returning the check
925 Words
I didn’t move.
For a second - maybe two - I wasn’t even sure I had heard him right.
“The CEO would like to see you.”
The words hung in the air.
“Now?” I asked, my voice quieter than I intended.
“Yes, Miss Sheridan.”
He paused.
“Immediately.”
My throat went dry.
“Alright,” I managed, pushing my chair back.
“Did he just say the CEO?”
“What did she do?” another voice came. One of the people who obviously took gossip more important than their jobs.
“But she's not the leader of our ongoing project, what does she know…”
I kept my face straight, refusing to look at anyone as I stood. But I could feel it - every pair of eyes tracking me as I stepped away from my desk.
“Miss Sheridan.” My boss called.
I walked towards him, each step heavier than the last, not able to read his expression.
He lowered his voice when I got close enough.
“You’ve brought this upon yourself.” he said. “Because people don’t just get summoned by the CEO out of nowhere. Not from this level.”
My chest tightened.
“I didn’t….”
He raised a hand slightly, cutting me off.
“Whatever it is,” he said, voice firmer now, “be careful.”
“And listen to me very well.”
I straightened unconsciously.
“Do not,” he emphasized, “say anything about our current project.”
My brows pulled together. I had just begun work so I didn't know much about the project that has been on for the past two months. What could I possibly say?
Anyways, I nodded in response.
“That project,” he continued, “is the only leverage this department has right now. The only thing keeping us relevant.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“And I will not have it compromised because someone got… noticed.”
Heat crept up my neck.
“I understand.”
“Good.”
He studied me for a second longer, then nodded toward the office entrance.
“Go.”
I turned before he could say anything else.
The walk to the elevator felt longer than usual.
Or maybe it was just the weight of everything pressing down on me. I still found it surreal.
Max's father turned out to be the CEO.
I thought the whispers had stop but it didn't even after leaving my office.
“Isn’t this lady supposed to be in the other departments on the 1st floor?” someone entered the elevator with me when the doors slid open.
He didn't even mind my presence. Such manners.
A sigh escaped my lips as I rolled my eyes.
I spressed the button for the executive floor.
The way their expressions shifted into one of surprise had me smiling knowingly.
The elevator chimed again.
The doors opened.
I stepped out into a whole new atmosphere.
The executive floor was… different.
Quieter and more Polished.
The kind of quiet that didn’t come from absence of people, but from control.
Every step I took echoed faintly against the sleek flooring.
My steps halted on remembering something.
I had left Mr Xavier's check back at my desk.
A frustrated breath escaped me as I turned sharply, heading back toward the elevator.
When I reached the office, heads turned again. Their gaze held questions that I wasn't certain I could give them answers.
I walked straight to my desk and rummaged through my handbag.
I pulled out the envelope, gripping it tightly.
When I looked up, two of my colleagues were already watching me.
“Miss Sheridan? Did you forget something?” One of them whispered while typing away on his computer.
I gave a short nod.
“Yes,”
His gaze turned to me, resting for a moment before going back to his work.
One didn't have to tell me. I knew he was curious along with the rest of my colleagues.
I turned and walked away again before they could ask anything else. What occupied my mind right at the moment was how I was going to return Mr Xavier's check.
The second trip to the CEO's office felt heavier.
I stood in front of his large doors, my fingers tightening slightly around the envelope before opening it finally and stepping inside.
The first thing I noticed was the space.
Wide and clean.
The glass wall, floor-to-ceiling, stretching across one side of the office, revealing the city below in breathtaking detail.
Mr. Xavier sat behind his desk, a stack of files spread before him. He didn’t look up as I entered.
Just… kept flipping through the papers, one after the other. My heart picked up speed.
I stepped forward cautiously.
“Sir….”
“Your decision?” he said just as I was about to speak. Straight to the point.
He still hadn’t looked up.
“I appreciate the offer, sir,” I began, choosing my words carefully, “but I’m not interested.”
He didn’t respond.
Didn’t stop flipping through the file.
The seconds stretched.
Just when the silence began to feel unbearable…
He stopped flipping the file in his hands.
Slowly, deliberately, he set it down.
Then he looked up.
And just like that..
My breath caught.
For a brief second, I forgot how to breathe properly.
Brenda’s voice echoed in my mind.
“You are aware that saying no to a man like that isn’t exactly simple, right?”
- Writer
