A/N
Hiya!! Here is chapter 2. Its unedited, so please excuse the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes if any.
Picture of Cole Knightly (Alex Pettyfer) on the side.
NOTE: All the lines given in italics are Mr. Talon's words.
Enjoy! :)
*****
Suzzanah's POV
Claustrophobia- the fear of closed spaces.
Its rather common so people have stopped taking it seriously when they should! I would have died of suffocation if the doors to that metal container they call an elevator, hadn't slid open exactly when they did.
The doors hadn't even opened completely and I found myself squeezing out of the gap in between them. The receptionist looked freaked out but thankfully didn't say anything as I gulped down air hungrily.
After a few seconds of acting like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up all the air around me, I composed myself and slowly turned to the receptionist while wondering what to say to redeem my uncustomary behavior.
"Um, uh...first day of work jitters you know haha", I laughed nervously.
The receptionist, whose name tag read Cindy Barton, gave me a tight lipped smile, or at least I hope it was a smile. "This way please", she said in a steely manner and started walking into the corridor on the left.
I brought my nervous laughter to an abrupt end and followed suit. 10 minutes into my first day and already a person disliked me. Not the best way to start out, I thought sighing inwardly.
If I thought this place was beautiful on the outside, I don't even have words to describe the inside. Everything about this place screamed wealth.
Large, spacious rooms with white shiny marbled floors so clean that I could see my reflection in them. The doors were all made of glass, with intricate and beautiful designs on them. Lovely showpieces of various colours, sizes and types hung on the walls. I never really had eye for interior decoration but man this place's interiors were THE BOMB!
I was so awed that I had to remind myself to close my mouth before we entered a nice looking room with a large desk and shelves containing files and other paperwork stacked up messily.
On a rotating chair behind the desk, sat a young-ish man in a grey suit, his brown hair combed back in a prim and proper fashion, and eyes hidden behind thin rimmed spectacles.
"Mr. Talon, I brought Miss Winters here to meet you as you requested", Cindy said and he looked up from the files he was reading.
"Ah yes, thank you Cindy. Please come in Miss Winters, have a seat", he replied in a quirky nasal voice.
I smiled at him and turned to thank Cindy but she had already left. I took a seat opposite him and while I searched my handbag for my appointment letter I thought I heard him sniffing.
I looked at him to see him looking at me with narrowed eyes but he said nothing and took the appointment letter that I handed to him. He quickly read through it and continued to explain to me all my job duties and responsibilities.
He was by far the most melodramatic man I had ever met. He explained everything with many superfluous gestures. Although his voice was squeaky, nasal and high pitched, his voice modulation was rather exceptional. He was quite the narrator.
But it seemed like to him, everything was the end of the world.
After a long speech, a lot of overt explaining and an unending list of do's and dont's, he led me to meet my immediate boss, the business head of the ROYALE Industries, Mr. John Penson.
After knocking, we entered another large well furnished room. The man who sat inside had an air of authority about him. He looked to be in his early 40s with thick black hair and he wore a crisp black suit over a light blue shirt and navy tie.
He looked up at me and immediately sniffed the air. My eyebrows furrowed slightly at that. Even if I had imagined Mr. Talon do so, I definitely did not imagine Mr. Penson do so too just now.
Mr. Penson gave me a brief yet somewhat warm smile and almost immediately I took a liking to him. Mr. Talon motioned with his hand for me to go inside and bowed slightly in front of Mr. Penson before leaving.
"Good morning Sir", I greeted him imitating the bow I had seen Mr. Talon doing as I remembered his words from earlier.
"Always greet your superiors with a bow"
"Good morning Miss Winters. Please have a seat", he said in a pleasant tone, " I hope Mr. Talon has explained to you all of the duties that are expected of you"
"Yes sir"
"Good. You will start immediately then. For our current project I would like you to read through these documents and familiarize yourself with the names and numbers of the people we will be dealing with", he told me handing me a thick file.
"For now you may go to your cabin. In about an hour I need you to return to my office as I will be dictating a notice to you that I want sent to the General manager of the company we are dealing with. That is all for now", he finished.
I nodded and thanked him while collecting the file and got up. I bowed again, as I was told to do earlier, and turned to go find my cabin.
"It is right at the end of the corridor consisting of Mr. Penson's office with a name plate reading PA to Mr. Penson"
I remembered Mr.Talon's words as I made my way to my cabin. I found it easily enough, with the name plate dangling on the door.
After quickly arranging my desk to my liking, I sat at my comfortable little desk and sighed. This sure was turning out to be an interesting day.
Before getting to work I briefly sniffed myself. I smelt fine, my hair still smelt of my vanilla scented shampoo and although I didn't have enough money to buy expensive perfumes I made sure I wore a nice deodorant that stayed all day long. So it couldn't have been me they were sniffing at, right? And even if it was me, at least it couldn't be that bad.
I skimmed through all the details of the project and names, positions and responsibilities of important persons, writing them down on notes.
"Remember, always make notes while doing self study and take notes while in meetings or other gatherings!"
"Yes Mr. Talon", I responded to his statement as it rang in my head.
An hour later I made my way to Mr. Penson's office. I knocked-
"Always, always knock! And do not enter the room unless you hear them say you can!"
-and waited for Mr. Penson to reply. When he didn't reply I looked up and through the thick glass door I could faintly make out that he was engaged in conversation with another man.
I wondered whether I should wait for their conversation to end before knocking again but I heard the sound of a faint "come in" and I hesitantly opened the door and entered.
Inside along with Mr. Penson stood an extremely handsome young man with blonde hair and sparkling green eyes. He wore a crisp full sleeved dark violet dress shirt with black dress pants and really expensive looking shiny shoes. He was simply gorgeous.
The minute he saw me he did what had been annoying me since morning, he sniffed the air. Him too?! What, was there a cold epidemic going on in this office?
I bowed to him and Mr. Penson.
"This is Miss Winters, my new PA. She only just joined work today", Mr. Penson told the mystery man who was still busily assesing me from head to toe. Even though he looked no older than 25 years, the air around him screamed authority, even more so than Mr. Penson. It was intimidating.
"Miss Winters, this is Master Cole Knightly-" he continued.
Master? I questioned inwardly.
"-Vice president of the ROYALE Industries, second in command only to the CEO."
My eyes went wide as I struggled to think of something to say.
"G-good morning Sir, its a pleasure to meet you", I said quickly bowing again, this was becoming a pain.
He nodded, "Good morning", he replied, as he stared at me thoughtfully.
"Never look your superiors in the eye for too long!"
I gulped uncomfortably and looked away. I wonder why this company treated its higher ups like royalty.
"What is your full name?" Master Cole asked me suddenly.
"Uh, its Suzzanah Winters, sir"
"Suzzanah...Winters...", he repeated to himself softly before turning briskly back to Mr. Penson.
"He will be arriving shortly. I want all the staff members to stand clear of his way, he is in a really foul mood. He mostly will not be leaving his office as usual but if he does decide to come down here, I'll ring you and you know what to do John", Master Cole told Mr. Penson.
Mr. Penson nodded in understanding while I stood there looking from one man to the other wondering what they were talking about and whether I needed to know about it.
As though he read my mind, Master Cole turned to me and said, "You were told all the rules and regulations that are to be followed here, yes?"
"Y-yes sir"
"Make sure you don't forget them no matter what and always follow them, for your own good."
I gulped again and nodded. Why did I feel like that was more of a warning than an instruction.
"And concerning the CEO, remember, unless he personally-
-asks for you or requests your services, do not go anywhere near him or his quarters. Do not make eye contact with him, do not speak unless spoken to or asked to speak and as far as possible, at all times, try and stay clear of him-
-understand?" Master cole asked finally and I responded the same way as I had to Mr. Talon. With a grimace-like tight lipped smile and a stiff nod followed by another,"yes sir"
Why was everyone here so terrified of the CEO? It was as if he was a mafia leader or terrorist. Whatever the case, I would do as I was told and keep my distance.
Once satisfied that I had absorbed all that he had told me, Master Cole turned and smiled at Mr. Penson, who smiled back, and turned to leave but the minute he reached the door Mr. Talon opened it and nearly fell into the room panting heavily.
"He's-he oh! Dear dear, Hah", he panted,"Oh Sire!"
"Talon, whatever you want to say, say it clearly", Master Cole said.
"Im hah s-so sorry sir, but he- the, the Alpha-"
Alpha?
The minute that word left Mr. Talon's mouth Master Cole's expression turned stern and he glared at him warningly.
"-uh I mean he, the CEO, he's here! He's coming this way looking for you!!!"
"He's early", Master Cole whispered tensely almost as if to himself. He immediately looked at Mr. Penson who nodded at him reassuringly and in the blink of an eye, Master Cole was gone, already racing down the corridor.
My jaw was still on the floor when Mr. Penson's voice caught my attention, "Talon, go and tell everyone or this floor to set aside whatever they are doing and gather in the main hallway immediately"
Mr. Talon, who was still panting heavily, nodded and ran out the door, still managing to bow as he left. I felt sorry for him. I'll remember to offer him a cool glass of water later.
"Miss Winters!"
"Yes Sir", I all but screeched, having been startled by his voice.
"I know this is all probably new to you but do as I tell you. Follow me and when we get to the hallway try and blend into the crowd. Keep your head down at all times and don't speak to anyone till he leaves. Come."
He rushed out followed by a tremendously confused me.
Once we reached the already crowded hallway, I did as I was told and made myself scarce, hiding behind two extremely tall and buff looking men.
Everyone gathered there were talking in hushed whispers. Most of them seemed both awed and frightened at the same time. From the corner of my eye, I saw Master Cole and Mr. Penson making their way through the center of the parted crowd to stand flanking the elevator, one on each side.
Everyone here was so excited and scared, if I didn't know better I would have thought we were awaiting the President of the country.
Before I could dwell on that thought, in a split second the entire crowd quieted down and a tsunami of silence washed over the hallway. It was so quiet that I thought that even my heartbeat sounded like a drumbeat.
How could it get this quiet? Were the people in this hallway even breathing?!
At the far end of the corridor I heard the familiar ding of the elevator reaching the floor and I heard strong heavy footsteps enter the hallway.
An icy cold filled the hallway and a chill ran down my spine. For some incomprehensible reason my heartbeat became erratic and my body started tingling as though in anticipation for something big to happen.
Every head was bowed deeply in respect. Everyone was acting like this CEO was some kind of king!
That thought sent another chill down my spine. The silence was deafening. It was like everything was happening in slow motion. The only sound that could be heard was that of three pairs of strong feet hitting the ground, one of them standing out in particular. And it felt like my heart was beating in sync with those particular footsteps.
Suddenly they slowed and then picked up pace again, remained at one place then started moving again. Was the CEO dancing or something?
Something in the back of my mind was pushing me to look up. It was like my entire body was willing me to look at the source of those footsteps that were causing strange feelings to stir inside of me.
And as always my feelings won, and against everything I had been told by Mr. Talon, Mr. Penson, Master Cole as well as my better judgement I found myself raising my head and body above the bowed crowd to see the owner of those strong, commanding footsteps.
My eyes were met with a broad back, clad in a rich black tailored suit that fit the owner to perfection. He was tall and well built. His dark wavy hair swayed with his every movement. He had his back turned to me but I found myself desperately wanting him to turn around. It was like something in my heart was calling out to him, willing him to turn around.
And as if he heard my thoughts his back stiffened and my heartrate went into a frenzy as Mr. Talon's words echoed within my head.
"As you might have heard, the CEO of this company is only 24 years old and he is the sole owner of the ROYALE Industries. He became the CEO at a young age of 22 years and in only two years, he has taken the company to even greater heights"
I saw the CEO raise his head and sniff the air around him.
"He is a very powerful man. Even the greatest of business heads are afraid of him and would consider themselves extremely lucky to ever be granted a deal with his company"
He jerked his head to the side and I thought I saw his jaw clench.
"No matter what happens make sure that you don't get on his bad side. One wrong move and he can destroy your life with the snap of his fingers"
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
"His office is on the 19th floor and only a select few people are allowed on that floor. The 20th floor penthouse also belongs to him, it is his private suite. Entry is strictly restricted to everyone but him. The only other person who has been up there is the Vice President"
The minute he started turning around I felt myself snap out of my daze.
"He hardly ever visits the other floors or comes on rounds but regardless he knows everything that goes on in this place. And very rarely when he does come to one of the other floors, it is nothing short of a spectacle"
I saw Mr. Penson and Master Cole, who were on either side of the CEO, desperately motioning for me to bow my head.
"No one really knows what he is really like but they say that he is very particular about things and doesn't easily forgive mistakes or errors"
I knew it was too late to correct my mistake as I saw him turn around fully so I had a view of his breathtakingly handsome face.
"We are forbidden from ever making eye contact with him, but I have heard that his eyes are cold and emotionless"
His eyes shot open and mezmerising chocolate brown eyes filled with shock, disbelief, and awe met my own.
"Nothing can ever catch him by surprise. Infact no one has ever seen him show any feelings at all"
His eyes filled with a strange emotion that looked so much like hope. His mouth was slightly ajar depicting surprise. He was breathing heavily.
"He never wavers"
I could see his hands trembling.
"He fears nothing"
His gaze remained fixed to mine, refusing to blink, almost as though he was afraid that if he did, I would disappear.
"He feels nothing"
In one dreadful second I saw his face scrunch up with so much pain, I thought my heart would break just looking at him. I had a sudden urge to run to him, embrace him and tell him that everything was going to be okay.
And just then he opened his mouth and said something that I would never forget in my entire life.
"He loves....nothing."
"Mate!..."
*****
A/N
Hi again! Chapter 2 is up! What do you think? Our male and female leads have met at last :D
Thank you to all who are giving this story a chance. It means the world to me! Please do continue to read it, and I will do my best not to disappoint you :)
Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas Eve and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Thank you for reading!
All my love
Angel