Just Maybe...

CHAPTER 21 - IVANA WILSON: "I Hate Him"

Why?

That was the first thing that sprang to me after I finally had time to sit down. Sarah was like a machine, or perhaps she was just in a rush to make sure she didn't miss her flight. She assisted me in going through everything and let me take my time with it, explained to me all the things that I need to take care of regarding our BOSS, and all the responsibilities I had with all the projects and their finalization. The CEO had the ultimate say. But before things could reach him, I will have to go through everything. Sometimes, I will even have to make certain small inputs on different projects when he is not available.

Even with all of those, responsibilities were not what I was worried about, or the work pressure I could handle it. The fact that my boss was someone I knew concerned me the most, despite all I had done to hide my true identity so that no one knew I was a silent partner in my brother and my company. Introducing myself with my mother's maiden name to make sure no one could guess the link when I worked in the industry to build my skills and make connections with the right people.

All of this was rushing through my mind as I sat in my office chair. I was so concerned about how everything would turn out that I didn't even allow myself time to contemplate my lovely workplace. I was just thinking about how I'm going to work in the company that is our main competitor, especially now that my employer knows my real name.

I was in the midst of these thoughts when I asked myself the biggest question that had been lurking in the back of my mind that I had attempted to bury in the deepest recesses of my mind but couldn't anymore. Darren Grace was my boss. How could I have missed that, and how was he, my boss? Wanting to know more about him, I took my phone out and searched his name on google. He had a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to him.

Darren Grace, a well-known businessman in his late twenties. A multi-millionaire who founded his own company ( Bourn & Gale Enterprises ) from the bottom up. He is very professional and has never failed a venture.

I immediately turned off my phone. Why hadn't I looked into this before? I'm not sure what I'm going to do now. What if he discovers my true identity? What will he do? Will he get mad or maybe fire me from my job?

Throwing my head back in anger and frustration, I was quickly captivated by the little crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling of my office. Even though it was not to my taste, I couldn't help but admire its beauty. I began to glance around. The workspace was designed to be minimalistic and modern, yet it also felt cozy. The desk was made of light wood with a slightly warm tone. I was seated in a white chair. There were two additional white chairs in front of the desk. Behind my desk on both sides, there were shelves with the same wood where I could put my things and décor. It was mostly empty right now, except for a few magazines in a white basket because Sarah had already moved her things out. In the front, a white sofa with a wooden glass coffee table was also set. The door was made of quality see-through glass.

I was busy taking in the intricacies of the room when my office landline rang. I picked it up and froze as I realized who had phoned. It was Darren who called me to his office. He said he had something important to talk about and hung up. I just sat there with a million ideas racing through my mind. Did he already figure it out? Am I going to get fired? Trying to get a hold of myself, I reasoned that maybe it is something related to work. I am his assistant and, I need to get used to him calling me like that because this was not the last time it was happening or, maybe it was, a small voice in my mind spoke. I quickly turned it off, stood up, and went to his office, which was right next to mine.

As soon as I entered, I was welcomed by his very arrogant

" What took you so long? There is a reason why your office is next to mine."

Did I mention that I hate him?

" Sorry, sir.", was all that came out of my mouth. I was already concerned about what was going on, and I didn't want to provoke him further. He gestured for me to sit down or, so I thought,

" The files", he spoke up.

I stood up and grabbed this big bundle of files, and before I could even ask what this was for, he spoke again, but this time, I had an urge to smash his face.

" We have a meeting tomorrow on the finalization of this project before we show it to the investors. I want you to read and get familiar with all of this and prepare a presentation by tomorrow at 10 am. "

Did he just say 10 am because it's already 6 pm? My arms started to feel heavy. Was he nuts? Does he think I am a robot? How was that even possible? I was literally holding five huge files in my hand. I was so overwhelmed by everything that I didn't know how to reply. I was just looking at his face blankly when his voice pulled me back to reality. "What? Did you not understand something?" With his very harsh tone, which made me mad, responding to him, I said, " Yes, I did. But-"

He didn't even let me finish and just blankly said,

"Then what are you waiting for, go. " and got back to his work on hand.

I had gotten back to my office and placed the files on my desk with a thud. How did Sarah tolerate him? I thought to myself. This was going to be a long night. Great, I'm working overtime on my first day at work. With that, I let out a sigh and started focusing on the files.

When I finally stretched out my leg, it was nearly 9. I booked an uber because it was late, and there was no way I was going to get a cab. I went downstairs, grabbed all the files, and jumped into the uber when it arrived after a while. When I got home, I immediately set everything aside and hopped on my bed. My phone rang just as I was beginning to feel at ease after a hard day. I grabbed it to see who it was. Seeing the caller's name, my whole mood changed. I immediately picked up seeing how I had tons to talk to her about, but when the voice came, we spoke together,

" You won't believe what happened today."