Chapter One - The arrogant CEO

                                           Aubrey 

I was making my way to the conference room for a meeting. The advertisement company that I worked for was getting a new client. Who, we do not know? This is what the meeting is. Everyone was rushing to the room, seeming more anxious than usual. Have I missed something? 

“Jenna, what is going on? Why is everyone freaking out?” I asked my colleague.

“You haven’t heard? This isn’t just any meeting. Mr Hunter is joining,” she said. 

Mr Gabe Hunter, the CEO of our company. His family owned many businesses throughout the world, most based here in the US. I work in one of the New York offices. Here, we dealt with online advertisements mainly, but we still had other means of promotion, billboards, magazines etc. I was one of the web designers, which is my main job, but I do more than that. It isn’t my dream place to be working, but it will do for now. It isn’t so bad. 

Anyway, back to our CEO. He was a douche! I have met him twice in person the year I have worked here, and that was enough. The only other times I have seen him is through conference video calls.  He was rude and arrogant, and the way he spoke to people was disgusting. I met him for the first time after I had only been working here a couple of weeks. I had no clue who he was, and it didn’t go well. 

We had a run-in because he ran right into me, making me drop files and a laptop on the floor, and then walked away. He didn’t apologise or even offer to help. I didn’t allow that to happen. I gathered my things and went after him. I stopped him and went off on one at him. He was trying to be intimidating with his fancy suit, stern face and tall stance. It didn’t work. I stood telling him how rude he was, how he didn’t have any manners, and that he would be paying for a new one if he broke the laptop. I stood for a good few minutes, and I only stopped when my boss, Kay, approached and stopped me. I soon found out who he was. I am surprised that I didn’t get fired. 

Kay made me apologise to him, and Gabe found every second of it amusing. And that was the first time I met the big boss. He decided that day he didn’t think much of me, and I decided the same about him. The second time we met, there were a few glares shared and forced hellos. It was awkward. 

But him joining our meeting explains why everyone is freaking out. Not only because he is the top man, but because half, if not most of the staff want him. Yes, he was handsome. No sane person can deny that. He stood close to six feet tall. He had dark, thick hair and deep chocolate brown eyes to match. He was muscular in all the right places and a smile that could make your panties drop without touching them. 

No matter how handsome, intelligent and rich the bastard is, I wouldn’t go there. He may have the good looks, but the rest of him is horrible. He was nowhere near my type, anyway. I prefer the sweet, geeky kind of guys. 

I headed into the conference room, taking a seat at the back, furthest away from the screen.

“I need you all on your best behaviour,” Kay said, “Everyone keeps your mouths shut unless spoken to,” She added. 

Kay was not a bad boss, but she turned into a crazy woman when it came to meetings like this. I know she only wants to do what is best for the company, but I also think she has a crush on Gabe. She gets all flushed anytime she talks to him. I don’t understand why everyone gets that way around him. He was only a man. He wasn’t God. It is pathetic, really, but who am I to judge? 

“I don’t know what this meeting is about, but the memo said it is important,” Kay said, “If anyone of you shows me up, I will give a warning,” She added firmly. 

Everyone nodded, and she relaxed. She got herself seated at the front. Only moments later, the conference call’s alert came through, and Mr Hunter soon appeared on the screen. I watch the women and gay guys go to mush when he does. I roll my eyes and bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. 

“Good morning Mr Hunter,” Kay said brightly, flashing her best smile at him.

“Good morning Kay. Good morning everyone else,” He said, with no emotion in his voice. 

Everyone replied, saying, good morning, Sir. I didn’t. I didn’t say a single word. I wasn’t wasting my breath on him. 

“Right, I don’t have much time, so I will get straight to it,” He said. “We have been asked to take over the advertisement for the Modern Vintage brand,” He added. 

Modern Vintage was a reasonably new brand, but they are doing incredible. Within the last year, they have become a multi-million-dollar company and one of the states’ most prominent brands. It was a fashion brand. It was not only clothing, though. The brand also includes lingerie, make-up, shoes and perfume. They are taking over the fashion world and quickly. A lot of the big stars are already wearing them. They sell not only modern style but also vintage, hence the name. The products were beautiful but expensive. 

“Oh, wow? This is huge,” Kay said excitedly. 

“Yes, and that is why it needs to be perfect,” He said, “We need ideas and quickly because they want a show of what we can do in one month,” He added. 

One month? Seriously? What do they think we are, miracle workers? Their brand was huge, which means what we do for them needs to be the same, and it needs to be unique. 

“One month?” Kay said, shocked. 

“Yes, they do not need everything, but they want something, something great because if we don’t do what they need, then they have other companies lining up to swoop in,” Mr Hunter said, “Everyone needs to be on their A-game. I don’t care what it takes. It will get done. And anyone who doesn’t think they can do it, you know where the door is,” He added firmly.

I rolled my eyes at his rudeness. Yes, good move, put more pressure on everyone. 

“We will not let you down, Sir, promise,” Kay said.

“I know you won’t because I will be taking the lead on this project,” He said. 

“You are?” Kay asked, surprised.

“Yes, I will be coming in first thing Monday morning,” He said. “I want ideas from everyone. I also need the best you have, Kay, to work alongside me. Anyone who messes this up will get fired, “he added.

“I will make sure it is handled, Mr Hunter,” Kay said. 

I could tell she was freaking out, even though she was staying composed for Gabe’s sake,

“Good, get to work,” Gabe said before hanging up. 

The screen went blank, and you could see panic taking over the room. I wasn’t freaking. I work well under pressure, and getting worked up will not help anyone. Yes, this will be hard, but we will be fine if we work as a team. 

“You heard him, get to work,” Kay said. 

She started giving her orders on what needed to be done—ideas, power points, designs, research etc. Everything and anything she could think of. Everyone scattered off, and I was about to do the same, but Kay stopped me. 

“Everything OK?” She asked. 

“You are the one that will be working closely with Mr Hunter on this, you and Darren,” She said. 

No! Why? I don’t want to work closely with him. I will end up punching him, or worse, killing him. 

“Why me? You have staff that have been here longer than me that have more experience than me,” I said. 

“That doesn’t matter. You are still the best I have,” She said, “You not only know your way around a computer better than anyone else, but your head is full of incredible ideas. Plus, you are confident in the work you do, “she added. 

Yes, everything she was saying was a compliment. I know I was good at my job, but I think this will better suit my colleagues.

“And you are the only one that doesn’t seem to drool over him,” She said, “I need someone I can trust around him because I know a few that if I chose them would use the opportunity to get closer to him and that is the last thing I need,” She added. 

She had a point. I know a few that would do that too. Kay doesn’t need to worry about that with me. I don’t want to do this, but it is a great opportunity, and I will not let working with him ruin that. 

“OK, thank you,” I smiled. 

“You are welcome. You can go now, “she said with a smile. 

I said goodbye to her and headed to my office. I think the next month is going to be hell. I sat down at my desk and opened my laptop. I checked my emails, but nothing noteworthy.

I guess I should get to work. I need something to show Mr Hunter on Monday morning or have an idea I can bring up. I don’t know how he will react when he finds out Kay has chosen me. He will need to deal with it. He wants this to go well, and I will be the one to help with that, so he will need to be an adult about it. And if he can’t, he is on his own or can find someone else to help. 

This next month was going to be stressful. I can feel it in my gut. It will only be the start, though. It will get even crazier when everything goes into full swing if Modern Vintage wants us after we share our ideas with them. I hope that they will. It will be huge for the company, and I think our company can help take them to the next level. 

It will be a challenge, but I like a good challenge. If everyone else is still working here by the end of it, that is a different story. 

The first thing I think is best to do is research. Yes, I know the company, but not enough. I need as much information as possible for this to work out. I need to research the company itself, their website, social media, online stores and whatever else I need to do. The more information I have, the better for everyone. You can’t walk into something like this without any knowledge. It would all go to hell if you did. 

I loved researching, though, so I don’t mind. I could research for hours. I was a research geek, for sure. It was going to be a lot of work, there is no doubt about that, but I was ready for it. 

I need to play nice around, Mr Hunter, no matter how much I dislike him. I had a job to do, and I planned on doing it. I could be professional no bother, and I hope he can be the same, or this will not work. I think having Darren there will help. It would be worse if it were only Gabe and me. 

Everyone will be helping out one way or another, but Mr Hunter, Darren, and I will get the primary workload. There were going to be long days, late nights and probably weekends too. I can deal with that, though. As long as the guys don’t clash, I am sure the three of us will do what is best for the company.