7-Love After Heartbreak.

“Thank you.”

Everything happened quickly after that.

She filled out forms, received a temporary ID card, met a few people, and was eventually shown to a desk. Before she had even properly settled in, a mountain of work was already waiting for her.

Her supervisor, Mrs. Elaine, was pleasant enough, although she looked like someone who hadn’t had a proper break in days. She explained that one of their assistants had resigned without notice, leaving everyone scrambling to catch up on several client files.

“Just help us sort these,” she said, dropping a thick folder on Anna’s desk. “We have a meeting with the Henderson Group at two, and these need to be ready before then.”

Anna nodded. “Okay.”

“Be careful with them. Some of the information is confidential.”

“I understand.”

The moment Mrs. Elaine walked away, Anna got to work.

For the next three hours, she barely looked up from her desk. She checked invoices, arranged contracts, cross-referenced figures, and went through pages of information until her eyes started aching. None of the work was particularly difficult, but there was a lot of it, and she was determined not to make a mistake on her first day.

She didn’t want anyone thinking Georgia had recommended someone who couldn’t do the job.

Around one-thirty, she finally leaned back in her chair and let out a quiet breath.

Done and dusted.

She glanced at the clock.

She had barely ten minutes to gather the files and get them to the conference room.

She quickly arranged everything, tucked the documents under her arm, and hurried down the hallway.

She was halfway there when a voice called out behind her.

“Excuse me.” Anna stopped and turned slowly.

A tall man was walking toward her. He had dark hair, a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black trousers, and a phone in one hand. There was something about the way he walked that immediately told her he wasn’t someone who was used to being questioned.

He also looked irritated before he had even reached her.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Where are the Henderson files?”

“In the conference room.”

His expression changed slightly. “Who told you to take them there?”

“Mrs. Elaine.” Anna almost scoffed. Being a new staff member didn’t mean he could talk to her however he pleased. Proud, bossy fool.

His eyes dropped to the folder in her hands. “Give them to me.”

She frowned. “Why? I was told to place them in the conference room, not hand them over to any man.”

“And I’m telling you to give them to me.”

Anna tightened her grip on the folder.

“I still need to put them...” Before she could finish, he snatched the folder from her hands.

“Have you lost your mind?” She couldn’t hold back any longer.

He ignored the question and opened the folder, quickly flipping through the documents. “Where’s the financial projection?”

She glared at him. What was he doing?

He went through the pages again, this time much faster, before pulling out a sheet.

“This isn’t the latest version.”

Anna reached for the paper. “That’s impossible. Mrs. Elaine gave me these this morning.”

His eyes hardened. “This meeting is worth millions. I hope you’re aware of that.”

Heat rushed to her face. “I didn’t know it was outdated.”

He dropped the folder against her chest, and she caught it.

“Don’t touch anything you’re not qualified to handle.” He turned and started walking away.

“Don’t walk away from me,” Anna called after him. “At least have some respect when you’re talking to a woman.”

He stopped.

For a second, he remained completely still before slowly turning around.

His eyes settled on her.

“I think you should be saying thank you for the fact that I’m even talking to you.”

She scoffed. “And I think you should learn how to speak to people without treating them like they’re idiots.”

His jaw tightened. “You don’t know me well enough to speak to me like that.”

“And you don’t know me well enough to treat me like I’m incompetent.” she retorted.

The hallway suddenly felt quieter. A few people nearby stopped pretending not to listen, but at that point, Anna didn’t care.

Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and she could feel the anger burning through the embarrassment.

He stared at her for several seconds before speaking again.

“You’re going to regret that attitude.”

She let out a short, bitter laugh. “We’ll see.”

Then she turned around and walked back toward her desk before she could say something that would get her fired on her first day.

The moment she sat down, her hands started shaking.

She stared at the blank computer screen in front of her.

What had she just done?

She had been in this company for barely five hours, and she’d already argued with a man who clearly held some kind of power around there.

She covered her face with both hands and groaned.

“Great, Anna.”

Her phone buzzed on the desk.

She immediately reached for it.

A message from Georgia.

Georgia: How’s your first day?

Anna stared at the message for a moment before typing.

Me: I think I may have just gotten myself fired.

Georgia’s reply came almost instantly.

Georgia: WHAT DID YOU DO?

Anna looked up, about to reply, when she saw the man standing near the conference room, speaking to two executives. Whatever anger he’d shown her earlier was gone. He looked completely composed, like their argument never happened.

Then, as if he could feel her watching him, his head turned.

Their eyes met across the office.

He didn’t look away.

Neither did she.

Who the hell is this man?