The Cold CEO's Woman

CHAPTER 7

Anita couldn't say anything after their mother left them to return to the room with their father. She sighed and looked back at Flora, who seemed worried, as they walked back to sit on the couch.

"What do you think is the problem?" Esther asked Flora, but Flora shook her head and replied, "I don't know, but I am worried about something serious."

They sat back on the couch, waiting for either their father or mother to step out and talk to them.

Anita sighed and finally walked back to her room, unsure of what the problem was, but she believed her mother would let them know, even though her father likely wouldn’t. She noticed that her father was already dressed to leave for work before receiving whatever news had devastated him. She prayed silently in her heart, "Let it not be that my father has lost his job."

Anita shook her head and walked back into her room, feeling that her father's scream echoing in her mind had something to do with his office work. She sat on her bed and picked up her phone to type her letter of application to the Benson Group, which she had intended to send the previous night, and she began typing.

*****

Back in the Benson residential villa, Liam Jackson hadn't said anything to his father about his new plan or the changes in the female staff's dress code. He had already discussed it with his mother, and her outburst wasn't what he had expected either, as she had always supported him. Liam knew that his father's reaction would be no different from his mother's, as they behaved alike.

Liam sighed as he dressed to leave for work. He stood up from his bed and took his bath first. He rushed into the bathroom and thoroughly scrubbed his hard, toned, masculine, chiseled dark bronze muscles.

Afterward, he stepped out of his white bathtub, tied a sparkling white towel around his waist, and walked back to his room to get dressed in his business suit.

Liam decided to give Brown a call first. Checking his wall clock, he saw it was already past 7 a.m. He knew he would be late for examining the female staff's seductive dress code himself, so he called Brown.

"Hello, boss!" Brown greeted first as he picked up.

"Hello," Liam responded.

"Good morning, boss," Brown said.

"Morning. Don't forget my orders from yesterday. I emailed you late, as I had some business discussions with my father and his friend, who arrived home yesterday and joined us for dinner," Liam reminded him.

"Okay, boss. We've already put your orders into action this morning. As early as 6 a.m., some of our female staff arrived; we let them know at the entrance gate," Brown replied.

"Good! That's all I have to say for now. See you in the office when I arrive," Liam said.

"Okay, boss, I will be expecting you," Brown replied.

"Good." Liam finally ended the call and smirked.

"Now is the time to get to business and stay focused," he said as he happily walked to remove his exquisite gray suit from the wardrobe hanger, held it out, and put it on. He applied perfume and hair cream, combed his short black hair, and then wore his black shoes before staring at his handsome dark reflection in the mirror.

Satisfied with his looks, Liam stepped out of his room, walked down the corridor, and took the stairs leading to the living room and dining area to have breakfast with his parents.

Mr. Taiye was already sitting in his usual dining seat, waiting for his breakfast and to see Liam before he left for work. Even though it was Friday morning, Mr. Taiye still wanted to see his son before Liam's first day in the office.

"Good morning, Father," Liam greeted as he finally stepped downstairs into the living room and walked to the open dining room to join his parents for breakfast.

"Good morning, son," Mr. Taiye responded, and Liam took his seat.

"How was your night, son?" Mr. Taiye asked.

"It was fine, Father," Liam replied as he sat down.

"Good morning, Mother," Liam greeted as she approached the dining table and sat down while the maids walking behind her served breakfast—fried eggs and tea with toast.

"How was your night, son?" Mrs. Juliet asked him.

"It was fine, Mother," Liam replied happily, diving into his food and starting to chew on his bread and eggs.

"Son, you didn't even wait for me to pray before you started eating," Mrs. Juliet said, and Liam paused.

"Oh! I am sorry, Mom, I forgot." Liam stopped eating the toast bread, set it down on his plate, and looked up at his mother.

"It is okay, son. I will be quick with the prayer," Mrs. Juliet replied faintly. Liam nodded.

"Let's pray," Mrs. Juliet said, and they closed their eyes while she said a short prayer. Once she finished, they began eating.

Liam quickly finished his breakfast, drinking the tea prepared for him by one of the maids. Once he was done, he stood up from the dining seat to leave.

"I'm already leaving for work, Father," Liam said.

"Okay, son," Mr. Taiye responded.

"I might not be in the office today until next week; let me see how you handle today's work project," Mr. Taiye added.

"Okay, Father. You've already retired, so you shouldn't stress about that," Liam remarked.

"Okay, son." Mr. Taiye smiled faintly as Liam walked out of the dining room and out of the mansion. Liam's driver, Israel Nicholas, had already prepared his car, as he would be driving to the company in his latest Range Rover Sport.

"Good morning, boss," Israel greeted as Liam approached.

"Morning," Liam responded as he walked toward his SUV, and Israel opened the door for him to enter. Israel got into the driver's seat, and a new bodyguard quickly approached them just as Israel was about to start the SUV's engine.

"Who's that?" Liam asked.

"He's Tosin Williams, the new bodyguard assigned to you by the Chief," Israel replied.

"Okay, let him in," Liam said, and Israel immediately opened the SUV door automatically. Tosin got into the front seat, and Israel drove off to the Benson Group headquarters.

*****

Upon arriving at the company, chaos and noise filled the air as some of the female staff murmured and screamed loudly while paparazzi took photos of them.

"We can't take this!"

"We are to dress appropriately, and we did! What do you mean by oversized clothes?!"

"I cannot go back home! Before I get back and return, it will already be late!" Another female staff member screamed.

"Let's wait for the new boss!" another shouted.

"Oh, the new boss is already here. This new policy is outrageous!" yet another exclaimed as Israel drove into the company parking lot.

The company’s bodyguards immediately stepped out to block the angry ladies from entering the gate again.

"You’re not allowed to step in. Follow the new orders of the new boss, or return home, as your salaries for this month will be paid in full into your accounts," the head guard, Raymond Martins, informed them.

"We want to see the new boss!" some of the young women screamed, but Raymond didn't respond and refused to let them in.

"You have a few hours to go home and change your outfits. If you fail to check in today, you will be replaced by Monday!" Raymond warned them and instructed the security guard at the gate to lock it. Only customers would be allowed on the company premises.

Liam stepped out and walked into the grand welcoming area of the Benson Group, taking the elevator upstairs to the third floor, where his new office was located.

"Good morning, sir!" the staff on the first floor greeted Liam as he walked in, heading toward the elevator. They were the distribution team, responsible for packaging already manufactured products for delivery to the market and supply warehouses.

Liam ignored them and entered the elevator, with Tosin following him inside, as it ascended to the third floor.

Liam remained silent, even as Tosin entered the elevator with him, which took them up to the third floor.

"Good morning, boss!" the workers on the third floor greeted Liam as soon as he stepped out of the elevator and into the third-floor reception area. Liam walked toward his secretary's office first, where she immediately stood up and greeted him, too.

"Good morning, boss."

"Morning," Liam replied as he scanned her from head to toe, noting she was properly dressed. Liam nodded at her, and the rest of the staff on the third floor stood and greeted him in turn, seeing him looking around. The office was an open glass space with separate desks equipped with laptops and other computing tools used for produce checks and customer care tasks.

Liam finally entered his office and closed the door behind him. He was pleased with their new looks, as his company employed far more female staff than males.

Liam knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate while staring at so many charming women, even though he was not interested in any of them. They would still distract him, and he didn’t want that. For the first time, he started having strange fantasies about an illicit affair with one of the attractive female staff members who smiled at him in the office the day he was handed his position as the new CEO.

Liam was aware that changing the rules of their dress code would help prevent those silly fantasies from coming to life.