All Chapters of The CEO'S secretary : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The elevator ride to the top floor took longer than it should have, even though it only took a few seconds Chloe Hart held her planner to her chest, her palms sweaty from being nervous. This was her first day at Rourke Enterprises, the largest private equity firm in the city, and arguably the most Deadly. People didn’t just work here. They survived.She adjusted the collar of her cream blouse, trying not to look nervous,as she tapped her heels against the marble floor as she waited for the elevator doors to open.“The top floor,Best of luck,” the security guard had told her downstairs.She wasn’t sure if he was serious or joking .The top floor was cold and quiet, this made shivers run down her spine. Everything was polished clean.As she walked into the quiet hallway no receptionist, no chatter, Just tension she looked at the little sunlight coming through the shining glass window.Her desk was already set up just outside the office of Elias Rourke. The name alone had made her stomac

CHLOE’ POV I did not cry that night.I got to my apartment with my jaw tight and my keys shaking in my hand, but I didn’t cry.Not until I’d changed into a sweatshirt, kicked off my heels, and sat in the middle of my tiny living room floor with a cold mug of lavender tea.That’s when the tears came quiet and embarrassed. Not from what he said exactly, but from what it meant.“You should learn not to stay where you’re not needed.”It was like a stab with a knife, and worse he meant it. How calm his voice was,as he said it. Like I was just another piece of office furniture that had overstayed its purpose.Maybe I had imagined the softness and the flickers of something human in his eyes when he thought I wasn’t watching. Maybe I’d filled in the gaps of our silences with stories that didn’t exist.I hated that it hurt.I hated that I cared.….The next morning, I wore lipstick.Not because I wanted to look good for him but because I needed the armor.“Whoa,” Nina said when she saw me. “Yo

CHLOE'S POV Two days had passed after that night on the sidewalk.And Elias said nothing.No eye contact. No conversation.It was as if he never spoke to me.As if I didn't stand under a flickering streetlight listening to him apologize to me.I should’ve expected it.He was Elias Rourke the CEO, the ice king as everyone called him. He didn't fumble,he didn’t repeat himself, and he certainly didn’t like explaining himself.So I matched his silence. But something inside me was changing.I wasn't anxious anymore. …“You look… happier,” Gavin said Friday afternoon, his head popping around the corner of my desk like a mischievous golden retriever in a blazer.“I’m not,” I replied, though I did smile.“Well, you look like you slept, at least. That’s progress.”He leaned in close, arms crossed, brows raised. “Tell me something. When are you going to let me take you to lunch?”I blinked. “Lunch?”“Yeah. You know, food? Sunshine? Socializing that doesn’t involve emotionally unavailable bill

CHLOE'S POV There was a different kind of silence in Elias Rourke’s office now. Not the cold silence I had gotten used to, not the quietness that came with focus but something tighter. Stretched. Like we were both aware of a line neither of us had drawn but were standing dangerously close to. There was tension the moment I walked in that morning. Elias hadn’t spoken more than three words to me“That will be all”but his eyes had followed me once when he thought I wasn’t looking. He was careful like that. Always watching through glass. Always behind control. I took a sip of my coffee, that was warm, and focused on the email in front of me. Nina had sent a group message inviting everyone in the executive wing to a casual Friday dinner, a “team relaxation,” she called it. God bless Nina Vasquez. If not for her, we’d all be like emotionless suits powered by caffeine and tight schedules. I was considering saying yes, partly because Gavin had already said he’d go, when his voice pulle

CHLOE'S POV The silence between Elias and me had turned into something else.It didn’t feel like avoidance anymore.It felt like a punishment.His voice was stern. Instructions landed on my desk with short deadlines and impossible accuracy. Meetings I didn’t normally attend were suddenly on my calendar,each one fixed at odd hours to pull me from lunch or brief moments of peace.It was as if he wanted to erase any room I used to breathe.But I refused to shrink again.So I showed up early, composed, with lipstick on and my hair tied.I accomplished everything perfectly.And still, the more I did, the colder he became....“Don’t take it personal,” Nina muttered, glancing at Elias’s closed office door as she leaned across my desk with her third coffee. “He is not used to anyone pushing back.”“But I didn’t push back,” I said.“You didn’t beg either.It is the same thing to a man like him.”I smiled faintly, fingers dancing over my keyboard. “I don’t think he notices anything I do unless