His Executive Secretary

Chapter 003.

Lola's POV. 

I wanted the ground to open and swallow me.

Out of all the men in this city, why did it have to be him?

Zack Thompson.

The same man I had humiliated in a five-star restaurant yesterday.

The same man I had called mannerless.

The same man whose date I had successfully ruined.

And now, he was my boss.

I stared at him, completely frozen. "Lola, you are dead and gone!" I screamed inwardly. 

Zack refused to break eye contact, his eyes locked on mine. I flashed him a dry smile, hoping to ease the atmosphere. 

"Hi, Mr Thompson. It's nice meeting you. I'm Lola Smith"

He chuckled. "Are we meeting for the first time?" he took a step closer to me without breaking eye contact. However, I kept moving backward, trying to avoid eye contact with him.

Then the woman stepped in. "Mr Thompson, we just finished the interview with her, and she is not qualified to be your secretary, sir"

"Say who?" He asked.

I frowned. Even if the woman judged me wrongly, there is no assurance that I will get the job because of my experience with Zack. However, his reaction to the woman's response confused me.

"I will hire her as my Executive Secretary, and I want her office next to mine", He declared. Turning toward me, he grinned. "Make sure you resume early tomorrow; the necessary documents will be sent to your email"

Without waiting for me to respond, he left the room. 

For a brief moment, I stood rooted to the spot, unable to move an inch. wondered if I was still dreaming or if this was actually happening.

Just then, I heard a scoff. "I knew it! Someone like you can never be trusted! Tell me what you had with Mr Thompson that made you hire you?!" The woman yelled. "Did you sleep with him?"

I let out a loud sigh, clenching my fist tightly while trying to control myself. Gurl, you are too obvious! Only a blind person wouldn't see how hard you're trying to get his attention. Unfortunately, you are not up to his standard"

"How dare you talk to me like that?!"

I burst out laughing when my eyes landed on her name tag. "So you are just an administrative assistant? Nice one, Claire" 

I glanced at the two men's tags; they were the head managers of different departments. 

"No wonder they respected you." I took a step closer to her. "Anyway, I'm now the executive secretary, so mind how you talk to me"

I walked away, leaving her speechless. 

 The cold breeze settled on my skin as I stepped outside; I still couldn't believe I'd run into Zack, and he was actually my boss.

"Damn!" I hit my foot on the ground. Tomorrow is going to be brutal as usual. 

My phone buzzed, and I opened the chat.  

"Today is Kelly's death anniversary. Don't come late, and I forgot to get some flowers. Can you help me with that?"

My stomach twisted the moment I finished reading the message. I'd almost forgotten how important today was.

****

It was a little bit late in the evening when I got to the columbarium. I went home first to change my outfit into black before catching up with Mia.

"You are almost late", she murmured as we walked into the building. 

"At least it's 'almost, ' not that I'm late"

Finally, we stopped in front of Kelly's compartment. Her picture stared back at us, and my eyes immediately filled with tears.

"How are you doing, Kelly? We missed you so much; it has been 3 years now" Mia broke into tears.

I stared at the picture of us holding our graduation flowers. It was hard to believe that the day we celebrated our graduation together was her last day alive.

She died the night of our graduation day.

I couldn't say a word; I only dropped the flower with my eyes glued to her picture. If I could go back in time, there would be so much I would want to say to Kelly.

I want to tell her how much I missed her and things I couldn't tell her during her lifetime.

My throat tightened. I stared at Kelly's picture, but the tears blurred her face before I could see it clearly.

At that moment, I had a heavy heart as my pain doubled.

I had already lost my parents two months before graduation. Then I lost Kelly on the very day we were supposed to celebrate.

It felt like life was taking everyone I loved, one person at a time.

Then I felt Mia's hand on mine. "I know what you are thinking, but you have me. I promise to stay by your side"

I could no longer hold it; I burst into tears. My lips became shaky as I tried to voice out, but I lost my voice on the spot. Different memories came rushing back, each one filled with pain.

"I know how you feel" Mia pulled me into a hug, patting my back gently.

I struggled to breathe between my sobs. "I missed Mom and Dad" 

After crying my eyes out for some minutes, we finally let go of each other. 

"Kelly doesn't like to see us crying", Mia warned.

We sang our favourite song, shared our thoughts, and spent a little more time with Kelly before saying goodbye.

As we headed out of the columbarium, Mia wouldn't stop teasing me. "Who could have thought the blind date player was such a crying baby?"

I ignored her and focused on my steps as we descended the staircase. Kelly's compartment was on the top floor, so we decided to take the stairs instead of using the elevator.

We thought the walk would lift our mood.

"Don't tell me you are running away from my question?" She teased again. I could see how hard she was trying to cheer me up.

I stopped and glanced at her. "Coming from someone who runs away from cats at every glance?" I whined.

I watched her face twist in anger. "Will you stop that?"

The look on her face made me want to tease her even more. "Oh my, are you angry? There is nothing bad in being such a jelly baby"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, you are not better. You are just a crying baby"

"Everybody has their weaknesses, and I don't cry anyhow. Those memories are hard to ignore," I explained as we continued walking down the stairs. 

Suddenly, Mia stopped and glared at me. "Do you think I will forget about your interview?"

Instantly, I increased my pace.  

"Heyyyyyyyyyyyy! Tell me already!"

Mia continued running after me till we got outside. Trying to catch her breath, she bent on her knees. "What exactly happened? Spill it already!"

I whispered my answer, but she immediately started shouting. 

I covered my ears. "Why are you screaming?! It's getting late!"

Mia wouldn't close her mouth, no matter how many times I tried to close it. She was so shocked to hear about Zack being my Boss.

"Well, I'm shocked too"

Just then, I received an email with the company name as the subject. I curiously opened the mail, and I opened my mouth. Wider than Mia.

I was still trying to understand what was happening when another email came in. Then email after email began flooding my inbox.

"Gurl, it's obvious this man is after your life" Mia commented. 

I shut my eyes before screaming out loud. "ZACK THOMPSON!!!!!”