(Ava's POV)
For a second, I thought I'd misheard her.
"Secretary to the… CEO?"
She nodded, her face giving nothing away.
I swallowed hard. Everyone in this city knew about him. Damian Stonewell. The ruthless, untouchable billionaire whose name was plastered across newspapers and magazines. The man who built empires and crushed competitors without blinking.
And the man whose secretaries, according to rumor, didn't survive longer than a month.
The HR officer tapped a pen against her desk. "I'll be blunt. It is the least desirable job in this entire company. Demanding hours. Unreasonable expectations. He goes through assistants like water. In fact, you'd be the fifth in six months."
"F-Fifth?" I squeaked.
Her lips tightened. "The last one lasted eleven days. Before that, three weeks. The one before her stormed out in tears after two."
My stomach dropped. I thought back to the receptionist downstairs, the smirks from the other applicants. Of course. They'd all known. This position wasn't a prize—it was a curse.
The woman leaned forward slightly, her voice lowering. "If you take this job, understand something: Mr. Stonewell does not tolerate mistakes. He does not tolerate weakness. If he decides you're not worth his time, you will be out that door before you can blink—and good luck finding another employer willing to hire someone who has been black listed by him."
I gripped my resume so tightly it crumpled in my hands. Every nerve in my body screamed at me to run. To get up, thank her for the warning, and walk straight out of this tower before it swallowed me whole.
But then I thought about my rent.
The nearly empty fridge
My brother
The endless string of rejections that had reduced me to begging for any position.
I can't walk away. I don't have that luxury.
I forced my chin up. "I'll take it."
Her brows shot up. "You're sure?"
"Yes." The word came out steadier than I felt.
A sigh escaped her, part exasperation, part pity. She scribbled something onto a form and slid it across the desk toward me. "Sign here. But remember—you asked for this."
My hand shook as I scrawled my name.
When I looked up, she was watching me with something almost like sympathy. Almost. "Don't say I didn't warn you," she murmured.
She continued" You officially resume tomorrow. Be here before 7am. He's very particular about being early"
As she walked me back out to the waiting area, my mind buzzed. The job of secretary to Damian Stonewell. My head screamed it was madness. That I was volunteering to be fed to the wolves.
"What other choice do I have?" I thought sadly.
I caught sight of the framed photographs on the wall again—Stonewell standing tall in tailored suits, shaking hands with politicians and celebrities, his expression as unreadable as a statue. A man carved out of steel.
If he thought I was going to be another one of his disposable toys, he had another thing coming.
I hugged my bag to my chest. I'll last. I have to.
Back in the Lobby
When I stepped back into the lobby, the receptionist looked up from her computer. "Well?" she asked, her voice laced with fake sweetness.
"I got the job," I said, surprising myself with how firm it sounded.
Her eyes flicked with something—surprise, maybe, or pity. Then her painted smile returned. "Congratulations."
It didn't sound like congratulations. It sounded like mockery.
By the time I was done with all the interviews, procedures and formalities , I was really exhausted and hungry. I walked to a small restaurant not very far from the enterprises.
I went in and took a seat in the partly crowded diner directly opposite a rather strikingly handsome man.
We exchanged pleasantries and I picked up the menu and made my order. I remembered my tight budget and placed a little order of a cheese burger with some fries. I was so hungry, I finished my meal in a matter of minutes. The man whom I sat with appeared to be done at the same time as well. We invited the waiter and I dipped my hand in my bag to pay for my meal. I couldn't find any money. That was impossible. I thought I had more money on me. I began to search my bag desperately for some change.
I then realized that I didn't have enough money with me. I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me completely. "Ava, how did you fucking forget to take enough money with you?!" I screamed in my head.
It seemed like the man sitting with me noticed because, the next thing I heard was -
"It's okay, I can take care of it". I looked on in astonishment as the stranger who I sat with paid for both of our meals.
I was overcome with shame and embarrassment. " Thank you so much for helping me out", I thanked him profusely.
"No problem", he said as we walked out of the restaurant together. "How are you going to get home, though? "
"Um, I'll find a way. It's not much of a problem." I said.
Before I knew what was happening, he hailed a cab.
" Take her wherever she wants" and paid him way more than enough.
Then he was gone before I could even thank him. "Wow, handsome and caring. His wife must be really lucky" I thought.
I got into the cab and told the driver where I was going. Then I leaned back in the seat and watched the city through the window. This place held a lot of memories for me.
We sped past the cinema and I remembered how my parents loved taking my brother and I there when we were kids. Well, my parents were both gone now and after so many years, I still remembered their death with pain every day. Every single day.
To be continued...