The elevator door opened, and Coral stepped out.
"Good morning."
She greeted the girl at the counter. She replied with a warm smile. The floor was nearly empty as there weren't many people working on the president's floor. And those who work remained on this side of the floor. Not everyone was permitted in the president's area. The more she walked inside, the emptier the corridor became. And then, finally she reached the huge double doors with the nameplate "President's Chamber." She pushed the door open and entered the corridor, at the end of which her cabin was situated on the left side.
She reached her desk and sat down in the chair, letting out a sigh. Just then, a heavy voice came through the intercom.
"Come to my office now."
Her hand flew to her chest as she flinched at the voice. She realized that it was her boss. She hurriedly stood up and went to the president's office. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and entered, closing it behind her.
Danzel sat behind his desk, writing something on the document before him. He looked fresh, dressed in an expensive suit, radiating his dominating aura.
"You are late." he stated before lifting his face to look at her. "What a way to start your first day, isn't it?"
His gaze pierced through her, while his tone held mockery. Coral was confused as there were still ten minutes to 10.
"I'm sorry, sir. But HR said the office starts at 10." She said hesitantly as she slowly walked towards the desk.
He narrowed his eyes at her, placing the pen down while turning all his attention to her. His look was scrutinizing.
"Are you arguing with me?"
"N-no, sir. I thought..."
"You are here as my personal secretary." he cut her off. "You will follow my timetable, not the office's. And you will arrive before me if you want to stay here. Got it?"
"Yes, sir. It will never happen again." Coral lowered her head.
Danzel clenched his jaw, averting his gaze to his laptop. "Go to your desk. I've sent some files. Print two copies each and bring them to me in five minutes."
"Okay, sir." Coral replied and immediately left his office.
Danzel raised his eyes and looked at the closed door as he leaned against his chair.
Coral hurriedly arrived at her desk and got to work. There was a printing machine in her cabin, so she didn't have to go to the other side of the floor. Fortunately, she had seen the basics on the previous day and knew how to run the machines. But as she was using it for the first time, it took her more time. By the time she entered her boss's office, it was past five minutes.
"You took almost ten minutes." Danzel stated, looking at his watch.
This time, Liam was also there, standing beside the desk in silence.
"Sorry, sir... It was my first time using the machine, so... it won't happen again." Coral said. She hated that she had failed to complete the task on time.
"It's like you're a person of excuses, Miss... what's your name again?" His tone wasn't angry but unimpressed. And by his words, he was making it clear that he thought her unworthy of the job. She felt insulted.
"Coral Stone, sir." she replied, placing the printed papers on the desk.
Danzel took the papers to examine them. Coral felt nervous and prayed inwardly that everything was fine. She didn't want to give him another reason to think lowly of her. But again, luck wasn't on her side. Her heartbeat skipped a bit when Danzel frowned, looking at the papers.
"What's this?" He threw the papers on the desk, making her flinch.
"W-what happened, sir?" Her voice stumbled.
"What kind of font is this?" He pointed his finger at the papers.
Coral took the papers and checked the fonts. It wasn't bad, but she didn't dare say it to him. "The font was default, sir. I didn't change it."
Danzel appeared irritated. "Is this how you're going to survive here? This is an office. Change the fonts to more professional ones." He said in a harsh tone.
"Yes, sir." Coral immediately left the room, taking the papers with her. It appeared that her first day wasn't going to be easy for her.
After returning to her cabin, she looked at the fonts, but she was confused. What if he didn't like this too? The previous one wasn't bad, but he still scolded her. But she didn't have the courage to go and ask that ruthless man which font she should choose. So, praying to God, she selected a font that she thought was professional.
After another five minutes, she was again in front of his desk.
"Here, sir." She placed the papers on the desk.
His eyes were fixed on his laptop, and he didn't even cast her a glance.
"We have a board meeting in fifteen minutes." He paused and looked at her, raising a brow. "It should have been you, my personal secretary, who would have informed me about it. But see, it's the vice versa."
Another taunt.
Coral's face went red with embarrassment. "Sir... I..." she was at a loss for words.
"Liam, go with Miss Stone and make the arrangements. She has already wasted so much time."
Liam nodded and looked at Coral.
"This way, Miss Stone." Liam said and headed towards the door.
As she was going to follow, Danzel's voice came. "You forgot the papers, Miss Stone."
Coral stopped and looked at him. He gestured towards the papers, which he hadn't even seen once. She was confused. Was he not going to check the font? Danzel, on the other hand, returned his focus to his computer, completely ignoring her questioning look. She approached the table, silently took the papers, and followed Liam out of the office.
She couldn't believe that all the fuss was for nothing. Because of his displeasure over some stupid font, she didn't get to see the day's schedule. But he didn't fail to make her remember how she had failed again. She felt his behavior was unfair. Unfortunately, she wasn't in a place to question her boss's actions.
....
Half an hour later, Coral stood in the meeting room with an empty file in her hand. All the seats had been occupied. Only the head chair was empty, and it belonged to Mr. Knight, of course. She had been told to distribute the papers to everyone, which she had done. Now she prayed that everything would go well. She didn't want to mess anything up in the meeting and give him another reason to think lowly of her. It wasn't even half the day, and she had heard enough of her boss's taunts.
Soon, the door opened, and Danzel Knight walked in like a king, with his powerful aura. He didn't cast a glance at anyone and walked straight to his chair and sat down. Liam followed behind him and stood at the side, beside Coral.
"Has everyone arrived?"
"Yes, Mr. Knight." One of the men replied.
Danzel nodded. "Let's begin."
All the board members looked at the papers before them.
"What's this? This paper is for the finance manager. Why did you give it to me?" One of the men asked, looking at Coral.
Coral's face turned pale.