Look At Me When I’m Talking
1143 Words
The fifth floor of Stormfield Corporations was nothing like Elena imagined.
It was worse.
Not because people were rude.
Because everyone looked terrifyingly perfect.
Employees moved quickly through the office with laptops, files, and coffee cups in hand while phones rang endlessly in the background. Conversations were short. Precise. Nobody wasted time chatting unnecessarily.
Everything here felt fast.
Sharp.
Calculated.
And Elena felt painfully out of place inside it.
“Stormfield Corporations does not tolerate repeated mistakes.”
Gloria Anderson’s voice cut through the silence as she stood in front of the interns holding a tablet.
“There are over twelve thousand employees working under this corporation. If you cannot keep up, you will be replaced immediately.”
Nobody spoke.
Gloria’s sharp eyes moved across the room calmly.
“And one more thing.”
Her expression became even more serious.
“Do not attract unnecessary attention from the CEO.”
The room instantly became tense.
One intern swallowed nervously.
Another lowered his eyes.
Gloria noticed.
“Yes,” she continued coolly. “Mr. Adrian Stormfield rarely notices employees personally. If he does… it is usually not a good thing.”
Elena quietly looked down at her notebook.
Somehow, hearing that made the memory of yesterday’s elevator encounter worse.
“Now get back to work.”
The interns immediately scattered.
For the next several hours, Elena remained completely focused on organizing financial reports and reviewing quarterly business files.
She barely even looked away from the computer screen.
The pressure inside the office was exhausting.
Everyone around her seemed experienced and polished while she still felt like a girl trying to survive one day at a time.
At exactly one in the afternoon, most employees began leaving for lunch.
The office slowly became quieter.
Elena glanced at the expensive handbags and luxury heels around her before quietly opening her own bag beneath the desk.
Inside was the lunch she had packed at five in the morning.
Simple rice and vegetables.
Nothing impressive.
But enough.
Just as she was about to take a bite, Gloria approached her desk again.
“Miss Hart.”
Elena immediately stood up.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“These files need to be delivered to the executive floor immediately.”
Elena took the stack carefully.
“The executive floor?”
“The twenty-fifth floor.”
Elena froze internally.
The top floor.
Adrian Stormfield’s floor.
“Is there a problem?” Gloria asked sharply.
“No, ma’am.”
“Good. Deliver them to the conference secretary.”
Elena nodded quickly before heading toward the elevators.
The higher the elevator climbed, the quieter it became.
By the time the doors opened on the twenty-fifth floor, Elena’s heartbeat had become painfully loud.
The executive floor looked completely different from the rest of the company.
Darker colors.
Luxury interiors.
Black marble floors.
Floor-to-ceiling glass walls overlooking the city skyline.
Even the silence here felt expensive.
Elena stepped out carefully, clutching the files against her chest.
A woman seated behind a sleek black desk looked up.
“Yes?”
“I was told to deliver these files to the conference secretary.”
The woman pointed toward a hallway.
“Last room on the left.”
“Thank you.”
Elena walked carefully through the massive hallway, trying not to look nervous.
But before she reached the room—
The conference doors suddenly opened.
Several executives stepped out.
And immediately afterward—
Adrian Stormfield walked out behind them.
Elena stopped walking instantly.
So did everyone else.
The atmosphere shifted so suddenly it almost felt unreal.
Adrian looked even more intimidating today.
Black tailored suit.
Silver watch.
Cold expression.
Power practically followed him like a shadow.
Beside him walked Ethan Cole, discussing something business-related calmly.
“…the investors from Singapore are expecting confirmation tonight,” Ethan was saying.
Adrian responded without looking away from the documents in his hands.
“Move the meeting to Thursday.”
“Yes, sir.”
Elena quickly lowered her eyes and tried moving aside.
But in her nervousness—
One of the files slipped from her hands.
Papers scattered across the polished floor.
The sound echoed loudly through the silent hallway.
Elena’s face burned instantly.
“I’m so sorry—”
She crouched down quickly, trying to gather the papers with trembling fingers.
Nobody moved.
Nobody helped.
Because Adrian Stormfield was standing right there.
And everyone looked terrified to breathe incorrectly near him.
Elena could physically feel his gaze on her.
Heavy.
Sharp.
Humiliating.
One page slid near Adrian’s polished shoes.
Elena hesitated for one second before reaching for it carefully.
That was when Adrian finally spoke.
“Stop.”
Her hand froze immediately.
The hallway became deathly silent.
Slowly, Elena looked up.
Adrian was staring at her with cold gray eyes.
Not angry.
Worse.
Unreadable.
“You dropped confidential financial reports in the middle of an executive hallway,” he said calmly.
His calmness somehow made Elena more nervous.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Sorry doesn’t erase carelessness.”
Elena lowered her eyes immediately.
“I understand.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Adrian stepped closer.
Too close.
Elena could suddenly smell his expensive cologne again.
Clean. Sharp. Dangerous.
“Look at me when I’m talking.”
The words were quiet.
Controlled.
But commanding enough to make Elena’s heartbeat stumble violently.
Slowly, she lifted her eyes toward him.
Big mistake.
Because now she understood why people feared Adrian Stormfield so much.
His gaze felt suffocating.
Like he could read weaknesses directly through people.
Adrian studied her silently for several seconds.
Her cheap office bag.
Her trembling fingers.
The exhaustion beneath her eyes.
Then briefly—
His gaze shifted toward the partially visible lunch container inside her bag.
A simple homemade meal.
Something unreadable crossed his face for half a second before disappearing instantly.
“You’re an intern from Blaze University.”
Again, not a question.
“Yes, sir.”
“Top of your class.”
Elena blinked slightly.
How did he know that?
“Y-Yes.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“And yet you panic this easily?”
Heat rushed to Elena’s cheeks immediately.
“I’ll improve, sir.”
Silence.
Long enough to become uncomfortable.
Then finally—
“See that you do.”
Adrian stepped past her smoothly and continued walking down the hallway.
Ethan Cole lingered behind for a second.
His eyes briefly moved toward Elena curiously before he quietly helped her pick up the remaining papers from the floor.
“Don’t take it personally,” Ethan said calmly.
Elena looked up in surprise.
“He notices everything,” Ethan added before standing again. “That’s what makes him dangerous.”
Then he walked away.
Leaving Elena frozen in the middle of the executive hallway with an unsteady heartbeat.
And for reasons she couldn’t explain—
The memory of Adrian Stormfield’s voice stayed with her long after he disappeared.
- Writer
