Queen | On Going

Chapter 1

"The heart of a woman will never be found in the arms of a man."

-Vanessa Carlton

~~~

Glancing at the candidate in front of me, I smirked. This candidate was the perfect epitome of an introvert, one who grew up playing video games and reading comics. I liked people who were introverts and studious, but not anyone could become a writer, just because they decided to.

You had to have that special element in you, which could bring all the readers scrawling to you and give them a glimpse into another dimension and world of your own.

The only thing important was being able to express your feelings and emotions as you wrote. And yes, also one more thing – CONFIDENCE.

These days, everyone wished to become a writer. The candidate had all the qualities I was looking for as I glanced at his resume, if we left Confidence out of the list.

He could easily succeed in this industry, but first we had to build up his confidence and help him stand out in the crowd with his unique personality. First, I had to check how much capable he was.

"So, tell me how confidently can you host a book launching party?" I asked him staring at him curiously.

"Huh?" He looked startled at my question and started fidgeting with his hand cuffs.

"I'll repeat myself? Yeah. So, how good are you at speaking in a public event?" I nodded at him slowly.

He nodded at me in response and spoke in a hushed tone, "I can...try my....best."

I sighed at his response, but at least it was better than what I had expected. All, we had to do was help him and no sooner he would be shining like a bright diamond among my other workers. I could work with him; his resume was better than the ones who had come in since this morning.

His face scrunched up in confusion at my sigh and he started sweating. Glancing at him, I rang the bell for my assistant- Judy to come in.

A second later, Judy knocked on the door and walked in, "Yes?" She asked smiling down at me.

"Judy, this is Spencer." I motioned over Spencer, "He is the new intern, please show him how the things around office work." I said with a straight face and looked at Spencer.

Spencer's eyes lit up at my answer and he started rambling, "Thank you so much. Thank you so much." He shook my hand as he bowed, "You don't understand how happy I'm. It was my dream to work under you. Thank you so much."

I nodded at him in gratitude and said, "Yeah, I'm glad to have you on my team. Judy will help you out if you need anything."

Judy smiled at him and motioned him towards the door, "Let's go, shall we?"

They started walking towards the door and just as they were about to close the door, Spencer turned and said, "Thank you so much."

He left through the door and I called out Judy. She looked at me and asked, "Yes?"

"You know what you have to do, right?" I asked her with a knowing smirk and she replied, "You trust me, right?" I nodded at her.

"Then, just leave it all to me." She replied as she left.

~~~

Throwing the bundle of papers on the table, I screech, "What kind of bullshit is this?"

Amanda, a worker looks frightened as she stands in my office. She spoke in a small voice, "I'm sorry... If you don't like it? I can..." she mumbles as she tucks her hair behind her ear.

"I don't like it? Ha ha.... Good fucking joke, I haven't heard throughout the day." I laugh sarcastically as I look at her, "I fucking hate it. I asked you to write a report on the last book we printed and this is what you write? This is absolute shit." I point towards the report and glare at her before speaking, "You need to improve your writing skills or you are out of here. Do you understand me?" I ask her daring her to deny my question.

She nods her head quickly and grabs the file off the table. She apologizes once again on her way out and I sigh and sit down on my chair.

I massage my forehead as I hear the door open and close. Judy sits in front of me and sighs, "Will you relax somewhat?" she asks me calmly.

"Why should I relax?" I ask her and she just shakes her head at me, "There are numerous publishing houses out there and I want my publishing house at the top of the charts. If I have to act like a bitch to get the work done, so be it."

Judy grabs my hand and squeezes it in an attempt to calm me down. Judy knows me too well. She knows it's not easy to run Malik Publications.

But, yet she won't give up when it comes to convincing me to tone my anger down a bit, "You know what? It's meaningless telling you what to do, when it comes to work. I'm just gonna head home now, you sure you don't wanna join me and Brad for dinner?" she says as she gets up and takes her purse with her, making her way out of the office.

I shake my head at her and sigh, "I can't."

She laughs knowingly, "You can. You just don't choose to. Take care of yourself, will ya?"

I smile at her, "I will."

Judy greets me bye and I get back to my paperwork. I know I don't need to be doing this, but I can't help it. It's just the way I am. I continued working on the papers, until two am and was finally done with them. I was satisfied with the final set, as I knew these would give the publishing house a lot of recognition.

I switched off the lights of my office, and I greeted the security bye as I left the office building. I get in my car, and as I start the engine, I say to myself – Natalia Rhiannon Malik is going to take the market by storm.

~~~