The meeting had continued the following day. It was adjourned.
The boardroom of Exxon Mobil group of companies was silent except for the steady hum of air conditioning. The weight of Martino Brown's presence was enough to make grown men shrink into their seats.
Nichole Lockwood sat near the end of the long mahogany table, notepad open, pen in hand. She had been in meetings for few times since she resumed in a couple of weeks in the Exxon Mobil group of companies but each time felt like stepping into a battlefield.
Martino's sharp gray eyes scanned the reports projected on the screen.
"Decline in refinery efficiency. Unresolved supply chain delays. Pending negotiations dragging longer than necessary."
His tone was smooth, but it cut like glass.
"I do not tolerate incompetence."
The executives shifted nervously.Nichole lowered her gaze to her notes, hoping to escape his attention. But fate was rarely so kind under "the ruthless CEO."
"Miss Lockwood,"Martino's voice cracked through the silence.
She looked up quickly.
"Yes, Sir?
He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled.
"You are my secretary. That means every failure in communication lands on your desk before it reaches mine. Yet here I am, hearing of delays I should have been warned about earlier."
Nichole's stomach dropped.
"Sir, I…"
"Do not interrupt me, woman." His eyes pinned her down like a prey caught in the glare of a predator. The room went still; even the executives seemed to shrink back, grateful it wasn't them.
Nichole bit her lip, clutching her pen so tightly her knuckles whitened.
Martino continued coldly,
"Your role is not to decorate a chair. It is to anticipate, to act, to ensure I am never blindsided by mediocrity if you cannot handle that, then perhaps you're in the wrong position."
Heat rose in Nichole's chest. She wanted to defend herself; wanted to explain that she had, infact, prepared the notes and reminders, that the executives had ignored her memos. But the weight of Martino's gaze crushed the words before they left her lips.Instead,she lowered her head and whispered,
"Understood, sir."
Martino gave a curt nod, as though dismissing her very existence. Then he turned back to the executives.
"Let this be a lesson.Weakness,whether from departments or individuals, will not be tolerated under my rules.Deliver,or step aside.
The meeting dragged on for another hour, but Nichole barely heard a word. Her chest felt tight, her throat raw from swallowing back the sting of humiliation. She kept writing, forcing her pen across the page, her mask of professionalism hiding the storm brewing inside.
When the meeting finally ended, the executives scattered like guilty children.Nichole gathered her papers quietly, avoiding everyone's eyes. She walked back to her desk right there in the boardroom, sat down and tried to steady her trembling hands. But Martino's words replayed in her mind.
"Not to decorate a chair...wrong position."
Those words really got her but they didn't. She had fought through it.
***********************************************
Stepping out of the boardroom with her chest tight, her notebook clutched in her hand as if it were a shield. The memory of Martino Brown's piercing glare still burned in her mind. Every word he uttered carried weight, cold enough to freeze the air around him. His rules were law, his commands absolute.
She knew then that she had stepped into an empire where the CEO was king and she, a mere pawn.
By the time she reached the cafeteria, her shoulders sagged from holding herself upright all morning. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and trays of steaming food floated around, but it was Helena, the receptionist with her honey-brown curls and warm eyes, that drew her attention first.
"Girl, you look like you just survived a firing squad,"
Helena said with a chuckle as she joined Nichole in line.
Nichole exhaled, setting her trays on the counter.
"You have no idea. He's... impossible. Every instruction feels like a trap. One wrong word and I swear he'll order security to toss me out."
Helena raised a brow, clearly amused.
"That's Martino Brown for you. You look like you're about to pass out."
Nichole shook her head, half laughing.
"I honestly thought I was prepared for anything. But the way he looks at someone, it's like he can see every flaw you've ever tried to hide. And the worst part? He makes you feel...small. Like your presence is tolerated, not needed."
Helena patted her arm gently.
"It's going to be fine,Nikky.You will be fine, love. It's just a couple of days before you get use to all of this, okay?
Master of the silent death stare.
Before Nichole could reply, a loud, sarcastic voice drifted from behind them.
"Well, well...if it isn't the CEO's brand new toy,"
Clifford said, leaning casually against the counter. His tie was loose, his smirk insufferable. He worked in accounts and everyone knew he had a tongue as sharp as glass.
"Tell me, Nichole,did His Majesty approve of your penmanship today or are you already on probation?"
Helena rolled her eyes,
"Clifford, not today."
But Clifford wasn't done. He stepped closer, lowering his voice just enough to sting.
"You are brave though. Talking about him out loud like this. Most people around here don't even whisper Martino's name unless they want trouble."
His smirk widened as he leaned in.
"Careful, sweetheart. Walls have ears, and in this company, ears are everywhere."
Nichole's jaw tightened. She had barely survived Martino's suffocating scrutiny and now this arrogant co-worker was poking fun at her? Heat crept up her neck, but instead of shrinking back, she forced herself to straighten.
"I don't need your advice, Clifford,"
she said evenly, lifting her tray.
"And unlike you who fuck around any goddamn ass you catch up with, I don't have the time to loiter around like an unpaid comedian. Some of us actually work here."
Helena's eyes widened, and a grin slowly spread across her face.
"And I don't mind giving you a mind blowing night while taking my full time fucking your cute pussy,my lady," he had replied sarcastically.
"You wish,Mr.man," Nichole had chipped in immediately.
"You disgust me, Clifford,"
She had added while glaring murderously at him.
Clifford's smirk faltered, just for a moment. Then he chuckled darkly.
"Spicy. I like that. Let's see how long you last before Martino chews you up and spits you out." He had whispered to her softly.
"Not until I see you being kicked out right before my sight, Clifford."
Nichole who never lacked the appropriate words to backfire Clifford had thunderously said.
"Let's watch and see who wins the game then,"
Clifford concluded.
Clifford, clearly unsatisfied with just words, brushed past Nichole on his way out. In a reckless spark of arrogance, his hand flicked against her backside;quick,playful,but unmistakable.
The entire cafeteria froze.
For a heartbeat, Nichole's body stiffened. A hot rush of disbelief and fury shot through her veins. Then, without a moment's hesitation, she spun in her heel.
SMACK!
Her palm connected with Clifford's cheek so sharply the sound cracked through the room like a whip. His head jerked sideways and a shocked hush fell over the cafeteria. Forks hovered midair. Coffee cups stopped halfway to lips.
Nichole's chest rose and fell as she glared at him, her eyes blazing like fire.
"Don't you ever touch me again, you dumb ass. I'm not your plaything and I won't be harassed by a man who does nothing but hides behind cheap and filthy jokes."
Nichole fired at him.
Clifford staggered back, one hand pressed to his reddening cheek. His trademark smirk was gone, replaced with stunned silence; and perhaps just a flicker of respect beneath his embarrassment.
A ripple of murmurs filled the cafeteria.
Clifford had left the place since all eyes were on him. He couldn't stand it.
Nichole was really glad with her actions.
"You served him well, Nikki darling,"
Helena had said to her.
"Never ready to take any damn shit from him,"
She replied.
She was really happy within herself.
Though it wasn't her ruthless boss,Martino Brown, who she had stood up to, she was still relieved.
"That day will definitely come," she had said while she sat quietly to have her food together with the cup of coffee that accompanied it.