Chapter Five
"Ollivia, it's your turn to be interviewed."
Ollivia follows behind Miss Nena, holding her breath. She doesn't think of herself as a soft, nervous girl, but for some reason she feels she's about to die in a war.
The moment she steps into the hall used for interviews, her breath ceases. She's intrigued by the arrangement of furniture in the hall. There's a long table where officials who will evaluate her presentation are seated.
There's this tense aura like it's a pass or die mission. Regaining her strength, remembering who she is, Ollivia proceeds to the front of the hall, holding her proposal in her hand.
Confidence.
There's lighting everywhere, her click-clack echoes in the hall. She lets her presence radiate but there is something tougher and more dominant.
Ollivia sets her eyes on a man at the end of the table facing her directly. She's feeling a familiar presence. There's no need for an introduction, it's no other person than the CEO. She can tell from his thick aura. He's clad in a black body fitting suit.
Her eyes ajar when she feels this baming connection. His glory shines so loud she cannot mistake him. His view, his look, his legs are crossed and Ollivia can't seem to take her eyes off him.
The view, the way he's setting his eyes on her, she recalls him doing this exact thing at the bar, her heart pangs with slight pain. He's everywhere and she's trying to concentrate.
Though he's seated, she feels his aura cascade like water from a tap. She swallows deep not believing it's her feeling this way because of a person. She can tell how tall he is from where he's seated.
Her heart aches again.
The way he squints his eyes, possessing a straight face trying to evaluate the kind of person she is… trying to understand her is the way he looked at her behind the velvet curtains.
She needs a breather.
After introducing herself, she begins her presentation but images from last night obstruct her flow of thoughts.
Another board member questions her, "Are you okay, Miss Ollivia?"
"Yes Sir,"
"Then go on with your presentation."
She feels awkward but maintains composure. The scene wickedly doesn't even flash past her eyes anymore, it is present in front of her eyes, them having sex. Despite the AC, she feels bits of perspiration on her inner body.
Don Marco, who is rumoured to be a ruthless CEO is calmly seated like a spotlight on a stage, but in this case he is shining on her. She doesn't need to look at his eyes to feel intimidated, she knows what his heart is made of, titanium and steel.
She goes on with her power point presentation. The room's light is off as she presents, making it worse for her because the light from the projector dimly reflects on their faces; especially the quiet CEO whose looks could kill.
She does perfectly well.
She knows.
She's Ollivia. She remembers how she first started dancing, she was so nervous, she saw other flexible girls dancing with confidence yet it didn't break her, with determination she perfected dancing earning her her spot at the club.
Despite how nervous she was, she conquered. That's who Olivia is, a girl who can tackle life challenges like the Queen she is. She has a creative mindset and a dream.
"No,"
Her world came crashing down.
Olivia heard the voice of the CEO. His dominant deep voice. "You didn't pass." He says, voice smooth but laced with venom, " So, this… is what you thought would impress me?"
Olivia straightens her back. "Sir, this is full of potential, I gave it my all."
"Your all is not enough then."
He leans forward. "Miss… Olivia, is it?"
She opens her mouth to speak again, but he raises one hand — silence falls like a blade.
"This proposal lacks depth, and originality, and most importantly — a touch to reality. You played it safe. Safe is boring. Safe doesn't make millions. Safe gets buried beneath the companies that take real risks."
She's angry. "I'm sure you don't expect a better presentation than this."
"You're cocky. That should get you a job at another place."
"You're not even worth it. You don't even know A when you see it cause you can't clearly see the potential in this."
"That's why you should go. You want to step into this position with this?" He shakes his head slowly, eyes narrowing. "You're not ready. And frankly, I don't have time to train mediocrity."
She stiffens, but he doesn't stop.
"You came in here hoping I'd hand you a chance. That I'd look past the cracks because your eyes sparkle with desperation." He smirks, voice dropping. "But I don't reward desperation. I crush it."
There's a beat of silence. Then he's terrifying.
"Try again, someday. This meeting is over." His cold uninterested voice commands, "Bring in the next person."
He turns away without another glance.
"No," she says — loud, and sharp enough to freeze him.
She steps forward, voice rising, with fury and pride. "You sit there on your exalted throne of glass, talking nonsense. All I see is a man too afraid to see potential in anything. You think dismissing people makes you powerful? That tearing someone down makes you untouchable? You're not a king, you're just a man in a suit who forgets that anyone can go down. You're not impressed? I don't care. Its your loss."
The CEO buttons his suit showcasing pride. "Miss Olivia Edmond, you wanna hear something?" He's calm, speaking bluntly. "You'll never make it in the industry."
She almost throws her documents at him. She holds in her groan, gritting her teeth. She's so angry—severely angry she wants to rip someone apart; him.
She storms outside with a heart pumping with rage. Like a werewolf under the full moon, she slowly transforms, cracking her bones bit by bit.
Her shoes hit the ground aggressively.
As she passes she sees a car so eye-catching it possesses the same energy as the CEO. His perfume is so thick it radiates from the car. She touches the car, feeling how weird it is for her to tell it's his vehicle from just the intense aura.
Her palms go on the window, she just knows this black Mercedes Benz belongs to him. She pulls her heels, bashing his car aggressively like a bull charging against its opponent— this causes her to remember a dreadful scene.
"Aaaaaaaa!!!" She keeps hitting it, causing the alarm to go off. By luck, her eyes open sadistically when she sees a big stone on the floor. She's on the verge of picking it up when her eyes set on five big men approaching her.