CHAPTER 5: LESSONS IN CONTROL.
1054 Words
NAYA'S P.O.V
I stood there for a second, my hand still resting on the strap of my bag.
The office had gone quiet.
Most people had already left for the day. The lights above the executive floor had dimmed, leaving long shadows across the polished floor.
Andrew Black stood at the entrance of his office, one hand in his pocket, waiting.
He wasn't repeating the question.
He didn't need to.
"...Are you leaving when you haven't completed what you were paid to do?"
I took a slow breath before answering.
"No."
His expression remained unreadable.
"I'm leaving," I continued, "because I genuinely don't know what else you expect me to do."
A flicker crossed his face.
Not surprise.
Interest.
Behind me, Miles remained perfectly still.
Andrew studied me for several seconds before speaking.
"Come inside."
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't an invitation either.
It was an instruction.
I looked at Miles.
He gave the smallest nod imaginable.
I followed Andrew into his office.
The city lights had begun replacing the sunset, turning the floor-to-ceiling windows into mirrors that reflected the room behind us.
Andrew walked to his desk and rested both hands lightly on its surface.
He didn't sit.
Neither did I.
"You made three major mistakes today," he said calmly.
"I know."
"No."
I frowned.
"You know that you made mistakes."
His eyes met mine.
"You don't know why you made them."
Silence settled between us.
"I scheduled Mr. Hale at the wrong venue," I replied carefully.
"I mishandled the Mercer meeting."
"And I created unnecessary problems."
Andrew shook his head once.
"Those are the results."
He paused.
"I'm asking about the cause."
I searched for an answer.
"I was overwhelmed."
"Were you?"
His voice wasn't mocking.
If anything, it sounded analytical.
"I think so."
"I don't."
That caught me off guard.
Andrew stepped around the desk and walked toward the window.
"When you realized the venue was wrong, what did you do?"
"I tried to fix it."
"You tried to fix it alone."
I hesitated.
"...Yes."
"When the scheduling system became unfamiliar?"
"I kept trying until I thought I'd figured it out."
"You didn't ask for help."
I folded my arms unconsciously.
"I didn't want to look incompetent."
Andrew nodded slowly.
"And instead?"
"I became incompetent."
The words tasted bitter.
For the first time since entering the room, something almost resembling approval crossed his face.
"Exactly."
I blinked.
He turned to face me fully.
"Competent people are not those who know everything."
He spoke slowly, each word deliberate.
"They're the people who recognize the limits of what they know before those limits become expensive."
I let that settle.
Then I looked up.
"With respect..."
He waited.
"Nobody trained me."
His expression didn't change.
So I continued.
"I came here expecting to join the administrative team."
"Instead, I was brought to the executive floor."
"I met you."
"I was handed responsibilities I'd never prepared for."
"I made mistakes."
I swallowed.
"I'm not pretending I didn't."
"I'm saying they weren't exactly unexpected."
The room fell quiet.
Andrew didn't interrupt.
Didn't argue.
Didn't dismiss me.
He simply looked at me.
Long enough that I started wondering whether I'd gone too far.
Finally, he spoke.
"If you believed you weren't ready..."
His voice remained calm.
"...why didn't you resign?"
The question hit harder than I expected.
Because I already knew the answer.
I looked away toward the city.
"My first day here wasn't the worst part of my week."
The words escaped before I could stop them.
"I lost almost everything yesterday."
Silence.
"My relationship."
"My best friend."
I laughed once, quietly.
"Turns out they were the same problem."
I closed my eyes for a moment.
"So no..."
I looked back at him.
"I wasn't going to walk away from the only good thing I had left."
For the first time since I'd met him, Andrew said nothing.
Not because he didn't have a response.
Because he was thinking.
He didn't ask what happened.
He didn't offer sympathy.
He didn't say he was sorry.
Strangely...
I appreciated that.
He crossed back to his desk and picked up a thick blue folder.
He slid it toward me.
I looked down at the cover.
HARTWELL ACQUISITION - CONFIDENTIAL
I frowned.
"What's this?"
"Your first assignment."
I stared at him.
"I thought today was my first assignment."
"No."
He picked up another file.
"Today was an observation."
He met my eyes again.
"Tomorrow, your employment begins."
I looked between him and the folder.
"This looks... important."
"It is."
"Then why are you giving it to someone who spent the day destroying your schedule?"
"Because mistakes reveal more than success."
I frowned.
"I don't understand."
"I already know what my experienced employees can do."
He paused.
"I don't yet know what you'll become."
Before I could respond, there was a knock.
Miles stepped inside.
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
Andrew nodded once.
"Beginning tomorrow, she's shadowing you."
Miles blinked.
"For the Hartwell project?"
"For everything."
"How long?"
Andrew looked at me before answering.
"Until she stops making expensive mistakes."
I couldn't help myself.
"You know..."
Both men looked at me.
"Most people would say 'until she becomes competent.'"
For a split second, absolute silence filled the office.
Miles lowered his head suspiciously.
His shoulders twitched.
He was trying very hard not to laugh.
Andrew looked at me without speaking.
Then...
The smallest hint of amusement appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Gone almost as quickly as it came.
"If competence is the result," he said evenly, "then expensive mistakes are the obstacle."
I smiled despite myself.
"I'll work on removing the obstacle."
"I expect you to."
He picked up another document.
The meeting was over.
As Miles and I reached the door, Andrew spoke again without looking up.
"Naya."
I turned.
"Tomorrow."
"Be here at seven-thirty."
I frowned.
"My contract says eight."
"It does."
"Then why seven-thirty?"
He finally looked up.
"Because now you know the difference between being on time..."
He paused just long enough for the words to land.
"...and being prepared."
I didn't have an answer for that.
As Miles opened the office door, I glanced back one last time.
For the first time since meeting Andrew Black...
I wasn't leaving his office feeling humiliated.
I was leaving with something far more dangerous.
A challenge.
- Writer
