Chapter 4
Stella glanced up — and froze.
The man was tall, with dark hair that fell slightly over his forehead and warm hazel eyes. Dressed in a simple button-down and slacks, he didn’t look like one of the high-powered executives who prowled the top floors. But there was something about his presence that stood out, a confidence in his gaze that looked much like theirs.
“Thank you for holding the door,” he said, his smile making her stomach flutter. “First day–don’t wanna get in trouble.” He added with a chuckle. His eyes lingered on her.
She nodded. “Same, but I seem to have already gotten in trouble ”
His gaze traveled from her face to the coffee packs in her hand and on the floor. “Do you need help? I could help you carry some.”
“No worries, I can handle it.” Stella said.”Thank you though, Mr.–”
“Liam. Nice to meet you,” he said with a smile. The gleam in his eyes dazzled her. “I’m an intern, what about you?”
Despite herself, she smiled back. “I’m Stella–Stella Moore, Secretary at the president’s office.”
The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open on the 23rd floor—finance department.
Liam's eyes flashed but Stella didn’t notice. “Well, good luck,” he said with a wink before stepping out.
Stella watched him leave, the warmth of his presence lingering even after the doors closed. He’s quite a chamer, she thought as the elevator continued upwards.
By the end of the day, exhaustion weighed heavily on her, but she pushed through. The files were finally organized, the data cross-checked and neat. There wasn’t anything useful in them, just general logistics. It seemed like Vivian just wanted to waste her time, making her work for work's sake.
She delivered the last report to Vivian’s desk just as the other woman was packing up to leave.
“Done already?” Vivian arched a perfectly manicured brow, clearly expecting her to have failed. She was somehow wearing a completely different outfit from the morning.
Stella kept her voice cool and even. “Everything’s finished. Cross-checked and organized.”
Vivian’s eyes flashed–irritation clouding her gaze, but she recovered quickly. “We’ll see if it’s up to standard.”
Stella watched Vivian open the report and shuffle through the pages, Clara peeking over her shoulder.
“Do better next time, King’s corporation demands the best from its employees.” Vivian sniffed—even though she clearly did not understand a single word or diagram of the report
As Stella walked away, she felt the smallest spark of satisfaction. She had gone through the first day, even though she hadn’t achieved anything significant, at least she had taken the first step.
As the elevator descended, it stopped and opened on the 24th floor.
“We meet again”
Stella looked up to find the man–Liam from earlier smiling at her. He looked just like he did during lunch break, calm and relaxed—like he hadn’t spent the day working but inspecting his kingdom.
“Hi,” She replied, stepping aside for him. “Did you get in trouble?”
“Nope, thanks to you.” He winked.
They spent the rest of the ride in silence.
“Goodnight, Stella,” he said as the elevator doors slid open. “I hope tomorrow goes well”
“Goodnight, Liam”
“Sir, how was the corporation?” John asked as Liam sat in the backseat of the car.
Liam didn’t answer, his gaze was locked across the street staring at the woman–Stella– seated at the bus stop waiting for a bus. He wondered where she lived. Whether he could give her a ride.
No, he had to keep his identity secret for now. No one would expect an intern to own a Bentley
. A bus stopped and when it moved again, Stella was gone.
“Sir,” John asked again, noticing Liam’s distraction. “Is there something across the street?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Liam answered. Finally turning away from the window. “What were you saying?”
“I asked about the corporation”
“Oh. It was not bad.” Liam’s mind went back to Stella–her smile, polite and distant.
The next couple of days were just as stressful as the first, Clara made sure of that.
Clara Vivian’s shadow — a short, sharp-featured woman with a permanent smirk and an eagerness to please her self-appointed queen bee–followed her everywhere. If Vivian rolled her eyes, Clara laughed. If Vivian complained, Clara chimed in. And since Vivian had decided to make Stella’s life hell, Clara was more than happy to help.
With her cheap knockoffs of designer outfits and obvious hand-me-downs from Vivian, Clara acted like she was the second in command after Vivian.
“Oh good, I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Clara said sweetly as Stella walked past after completing her daily coffee run for the office. “I need you to take these files back to where they belong. They’ve been sitting on my desk all week.”
Stella forced a polite smile. “I’m kind of busy—” She hadn’t completed the tasks Mia assigned to her because of all the running around she had to do
“Too busy to help a team member?” Clara’s voice rose just enough to catch the attention of nearby colleagues.
Stella swallowed her frustration. You have a mission. Endure. Endure. “Of course not.”
“Good girl.” Clara dropped a thick stack of files on her table, pushing aside the ones already there to the floor–her tasks. “Take these to the archives.”
Stella’s ears perked up. The archive–a lot of the company's past contracts and collaborations would be there, she didn’t think she would get the opportunity to go there this soon. Seems like being used as an errand girl wasn’t that bad.
“Where is the archive,” Stella asked as she picked up the files.
“Turn right and just go to the end of the hallway, use your employee card to go in. Put everything in the right place. Don’t mess it up.” Clara answered, her tone dripping with condescension. away.
When Stella got to the end of the hallway, she saw two doors, ‘Archive Room 1’ and ‘Archive Room 2’. She tried her card on the security door of ‘Archive room one’.
“Insufficient authority,” a mechanical voice rang out.
So room one could only be opened by high-level members of staff and members of the board of directors. As a secretary she didn’t have the right, the thought made her stomach tighten. She would have to climb the ranks to a higher position, but how many years would it take, was it really impossible for her to get revenge? How long would she have to wait?
Shoving the frustration down, she went into room two and started arranging the files in their proper positions, when she suddenly saw a folder.
‘Lighthouse resort.’
She remembered the project. Two other construction companies had worked with King’s Corporation on the project. One of them went bankrupt, and the other that didn’t had also partnered with King’s corporation when they worked with her father’s company–that was the last project before her parents were murdered.
Stella’s breath quickened.
She looked around checking if there were any security cameras in the room. She didn’t see any. But just to be safe, she moved to a secluded corner, using her body to block any possible prying eyes.
Stella took out her phone and started taking pictures of the pages in the folder.
Finally, a lead, she could start investigating from here.
“Ahhh”
The sharp scream echoed down the hallway, making Stella jump. She had just stepped out of ‘Archive Room 2’ when the sound rang out. Vivian was throwing a tantrum again. She wondered who the unlucky target was this time.
“Who leaves dirty mop water in the middle of the hallway? My skirt is ruined!” Vivian shrieked, her voice rising with every word.
Stella sighed, sending prayers to whoever offended her this time. By now, she was well-acquainted with Vivian’s talent for stirring up drama at the slightest provocation–She had already gotten two secretaries and one receptionist fired.