Tale, his closest friend. Or, if he were less disciplined, maybe something more.
“You look amused,” Catherine said, dropping onto the leather chair opposite him. “What’s her name?”
José didn’t answer. But his eyes slid back to Amelia’s file.
For the first time in weeks, he felt something stir. Curiosity. Challenge. Maybe even danger.
“She doesn’t belong here,” Catherine teased, trying to peek at the folder. “But you’ll let her in, won’t you?”
José closed the file with a snap. “She belongs wherever I decide she belongs.”
His voice was flat, final. But inside, his thoughts lingered on her name.
Amelia Peterson.
He didn’t know why, but he wanted to see her. Sensing he was in some kind of mood, she gets up and leaves the office not before giving him a look. She turns to the assistant seated by the side of José door.
“ Get me the HR”
Trembling she dials the HR office, telling him Catherine wanted to see her. With a nod she signals Catherine. Currently In the HR office, her presence causes him to shake, he is in his mid forties but her aura does something to him.
“ H..how can I be of service Miss Catherine?”
“ There’s a young lady, Amelia, check her out for me”, he does this. Turns out she was right, the girl that caught the eyes of José. She was applying for the post of a Tech analyst. Turning to him;
“ You will reject her” gulping slightly,
“ Ma’am, I’m sorry but we need a Tech analyst and she’s good, her port....”
“ I won’t repeat myself” she walks out of the office leaving a sweaty man. If this Amelia girl thinks she can mess up her plans, she got another thing coming.
“ I think you should speak with boss”
Staring wide eyed at his assistant, “miss Catherine and the Boss are close friends, one would think they are in a relationship”, sighing tiredly.
“ I guess we’ll have to loose this one talent”
“ If you are scared sir, I will speak on your behalf”, chuckling slightly, he turns to his assistant. “ the last person you want as an enemy is a desperate CEO”.
- Writer
