Upon returning home, Eve immediately prepared herself for work at Vinestra Group. It was a large company in the heart of New York City where Eve had just been hired after a long process of interviews and competitive tests. Understandably, the reputable company attracted many fresh graduates, leading to tough competition.
Luckily, Eve managed to pass and received a job offer starting the next day, Monday, at the beginning of July. The only child of young parents, Mr. James Ravenwood and Mrs. Kate Ravenwood, successfully impressed the HRD department head, convincing him that she was ready to meet deadlines and work well within a team.
She had prepared everything she needed, from her work attire, which she ironed neatly after picking it up from the laundry, to her work bag. It was filled with necessary stationery that she might need, and of course, she didn't forget to bring her wallet and makeup box. Yes, being a girl could be quite complicated.
"I'm leaving, Mom!" She called out from behind, kissing her mother's cheek as she stood by the sink, washing the family's breakfast dishes.
"Did you bring your packed lunch, Eve?" Mr. James asked, still sitting at the table, sipping his coffee.
"It's in my bag, Dad!" Eve replied, approaching her father and giving him a kiss on the cheek as well. She then hurriedly ran out of the house towards her metallic blue automatic car, which had been her vehicle since her college days.
The clock showed 06:30, but Eve was in a rush to get to the office. At least on her first day, she couldn't afford to be late. It was better to be seen as a diligent employee from the beginning rather than being labeled as someone who was always late.
She drove at a moderate speed, and the morning traffic in New York City was surprisingly smooth. Mondays could be prone to heavy traffic, so Eve had taken precautions by leaving much earlier. However, there was only a slight congestion that quickly dissipated, allowing Eve to reach the office without significant obstacles. She continued humming her favorite song playing from the music player in her car's dashboard until she arrived at the grand and luxurious building where her office was located.
Following the other cars that entered the basement parking area, she searched for a partially empty parking spot. Many people hadn't arrived at that early hour. Finally, she entered through the main entrance of the building and headed to the elevator to go up to the 4th floor, where the staff office for marketing was located.
Yes, she was accepted in the managerial marketing department, directly under the supervision of a marketing manager who was said to be in need of an assistant. She hadn't met her yet, except for being informed that her name was Ms. Jenny.
"Miss Eve, the new assistant, right?" Ms. Jenny asked as she entered the room.
Eve immediately stood up from her chair and respectfully nodded, "Yes, I'm Eve, ma'am. Nice to meet you. I'm ready to assist you."
Ms. Jenny smiled slightly and placed a stack of files on Eve's desk.
"These are your tasks. Study and check everything related to the company's marketing strategies, as well as the daily, weekly, and monthly reports. All the summaries are in there. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask. Once you understand everything, I'll assign you to start preparing this month's summary." Ms. Jenny gave her instructions while flipping through the stack of files to ensure nothing was missing.
"Alright, ma'am. I will check and study them first." Eve replied, her eyes widening in surprise as she didn't expect to start working on her first day.
Wasn't she supposed to have an internship firstinstead? Doesn't an internship usually involve receiving training first? Ah, well. She could only hope to be able to perform any tasks assigned by her superior without making any mistakes, so her difficulties during the interview wouldn't end up being in vain.
Hour after hour passed, and Eve was immersed in the stack of files that proved to be quite complex. The company conducted various types of marketing, and she had to quickly familiarize herself with all of them. Although her role was only as a manager's assistant, she might be asked to handle the marketing team in the future or something similar, so she had to study diligently. Oh my!
During the lunch break, Eve felt the weight on her shoulders instantly lifted. She wanted to go out and have lunch in the cafeteria to recharge her energy and alleviate the stress of her first day at work. She quickly went down to the ground floor and walked towards the cafeteria. However, from a distance, she spotted a man who seemed familiar.
"Oh my goodness! Is that ...?" She unintentionally stared at the man dressed in a neat suit with wavy hair and a charming face as he walked past her. He was accompanied by two other men who were listening attentively to his instructions with serious expressions.
Perhaps due to the intensity of Eve's gaze, the man stopped and returned her gaze.
For a moment, silence filled the air as their eyes tried to recognize each other. Memories flashed back to a few nights ago when they accidentally met!
"Hey! You ...?" The man also seemed to remember Eve's face.
And in an instant, Eve, who felt like she was in danger, quickly walked away while saying, "No, no, I mistook you for someone else! I'm sorry!"
She half-ran away from there because she really didn't want to be recognized as the daring and crazy girl by someone who seemed to hold an important position at Vinestra. Oh my! Can the world be this small, dear God! She half-screamed to herself while continuing to walk towards the cafeteria.
Upon reaching the cafeteria, she only ordered an iced lemon tea and opened her packed lunch, quickly taking bites. She then contacted one of her close friends who also participated in the beach event a few days ago.
"Cindy, you surely remember the guy I confessed to at the beach, right? Oh my goodness! Who would have thought he's also from Vinestra! My boss himself! Dear God!" Eve exclaimed into her phone as she heard the ringing tone from the other side.
"It turns out to be true!" A baritone voice startled Eve, who was concentrating on recounting the story to her friend. She instinctively turned around, her eyes widening in horror as she saw the man from earlier standing right behind her, eavesdropping on her conversation!
"I knew it! You impudent girl from the beach! What are you doing here, huh? Don't tell me you've been hired as a new employee in my company!" The man continued his words, which now left Eve dumbfounded and shocked.
***
"Y-you're the owner of this company?" Eve stammered.Of course, she had suspected that the man held a high position. It was evident from his appearance and the number of employees who bowed their heads when they passed him in the corridor.But the owner of Vinestra? OMG! This was a disaster for Eve!"Did you really get hired in my company? Damn it!" The man cursed with an angry expression."Call the head of HRD and ask them to see me immediately after lunch!" The man commanded, turning his head to the left where a young man had been following him.Perhaps that was his assistant, Eve speculated. However, she didn't have time to investigate the truth of the matter because her mind was now consumed with anxiety. Why did the man call the head of HRD? Was he going to fire Eve? Oh my goodness! This was really bad!"Wait! Please forgive me for my mistake at the beach, Sir. But you shouldn't mix personal matters with company issues, should you? It's unfair to me—" Eve attempted to protest aga
Throughout the meeting, Gery appeared calm and composed. He made an effort to focus on the data being presented by one of the managers, while also referring to the files in front of him.The image of the sweet girl kept flashing in his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. He needed to concentrate on the meeting because if he couldn't understand everything in detail, he would stumble when questioned by his grandmother, and he couldn't afford that.Yes, his grandmother was the sole ruler of Vinestra. She was the CEO, but the ultimate decision-making power still rested with his grandmother. Mrs. Daphne Foster, despite her advanced age, could still think critically and refused to delegate all company matters to her grandson for several reasons. Particularly because of his somewhat unstable nature due to a traumatic past event that left anyone severely traumatized.That's why Mrs. Daphne continued to oversee Gery's leadership. Although Gery had shown improvement in terms of professionalism a
The personal room of Mrs. Daphne was specially designed for relaxation and made as comfortable as possible for an elderly aristocrat like her. She was no longer actively involved in managing the company. Her role was mainly to control her grandson, Gery Foster, to prevent him from relapsing into his unstable phase. The woman, always impeccably dressed in semi-formal attire, was sipping on a warm herbal tea that afternoon. Yes, she no longer drank cold beverages as it had proven to be harmful to her aging throat. Regardless of the season or the time of day, warm drinks were always her preference. "Madam, there is someone who wishes to meet you," reported a middle-aged woman who served as her personal assistant both at the office and at home. She had been devoted to Mrs. Daphne since the latter's younger days and marriage to the late Darren Foster, Gery's grandfather. They had been a couple who worked hand in hand to expand the family business, which eventually grew to its current si
The assistant had to call Gery to come to Mrs. Daphne's room after Eve had waited for a while with her heart beating, the door finally opened, and the cold CEO's footsteps went in the direction where Eve was sitting and looked down deeply."You?" Gery screamed to see the girl who had angered him so much in his grandmother's room."What is this girl here for, grandma?" Gery asked Mrs. Daphne. Mrs. Daphne casually swallowed her drink and made an expressionless face."Is that how you welcome guests, Gery? Although she is your subordinate, she is my guest in this room. You shouldn't behave like that in front of a guest." Mrs. Daphne rebuked her grandson. Eve was spontaneously a little shaken. Dave was right that Gery's grandmother didn't seem to favor him even though he was her grandson. Instantly, her confidence rose again, and she dared to raise her chin with a little challenge toward Gery.Meanwhile, Gery himself stared at Eve with a piercing gaze. He was furious and did not think Eve w
"Yeayy, Madame Daphne is cool. I just want to hug her!" said Eve, returning to her room.She crossed paths again with Dave, who was probably going to his boss's room. Immediately, Eve approached the young man whose face was quite handsome, even with his work glasses."Dave, thank you so much!" Immediately Eve grasped Dave's two hands and jumped up to make him dance for joy."Hey, you did it? Cool!" Dave joined in the cheering as Eve's happiness radiating from her face was so hypnotizing it rubbed off on him.Eve nodded vigorously and then cheered, "And it was all because of your help! It's a good thing you immediately mentioned that magic name, Dave."If Dave were a girl, Eve wouldn't have hesitated to hug or kiss him on both cheeks. Unfortunately, he is a man, so that is impossible."Haha, maybe it's your destiny to work here longer, Eve," Dave replied casually. It would be nice for him to see Eve hanging around in the same office. Maybe they could also get close or--oh, Dave immediat
For the rest of the day, Gery was grumpy. He nagged Dave as well as some of the managers who happened to see him that afternoon. Everyone wondered what was wrong with their boss. It was apparent that he was in a bad mood."What's wrong with Mr. Gery?" asked Ms. Jenni, the marketing manager who was Eve's boss.Dave just shrugged his shoulders. He was in a bad mood because the work atmosphere was no longer comfortable. It was unusual for Mr. Gery to be like that after the incident about two years ago when a very personal problem entangled the man.The woman then stepped into the CEO's room to meet Mr. Gery, who had called her on the parallel office line with a furious tone. She became a little afraid of whether she had made a mistake or what to be called so suddenly without any need beforehand.Inside, the tall man was sitting behind his desk, gazing down at the files."Um, sir... did you call me?" asked Ms. Jenny as she cleared her throat slightly to announce her presence, even though
Sofia handed over the documents from her investigation into Eve the following day. That is a thick file containing her data, educational history, the results of a psychological interview from the Vinestra company, and other data that Sofia's people had searched for and observed. Mrs. Daphne, who had just finished her morning tea, immediately received and examined the file sheet by sheet. Several times she seemed to chuckle or clear her throat a little, but her eyes remained focused as if she didn't want to miss anything. "Excellent! I knew Eve was a pretty special girl. Isn't that right, Sofia?" commented Mrs. Daphne after examining the file. "That's right, ma’am. There are hardly any blemishes in her record of achievements and grade results during her education. Also, her external and family demeanor is quite good and harmonious. As for her social life, she often associates with college friends who communicate often and go on trips or vacations together." Sofia mentioned the things
And that night, Gery didn't leave the house. He usually preferred to spend the night at his favorite cafe or studio to relieve stress after work by playing billiards and drinking with his friends or business colleagues. He had to give in and stay home to wait for dinner with his dear grandmother.He knew she had something important to talk about because it was unusual for her to ask him to dinner at home. Yes, Mrs. Daphne had been giving Gery free time in the evenings since she had been driving him all day in the company. That wise woman would know that a young man of Gery's age would also need time to himself to enjoy his life as a young man without the restraints and strict supervision of his grandmother."Am I interrupting your big plans for tonight, Gery?" asked Mrs. Daphne when they finally gathered in the large dining room with the large, luxurious oval table that would, unfortunately, be occupied by just the two of them eerily quiet.It was also the reason why the two of them v