Chapter 5 - The Snake in the Grass
Maya felt a familiar coldness settle in her stomach, but she didn't shrink back. She stood up from her desk, smoothing down her skirt. “I am Maya Collins, Mr. Vance’s executive assistant. And you must be looking for the exit, because visiting hours for non-employees ended at six.”
Victoria’s eyes widened in sheer outrage. She turned to Julian, her voice rising. “Julian! Are you going to let this commoner speak to me like that? My father owns fifteen percent of your company’s shares!”
“Maya is entirely right, Victoria,” Julian said, his voice dangerously low. “She is my assistant, and she runs this floor. If you do not leave immediately, I will have security escort you out of the building. And tell my mother that if she wishes to speak to me, she can call my office directly—through Maya.”
Victoria gasped, her face flushing a deep crimson. She glared at Maya with pure, unadulterated hatred. “You’ll regret this,” she hissed at Maya. “Both of you.”
She turned on her heel and stormed back toward the elevators, her heels striking the floor like mini-explosions.
Once she was gone, Maya let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. “I think I just made a very powerful enemy.”
“Victoria is harmless on her own,” Julian sighed, rubbing his temples. “But she and my aunt Eleanor are close. They’ve been trying to force an alliance between our families for years to consolidate board control. Just keep your distance from both of them.”
Over the next two weeks, Maya did exactly that. She threw herself into her work, becoming completely indispensable to Julian. They developed a seamless rhythm. A single glance from Julian was all it took for Maya to know what file he needed or when he needed a meeting cut short.
But beneath the professional efficiency, the tension between them was tightening like a coiled spring. It was in the way his hand lingered a second too long when she handed him his tablet, the way he looked at her when she laughed, and the quiet late-night conversations they shared after the rest of the world went home.
Meanwhile, in the shadows of the 44th floor, Eleanor Vance and Victoria were plotting.
“The board meeting for the Tokyo merger is in three days,” Eleanor said, staring at a monitor inside her private office. On the screen was a live security feed of Maya working at her desk. “Julian is banking everything on this deal. If the confidential financial projections leak to the press before the vote, the stock will plummet, the board will panic, and Julian’s leadership will be brought into question.”
May you like
Victoria smiled cruelly, swirling a glass of wine. “And since the bus girl has full administrative access to Julian’s secure database…”
“Exactly,” Eleanor purred, her fingers tapping against her desk. “We kill two birds with one stone. We oust Julian from the CEO chair, put my husband in his place, and send that little blonde trash back to the gutter where she belongs.”
