Hard work

Chapter 20

Martina’s POV

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to focus on the tablet in my hands.

This wasn’t the time to panic.

If I messed up now, there was a high chance I wouldn’t last a week here.

Maybe not even a day.

I took a small breath and scanned through the screen quickly. The words were clear… organized… but still overwhelming.

But I had to try.

“Um…” I started, my voice slightly shaky.

I paused, then cleared my throat softly.

“Your first meeting is at 8:00 a.m. with the finance team,” I read carefully, making sure I didn’t mispronounce anything.

I could feel his eyes on me.

I continued.

“Then, at 10:30 a.m., you have a meeting with Mr. Klein from K-Tech Industries…”

Still nothing from him.

I didn’t know if that was a good sign or a bad one.

I tightened my grip on the tablet and kept going.

“At 1:00 p.m., there’s a lunch meeting with the board of directors… and at 3:00 p.m., a conference call with international partners.”

I stopped.

That was all for the morning schedule.

Slowly, I looked up at him.

His expression was unreadable.

“Continue,” he said simply.

Oh.

There was more.

I quickly looked back down.

“At 5:00 p.m., document review and signing… and at 7:00 p.m., dinner meeting with—”

I hesitated slightly, squinting at the name.

“—Miss Alvarez.”

I finally finished and lowered the tablet slightly, waiting.

The silence that followed felt longer this time.

Then—

“Hmm.”

That was all he said.

Just that.

I wasn’t sure what it meant, but at least he didn’t yell.

That had to count for something.

“You didn’t stutter too much,” he added casually.

I blinked.

Was that… a compliment?

Or an insult?

“I’ll do better next time, sir,” I said quickly.

“You should,” he replied without looking at me again.

Okay.

Definitely not a compliment.

“You’ll be following me to all meetings today,” he continued. “Take notes where necessary.”

My eyes widened slightly.

Take notes?

I nodded quickly. “Yes, sir.”

“And Martina—”

My name.

Hearing him say it made me look up immediately.

“Yes, sir?”

“Don’t embarrass me.”

My chest tightened a little.

“I won’t, sir,” I said, even though I wasn’t entirely sure.

He picked up a file from his desk, already dismissing me without another glance.

“You can sit there,” he added, pointing to a small desk not too far from his.

So that was my space.

“Okay, sir.”

I walked over and sat down carefully, placing the tablet in front of me. I tried to sit properly—straight, composed—like someone who actually knew what she was doing.

But inside?

I was still nervous.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye.

He was already working, flipping through documents as if I didn’t exist.

How could someone switch like that so easily?

From intimidating… to completely indifferent.

I exhaled quietly and looked back at the tablet.

If I was going to survive here, I had to learn fast.

Very fast.

The next two hours went by quicker than I expected.

I spent most of the time going through the tablet, trying to understand how everything worked—the schedule, the reminders, the emails…

There was a lot.

But I was beginning to understand.

At least a little.

“Let’s go.”

His voice suddenly broke my concentration.

I looked up immediately.

He was already standing.

The 8:00 a.m. meeting.

I grabbed the tablet quickly and stood up. “Yes, sir.”

I followed him out of the office, trying to match his pace as we walked down the hallway.

We entered a large conference room where a group of people were already seated.

The moment Herrick walked in, everyone stood up.

“Good morning, sir.”

As expected, he didn’t respond.

He simply walked to the head of the table and sat down.

I stood slightly behind him at first, unsure of where exactly I was supposed to be.

“Sit,” he said without looking back.

I quickly moved to the nearest empty chair and sat down, placing the tablet in front of me.

The meeting began almost immediately.

At first, I struggled to keep up.

They were discussing numbers, reports, projections—things I wasn’t very familiar with.

But I tried.

I listened carefully, typing down the important points as fast as I could.

Every now and then, I found myself glancing at Herrick.

He was calm.

Completely in control of the room.

It was… impressive.

I quickly looked away, forcing myself to focus on my notes.

By the time the meeting ended, I felt mentally exhausted.

But at least I didn’t completely mess up.

I think.

As we stood up to leave, one of the men spoke.

“Sir, the documents for approval will be sent to your office shortly.”

Herrick nodded once.

And that was it.

We walked out of the conference room in silence.

As we stepped back into the hallway, I let out a small breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

“You type slowly.”

I froze.

My head snapped toward him.

“I—I’m sorry, sir.”

“Fix it,” he said simply, continuing to walk.

I tightened my grip on the tablet.

“Yes, sir.”

Of course.

Nothing escaped his notice.

Not even that.

We continued walking back toward his office, and this time, I didn’t let my guard down.

Not even for a second.

Because one thing was already clear—

Working for Herrick wasn’t going to be easy.

Not at all.