The rain had stopped, but Kampala was still wet with silence.
Sandra Namatovu stood just outside the tall glass doors of J&M Holdings, her heart beating like a drum inside her chest. Her white blouse clung slightly to her skin, not from rain but sweat and nerves. She looked at her watch.
8:05 AM.
Five minutes late. First day. Internship. Banange, this can't be happening, she thought, squeezing her file tight under her arm.
She took a deep breath, wiped the moisture off her forehead, and whispered to herself, "You will not cry, Sandra. Not today."
She stepped through the glass doors into the building's reception, where everything was shiny and silent. Air-conditioned air hit her skin. Cold. Clean.
The security guard barely looked up. She showed him her intern badge. He nodded, unimpressed.
"Tenth floor. HR office," he said flatly, pointing at the elevator.
Sandra nodded quickly and hurried toward it.
As she reached the elevator, the doors began to close.
"Hold it!" she called out.
A dark-skinned hand calmly reached out, stopping the doors from shutting. They opened again with a soft ding.
She stepped inside.
And froze.
The man standing alone in the elevator was… intense. Tall, dressed in a black, perfectly tailored suit. A dark grey shirt underneath. No tie. His face was still like a sculpture, handsome but unreadable. Cold.
He didn't speak.
Sandra felt her breath catch.
"Thank you," she said quietly, her eyes avoiding his. She stood beside him, trying not to look nervous. But something about his silence felt... heavy.
He glanced at her, slowly. His eyes were sharp—like someone who had learned too early in life that silence can be more powerful than words.
The elevator moved upward in complete quiet.
Sandra stared at the floor display: 2... 3... 4...
Why was this man looking at her?
The air between them thickened with something she couldn't explain. Not fear exactly. Not attraction either. Something... heavier.
Ding. The elevator opened on the tenth floor.
She stepped out fast, glad to be free from that strange tension.
But behind her, she heard footsteps.
The same man walked out of the elevator with her.
What?
Sandra's eyes widened.
Two women in formal clothes bowed slightly as he passed.
"Good morning, Mr. Mugeni," they said in low voices.
Her breath caught again.
Mr. Mugeni?
That was James Mugeni? The CEO?
She had entered an elevator with the man who owned the entire building—and spoken to him like he was just any stranger?
Sandra swallowed hard. She had no idea whether to feel embarrassed or scared.
James Mugeni didn't usually notice people. But he noticed her.
There was something familiar.
The curve of her lips when she whispered "thank you." The way she looked at her shoes instead of him. She didn't try to impress him. Didn't ask for anything. No perfume, no flashy nails, no fake smile.
Just quiet… and present.
He watched her walk toward the HR office, then turned toward his own glass-walled office. Staff bowed as he passed. He ignored them.
Inside, he sat down, loosened the first button on his shirt, and looked at the city skyline beyond Kololo Hill.
But his mind was not on buildings or profits.
It was on her face.
In the HR office, Sandra was shaking.
The manager was friendly enough. She was given forms, a laptop, and instructions for her first task. She'd be working under the finance department—but only as an intern. No salary yet. Maybe a small allowance if she proved herself.
She nodded to everything.
But her thoughts kept going back to the elevator.
James Mugeni. The man they called "the CEO who doesn't smile."
She remembered stories from business blogs. That he built J&M Holdings from nothing after his parents died. That he was quiet, brilliant, and impossible to read. That he had no friends. No public girlfriend. No scandals.
Just power.
Sandra wondered what kind of life that was. No softness. No one to laugh with.
She shook off the thought. Focus. You're here to work, not daydream.
Later that afternoon, everything changed.
A knock came on the HR door.
A woman in a pencil skirt and tight bun walked in, holding a folder.
"Is there a Sandra Namatovu here?"
Sandra stood up.
"You're wanted in the CEO's office. Now."
Her heart almost stopped.
"Me?"
The woman looked at her like she was silly. "Yes, you. Don't keep him waiting."
Sandra followed her down the hallway with her legs shaking.
The CEO's office was quiet. Spacious. Cold.
James sat behind a large black desk, typing something on his laptop. His sleeves were rolled up. His wristwatch shimmered in the light. He didn't look up as she entered.
"Close the door."
Sandra obeyed.
Silence.
She stood there, unsure of what to do.
Then he spoke.
"You're not from Makerere, are you?"
She blinked. "No… I studied at Uganda Christian University. Mukono."
He nodded once. Still typing.
"And your CV says you helped run a shop in Kanyanya?"
"Yes. My mum's."
"How long?"
"Since I was sixteen."
He looked up finally. His eyes studied her like she was an unsolved riddle.
"You're smart. But you carry too much on your shoulders."
Sandra didn't know what to say. No one had ever said that to her before.
He stood and walked toward the window, his hands in his pockets.
"There's a charity event this weekend. We sponsor it. I need someone to help manage my schedule there."
She hesitated. "Me?"
"Yes." His voice was low. Calm. Icy.
"But… I'm just an intern."
He turned. "Exactly. You're new. You don't know how to lie yet."
Sandra's eyes widened.
He handed her a small card. It had an address on it.
"Be there. Saturday. 3 PM. Don't be late again."
Back in the elevator, Sandra almost forgot to breathe.
She clutched the card tight.
Why her?
Why did he look at her like that?
Why did her chest feel strange—tight and warm—every time he spoke?
---
Meanwhile, in another office, someone else was watching.
Shinta, the CEO's assistant, stood behind a glass panel, arms crossed. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Sandra exit the CEO's floor.
She turned and picked up her phone.
"Immy," she said into the receiver.
"Yes?" Immy's voice came through cheerfully.
"You're her cousin, right? That intern… Sandra?"
"Yes, why?"
"Keep her away from James Mugeni."
"Eh? Why?"
"Because I said so."