Chapter 7 — The CEO’s Personal Intern

The transfer notice arrived shortly after nine in the morning.

Thea had just finished reviewing a set of figures for the North American accounts when a message from Human Resources appeared in her inbox, informing her that, effective immediately, she would be temporarily reassigned to the CEO’s executive suite to assist with ongoing North American business operations. She read it twice, certain she had misunderstood something, but the words remained exactly where they were.

For a few seconds, she simply stared at the screen.

The CEO’s executive suite.

Around her, the office continued as usual, phones ringing, keyboards clicking, people moving between desks with folders in their hands, but Thea could already imagine what would happen once everyone found out. She had barely survived the gossip surrounding Felix’s earlier attention toward her. Now she was being moved directly to his floor.

She closed the email and immediately went looking for Antia.

“You have to help me decline this,” Thea said the moment she reached Antia’s desk, lowering her voice as she glanced toward the other employees nearby.

Antia looked up from her monitor, one eyebrow lifting. “Good morning to you too.”

“They’re transferring me to the executive suite.” Thea leaned closer, keeping her voice low.

“I know.” Antia turned her attention back to the screen.

“You know?” Thea straightened, staring at her in disbelief.

“The email was copied to me.” Antia tapped the edge of her keyboard before looking up again.

Thea lowered her voice. “Antia, please. I cannot do this.” She clasped her hands together in front of her, her expression becoming more desperate.

Antia leaned back in her chair and studied her face. “Why?”

“Because everyone is going to talk.” Thea folded her arms, already imagining the looks and whispers that would follow her upstairs.

“Everyone already talks.” Antia gave a small shrug.

“That is not helping.” Thea frowned.

“It is not supposed to help. It is supposed to be true.” Antia's mouth curved slightly as though she knew exactly how frustrating that answer was going to be.

Thea folded her arms tighter. “I can stay here. I’m already doing well with the North American accounts. If they need extra help, someone else can do it.”

Antia gave her a look that made Thea immediately understand where this was going.

“You can refuse a transfer from your supervisor,” Antia said carefully, folding her hands on the desk, “but this is not a request from some random supervisor. It came from the CEO’s office.”

“That is exactly why I want to refuse it.” Thea shook her head.

“And that is exactly why I am not going to advise you to do it.” Antia held her gaze.

Thea sighed and looked away.

Antia softened slightly. “You have worked too hard to put your internship at risk because you are worried about what people might say.”

“I’m not worried about what people might say. I’m worried about what they’ll assume.” Thea looked back at her.

“Those are the same thing.” Antia picked up her pen and turned it between her fingers.

“No, they aren't.” Thea shook her head again.

Antia smiled faintly. “Either way, you have to go.”

Thea stood there for another moment, wishing she could find some reasonable argument that would change Antia’s mind, but there was none. She returned to her desk, collected her notebook, the mug she had brought from home that morning, and the few things she would need for the day. She paused before leaving, looking around the Sales floor that had become familiar to her in a surprisingly short time.

Then she picked up her bag.

If she had to go upstairs, she would go upstairs.

She would do her work, keep her head down, and leave the rest alone.

At least, that was what she told herself as she stepped into the elevator.

By the time Thea reached the executive suite, she had repeated the same thought enough times to almost believe it.

She was there to work.

Nothing more.

Felix was waiting for her when she arrived.

He stood near the windows with a document in one hand, dressed in another perfectly fitted suit that made Thea suddenly conscious of the fact that she was wearing the same simple blouse and trousers she had chosen that morning. His expression remained unreadable as he looked at her, but his eyes paused briefly on the mug in her hand before returning to her face.

“You came.” Felix lowered the document slightly as he watched her approach.

“You told me to.” Thea held his gaze, then moved toward the chair opposite his desk.

Something almost amused passed through his expression.

“Come in.” Felix gestured toward the chair.

Thea stepped inside his office and sat only after he indicated it. She placed her notebook on her lap and waited.

Felix remained standing for a moment before walking back to his desk.

“The North American operations team has been dealing with several overlapping reports,” he explained, setting the document down. “I need someone familiar with the account history to work directly with the executive office while we restructure the reporting process.”

Thea nodded slowly. “And that person is me?” She watched him carefully.

“Yes.” Felix gave a simple nod.

“Why?” Thea's fingers tightened slightly around the edge of her notebook.

“Because you have already worked on the account.”

“That doesn't explain why I have to be transferred.” She tilted her head, waiting for a fuller answer.

“It explains part of it.” Felix leaned back slightly in his chair.

She looked at him. “Mr. Carter, if I'm being moved here because you think I need to be watched, I'd rather you say that directly.” Her voice remained respectful, but there was no mistaking the challenge in it.

Felix's expression changed slightly.

“You are not being punished.” He held her gaze.

“I didn't say I was.” Thea glanced down briefly before looking back at him.

“You implied it.” Felix folded his hands together.

“I’m trying to understand what merit I’m supposed to have in this.” She sat straighter.

His eyes stayed on hers.

“You are here because of your capability.” Felix said it without hesitation.

The answer came so simply that Thea did not immediately know what to say.

Felix continued, “You identified the pricing discrepancy when several others missed it. You handled the corrupted report without allowing the pressure to interfere with your work, and you have demonstrated that you can be trusted with sensitive information. I need those qualities here.” He tapped the report lightly as he finished.

Thea looked down at her notebook, running her thumb along its edge.

That was not the answer she had expected.

“So this is strictly work?” She raised her eyes again.

“Yes.” Felix nodded once.

She looked up again. “Good.” She closed her notebook for a moment.

Felix raised an eyebrow.

“I just want to be clear,” she explained, opening the notebook again. “I don't want anyone thinking I got this position because of something other than my work.”

“I don't care what anyone thinks.” Felix's answer was immediate.

“I do.” Thea met his eyes firmly.

“I know.” Something faint shifted in his expression.

Thea frowned slightly at that, but Felix had already returned his attention to the documents on his desk.

She opened her notebook.

“Then tell me what you need.” Thea uncapped her pen and prepared to write.

For the next several hours, the arrangement felt almost normal.

Almost.

Thea worked at the workstation that had been prepared for her just outside Felix's office, reviewing reports, comparing figures, and organizing the information he needed for the afternoon briefing. The executive suite was quieter than the Sales floor, and there were fewer interruptions, but the silence made her much more aware of Felix's presence than she would have liked.

She discovered that he did not spend every minute looking severe and unapproachable.

Sometimes he rubbed his forehead when a document was badly prepared. Sometimes he muttered something under his breath when a number was wrong. Once, when Thea handed him a report containing an obvious formatting mistake from another department, he stared at it for several seconds before looking at her.

“Did they send this to you expecting you to fix it?” Felix asked, holding the report between two fingers.

Thea looked at the page.

“Yes.” She nodded toward it.

Felix sighed and lowered the document.

She tried not to smile.

“You're allowed to laugh,” he said without looking up, though the corner of his mouth moved slightly.

“I wasn't laughing.” Thea pressed her lips together.

“You were about to.” Felix finally looked at her.

“I was thinking.” She tried to keep her face straight.

“About laughing.” He raised an eyebrow.

That time she did smile.

It was a small thing, but Felix noticed.

He noticed far more than Thea realized.

He learned that she tapped the end of her pen against her notebook whenever she was checking numbers in her head. He learned that she pushed her hair behind her ear when concentrating and forgot about it a few minutes later, leaving several strands loose around her face again. He learned that she became unusually quiet when she was tired, not because she had nothing to say but because she was using what little energy she had left to finish whatever was in front of her.

And he noticed that she never asked for praise.

When he corrected something, she listened. When he explained something, she paid attention. When she made a mistake, she fixed it without trying to make excuses for herself.

It was different from what Felix was accustomed to seeing around him.

Most people changed when they entered his office. They became careful with their words, more eager to impress, more conscious of his position. Thea remained respectful, but she still questioned him when she disagreed.

That afternoon, she pointed at a figure on his briefing document.

“This projection is too conservative.” Thea tapped the figure with her pen.

Felix looked at her.

She immediately wondered whether she had gone too far.

“You think so?” He leaned slightly closer to examine the number.

“Yes.” She turned her notebook toward him.

“Explain.” Felix gestured for her to continue.

She moved her chair closer to the desk and showed him the figures she had been comparing. Felix listened without interrupting, then looked back at the document.

“You're right.” He marked the figure with his pen.

“Change it.” He slid the document back toward her.

Thea nodded and returned to her workstation.

The small acknowledgment stayed with her longer than she wanted it to.

She had expected the CEO of Carter Conglomerate to be difficult to work with. She had expected arrogance, impatience, and an unreasonable need to remind everyone that he was the person in charge.

Instead, she was beginning to see pieces of the man beneath the reputation.

That was perhaps more dangerous.

Across the suite, Linda stood near the entrance with a folder in her hand, looking toward the new workstation that had been placed outside Felix's office.

Thea was there.

Not visiting.

Not delivering a document.

Working.

Linda's eyes moved briefly toward Felix's office before returning to Thea. She remembered their conversation from the previous day and the certainty with which Felix had denied her accusation.

She had not believed him then.

She believed him even less now.

Thea, unaware that she was being watched, continued working until her phone vibrated.

She glanced at the screen.

The hospital.

Her expression changed immediately.

She answered the call and listened.

“What?” Thea's fingers tightened around the phone.

Her voice had become quieter.

She turned slightly away from the others, but Felix had already noticed.

“Mia?” she asked, rising slowly from her chair.

There was a pause.

“Has her condition gotten worse?” Her voice trembled slightly despite her attempt to control it.

Another pause.

Thea closed her eyes briefly.

“I understand. Yes. I'll come.” She ended the call and lowered the phone.

She did not move.

Her eyes remained on the briefing document in front of her.

She looked at the clock.

Four twenty-three.

The briefing was scheduled for five.

She could finish it.

She had to finish it.

Felix stepped out of his office.

“Thea.” He stopped beside her workstation.

She looked up quickly. “I'm fine.” She reached for the briefing document.

“I didn't ask.” Felix watched her carefully.

“My sister is at the hospital.” Thea swallowed and looked down at the document.

Felix's expression changed.

“They said her condition has gotten worse,” Thea continued, forcing herself to focus. “But I can finish the briefing first. It's almost done.”

“No.” Felix took the document from her desk.

She stared at him.

“I can finish it.” She reached toward the papers.

“You're going to the hospital.” He kept the document in his hand.

“But the briefing—” Thea glanced toward the clock.

“I'll handle it.” Felix's voice remained calm.

“I don't want to leave unfinished work.” She shook her head.

“You're not leaving it unfinished. You're handing it over.” He placed the papers neatly on his desk.

Thea looked at the document, clearly reluctant.

Felix walked closer and picked up the rest of the briefing materials.

“I said I'll handle it.” He held her gaze.

She stood slowly.

“Thank you.” Thea gathered her phone and notebook.

He nodded once.

Thea gathered her things, still looking as though she felt guilty for leaving.

Linda watched from across the room.

There was no irritation in Felix's face, no impatience at being interrupted, no concern about the work that had been left behind. He had simply taken the document from Thea and told her to go.

Thea hurried toward the elevator.

Felix remained where he was until the doors closed behind her.

His phone vibrated almost immediately.

He looked down at the message.

It was from Jasper.

Your intern is crying in my hospital ward.

Felix stared at the screen for one second before setting aside the board documents he had been reviewing.

He was already moving toward the elevator.

Linda watched him leave.

And for the first time, she understood that whatever Felix felt for Thea had gone far beyond simple professional interest.