RayaMr. Micheal Sterling was walking past the boardroom when we walked out a few minutes later and Mr. Maxwell Sterling scowled."Told you, didn't I? That being a CEO isn't for everyone. You just had to go and make a fool of yourself. Anyway, still not too late to back down."I winced as Mr. Micheal Sterling said all that, having a smug smile on his face and I nearly jumped when he turned a smile on me, "hey pretty, thanks for the other day"He came forward to kiss me on my hand and left, leaving me with the steaming stare that was Mr. Maxwell Sterling."Uhm..." I stuttered, unsure of what to say"Let's go" he said, walking past me, and we got into his car, which thankfully, again, he didn't drive at a high speed."Right, what's wrong with your car? I still haven't seen it."I turned to him after a few minutes of silence in the car, "oh, uhm... It broke down and needs a new battery, though it's just better to buy another one than to repair that."He nodded.What?Wasn't he angry abou
RayaFlashback Their laughs were rolling in as we drove in the open roof car that William had brought to show off at school that day.His friends had gone crazy over it, including his female friends, and they had all suggested we go for a ride together.As I was his girlfriend, I sat in the front with his friends whooping at the back, and they tried to give me some alcohol to drink."Hey come on, you don't have to be such a kill-joy."I drank the shot his friend had offered, and it was mostly because of Williams' hand on my thigh."That's my girl" he whooped and stepped on the pedal, increasing the speed, which made me nervous.It was late at night and cars were moving on both sides, shining their lights at us and I started fidgeting when he increased the speed even more, even though he was drunk."William, stop the car.""Oh my God, she's such a kill-joy.""William!""Ah, she's so loud.""William?!""Oh, f*ck! Will you just shut up?"We all screamed as he nearly collided with a truc
RayaThe design team were shocked the next morning to have their computers confiscated as well as other company equipment in their possession and I watched as Mr. Sterling addressed them.Who was agitated?Who looked the most suspicious?I couldn't really tell as they were all agitated to be honest, and I followed after Mr. Sterling once he was done addressing them."And the product sample for our new cosmetics line?" He asked me on the way to the elevator. "It's almost done. It's being tested to ensure that it has no side effects and can actually provide high nutrients to our customers""Hmm, good. Once it's done. We'll begin our cosmetics line."I have to say it was genius. Considering that Sterling Fashion had dealt mostly in clothing until now, it was definitely going to make more money with cosmetics and that was not the only thing we had in store for now.I paused, startled when he suddenly turned to face me, "and your son?""Uhn? My son?""Yup. How did he react?""To what?""
MaxwellI chewed on the omelet Raya had brought, its taste melting in my mouth as I devoured it and I had to say it was good.I was surprised she had made it.After my arrangement with her to shift her house-help duties to the weekends, I expected her to accept it, leaving all duties like cooking, to the weekend, but she had surprised me with this.I couldn't understand why I was smiling.I stopped smiling when she entered with some documents I had requested."The product sample is ready sir""Great. Shall we go?"I popped the rest of the omelet into my mouth, ignoring her look, as we walked out of my office, and we rode the elevator to the fourth floor where the product development team was."So the sample..." Mr. Sterling said, starting the meeting, and the manager stood up to present the project.Sterling lipstick. A cosmetic product that tends to the needs of women, especially their lips, and it comes in various shades. There were also lip glosses and the cases and videos which
Raya"As much as we're sorry for the scandal we've caused, we had no idea that our employee was involved in the habit of copying others' ideas. We plan to take full responsibility for this and hope to make a peaceful reconciliation with Sterling Fashion."Mr. Sterling scoffed, "are you sure you didn't know about it?"Mr. Walsh, the owner of Luxè and the person who had just made the statement we all watched on an iPad now, cleared his throat and sat up on his chair.He was seated opposite me and Mr. Sterling with his secretary and lawyer beside him, and he leaned forward with his arms folded."Of course, do you think we would have gone with the designs if we knew they were from a lesser organization? Come on, we're bigger than that.""Says the person that supervises the organization. Dare I say, you don't do your job well then. And for your information, the designs you claim are from a lesser organization, brought you the sales that you've acquired over the past few years. So, if we'll
Raya"Hi"I jumped as Isabella walked inside the room heading towards me, and it wasn't until she stretched out her hand to Mr. Sterling did I realize that she had in fact, not been heading towards me, but to Mr. Sterling.I breathed a sigh of relief almost immediately, feeling my heart rate decrease but it didn't do much to reduce my nervousness though, as she was this close to me."Nice to meet you" Mr. Sterling said, kissing her hand, and she smiled widely."Nice to meet you too. I was wondering who the new CEO was and, may I say, the photos don't do justice to your looks."I cocked my eyebrows, what? You're married, woman."Thank you. Also, thank you for working on this campaign with us.""It's a pleasure.""Then"They finally let go of each other's hands, her eyes meeting with mine and I thought she would say something or recognize me, but instead, she followed after the staff that came to meet us in order to lead her to the changing room and I wondered if she hadn't recognized m
MaxwellThe boy was very excited and small. Kyle.I've never really had to deal with anything or one that small, and he grabbed my hand once we got to the amusement park, startling me."Let's go to this place" he said as he dragged me to a section that attended to rides and I shook my head."Uhm... How about we go for that one?" I pointed to the water slides in the corner, but he was already queuing for the rides.F*ck! I hate rides more than anything in this world."Whoo!" The boy squealed once we were strapped to our chairs, his small body moving in the large chair and I closed my eyes at the start of the ride.Sh*t! Why did I involve myself in this?*Flashback*What is your name?" Kyle, the son of my secretary who had followed me up the stairs, asked as I walked into my room and I turned to face him.I thought of the question, "uncle... Max..."He pursed his lips, "uncle Max?""Hmm, hmm""So you're my mom's boss, right?" I nodded, "Correct.""Then you're the one who has been keep
MaxwellThings were quiet between us. The elevator rides, the talks in my office and now on another elevator ride.I wondered why she wasn't talking back or lashing out like she normally did. It was one thing I loved about her, even though it was annoying.It was like she had just lost every ounce of fight within her and I wondered if it was because of what I had said the other day.That must be why you're a single mother.I felt like kicking myself.Why did I have to say that?That was something that probably served a deep wound to her and I had said it so nonchalantly and coldly.I collected the files from her hand and sat down on my seat.She was quiet and waiting for my next instructions."Coffee, make me some coffee"She nodded and went out to get it while I looked through the files she had given me.Possible ideas for the re-branding.Nice, but I needed something more subtle and elegant. Even better if we could do it in time for the cosmetic release.I pursed my lips and pondere