Chapter 2

Emery stood frozen in place. Wait. Was he talking about her? Was she the “disgusting” and “stupid” one? Or was there someone else in the room?

She looked around quickly, hoping to spot another person. But no, she was the only one there. Just her.

She hadn’t even handed over the report yet and already, she was getting yelled at. Was her job on the line already?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Who are you and why are you here? Or are you mute too?” he snapped again, his voice sharp and cruel.

The look on his face made it clear. He was disgusted.

Emery tried to speak, but no words came out. Her throat felt dry, her mind blank. The man standing in front of her was terrifying. His presence, his voice, everything about him was intimidating.

“If you’ve forgotten how to speak, then get out of my office!” he shouted again.

Her legs shook slightly. It wasn’t that she didn’t know what to say, his attitude just completely threw her off.

Finally, she found her voice. “I’m sorry, Sir, for my brief hesitation. I’m Emery Collins, the Assistant Project Manager. I’m here on behalf of Mr. Thomas, who had a family emergency and had to leave unexpectedly. Again, I apologize if my behavior offended you.”

The CEO blinked.

Well, she shut that down nicely, even he had to admit. Her calm, clear answer left no room for more questions, especially about Mr. Thomas.

Emery walked forward and gently placed the reports on his desk. “These are the reports from the past three months, Sir.”

“Step back! Stay several feet away from me!”

She saw it in his eyes. Pure dislike. Without arguing, she quickly stepped back, nearly reaching the door.

He picked up the documents, flipped through them, then scoffed. “Three months? Everyone else brought reports covering the past six months. And you brought just three? What should we call that?”

His voice was filled with arrogance.

Emery stayed calm. “Three months ago, you reviewed and approved the previous reports online. I thought it would be unnecessary to bring what you've already seen, especially since I imagine your schedule is already packed and you wouldn’t want to go through sealed reports again.”

He paused.

Another point for her. Most of the other managers didn’t know he checked those reports regularly. But somehow, she did.

“Are you accusing me of something, Ms. Collins? When and where did I approve anything?” he barked again, eyes narrowing.

Was she wrong? She had only assumed he reviewed them because of the seal on the documents. It wasn’t the director’s. It looked slightly different.

She had examined it under a magnifying lens and noticed something unusual: a tiny gold line hidden in the seal. A closer look revealed it was a tiny signature. His signature.

She recognized it. And now, standing in front of him, she realized her assumption might have been too bold.

"I'm sorry, Sir, if I misunderstood," Emery said quietly. "I thought the tiny gold line on the seal, which looks like your signature when seen under a lens, meant the reports had already been reviewed."

The man looked up at her, a sneer on his face. "Hmm, you're quite observant." He didn’t sound impressed. More annoyed than anything.

He turned his attention back to the documents and started flipping through them, slowly. Emery stood quietly, waiting for him to ask a question or make a comment. But he said nothing.

Ten minutes passed. Then twenty. Then thirty.

He still didn’t say a word.

He didn’t offer her a seat either. She remained standing in her 10cm heels, and her ankles had started to ache badly.

An hour went by.

Still no word.

Is he even human? she wondered. How could someone let another person stand for this long without saying anything?

She started shifting her weight, slowly stretching her legs to ease the pain.

Two hours later, he finally lifted his head, then without warning, tossed the documents at her. Pages scattered around her feet.

"Re-check and re-submit tomorrow morning," he said coldly. Then he stood up and walked back to the sofa like she didn’t exist.

Emery stared in disbelief. Two hours, just to be told to do it all over again?

She bent down and started picking up the scattered reports.

"Is there something wrong with the report, Sir?" she asked carefully.

He turned and glared at her. "Are you seriously asking me that? I said recheck and resubmit! Stop asking stupid questions!"

It was just a question, she thought. Why is he always barking like a mad dog?

“I’ve checked the reports many times, Sir,” she replied softly. “There isn’t any issue I can find.”

That was the final straw for him.

He grabbed the flower vase on his desk and threw it at her.

Emery gasped and moved back quickly to dodge it, but in the process, she bumped into a large glass painting on the wall. It tipped over and crashed to the floor, shattering loudly.

The vase still managed to hit her arm before smashing onto the floor.

“Women are so hateful,” he muttered coldly, watching without emotion.

Emery held her arm, wincing in pain. A patch of skin was red and swelling fast.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she held them back. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

“So you’ve broken my expensive vase and my painting? Your one-year salary can’t even buy them,” he snapped, his eyes full of fury.

Emery stood frozen. What exactly have I done wrong? Her chest tightened and her eyes grew misty. It was just a question. Why was he being so cruel?

Then she remembered what someone had said in the elevator: He once threw coffee at an elderly man.

If that was true, what chance did she have?

With that thought, she took a shaky breath and tried to calm herself. “I’m sorry, Sir. I’ll clean it up right away,” she said, trying to sound calm.

She looked around, spotted the trash can, and quietly left the office.

On the floor, she found a small store room. She took a brush and a trash can, then hurried back to his office. Without saying a word, she bent down and carefully cleaned up the broken pieces of the vase.

Once done, she left again and took the elevator back to her floor.

“Please throw this away. Thank you,” she said to a nearby cleaner, handing over the trash can.

Then she stormed into her office, angry and shaken.

Joan, her colleague, rushed to her side the moment she saw her face. “Was it that bad?” she asked, though she already guessed the answer. Encounters with the CEO were always bad.

“Can you believe he made me stand for two hours, then told me to recheck the report and bring it back tomorrow? When I asked if there was a problem, he threw a vase at me!”

Joan gasped, eyes wide. “Wait—did you say you asked him a question?”

“Of course I—”

Joan cut her off, panicking. “Emery! You're finished! Why would you do that? Who told you to question him? You’re in huge trouble, if you even still have a job!”

Emery blinked, confused and afraid. “What do you mean?”

“I mean no one questions him. Not unless they want to be made miserable and eventually fired. The last staff who did that? Gone. He made her life hell first.”

Fear settled in Emery’s chest. Her job. Was it really at risk?

This job wasn’t just any job. A well-paid position in a top multinational company like Cosmic didn’t come by easily.

“I’ll apologize to him,” she said quietly, her voice shaky.

Joan’s eyes widened and she shook her head sharply. “Don’t even think about it!”

Just then, the office phone rang. Joan picked it up.

“Miss Collins! Come immediately to my office,” the voice growled from the other end. It was the Director.

Joan looked at Emery with eyes full of pity.

Heart beating fast, Emery got to her feet and rushed to the Director’s office.

She walked in and found him pacing furiously.

What have I gotten myself into? she thought, her heart sinking.