THE NARCISSISTIC CEO FINDS LOVE

FIRST ENCOUNTER

I never understood why people cared for others, or what they meant by saying 'someone can make you feel complete'. I thought about these, sipping my coffee as I sat by the counter.

The stench of burnt coffee skimmed through the cafe outside the porch and clung to the air. “What am I doing here ?” I muttered these words, as I glared around the café.

I am Aiden Vale, the owner of the Vale group, and I have always moved through life with the thought that I am above everyone and I can never be denied anything. Women desired me.

“I work with various investors and run business ventures in Luxury Real Estate Development, Semiconductor Manufacturing & Chip Design.

At the age of twenty-eight, I was among the top CEOs in Maurilius City. People called me “An established billionaire, A media baron, the Industry titan”.

I had so much power, and due to my affluence, I was respected by everyone I came across. This made me selfish, egoistic, and greedy. No one dared to talk down to me, and this made me believe that the world revolved around me.

Or so I thought.

I went to the basketball court one evening with my friends Josh, Sunny, and Damian. We sat in the upper-level seats, cheering my brother and his teammates on the field.

I came to support my brother's team called ‘the bears.’ He had been practicing for weeks and he invited me to come watch him play. The game was really intense but I was happy my brother and his team won in the end. When the game was over, I stood up from my seat to congratulate my brother on his win.

On my way to him, my watch slipped from my wrist and landed beside someone. It was an expensive and heavy watch.

The person picked up the watch and tried to return it.

I looked at her and felt irritated, blurting out the words, I said “ Do you want to steal my watch, you peasant? Don’t you dare touch what you can’t afford,” I spoke loudly.

This stirred up reactions amongst the crowd. But I was amazed by what she did.

She didn't respond to a word I had said, all she did was leave the watch on the pavement. And for the first time in my life, I was in awe of how someone would act in such a way towards me.

Elara’s POV;

I came to support my brothers, Elijah and Aaron, 'the cats' . I wanted to go home to rest after a stressful day. I decided to watch them because of how I was consistently reminded about it.

While I moved past the people on the seat to find the perfect spot to watch them clearly, I walked past three guys, one of whom kept staring at me.

I heard them call him Aiden when his other friend handed him popcorn.

I admired how he looked. “He is definitely my type” I thought to myself. The kind of guy I'd surely date with his generic nose and his build, but I felt nervous as I walked past him.

When his watch fell beside me, I tried returning it, but he spoke rudely to me. At first, I wondered why he did that, but I didn’t defend myself at all; I simply looked at him and walked away.

My brothers went after me, but I urged them to let it go, because I knew what they were capable of. His brother, John, also came along, but I shrugged him off and went away. I kept on thinking about what had occurred earlier that day but I didn't let what he did get to me. I only felt pity for him.

We later encountered each other that same day and this made me believe that all rich men are indeed animals.

I went to Abigail's place to return her dress. On getting there, I narrated how my day went. This made Abigail so furious. But we couldn't do anything. So we waved the topic and talked about how our day went. She said she was crushing on her boss Aiden Vale, even though he is a rude and stuck-up brat.

I thought to myself, is it the same Aiden I met today? Then I brushed it off, to avoid what had happened earlier to weigh me down.

Aiden's POV

“Later that evening”.

I was driving at high speed because I wanted to meet up with a client.

I saw a woman crossing the road. I swerved my car quickly to avoid hitting her. She looked so confused as though something disturbed her, but I didn't care.

I suddenly got out of my car. “Was it right for you to cross the road? What if I had hit you?” I swiftly snapped at her. “I’m so sorry, sir, I didn't see you,” she whispered gently, looking directly at me.

I was so furious at her, but I needed to meet up with my client on time. And without much thought, I turned back to my car and honked for her to leave the road, driving off.

When I got home that night, I lay on my bed, thinking about her. Her beautiful hazel eyes, her soft lips, her curves caught her. And although I have always humiliated people I didn't do that to her.

Days had passed, Weeks went by. I could feel her fading from my thoughts.

Some days later, I walked into the office one morning, and my secretary, Abigail, served my coffee at exactly 9:00 am.

That was the time I loved taking my morning coffee with the air so fresh and thick and the coffee so foamy and sweet.

The coffee she makes always tastes different from the ones my past secretaries make and this is one of the useful traits that has maintained her position.

That morning, I was enraged at how the company's stock had been slipping. I called for an emergency meeting with some heads of division who have issues.

I asked Abigail to call the head of the executive division, the power division, the human relations division, the sales division, and customer care support.

Duncan, the head of the executive division, adjusting his seat, said firmly. “We are pushing our teams, sir, but the customers are also repeating contracts from last year. There is a drawback to the new project, and the hotel casino is now on hold due to the late payments to the workers.

Mary, head of the sales division glanced at her tablet. “New sales are coming in, but fiscal projections are only at eight percent.”

“That's bad,” We promised the Carpos group exclusivity, speed, and results.” Duncan mummered.

“I hope you know that promising without results doesn’t pay shareholders. We need momentum, action, not flimsy excuses,” I spoke coldly.

Abigail slipped in, panting. “Sorry, sir—there was heavy traffic—”“Shut it, Abigail. Sit,” I snapped at her. And she obeyed instantly without resisting.

Moving on, sir, the customers are quite comfortable with the service at the hotel, but many are not so impressed by the staff. They claim that their things are missing every time.

“That's based on old data, you may want to recheck. I quipped angrily.

Mary raised her eyebrow, staring at him. “How long have you been working here, Shane? You're so behind.

“Like five years,” he stammered.

“What ? Five years Shane, yet you’re still incompetent,” I said sharply.

Silence fell like a weight over the room.

The chip sector has decreased to eighteen percent. Justin, head of the power division, had said, and we are losing investors. What can we do sir? Surely we can’t rely on the chip sector alone.”

“Sheryl Bolton is the solution".

The room froze. Everyone stared.

“She’s our only way out,” I continued, as I tapped the table repeatedly. “She created something that would push the chip sector twenty-five percent further. It would make it faster, stronger, and very profitable.”

“ I believe that what Sheryl has made would indeed prove to have a positive impact on company profit” I spoke firmly.

"Get me an update on Sheryl Bolton by Monday,” I said coldly, looking at Abigail.

Abigail hesitated, “There’s just one problem, sir.”

I lifted my gaze. “And what exactly is that?”

She swallowed.

“She goes by a different name now.”