AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’ve been doing an excellent job with our most popular products and historic best-sellers.” I stood tall and spoke confidently. “Where we can stand to improve is converting existing customers to our newer products. We could stand to place more attention there.”
The room reacted with nods, making eye contact with each other, impressed. I looked at him with atake-thatsense of satisfaction. His look of contempt deflated it.
“Interesting.” Alexander’s voice dripped with skepticism. “Have you considered the potential fallout to our most popular products if we suddenly shift gears? We could lose millions.”
“That’s the conclusion the sales and product teams reached. I’m here to assist the executives, not replace them by taking on their work. You all wouldn’t want that, would you?”
The room laughed politely.
“Well, let’s see. Let’s make sure you’re interpreting their recommendations properly. Otherwise, it could cost us millions. Hundreds of millions maybe.”
As Alexander moved on to other topics, I stewed, barely listening.Who was he to ask me to do work above my pay grade and then criticize me for it?
“Thank you, everyone. Olivia, you’ll clean up, won’t you? Thanks.” He left and walked straight to his office.
Marco, one of my allies, whispered as he walked out. “Great presentation. You just showed him up and he didn’t appreciate it.”
I smiled and nodded in response, grateful for the encouragement, and went back to cleaning.
I thought about Alexander’s constant stare, an ever-present reminder of our battle, not just in terms of our minds, but against the compulsions of our bodies. At least for me. But I refused to back down. He might have been the CEO, but that didn’t mean he had to have the upper hand.
I had barely made it back to my desk when Alexander called out to me, unseen from deep within his enormous office.
“Olivia. Come here.”
I fought the image of him paddling me over his knee or on his desk and assumed a serious, professional face. The morning light cast a halo around his dark hair as he glowered looking down at the city streets. I imagined him chastising the peasants below for deigning to live out their lives in such close proximity to the likes of him.
“I’ve requested an updated report on the project. Have it on my desk by the end of the day.”
“Of course.” A tremor that ran through me, but my surface remained unrattled. “You’ll have it.”
I needed to stay focused, to prove that I could stand up to Alexander and hold my ground, but that required me to suppress my building rage.
As I settled into my chair, Marco’s encouraging words from earlier kept me from self-doubt. I would refuse to let Alexander cow me into submission.
“Hey, brought you a coffee. I figured you could use it.” I looked up and Marco was standing there, placing a steaming cardboard cup on my desk. His eyes flickered to Alexander for a brief moment. “We’ve all been there.”
“Thank you.” I nodded gratefully as I took a sip. The bitter liquid burned my tongue, but it lit a spark. I wouldn’t back down, even if I got fired for it.
As the day wore on, I noticed Alexander’s gaze lingering on me more frequently, his eyes taking on a predatory, unnerving intensity. At four, he stalked over to my desk.
“Olivia,” he growled. I resented the invasion of my personal space but also reveled in it, wanting to breathe him in. “Is the report ready?”
“Almost.” I didn’t point out that it wasn’t the end of the day yet. “I can print it out now, or you can wait until it’s done. What would you prefer?”
“Both. Give it to me now, and then, once I tell you what you need to redo, give me the final.”
I had already pushed the print button and could see the pieces of paper flowing out. He marched over and snatched them off the tray.
As he scanned the documents, his jaw clenched in frustration at not finding immediate fault. He ambled back to his office, reminding me of a bear retreating to his cave after failing to outrun his prey.
Once he was back in his office, a few people clustered around Sophia’s cubicle, looking in the direction of our side of the office.
“Keep it up,” Ethan whispered as he passed by, winking at me like an encouraging older brother.
“Thanks.” I knew that this battle was far from over, but I was prepared to face whatever challenges lay ahead. Alexander the not-so-great would not succeed in conquering me.
Chapter Three
