The taxi breezed through several bends. Immediately past the Company's estate entrance, the roads became smoother, the atmosphere more serene and graceful. We continued until we saw the golden signpost that read: 'Alexander Stone International; Head Office Turn Left.'
When we finally arrived, I walked into the tall, monstrous glass house, my head held high, trying to keep calm and not expose the bubbling excitement causing a commotion inside of me. The automated doors opened on their own accord, and even the floors were made of shiny glass.
"Miss Isabella?" someone with a familiar-sounding voice mouthed my name. I turned around, but I saw a bald-headed man in corporate attire whom I could hardly recognize signal at me with his finger.
"Me?" I asked.
"Yes, you… or are you not Miss Isabella? The Secretary appointee?" The man asked with an air of authority.
"Yes, please… I mean, sorry. I didn't really recognize the face."
"It's fine. I'm Mr. Davies," he said, extending his hand for a handshake.
"A pleasure to meet you, sir," I said, taking his hand.
"My pleasure," he replied, putting his hand back in his pocket.
"I'm actually the head of the IT department and also double up as the HR supervisor… I was the one who called you."
"Oh, I suspected as much," I said, smiling.
"Yes," he said dryly, "you will come with me now, and after the necessary bureaucracies with me, you may then go ahead to meet the CEO, whom you will serve directly as his secretary." He paused for a moment, looking doubtful, and then asked, "Are you sure you are ready for this?"
"Ready? Yes, of course, sir," I said, trying to sound confident.
He nodded and said, "Okay," but still looked doubtful. Then he added, "Working with the CEO requires a lot, I mean, a lot." After a pause, he asked again, "I hope you understand this?""
Sure," I said, wondering why he sounded this way. Alexander Stone was rumored to be the CEO of his father's corporation. Many things were said about him, but I've never seen him. All I knew about the name revolved around the family's popularity without really understanding Alexander Stone himself.
"I haven't really done much research on him," I thought. For a moment, I wondered if that was wise. Shouldn't I have checked to know more about him? His likes, dislikes, temperament? Anyway, I believe if there are any surprises, I wouldn't have trouble dealing with them.
"Isabella," Mr. Davies's voice brought me back to the present.
"Oh, y-yes sir," I stammered in response.
"Follow me," he ordered. "Some staff are gathered in the conference room and will be meeting you now."
"Okay, sir."
We walked steadily together as we approached a large hall with the roof studded with many twinkling bright lights. A long, sleek glass table stretched from one end of the hall almost to the other, surrounded by seated men and women in corporate attire. They all stood up to clap as soon as Mr. Davies and I walked into the hall.
"Please have a seat, ladies and gentlemen," he motioned. "Beside me here is the newly employed personal secretary to the CEO. Her name is Miss Isabella Brooks." His statement was met with applause that took a little too long to subside before he spoke again.
"As I was saying, she will be serving as our boss's secretary. As it is custom here, I would like us to show the courtesy of welcoming her with a handshake or two." He gestured for me to move forward, and I went around the table, exchanging handshakes with older colleagues of mine.
When we finished, he emphasized the need for dedication and steadfastness in the workplace, using the Stone family line as an example. Then, he placed a series of documents on the table with bold demarcated spaces for my signature. Once I finished signing, he turned to me and said, "The moment we've been waiting for is here." Taking a deep breath, I noticed he, too, had become nervous for the first time.
"Follow me. I will be introducing you now to the CEO."
Exiting the conference room and passing through a door that opened by itself, we entered a place that looked like the CCTV control room. As we reached the main hallway to take the elevator to the uppermost floor, we encountered a tall woman in a brown knee-length gown with wavy hair.
"Miss Amanda?" Mr. Davies called, walking up to her.
"Davies," she replied informally. Her eyes moved slowly from him to me.
"Who is she?" she asked, almost too suspiciously.
"Oh, her?" Mr. Davies laughed, turning to me as if he had just noticed I was by his side all along. He even sounded more animated than he had been when I first arrived a few hours ago.
"She's my CEO's freshly employed secretary."
"I was even taking her to him when I saw you."
"Really?" she said, edging closer to me, her eyes reading the details from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet.
Then she smiled and said, "She's beautiful. I hope Alex doesn't stress the living daylight out of her." She smiled again and walked off, already some steps away before she added, "He's not in. Wait for him, I guess he went to make trouble on the second floor. He'll be back soon."
Mr. Davies laughed nervously, turning to me and said, "Miss Isabella, take a deep breath." I did, but from what I was seeing, he needed the deep breath more than me. Mr. Davies fidgeted as he fingered the floor number of the CEO's office. Then, the hoist-way twin doors of the elevator slid open, and we got in. When I arrived at the uppermost floor, it slid open again, and we dispersed.
When we got to the CEO's office door, he turned to me and asked, "Should we wait?"
"I don't know, sir. Should we?" I asked back; his nervousness was now making me nervous.
The entirety of the top floor was dedicated to the CEO'S office, and only a very few staff seemed to have access to the place as it was completely cut off from the rest of the building. So, when we started to hear the calm measured footsteps coming from the opposite end of the hall, we immediately knew it was the CEO. I couldn't help taking a deep breath, and before I was done, Mr. Davies had already taken three deep breaths.
"I see I have august visitors," the CEO's voice came from behind with a sharp, haunting, familiar precision. Mr. Davies, who was facing him directly, immediately started to chatter, "Sir, I brought your secretary; she has already been grounded and given all the necessary orientation, inclu…"
"My secretary?" The CEO blurted, cutting him off, sounding surprised. "Turn around," the CEO bellowed to me.
Slowly, I started to turn. Something in my gut was churning, and my head ached stubbornly because the more the CEO spoke, the more resentfully familiar his voice sounded. When I was done, the sight before me almost made me slump with shock as I closed and opened my eyes doubtfully. Right before me was the face of my new boss, the face of that same man at the coffee shop. The same man that had called me blind, while I called him worse. We stared at each other, and I could immediately see the disbelieving, yet raging disgust in his eyes.
"You?" he snarled at me, gazing angrily. Mr. Davies took a step back and glanced at me again before he turned back to ask, "Sir, have you met Miss Isabella before?"