She walked in like she belonged there.
No hesitation. No fumbling with the door. No nervous eyes. Just calm, controlled elegance wrapped in soft perfume and silent defiance.
Mara Rahim.
She wasn't what I expected. The resume was average, the references barely convincing. But the girl standing in front of me this morning?
Unpredictable.
She greeted me with a smile; subtle, sharp, and laced with something I couldn't name.
"Early," I said.
"Told you I learn fast."
Confident. Polished. Calculated.
But there was something else.
Something offbeat.
It wasn't her looks; I'd seen hundreds of women just like her walk in, chase a paycheck, fake a smile, then crumble under pressure. But Mara… she had something different. There was steel behind her softness. Quiet fire.
And when she walked out?
I found myself watching the door a second too long.
No. Not this again.
I reached for the file she'd be working on this week. I wasn't going easy on her, but I wasn't setting her up to fail either.
Truth is, I wanted to see how far she'd go. How long she'd last.
Most assistants didn't survive past three weeks.
And Mara?
She might not even make it to two.
But somehow... I had a feeling this girl wasn't here to survive.
She was here to win.
And I didn't know whether to admire her;
—or stop her.