Evelyn's POVFirst Day
943 Words
Chapter 2
Evelyn's POV
First Day
Richard arrived at eight forty-five on Monday morning, fifteen minutes early. I watched him on the security feed from my office, saw him check his reflection in the glass doors, straightened his tie, and took a deep breath. He looked nervous…Good.
"Sarah, is the new hire orientation set up?" I asked.
"Conference Room B, nine o'clock sharp. Rachel from HR is handling it," Sarah replied without looking up from her screen.
"I will sit in," I said.
Now Sarah looked up. "You want to sit in on orientation?"
"I like to welcome senior hires personally," I said. It was not a lie. I did do that sometimes. Just not usually for marketing managers.
At nine, I walked into Conference Room B. Richard was already there, sitting next to three other new employees. He looked up when I entered, and I saw a surprise flash across his face.
"Good morning," I said, taking a seat at the head of the table. "I am Evelyn Castell, CEO of Castell Media Group. I like to meet our new team members personally."
Rachel, a sharp woman in her fifties with red glasses and no patience for nonsense, gave me a curious look but said nothing.
"Welcome to Castell Media," I continued. "This company was built on second chances. Three years ago, we had forty employees and were on the edge of bankruptcy. Today, we have four thousand employees across six countries. We did that by working harder than everyone else, by being smarter, and by never forgetting where we came from."
I let my gaze sweep the room, landing on Richard for just a moment longer than the others. He was listening intently, nodding slightly.
"We value loyalty here," I said. "We value honesty. If you lie to us, if you cheat, if you put your own interests above this company, you will not last. But if you work hard, if you prove yourself, there is no limit to how far you can go. Does everyone understand?"
A chorus of yeses filled the room. Richard's voice was among them.
"Excellent," I said, standing up. "Rachel will take you through the rest. If you need anything, my door is always open."
I left before anyone could ask questions. Back in my office, I pulled up Richard's file again. His first assignment would be the Hartley campaign, a mid-level hotel chain looking to rebrand. It was important enough to matter but not critical enough to sink us if he failed. I wanted to see what he could do. I wanted to see if the man who chose money over love still had any integrity left.
By noon, I had three meetings, signed off on two contracts, and rejected a merger proposal that would have made us rich but compromised our values. By two, I was reviewing budget reports when Sarah buzzed me.
"Ms. Castell, Richard Monroe is here. He says he has questions about the Hartley brief."
I smiled. "Send him in."
Richard entered, holding a tablet and looking uncertain. "I am sorry to bother you, Ms. Castell. I know you are busy, but I wanted to clarify a few things about the campaign direction before I present to the team."
"Sit," I said.
He sat, and I saw him glance around my office. It was large, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, modern art on the walls, a bookshelf filled with first editions and industry awards. I had built this. Every piece of it.
"What do you need?" I asked.
"The brief says Hartley wants to target younger travelers, but their current branding is very traditional. I am wondering if we should do a complete overhaul or try to bridge the gap."
I leaned back in my chair, considering him. "What do you think?"
He hesitated. "I think... I think we should be honest with them. A complete rebrand is risky and expensive. But if we try to be something we are not, it will fail anyway. Better to commit fully or not at all."
"Interesting," I said. "And what would you commit to?"
"The rebrand," he said, more confident now. "Go bold. Take the risk. If they trust us, we can make it work."
I nodded slowly. "Then do that. Present it to the team Thursday. I will sit in."
He blinked. "You will?"
"I sit in on all major pitches," I said. Another lie. I had a team for that. But he did not need to know.
"Thank you, Ms. Castell," he said, standing. He paused at the door. "Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Why did you hire me? My resume is not exactly spotless."
I met his eyes, and for a moment I let myself really look at him. At the man who promised me forever and left me with nothing. At the man who chose status over love and lost everything anyway.
"Because I believe in second chances," I said quietly. "Do not make me regret it."
He nodded, something unreadable crossing his face, and left.
I turned back to my computer, but I could not focus. My chest hurts. My hands were cold. I hated this. I hated how much I still cared. I hated that I gave him a second chance when he never gave me one.
But I also knew this was just the beginning. He did not recognize me yet, but he would. And when he did, I wanted to see his face. I wanted to see him realize that the woman he threw away became everything he never believed she could be.
I wanted him to understand exactly what he lost.
- Writer
