Hearts and High Stakes

As if struck by a eureka moment, the employees moved about their desks, laughing and chatting loudly throughout the building. Despite their seemingly easygoing appearance, Miller Corporation employees were anything but, with their only goal being to please their boss.

At 7:15 a.m., their boss was still absent from work. The boss was always here before 7 a.m. to avoid running into them. Most workers didn't know who they worked for but were told to be on time because the dictator boss hated being late. The boss had also cautioned them not to make any noise, and they always remained as quiet as possible. They were afraid of an unknown force.

The stillness that descended upon the whole building was startling.

It seemed as though the area had abruptly changed into a silent graveyard. The silence was so profound that it felt like a single pin had fallen. Her heels clicking against the white tile floor was the only sound audible in the calm.

Head held high, her dark gaze scorching everything in her path, she entered the building. She was dressed in a black straight skirt, a white shirt, and a black jacket from a designer suit, all of which hugged her figure and emphasized her tanned legs. Her brown hair, neatly pulled into a bun, hung down to her shoulders, highlighting her tanned complexion. She was carrying a brand-new, high-end purse that likely cost three people's salaries in the building and a black briefcase she most probably carried to work every day. Her appearance belied her age. Still, others were terrified by her icy demeanor.

Many people were unaware of Olivia Miller, the twenty-eight-year-old CEO of Miller Corporation and one of the wealthiest women in London and the entire world. She and her brother, David Miller, founded Miller Corporations ten years ago at the tender age of eighteen, engulfing the world in their power. After just two years in operation, they had twenty branches throughout several nations, and by the end of the third year, they had established themselves as multibillionaires. Olivia Miller keeps everything else hidden.

A few employees regarded her with curiosity. They mistook Olivia Miller for a guy when they first heard about her, but one glance at her confirmed their suspicions-she was far more terrifying than most women they had known. She strode past a group of interns in her way and marched over to the reception desk, where Aria Wilson, the receptionist, was standing with her glasses positioned over her nose. "Good morning, Miss Miller." She smiled warmly as she said hello. However, her employer was not experiencing the same level of positivity as she was on Monday morning.

"When Zoey arrives, tell her to come to my office immediately." Olivia Miller gave an icy command.

Aria's face became white, and she nodded excitedly before trembling and answering, "Yes, Miss Miller."

With a curt nod, Olivia moved graciously toward her elevator. She pushed the button that led to her office on the last floor. The elevator doors opened, and everyone released their held breaths as soon as she stepped inside.

Olivia stepped out of the elevator on the final floor in silence. On her way to her office, she passed her secretary's desk, which was empty. Glancing over the vacant area, she strained to see her secretary, Sophia Davies. Shaking her head, she went into her office.

Her office was large and flashy. A wide glass partition separated her office and the reception desk outside, while another wall on the opposite side provided a view of London's business district. The other two walls, not composed of glass, were simply regular walls with a gray paint job. Awards and painting collections were on the left wall, behind the massive brown mahogany desk. To the left of the desk was a sizable drawer cabinet with several drawers, and to the right was a glass stand displaying additional accolades and diplomas. Next, an oversized white office couch with royal blue cushions stood directly against the front glass wall in the middle of the workspace. Across from Olivia's desk was a larger cabinet with several drawers and a smaller desk belonging to Zoey Brown, her personal assistant.

Olivia made her way to her workstation, set down her briefcase and purse, and then turned the desk around to remove her jacket, which she folded up and stacked atop the oversized chair. Before she began working, she sat down, took her laptop from her briefcase, and turned it on.

She waited nervously for her personal assistant to arrive, and she kept checking her watch. Olivia expected her to arrive an hour or less earlier, yet she remained unseen at nearly 10 in the morning. A slender lady in a plain knee-length blue dress appeared outside Olivia's office. She sighed and took up her office phone to call Aria.

The woman stood at the office desk, engrossed in a phone conversation, seemingly oblivious to her employer, who gave her a stern look. Zoey Brown, a twenty-five-year-old, traveled to London for employment. Unexpectedly, she found herself working as Olivia Miller's personal assistant at Miller Corporation for the past five years. "Good morning; sorry I am late." She spoke cheerfully as she entered the office. She put her purse on her desk and walked over to sit in one of the empty seats in front of Olivia's desk. She tossed her long brown hair and leaned back into her seat, putting her phone and a tiny pack on the desk.

"Why are you late?" Olivia asked without opening her eyes.

Rolling her eyes, Zoey muttered to herself, "Monday blues." Glancing up from the screen, Olivia closed her laptop and sat back against her seat, crossing her knees and moving her chair back and forth while examining Zoey. Recognizing that her boss would not give up, Zoey sighed and straightened her back. "I was out sorting out the mess you created, Miss Miller; you missed the meeting with the accountants, so I had to meet up with them and find a way forward." She says.

"I didn't miss the meeting with the accountant because it wasn't scheduled. I told you to cancel all my meetings and appointments," Olivia firmly stated as she leaned forward.

"Olivia, you are a multibillionaire and the Chief Executive of a multi-national corporation with numerous locations worldwide." We cannot cancel these meetings; in case you haven't noticed, the corporation has had almost 20 million dollars stolen." Zoey explained the situation in a tone that was reminiscent of a toddler. Olivia did not like how Zoey talked to her, so she clinched her jaw and squeezed her lips into a narrow line.

The only person in the office who was close to Olivia's friend was Zoey. Olivia ignored everyone, but since Zoey Brown was her long-standing personal assistant, she felt compelled to approach her. "However, we resolved it. Excuse me, but the police have already located the suspects." Her phone began to ring, so she lifted her index finger. Before taking the call, she mumbled, "Sorry." "Zoey Brown speaking, hello?" She glanced at her boss, who was currently organizing the office, and spoke. "Hello Aiden, how may I help you?" Her eyebrows knitted as she listened to Olivia Miller's driver talk on the other end of the line, wondering what Olivia was searching for. "Oh, I see. I will inform her. Thank you, and goodbye. She put her phone back on the desk after hanging up. She said, glancing dubiously at Olivia, "That was Aiden."

"Oh?" Cursing whoever took her ladder from her office, Olivia mumbled nonchalantly as she climbed on a little bank next to her desk, trying to reach the top shelf.

Zoey said, "He told me to tell you that the car is ready and waiting for you in front of the building," but Olivia ignored her and carried on with her work. With a groan, Zoey rose from her seat and circumnavigated Olivia's desk to get the file Olivia was reaching for. With relief, Olivia leaped from the small bank and tried to take the file from Zoey, who was making fun of Olivia's height. "Which vehicle is he referring to? Traveling somewhere?" She enquired.

Olivia clenched her teeth in frustration. She stated firmly, giving no details, "The file." Sighing, Zoey handed her the file and returned to her seat. When finished, Olivia slid the file across the table and paged through it. Zoey snatched it up and turned to the first page with a frown. "Mason Construction Company," Olivia murmured as she sat down. "A construction company, the owner, James Mason, recently retired and passed on the company to his son, James Mason Junior," she said with reluctance.

"You don't sound like a big fan." As Zoey noted.

"He is a young chap. When he spent millions of dollars on a building and used substandard materials, the structure collapsed, killing hundreds of people and forcing the company into bankruptcy. A lawsuit forced him to pay billions of dollars to the impacted families. He is not yet prepared to manage a company. Mr. Mason should have hired a replacement to step in until his son was ready. Olivia stated icily.

"He is just a kid." With sympathy, Zoey remarked.

"He is not fit to run a business," Olivia mocked.

"You weren't exactly old or fit when you started your business." Olivia tensed as the words spilled out of her mouth before she could stop herself. " Olivia." She attempted to clarify, but it was too late; Olivia's hand suddenly raised, causing her to grab Zoey's hand.

"You don't know a single thing about me." With a nearly unrecognizable voice, Olivia spoke in a frigid manner. While Olivia's nails dug further into Zoey's skin, she grew pale and stopped crying. She was no longer the same Olivia as she had been moments ago. She was no longer the Olivia she thought she knew. This Olivia did not sit well with Zoey; she was arrogant, irritable, and heartless, all traits befitting a terrible employer. Zoey knew her actions could not be attributed to Monday blues; she had gone too far and would not be going back. Olivia was right; Zoey knew little about Olivia Miller and was gradually beginning to grasp her true identity. "Zoey Brown, I truly like you, but don't get me wrong; you work for me as your employer, not to judge me based on how fit you think I was when I first started my company. Do you get it?" Zoey nodded in response to her question. When Olivia released her hand, Zoey swiftly withdrew it and fixed her gaze on the desk while pretending nothing had happened. "I am going to Miami for an urgent business meeting. I'm not sure how long it will take, but I'll be away for a week or three." She stated that she was not shocked when Zoey refrained from asking her the innumerable questions that she typically did. "David will be here later today; he will take over while I am away." The mention of David's name made Zoey wince, but she was too weak to protest. "I need you to support and assist him in managing the business. If you need anything, you'll give me a call." With a cautious nod, Zoey handed over the little envelope she had brought with her when she had arrived at the office. "What is this?" Olivia inquired.

"This is my letter of resignation," Zoey whispered to herself.

Olivia calmly observed the woman before her and said, "You quit."

"You can quit, but I'll assume this is your three months' notice," Olivia said matter-of-factly and pushed the envelope back to Zoey without opening it.

"I need to do it. Ignore the fact that any of this happened. I arrived on time this morning. Let's disregard the previous conversation. Let's pretend that we have never met. Zoey expressed her emotions freely.

Zoey pulled back her chair and got to her feet. She pushed the envelope back to Olivia, whose eyes silently dared her to think again. Olivia glanced at the scratches she made on Zoey's palm before darting her gaze to the envelope. "Book an appointment with a doctor under my name." She said it without emotion.

"I can pay my expenses. I hope Miss Miller has a safe journey." After saying so and grabbing her phone, Zoey went to her desk to get her purse. She turned to face Olivia, who gave her a cold glare.

"I am not going to stop you if that's what you expect, Miss Brown; I have better things to do with my time than running after a lousy personal assistant whom I can replace for a few zeros." Olivia grinned tightly and said.

On the verge of tears, Zoey felt a twinge in her chest but forced herself to smile weakly and proceeded towards the door. She paused at the door, turning to give Olivia one more glance. She continued, "I hope that one day you will realize that she is not your friend," and turned to go.

Ignoring Zoey's remarks, Olivia grabbed the envelope. Unfortunately, she had grown to appreciate Zoey and still found it challenging to accept that she was leaving. Zoey arrived at a time when Olivia had already given up five years earlier, following his inexplicable success in firing five personal assistants in a single month. She challenged Olivia on every one of her points, which impressed her.

When she hired Olivia, several of her coworkers had warned her about her brutality, but Zoey chose to ignore them. She knew another aspect of Olivia and thought there must be a reason for her personality. "Zoey Brown! I'll die because of you." Muttering under her breath, Olivia pulled open the packet and carefully unfolded the white page inside. She read it several times until the words finally sank in, at which point she closed her eyes and grasped the paper, her anger steadily building. She got up, put on her jacket, packed her briefcase and paperwork, and headed out of the office. She was pacing toward the ground-level reception counter two minutes later.

As soon as she arrived, she slammed the resignation letter onto the desk, causing the entire floor to erupt in silence and making Aria jump out of fear. "Call Sophia Davis and inform her that my lawyers will contact her. When Zoey Brown returns, instruct her to start searching for a replacement for Miss Davis, or find someone else to take her place if she is tired of working for me." She declared this in a frigid tone, then briskly left the building without looking back.

When they were outside, Olivia got into the car without waiting for the driver to open the door for her. Aiden, the driver, jumped in and inquired, "Where to, Madam?"

"Airport," Olivia replied, watching the office building gradually disappear.