Time off

Kaylar was caught in a fix.

The moment she raised her head to face Wayne all the excuses she made in her head vanished, his expression did not do anything to ease the awkwardness.

'What the hell am I going to say? This is so awkward' Kaylar cried out inwardly.

After a moment of hesitation, Kaylar straightened herself.

"Good morning CEO Wayne, I came in to present your schedule for today."

She said in a rather calm and composed manner. Wayne hummed in response as he sat down.

Kaylar took his silence as a 'go ahead' and read out his schedule for the day.

"The meeting will start in ten minutes," Kaylar reminded before leaving the office.

Outside the office.

"Oh goodness," Kaylar placed her hands on her chest in an attempt to calm herself. The CEO was really scary, she wondered where she found the courage to act as if nothing had happened.

She quickly brushed the thought aside before heading to the conference room. There was going to be a meeting regarding the recent projects the corporation had taken up.

Ten minutes later.

Upon Wayne's arrival, all the project managers stood up to greet him. Wayne nodded at them in response before taking his seat, then the managers followed suit.

With everyone seated, Kaylar began to distribute some files to the managers after that was done she took a seat next to Wayne dutifully and the meeting began.

The meeting went on smoothly with no interruptions, it seemed like all the managers were enthusiastic about their various projects.

In between the meeting, the screen of Kaylar's phone which was placed at the side of the table lit up.

She cast an indifferent glance at it before turning her attention back to the meeting.

Her brows furrowed in annoyance as her phone screen lit up again. She wondered what was so important that the person had to ring her twice; it was not as if she had someone's kidney.

With that thought in mind, Kaylar picked up the phone. Her brows slowly relaxed as she saw the caller ID, it was her grandmother.

She then dropped the phone intending to call back after the meeting was over.

Wayne noticed her movements and shot her a glare.

Kaylar understood that glare well enough, it was his 'stop messing around' glare that she received countless times each day. She flashed an apologetic smile at him.

Wayne shifted his gaze from her as he began to tap his fingers on the table lightly.

"I don't see anything impressive about this presentation" Wayne's cold voice rang out with a hint of annoyance in it. "I gave you two weeks and this is all you could come up with."

The manger who Wayne was addressing shrank back in his seat, as he cowered in fear.

"I wanted to…" he was cut off before he could justify himself.

"I don't want to hear any excuses, it's either you are capable or you are not. Restructure this presentation before our next meeting" With that Wayne shifted his gaze to the next person.

"Thank you, Mr Frenado, I'll do my best" the manager thanked Wayne profusely.

Wayne's words had an underlying meaning and the manager understood it too well. If he wasn't capable it meant that he wasn't qualified to work at the Frenado corporation.

Silence engulfed the room as everyone stared at Wayne who looked in a particular direction blankly.

'What's going on' Kaylar thought as she noticed everyone's line of sight.

She instinctively turned around to look but there was no one behind her, it finally dawned on her that they were staring at her.

'Is there something on my face?' She slowly raised her hands to touch her face.

'What did I do this time?' Kaylar complained to herself as she saw Wayne's glare directed at her. She decided to bite the bullet and asked hesitantly.

"CEO Wayne, do you have a task for me?" Kaylar's asked with a perplexed tone. She felt uncomfortable under his seething expression.

"Miss Harper, would you mind switching off your phone?" He glanced at her phone which lit up as if on cue.

"Sorry CEO Wayne, I'll do that immediately," Kaylar said as she quickly switched off the phone.

With that Wayne turned his head and faced the managers. "I hope you all make necessary adjustments to your proposals or be ready to hand in your resignation letters" Wayne scanned through the room before leaving with Kaylar following behind.

The managers left in the conference room quickly released the breaths they were holding in.

They were left panicking, Weren't their proposals good enough? They felt like plucking their hair out. What adjustments do they have to make?

Those questions were theirs to answer.

...

Working under the CEO was like walking on thin ice, so Kaylar would rather be on his good side which she probably wasn't on.

To ease the atmosphere she meekly asked "CEO Wayne, should I get you a cup of tea or coffee?"

"Coffee," Wayne replied without turning back.

He felt his head would burst at any second, he still wondered how Kaylar had remained his secretary for so long.

Kaylar made her way into the private pantry to prepare his coffee.

After brewing the coffee Kaylar placed it on a tray and headed to the CEO's office.

Holding the tray of coffee, she knocked on the door and waited before receiving his signal to come in.

Kaylar was met by the sight of Wayne typing swiftly on his computer with one hand while holding a folder in the other hand.

His sleeves were rolled up and the buttons at the top of his shirt were undone. She could take a peek at his chiselled chest if she leaned in any closer.

He simply looked stunning, Kaylar felt her head spin as she placed the coffee on his table "CEO Wayne, regarding the matter of my ignorance earlier, I apologise, I should have switched off my phone before the meeting." She lowered her head slightly.

The typing sound from the keyboard halted for a second before resuming.

'Did he hear me?' Kaylar thought as she waited for his response.

"I hope it won't repeat itself" Wayne's deep voice echoed as he busied himself reading the reports.

"Alright," Kaylar heaved a sigh of relief before leaving his office. Then she made her way to her office.

...

Inside her office.

Kaylar picked up her phone, switched it on, and then called her grandmother.

After a minute the call was connected "Good day Grandma, How are you doing?" A small smile formed on her lips as she spoke.

As the call ended the smile on Kaylar's face was instantly wiped away. She looked anxious as she hurriedly packed her bag and left her office.

Facing the door to Wayne's office, Kaylar was a bit hesitant to knock as she raked her brain on the possible reason she would give if she asked for some time off.

She took a deep calming breath as she raised her hand to knock on the door.

"What?"

Kaylar whose thoughts began to wander was jolted back to reality by the sound of Wayne's voice.

...

Inside the office.

Kaylar lowered her head as she stepped into the office. "CEO Wayne," she started "I would like to ask for some time off if it's possible." She said in a barely audible voice as she squeezed her hands nervously.

Wayne who hadn't looked up raised his head. His eyes scanned her appearance before his lips moved.

"Miss Harper you can not take some time off without going through the proper procedure."

Kaylar opened her mouth and shut it again.

"CEO Wayne, an emergency sprung up and my presence is urgently needed, Please can I have some time off" Kaylar's voice became choked at the end.

She loved her grandparents dearly, how could she sit comfortably at work while her old man was sick?

Wayne's irritation grew as he saw Kaylar's pitiful appearance.

"You can have the rest of the day off, but be sure to report to work tomorrow," Wayne said dismissively.

Kaylar stood rotted to the ground and stared at Wayne.

He met her gaze and scowled lightly "Miss Harper aren't you satisfied with your time off?" He questioned.

Kaylar knew well enough that he was setting a bait for her, the moment she accepted the bait she would have to forget the idea of getting any time off.

She forced a smile "No, thank you, CEO Wayne, I'll surely report to work tomorrow" With that Kaylar hurriedly exited his office.

Wayne looked at her retreating figure and sighed before burying his head into his work.