I left my steady job of five years for this company, which means I can get sacked during my six-month probation if I fail to deliver the required performance. If I'm out of a job, I will need to find another job as soon as possible to keep my bills covered. And if I'm too long in between jobs, I will have to make a few adjustments, and it will suck because I have a kid to raise. Talk about being nervous!

Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit. We do have savings to survive at least two years of not-so-extravagant life. Still, that money should stay exactly where it is now. Isn't that the very reason we call it savings? We need to keep it —increase the amount if possible— and try not to spend it, right?

The elevator stops on the fourth floor and the doors slide open. Once I walk out of the car, I'm welcomed by a compact yet cozy lobby with a big blue sign 'Knight & Co.' on the white granite wall behind the receptionist's desk. A pair of Gold Palms in yellow pots adorns the corners of the room, bringing in nature's vibe to balance the modern interior design. There are corridors on either side of the company logo but I can't see anything else other than glass walls along the passageways.

A young woman, who I'm guessing is in her early twenties, sits behind the desk, talking on the phone while her eyes are fixed on the computer screen. She doesn't notice me walking in her direction until I stand right before her desk. She lifts her gaze and raises her forefinger to signal me that she won't take long.

I nod and step away, giving her room to finish whatever she's doing now. I shift on my legs as my fingers fiddle with my new ID card, eyes roaming over the lobby on the fourth level. It's when the elevator dings, and then the doors slide open again, revealing a woman around my age in a knee-length black dress wrapped in a fitted grey blazer. She's wearing black plain tights and nine centimeters stilettos that match the color of her suits. Her straight black hair is pulled into a ponytail, swaying gaily as she walks in my direction.

"Morning," she greets.

Not sure if it's addressed to me or the receptionist girl, I smile at her and greet her back, "Good morning."

She strides past me and the receptionist's desk, heading to the corridor on the left, but then she halts and turns around. "Are you...the new account executive who is starting today?" she asks, tilting her head as if she's trying to remember something. "Sharleen, right?"

"Yes, I am the new account executive," I reply with a wide smile, feeling a little less nervous for some reason. I take a few steps forward and extend my hand. "And it's Charlotte. A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. I'm Gina and we will be working together." She shakes my hand while shamelessly taking in my figure before her eyes dart back to meet mine. "Welcome on board. And let's go, the meeting is almost starting." With that, she turns around and begins to walk, leaving me no choice but to follow suit.

"Whoa, where are you guys going? You can't just bring her inside, Gina!" the receptionist girl asks in panic, her palm covering the phone receiver.

"Of course I can," Gina replies.

"But I need to have her name first! The last time I let in a woman who wasn't on the guest list, I almost got slaughtered alive!"

Gina spins around, giving the receptionist a deadpan look. "Girl, I'm making your life a tad bit easier. She's the new executive on my team, meaning she isn't our big boss' one-night stand, meaning her name is sitting on your list. I'm bringing her in."

Seeing how these two girls glare at each other, I clear my throat. "The name is Charlotte. Charlotte Garnett."

The receptionist quickly grabs a pen and jots down my name on her note. She glances at me while mouthing "thank you" before resuming talking to the person on the phone.

Realizing that Gina is already a few meters ahead, I jog to catch up but my eyes keep roaming over my surroundings. The corridor is not as narrow as it looked from the lobby earlier. A dark blue carpet sprawls along the passageways and glass walls run on either side of us covered by striped glass film. Judging from the absence of light in most rooms, I doubt that this side of the floor is the employees' working space. Faintly, I hear murmurs and hums coming from the far end of the corridor.

"Here's where all the meeting rooms are. Our working place is on the other side, but we don't have time to check it out now," Gina confirms my assumption. "We have a kick-off meeting every first Monday of the month, which is today, and you don't wanna be late for this." She stops at the last door of the hallway and glances at me. "Ready?"

"As ever," I lie, taking a deep breath and walking to the door that Gina is holding open for me.

The room is packed with people. Most of them are standing in groups, engaged in a serious discussion, or just talking in a relaxed manner. A few of them choose to sit alone, burying their faces in their gadget screens or just spacing out, not seeming that enthusiastic to embrace the day.

People don't freeze dramatically when Gina and I enter the room. They indeed take a second glance before continuing whatever they've been doing before I walk in. Perhaps seeing new faces isn't something uncommon for them. Does it mean that the company has a high rate of employee turnover? Or is it just me that doesn't look impressive enough when I make my first entrance? I glance down at my beige chiffon blouse and black pants to check if my outfit looks somewhat presentable.

It did this morning. But now I'm not so sure anymore.

These people are what you can call office fashionistas. Men are in suits or at least in branded dress shirts and pants, while women are wrapped in voguish business attire which screams professionalism and wealthiness. The mixed scent of expensive perfumes and men's aftershaves envelops the air around me. Is it because they want to impress their boss in the kick-off meeting or do they dress up like this every day? Compared to them, I look like a waitress who delivers a tray of drinks and snacks at a gathering party. I feel under-dressed.

Apparently, I'm still used to how things worked in my previous construction company, where people got dressed merely for practical purposes. As long as we didn't go to work in pajamas and covered the parts that needed to be covered, we were cool. Not that I'm against fashion trends. It's more the nature of business in my former workplace just didn't give me enough room to explore that. Plus, eighty percent of the population were male technicians. Hence, it explains my relationship with fashion.

Gina escorts me to one group that crams the spot at the front corner by the window. Two women are sitting on a table while two guys stand in front of them. I instantly spot Max, my direct boss who was involved in the screening interview during my recruitment.

"Hi, Charlotte. It's good to finally see you here! Welcome to the team!" Max greets me with a wide grin. He shakes my hand before introducing me to the rest of the team. The other guy is Sebastian, who has been on the team for four years. Before them are Shanti and Donna, the duo who handle the administration work for the team. Shanti has been with the company longer than Sebastian, while Donna just joined last year, around the same time as Gina. After a little chit-chat, Max and Sebastian are summoned by another team to discuss who knows what, leaving me with the girls.

"So, what's the meeting about?" I ask the girls.

Gina waves her hand with a dismissive gesture while her other hand is busy scrolling down her phone screen. "Boring stuff. We will give a recap about our last month's achievement and what's the plan for this month."

"But why does everyone have to be here? Why not just the managers? It saves more time."

"Oh, he wants to see all of us because he loves us too much, just as much as we love him," Shanti replies, followed by a giggle from Donna.

"He who?" I ask.

"You will see." Shanti beams before leaning into my ear. "He's the hottest creature in the building. Make sure you hold your knickers in place or they will drop on the floor when our daddy enters the room."

Gina snorts. "Wait until you have to talk to him, your panties will go back up by themselves, in one blink of an eye."

"He can be nasty sometimes, that's true. But still, he's my nasty daddy," Shanti says.

"Sometimes is the understatement of the year. He is always nasty. You will need to keep your blood pressure in check when he's around." Gina rolls her eyes. "Have you heard about his new assistant? He's not coming back today."

"Alex is leaving?" Donna chips in, a disappointment in her tone. "Who told you?"

"I have sources," Gina replies smugly, still not shifting her gaze from her phone. "So, he's assistant-less again today. Let's see how fast they can find a replacement."

"I don't mind going up and helping out," Shanti says dreamily.

"Over my dead body." Gina scoffs.

"What dead body?" Sebastian's voice comes from behind me. He then plops down between Shanti and Donna, earning protest groans from the pair as they have to scoot to both sides.

"It's about Mr. Knight's new assistant–"

"He is dead?" Sebastian's eyes widen.

"No! Stop cutting me!" Donna glares at Sebastian. "According to Gina, Mr. Knight's new executive assistant quit, again. And Shanti is more than happy to help out until they find his replacement."

"Not happening. Shan-shan stays with us," Sebastian replies before turning himself to face Shanti. "And what will you gain from that? You know he won't drop any penny for your service."

"He doesn't need to. I prefer that he drops something else, though." Shanti twirls a lock of her brown hair, her eyes blinking rapidly.

"Like what?"

"Like his Hugo Boss boxer."

Sebastian's nose wrinkles as his lips curl up. "Ew! How do you even know the brand of his underwear?"

"Oh, I know almost everything about him. Inside out. You have no idea."

"Enlighten me. What do you know about him that I don't?" Sebastian challenges before adding, "Except for his underwear brands. Or his condom size."

Shanti purses her lips, looking up at the ceiling. "That his balls are bigger than your brain?"

Donna practically screams while Gina snorts and makes a weird gurgling noise. And I'm in love with my team already.

"Poor Hugo Boss." Sebastian shakes his head while making a clicking noise with his tongue. "What has his underwear done to him to deserve all this?"

Shanti narrows her eyes at him. "It's an insult to your brain, you dimwit, not to his balls."

That's when the meeting door swings open, announcing the arrival of a man dressed in a dark grey Armani suit. Behind him, stands a middle-aged Asian man who looks equally intimidating as he is. The laughter, the hum of conversations, and the shuffling noise die down instantly.

"Good morning!" the man in a grey suit greets in his deep voice as he strides to the middle of the room. The fact that he shuts up everyone solely with his presence is evidence that he must be the number one person of Knight & Co., Our CEO.

I saw his picture during orientation week, but he looks younger in real life; he's probably in his mid-thirties. The way he carries himself screams arrogance, also a warning that he's not a man to fuck with. He's not extremely tall but definitely taller than average height. His chestnut hair is pulled backward in a slicked-back style, and his chiseled jaws are free from stubble. Unfortunately, I can't study his face since he's now standing in the middle of the room with his back to me. All I can see is his rear side and my eyes are stuck on his bottom for some reason.

The man with gigantic balls in Hugo Boss underwear. Okay, I shouldn't have that weird image in my mind but I can't help it. Shanti's words are tattooed in my mind already.

Mr. Knight rubs his palms in excitement. "I can feel everyone's enthusiasm about our first-trimester achievement. But before we go down to our sales figure" —he glances at the man who has been standing behind him— "our CFO, Mr. Tan, is going to share some vital information." After giving the floor to Mr. Tan, Mr. Knight heads to the closest table and sits down.

Now that he's facing in my direction, I can have a better look at him. He has pale skin. Even for the winter season like now, he is paler than most people. Probably life as a CEO takes away the luxury of having fun under the sun as normal people have. Still, it can't hide his hunkiness. His square and sharp jawlines frame his intense eyes, straight nose, and plump lips flawlessly. He's not bad. No, scratch that. He is hot. And it makes me wonder how pictures in the company profiles can be so deceiving.

Something inside me stirs. The more I look at him, the more my mind picks up the familiarity, but I can't pull the exact memory out of it. Probably I'd seen him in an online business journal way before I joined this company. He's one of those important people in the business society after all.

As if sensing that someone is gawking at him, Mr. Knight shifts his gaze, and his mesmerizing green eyes lock with mine.

My heart skips a beat.

⭐⭐⭐