Chapter 1

VELMONT (COSMIC GROUP)

Emery Collins rushed into the building and quickly took the elevator up to her office.

“The director’s been waiting for you. He’s really mad,” Joan, the project manager’s secretary, whispered as soon as she saw Emery.

Emery scowled. If it wasn’t for that annoying Becky, she would’ve been here much earlier.

She grabbed Joan’s hand and pulled her into the office, closing the door behind them. “Do you know why he’s looking for me?”

“Yeah,” Joan whispered. “The CEO just came back and he wants reports from every department.”

“What about the project manager? Isn’t that his job?” Emery asked. She was only the assistant, so the report wasn’t her responsibility, unless the manager wasn’t around. But before she left earlier, Mr. Thomas was still in his office.

“He got a call that his wife went into labor, so he asked the director for permission to leave. That was before the CEO showed up.”

Emery’s stomach dropped. How was she supposed to pull together a full report last-minute? “Aren’t we supposed to get a heads-up? They can’t just pop in and demand reports.”

“You should probably go see the director. He looks super mad,” Joan said.

With a sigh, Emery walked toward the director’s office.

The moment she opened the door and stepped inside, the director snapped. “Is this how you do your job? Just leaving without telling anyone?”

“I’m really sorry, sir. I didn’t know Mr. Thomas had left,” she replied quickly.

“Sorry? You’re his assistant! Shouldn’t you be around when he’s not?”

“I understand, sir. I asked him for permission before I left. I didn’t know something urgent would come up. I’m truly sorry.” At this point, all she could do was apologize.

“I’ve been calling you for a while!” His face was red, and the veins on his forehead were showing.

“I ran into a delay on the way, sir. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not.” He rubbed his forehead. “The CEO showed up without notice and wants reports from every department. Since Mr. Thomas isn’t here, you’ll have to handle it.”

“I’ll get on it right away,” Emery said and turned to leave.

“Um, Ms. Collins,” the director said, “he has a bit of a temper, so don’t take anything he says too personally.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I see. Thank you, sir.”

Emery quickly headed back to her office and started searching through Mr. Thomas’s drawer for the reports from the past few months.

“The last time the CEO came back was four years ago,” Joan said, standing at the door. “He only stayed for a month and left again.”

Emery looked up. “Hmm.”

“I heard he’s staying this time,” Joan added. “Which means we’ll be seeing him every single day!” She dragged out the word like it was a nightmare.

Emery shrugged. “That’s not so bad.”

“Don’t say that, Ms. Collins. It is bad. He’s got a terrible temper and is never happy with our work. He’s rude, cold, and super mean. Trust me, you don’t want to deal with him daily.”

The director said he had a small temper, but Joan made it sound much worse. Emery didn’t know who to believe. She’d only been at Cosmic Group for a few months, while Joan had been there five years.

“I see,” Emery said, standing up with the neatly arranged report files in her hands. “I’ll go submit my report now.”

“Good luck,” Joan said.

Emery paused and looked at her. Good luck? Why did that sound like she was heading into danger?

“Thanks,” she mumbled and left the office.

She took the elevator to the top floor, where the CEO’s office was.

“I feel bad for the procurement manager,” one of the staff in the elevator whispered. “The CEO kicked him out of his office.”

“He even threw coffee at him,” another staff member added quietly. “Didn’t care how old he was. That guy is heartless.”

“I heard he didn’t like any of the reports. All the managers came out of his office either upset or angry.”

Emery’s heart started to race. If that was the same CEO she was about to meet, then the director definitely downplayed things. Joan was probably right—he sounded scary.

Soon, the other staff got off the elevator, leaving her alone.

From what she had heard, the CEO wasn’t just strict. He was terrifying. Or maybe just miserable. Either way, she suddenly felt a chill as the elevator came to a stop.

Taking a deep breath, Emery stepped out of the elevator. The whole floor was silent and completely empty. There were only a few doors, and all of them were closed.

The desk meant for the secretary was empty too. It didn’t even look like anyone had used it in a long time.

Still, the place was spotless. It was clear someone cleaned it every day. But who worked all alone on an entire floor like this? Was he some kind of devil?

She looked at the signs on the doors until she found the one marked CEO at the far end. That was it.

The moment she opened that door, she’d be face to face with the terrifying man everyone talked about.

Emery glanced down at the reports in her hands and let out a quiet sigh. Why did Mr. Thomas's wife have to go into labor today, of all days?

Carefully, she knocked on the door. No response. She knocked again. Then she heard a deep, cold voice:

“Come in.”

She slowly pushed the door open and walked inside.

To her surprise, the man wasn’t what she expected. She had imagined someone older, maybe with a scar or some disability that explained his bad attitude. But instead, she saw a young man sitting confidently on a sofa, with sharp, perfect features.

He looked like he had stepped out of a magazine. He was, ridiculously good-looking.

"Are you done staring?" His deep voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Do I look that good that you didn’t notice the drool coming out of your mouth?"

Startled, she wiped her mouth quickly. But there was no drool. Was he joking? She wasn’t staring, just thinking.

“Disgusting. Stupid,” he muttered, clearly annoyed, then stood up and walked to his desk.

"Get me the PR manager!" he suddenly shouted like a wild animal. “You should be fired!”