Billionaire’s plight

Chapter one. The news

Sometimes an encounter is all you need to experience a change in your life. It could be a good or bad change, all depending on the level of encounter. As for me, I am about experiencing both.

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I am Ava and I am a girl of few words.

On this day, I woke up, took my bath and dressed up for work. While on the train, my instinct kept telling me that things are about to change but I don't know exactly how it will be.

"You can trust your instincts but don't force it," my father would always tell me.

I got to the office earlier, so it gave me the chance to clear some things from my desk. This moment is one of the only moments that I love so much because it helps me think on my own and prepare for the day ahead.

"Good morning darling," Zara, my work buddy, greeted me from the entrance of the office.

"Morning Zara," I said and stood to give her a warm hug.

"Have you heard?" she asked.

"What?" I asked in curiosity.

(And yes!! Zara has all the latest gist in and out the office).

"The boss is arriving in LA in two weeks," she said.

"Oh my!! For how long please?"

"Five months."

Dominic Hale of the great Hale Enterprises will be landing in LA in two weeks' time. I have had an encounter with him before, which is why I don't want to encounter him again, but I have no choice now that he is coming to stay for a while.

I sat back in my chair and looked at the pile of papers on my desk while my mind went back to the last time I saw him because it was a moment that stayed with me even though I tried to forget it. He is a man who doesn't miss anything and also appears to be a strict boss. I have worked very hard to stay in the background here so that no one notices the work I do.

"Five months is a long time, Zara, and I wonder if the office can handle that kind of pressure for so long," I said while trying to sound like I wasn't worried at all.

"I know, right? Everyone is already panicking about their desks and their clothes because they want to look perfect for him," Zara laughed while sitting on the edge of my table and checking her phone for more sudden news.

She started talking about what she was going to wear for the first meeting, but I wasn't really listening, because I was thinking about my quiet corner in the office and wondering if he would ever come to this part of the building through our his stay..

I hoped he would stay in the big executive suite and leave the rest of us alone so I could keep doing my job in peace without any eyes on me.

"Do you think he will change how we do things here or will he just watch us from his big office?" I asked her because I wanted to know what the rumors were saying.

"Most likely he will change everything since you know how he is and how he likes everything to be done his way," she replied while looking around the messy office.

I nodded and turned my attention back to my computer because I had a lot of work to do and I wanted to finish it before the rest of the staff arrived and started making noise.

The office usually gets very busy once everyone is in, and I really needed this quiet time to settle my mind and think about the two weeks I had left.

I kept typing and looking at the clock while wondering if he still looked the same or if the years had made him even more intimidating or calm than before.

***************

Every time the elevator doors opened, I found myself looking up, even though I knew he wasn't coming for another two weeks. It's funny how one piece of news can change the way you see your own workspace, because suddenly my quiet corner felt a bit too open and a bit too easy to find.

"Ava, you're doing that thing again where you stare at the wall like it's a movie," Zara said, while she started organizing her pens for the third time that morning.

"I'm just thinking about the reports, Zara, because if he is coming to check the numbers, then everything has to be perfect," I replied, while trying to hide the fact that I was actually thinking about him.

"Well, you're the best at the reports, so you have nothing to worry about, since you practically run this place from your desk anyway," she said and laughed.

I didn't want the credit, and I certainly didn't want the attention that came with it, because being noticed meant being questioned.

If Dominic Hale found out that a low-level assistant was the one fixing the company's biggest mistakes, he wouldn't just be impressed, he would be curious. And his curiosity was the last thing I wanted, because a man like him doesn't just ask questions, he digs until he finds every single truth you're trying to hide.

As the lunch hour approached, the office became even louder, with everyone talking about the "Hale Invasion" as they were now calling it. I decided to stay at my desk instead of going to the breakroom, because I needed to finish the projections for next month before the chaos really started.

My instincts were telling me to run, but my bank account was telling me to stay, so I chose to stay and fight the urge to disappear. I looked at the calendar on my computer, and saw the date circled in red for two weeks from now. It felt like a giant wave, a wave I couldn't outrun, no matter how fast I ran.