LOGINShare
Chapter 2
Last Updated:
2025-06-22 09:25:27By 4pm, she had handled his emails, prepped the meeting packet, and refilled the coffee pods he liked. She had just returned from dropping off the final draft of a contract when she saw a stranger step out of the elevator.
He moved like he owned the building, even though he hadn’t been in the office before but he was older, with silver hair and a gleam in his eye that felt too polished to be harmless.
“Miss Hart?” he asked, eyes twinkling.
“Yes?”
“I’m Charles Rourke. Elias’s father.”
That explained the arrogance.
“Ah. Welcome, Mr. Rourke. Would you like me to let him know you’re here?”
He smiled. “No need. I want to see his face unprepared.”
He strolled past her, tapping twice on Elias’s door before pushing it open.
What followed wasn’t a reunion,it was a silent, venomous standoff.
Chloe couldn’t hear what was said, but she saw Elias’s jaw tense and his eyes narrow into dangerous slits.
Ten minutes later, Charles walked out again, nodding politely to her.
“I hope you don’t waste too much time here, Miss Hart. He doesn’t let people stay long.”
And with that, he was gone.
That night, she stayed late. Elias hadn’t said much after his father left, just worked through the afternoon like a man possessed.
By 7:30 p.m., the rest of the floor was empty. Her phone buzzed,a text from an unknown number
Unknown > Still alive? He gets extra stormy after Charles shows up. Need whiskey? Or earplugs?
Chloe> Who is this?
Unknown > Oh my princess, it's your prince charming.
Chloe > I don't have a prince charming
Gavin > Ouch, you just hurt my feelings darling. Anyways it Gavin
Chloe > “My apologies Mr King, I didn't know it was you”. She replied
Gavin > Chloe can you please stop with the formalities, just call me Gavin.
Chloe > I'm sorry Gavin.
Gavin > So are you still in for the drink? Bills on me.
Chloe > Nahhh, I'm fine. He's just quieter than usual.
> Quieter than usual? That’s like saying Antarctica’s “a bit brisk.”*
Before she could reply,a door opened behind her.
She turned.
Elias stood there, coat in hand.
“You’re still here.”
“So are you,” she replied.
They stood facing each other for a long moment. She could feel the tension radiating from him, like static before a storm.
His eyes dropped to her hands. She was still holding the contract folder she hadn’t delivered yet.
“You don’t need to work overtime,” he said flatly.
“I wasn’t. I just didn’t want to go home yet.”
That seemed to catch him off guard.
His gaze searched her face for something. Then, he said, voice like iron again:
“You should learn not to stay where you’re not needed, Miss Hart.”
The words weren’t angry. They were empty. Cold.
But they still hit like a slap.
Her throat tightened. “I see.”
She didn’t wait for him to say anything else.
She turned, gathered her things, and left.
In the elevator, she clenched her fists to keep her hands from shaking.
And for the first day starting the job, she questioned why she wanted so badly to stay.
She rushes out of the building, trying to hold back the tears as the hurtful words keep ringing in her head.
She walks into the streets of Manhattan and stops a taxi to take her home, she gets in the car and gets lost in her thoughts as she tries to hold back her tears, while memories of what he said came rushing back.
Latest chapter
The CEO'S secretary Chapter 19
CHLOE' POV The message burned into my mind as I looked at the screen.“You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”I re-read it three times, trying to make sense of it. My chest tightened. Was it a threat? A warning? A prank?“Everything okay?” Gavin asked beside me as the elevator doors closed.I locked my screen quickly. “Yeah. Just… spam.”He turned his head, studying me for a moment. “You sure?”I nodded, even though I wasn’t.We stepped out into the lobby and walked toward the exit. Sunlight poured through the tall windows, too bright. Outside, the city was filled with its usual rhythms (horns, voices, footsteps)but my head was filled up with questions. Why did the message come now? And why from that number?Could it have been Elias?No. He had no reason to send something like that anonymously. If he had something to say, he would’ve said it to my face or at least in a stern, emotionless tone. Wouldn’t he?I barely registered the walk to the cafe Gavin suggested. He did most of the
The CEO'S secretary Chapter 18
CHLOE'S POVBy lunch, I was drowning in numbers, meetings, and the distinct weight of being ignored. Elias didn’t say a word to me the rest of the morning. Every message came through his assistant or brief post-its left on my keyboard.It was like I was invisible and somehow, it hurt more than the argument.Around 2 PM, Nina dropped by my desk with a smirk.“Gavin told me to drag you downstairs for air,” she said. “You look like you’re about to murder someone.”“Just one person,” I muttered, grabbing my coat.We ended up in the small park next to the office building, the wind blew, the sun barely warming our skin.“I swear he only gets colder the more he cares,” Nina said, sipping her iced tea. “It’s like his feelings have a self-destruct button.”“I don’t want him to care,” I said, more to myself than her.“Liar.”I glared at her, but she just shrugged. “You don’t have to admit it. But don’t act like you don’t see the way he watches you when he thinks no one’s looking.”“He doesn’t…”
The CEO'S secretary Chapter 17
CHLOE'S POV I froze, thumb hovering just above the green button, heartbeat thudding in my ears like it didn’t know whether to race or stop altogether. My first instinct was to ignore it. Let it go to voicemail, like I had every right to.But I didn’t."Hello?" My voice came out low and even, even though my stomach was doing somersaults.There was a pause, then his voice quiet and fixed. “Chloe.”Just my name. Nothing else. No explanation. No apology.I shifted the phone to my other ear. “Yes?”Another pause. I could practically hear him thinking. Elias never called without a purpose. In fact, he hardly ever called at all. Everything was usually sent through emails, meetings, post-its he would leave on my desk.“I got your final calendar update,” he said finally. “The meetings with overseas clients you rescheduled the Zurich call to next Tuesday.” ohh wow so that's why he called. He should have just sent a mail. “Yes,” I said. “You asked me to push it. I handled the others too. Ever
The CEO'S secretary Chapter 16
CHLOE' POV I didn’t expect him to come.Not to my apartment. Not without a warning. And certainly not with words that sounded like honesty and regret, like he was finally stripped of all his usual armor.But Elias stood there, defenseless in a way I had never seen before. Not softer, just clearer. And maybe that was more dangerous than softness.Because it made me feel something again.After he left, I didn’t move for a while. I just stood by the door, my hand still on the frame, my heart stuck somewhere between my ribs and throat.There had been no promises. No grand plea. Just a man trying to change in front of me:slowly, ungracefully, maybe too late.And now, I had two truths staring at me.One in the shape of Elias Rourke.And the other in the echo of Gavin’s kiss still lingering on my lips....I made tea without thinking. The one that didn’t strain my nerves. I curled up on the couch and let the silence stretch out while questions flooded my head.What do you want, Chloe?Not w
The CEO'S secretary Chapter 15
ELIAS’ POVThe trouble with change is that it doesn’t come with a guidebook. No step-by-step. No checklist.You just wake up one morning and realize you can’t keep living like nothing matters when it actually does.I sat at my desk long after the building emptied out. My reflection in the glass looked tired, older. Or maybe just finally honest.In all my years of being controlling and with no emotions, I had never for once considered how it might feel to lose something I didn’t know how to name until it was gone.I hadn’t lost Chloe. Not yet.But she wasn’t mine either.And that truth was beginning to undo me....I started small.On Wednesday, I emailed her not from my executive account, not through a calendar invite. Just a direct message.Subject: About Friday’s Review PresentationChloe, I would like to sit in on your portion of the pitch review. Let me know what time works for you. I trust your direction with the client angle.—E.R.No micromanaging. No edits. Just acknowledgment
The CEO'S secretary Chapter 14
ELIAS POVThe office felt different without her.Not quieter. Just... wrong.Chloe’s absence wasn’t loud or obvious. Her desk was still tidy. Her mug is still on the corner. No dramatic departure. No sudden vacancy. She was still employed, still working, still walking in with purpose and leaving at five like clockwork.But I could feel her slipping through the cracks I left in our silence.And somehow, that felt louder than if she’d screamed.I hadn’t seen her all weekend. Not since the conversation in the lounge, where I’d stood by the window like a coward and told her I respected her decision even though it burned like hell.She didn’t cry. She didn’t argue. She just looked at me like someone who was finally done waiting for me to become a man worth choosing.I’d let her walk away.Now I couldn’t stop thinking about her....Monday came with gray skies and the kind of energy that pressed against the glass like a warning.She walked in at 8:42 a.m., wearing navy and cream, a hint of
You may also like
Accidentally Yours
Shayla HArt1.8M viewsMaster Odell’s Secret Ex-wife
Eggsoup1.2M viewsPowerful Papa with Triplet Babies
Pink Dolphin624.0K viewsChasing My Pregnant Wife
Night Revelations660.7K viewsPREGNANT WITH THE COLD CEO'S BABY
M.Firya.86 viewsSteamy Diaries
Mha Nitta 4.3K viewsRevenge In Silk Sheets
Setemi 124 viewsThe Daleton Boys
doyeen_writes152 views
