New job...?

"What did you just say?" the CEO asked with a freezing cold voice.

My mind went blank, when I realized he heard what I said.

"Are you deaf? I asked you a question," he glared at me.

My system began an emergency reboot. In the meantime, I gaped at him in absolute panic.

"Were you trying to use that cheap line… to seduce me?" he sneered, looking me up and down.

"No!" I shouted, "I mean… you are handsome and all… No! I mean… Mr. CEO is a handsome man, but I would never try… not like that… I mean, no! I mean, Mr. CEO is totally worth seducing! But… I'm not the kind of a person to do that…" I mumbled frantically, praying for someone to shoot me.

He gave me a pitying stare, the one you might give to a total idiot. My subconscious slapped its forehead… hard. As a scriptwriter, I desperately tried to find some reasonable excuse for my previous actions.

"This scene… I mean this office, and Mr. CEO reminded me of… of a script I write! And… and… the line, "I dreamt about you," could be something that the heroine would say!" I laughed nervously.

The CEO gazed at me more intensively. He was probably thinking about where my brain had gone. At the same time, my subconscious started hitting the desk with its head… repeatedly.

"In this script… there is an all-powerful CEO… and… and he is handsome… and the heroine is… an orphan…" I kept talking nonsense, praying that he would stop me.

He sighed in disbelieve. My subconscious opened the window, waved me goodbye, and jumped out of the building. I stopped talking and smiled in hysterical despair.

"Are you an idiot, Ms. Eder?" he asked, more rhetorically.

"I… I apologize… I got so nervous that I started to speak gibberish," I lowered my head, after partially regaining my composure.

"Does it happen… often?" He changed his tone to a more sarcastic one.

I gritted my teeth. I came to the meeting to politely reject the job offer, but now it became clear to me that working for him might be crucial to my survival. Unfortunately, now I had to do everything I can to prove my sanity so that he would keep this job offer for me…

"No, actually this has never occurred to me before," I stated firmly.

He smirked.

"Have a seat, Ms. Eder," he commended, pointing at a chair right opposite his desk.

I obeyed. As soon as I did, I was able to read his nameplate on the desk, saying "Samil Borda-Chief Executive Officer"… Even the name was exactly as it was in my dream. There was no denying it; he must have been the one I saved from drowning… Maybe I should use it to my advantage? But how would I ever explain the fact that I knew it was him…? I quickly guessed that it would only make me look more like a lunatic in his eyes.

"Ms. Eder, do you know why I offered you a job?" he inquired.

"No… Actually, I found it surprising…" I said, hesitantly.

"I chose you because you are honest. Furthermore, you have no authority here, and you have no power. That means, you stand no threat and it's highly unlikely for you to be hired by my half-brother, or my uncle," he explained nonchalantly.

"That… Forgive me, but I still see no reason for hiring a scriptwriter as an office worker…" I admitted, confused.

"You know how this TV station works with all the dirty mechanism within… I can use your knowledge. Treat it as a temporary job. After I achieve my goal here, I can even put you in charge of a creative department," he smirked.

"What if… I don't want to work as a secretary…?" I asked, cautiously.

"Of course, you have the right to refuse…" he replied, coldly, "But I don't like to change my plans. Be aware that you won't get a creative job elsewhere… Or, I should rather say… no one will hire you," he snickered.

I gulped, and stared at him silently. I became aware why even the general manager didn't want to get on his bad side…

"To make things clearer…" he continued, "I took precautions to make sure that working here would be the only offer you would receive in this country."

I thought that it didn't make any sense… Why did he bother so much just to make me work as his secretary?! Moreover, his cold and arrogant tone was already making me terrified and furious at the same time. He was nothing like the man I saw in my dream! The person in front of me resembled a true demon…

"Now… "I don't want to waste any more time," he said as he took out a contract and handed it to me, advising me to "read it and sign it."

I started abruptly going through the pages. There were about 20 of them. The first 3 pages were about the general statements and definitions, whereas my job description was closed with one simple paragraph stating, "Executing assignments given by the CEO"…

"About my job description… isn't that a little too undefined…?" I laughed anxiously.

"Don't worry, I won't force you to do anything illegal…" He smirked and added, "Hurry up and sign it."

His demanding tone was completely overpowering. I was more and more frightened about the idea of working for him. In the next couple of pages, there was a confidentiality clause describing what horrifying penalties would be applied to me if I were to betray the CEO's trust, or if I were to leak out any of the station's intel. The last part was about the salary and bonuses…

"Half a million dollars a year?!" I screamed and quickly covered my mouth, "Isn't… a little too much?!" I laughed hysterically.

"Take it as payment for your complete loyalty and discretion," he said casually, "and now, sign it! I don't have time to deal with that matter anymore," he ordered strongly.

I gulped and took my pen out from my purse. My hands were trembling. I wasn't certain how I managed to write my name on the document. When I finished, I was absolutely distressed. As soon as he saw me putting down my pen, he forcefully took the contract from my hands.

"Perfect," he declared, "As your first assignment… Give those documents to the secretaries sitting outside of my office," he snickered.

"W-what is it?" I took the papers with trembling hands.

"Termination of employment," he stated.

"What?! You tell me to fire them?!" I called out, stunned.

"Technically, I'm the one who is firing them. You only have to be my messenger. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you read your job description once more," he declared harshly.

Judging by the tone of his voice, it was wiser not to argue with him anymore and just take the documents, hoping that no one would try to kill the messenger…

When I was walking out of his office, my knees were weak and my whole body was shaking. I had never been in a more uncomfortable situation. If I had more time, I could write a scene where the unwavering female lead delivered the notice to the soon-to-be-former secretaries in the most professional matter possible… Unfortunately, with my current state of mind, I was barely ready to play the role of a dumb heroine. I opened the door and met the gaze of both of the secretaries.

"Um… Hahaha…" I laughed hysterically, having absolutely no idea how to play it out.

I stood between their desks, took one document prepared for them in each hand, then swiftly put both notices on the first and the second desk.

"T-t-these are… f-for you… from t-the boss," I stuttered nervously.

Both of them grabbed the papers, glaring at me viciously. I seriously dreamt of becoming invisible.

"This is ridiculous!" one of them yelled, and stood up from her desk. "How could a dull wench like you seduce that arrogant guy in 15 minutes?!"

I gulped, and stepped back towards the CEO's office, instinctively trying to find a place to hide.

The second one is called while walking closer to me, "Yeah! Tell us what the hell did you do?!"

"Hey! I didn't do anything!" I protested hoping that they would become reasonable, "I'm only passing Mr. Borda's decision!"

Both of them moved closer to me with a murderous intent in their eyes. I flinched and stepped back again. Suddenly, one of them swung to slap me. I moved my hand to block it and shut my eyes, but strangely I didn't feel the hit…

When I opened my eyes, I saw the CEO holding that woman's arm forcefully. He must have come behind me to protect me from her. I gasped. My heart started to beat fast and feverish.

"Clean up your desks and get out now. I suggest you do it fast before I make up my mind and I will change the termination of your contracts to a disciplinary dismissal," he hissed, squeezing the words out through his clenched teeth.

He released the grip on that woman's hand, and she hurriedly stepped away from him. Both secretaries became terrified by the tone of his voice and his icy-cold expression. They didn't say a word, only ran to their desks and began franticly gathering their things, dropping most of them in fear. I turned around towards my new boss.

"T…thank you… for helping me…" I mumbled, bowing my head.

"Don't mention it," he stated indifferently and kept observing how his, as for now, previous workers were leaving the office in a panic.

They closed the door behind them without saying a word. I figured there must have been something much more behind their frightened behavior. As soon as they both saw the CEO who walked out of the office, they backed away, as if they were terrified of losing their lives along with their jobs.

"Good work on completing your first assignment, Ms. Eder," he smirked wickedly, while casually leaning against the door with his arms folded.

"Thank you... I guess," I murmured.

All of the sudden, I saw the glowing mark on the palm of his hand, just as I saw it on the day he came to the station for the first time. It was circular, it resembled a seal, and it had words written in some unfamiliar language. They were spinning in a spiral, making the mark hard to take your eyes off.

"What are you looking at?" he asked, glaring at me.

"Nothing!" I flinched and immediately started looking straight into his eyes.

"That's all I wanted from you today. See you tomorrow at eight sharp," he stated coldly, walking back to his office, and then he shut the door.

I began breathing deeply, like my body wanted to make up for the situation that almost made me suffocate. That was how I survived my first day at my new job…