Five years ago, someone sexually assaulted her in a dark alley.
And five years later, she was working for a widowed CEO. But why did her memories keep dragging her back to the trauma of that dark night? . . The glass doors of Astraea Corp had just slid open when Alya burst inside, panting hard. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and beads of cold sweat dampened her temples.
“Wow, look who finally showed up! Our Queen of Late has finally decided to grace us with her presence!”
Alya could only offer a thin, resigned smile at Sofi’s teasing from behind her cubicle. Her breathing was still ragged after her emergency marathon from the bus stop to the upper floor of the office.
Queen of Late—the queen of tardiness. The nickname wasn’t just for show. There was hardly a day on her work calendar that didn’t come with a late mark.
Luckily, Mr. Bambang, the former CEO of Astraea Corp, was an incredibly generous boss. He never made an issue of Alya’s arrival time as long as she finished all her secretarial duties and didn’t mess up any important meeting schedules. Pretty great, right? When else did you get a boss as good as him?
“You’re crazy, Al. This is the first day of the new administration, you know. Aren’t you afraid you’ll be kicked out immediately?” Maya chimed in, her eyes wide as she stared at Alya anxiously.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, right?” Alya replied casually, fanning her collar to catch a breeze. “Mr. Bambang was always understanding. Hopefully, his son has the same personality. They share the same blood, after all.”
“That’s a completely different story, Alya!” Sofi practically trembled at how dangerously relaxed her friend was being. “At least try to make an elegant first impression! It’s Mr. Arka’s first day as CEO!”
“Well, he just hasn’t seen the horrifying show from this morning,” Maya teased, casting a nervous glance toward the CEO’s office at the end of their floor’s corridor.
“Exactly! You’d better hurry into his office before things get even worse!”
Alya waved her hand, choosing to stand there for a moment and enjoy the blast of cold air from the office AC to cool herself down. It felt rude to greet her new boss looking limp and smelling like sweat. Especially since she was his secretary.
The distance between Alya’s home and the office was truly brutal. Every morning, she had to risk her life battling the city’s traffic on a packed public bus. That was why she had admired Mr. Bambang’s kindness all these years. But now, the elderly CEO had officially retired and handed the reins of leadership to his only son.
Hopefully Mr. Bambang’s son has a heart as big as his father’s, Alya prayed silently.
“You should know, Al. Mr. Arka got here super early today!” Sofi began, her eyes sparkling as she opened the gossip floodgates. “I was so shocked when I first got to the office and suddenly ran into a guy as handsome as a Korean actor. And then I found out he was our new CEO!”
“Seriously, he’s ridiculously handsome. Like some fairy-tale prince who wandered into the real world,” Maya added dramatically.
Alya giggled softly. “You two are so dramatic. How handsome can he really be?”
“Uh-huh! I fell in love at first sight. If only he weren’t—”
“Alya! Get to Mr. Arka’s office now!”
The baritone voice of Reno, Mr. Bambang’s right-hand man who was now assisting the new CEO, suddenly cut through their conversation. The man emerged from the CEO’s office with a tense, pale expression.
“Mr. Arka? Who’s that?” Alya furrowed her brow, still not used to hearing the unfamiliar name. She had carelessly failed to learn anything about Mr. Bambang’s replacement.
“Our new CEO! Hurry! Before he gets even angrier!” Reno grabbed Alya by the shoulder and gently pushed her toward the corridor.
Still half out of it, Alya finally obeyed. All right, time to put on her sweetest, friendliest smile. Maybe her new boss would soften up and forgive her first late arrival on his first day.
Confidently, Alya straightened her clothes and strode toward the CEO’s office. She was sure Mr. Bambang’s replacement couldn’t be that different from him. Mr. Bambang was so kind. There was no way his son could be awful. . . Knock knock knock
“Come in,” a deep, cold voice answered from inside.
Phew. Alya drew a long breath to calm her heart, which had suddenly begun pounding. She put on her best smile and slowly pushed the door open.
“Good morning, sir. Oh—”
Alya’s sentence stopped in midair. A young man in an expensive suit stood with his back to the large window, then turned around just as she stepped inside. His gaze was as sharp as a dagger, radiating a cold aura that pierced straight to her bones.
What a terrifying first impression.
“Who are you?” the man asked curtly.
“U-um... I-I’m Alya, the secretary—”
“I didn’t ask about your position.”
Alya gaped. Huh? What was that supposed to mean?
“What I mean is, who are you to think you have the right to arrive later than I did?” he pressed, his tone flat yet forceful.
Alya immediately lowered her head. The warm, friendly aura she had hoped to find in Mr. Bambang’s son vanished without a trace. This man named Arka was the complete opposite of his father. If his father was an angel, then his son seemed to be the devil incarnate.
“I’m sorry, sir. I missed the bus, and the trip from my house is pretty far—”
“I didn’t ask for excuses.”
Arka turned away, walked slowly to his desk, and sat in his executive chair. His eyes locked onto Alya again.
“You know, don’t you? No professional company tolerates a lack of discipline. You arrive late, and instead of hurrying to report to me, you take your time chatting outside. Do you think this office belongs to your ancestors?”
Alya lowered her head even further. The words caught in her throat.
“This is my first day on the job, and you’ve already made the worst possible impression. You’re an hour late. Are you aware of that?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Haah...” Arka exhaled harshly. “Unbelievable. What kind of employee does whatever she wants?” he muttered, though Alya could still hear him.
“But, sir... Mr. Bambang always understood my situation. My house is very far away, and I have to take public transportation—”
“Hey!” Arka tapped his desk, gentle but firm. “I’m not asking how Mr. Bambang ran this company. That’s in the past. I’m the one sitting in this chair now. I don’t like employees who make tardiness a habit and then defend themselves in the name of ‘understanding.’ You’re already behaving like this as an employee. What would you be like as a leader?”
He gave a thin smile, one filled with contempt.
“Ah, impossible. Someone who makes indiscipline a way of life will never be able to become a boss. Impossible.”
The words struck Alya squarely in the chest. Tears began to well in her eyes. She bit down hard on her lower lip, trying to keep herself from crying in front of this arrogant man.
“I’ll forgive you this time,” Arka continued coldly. “But remember, if you’re late again, even by a single second...”
His eyes fixed sharply on Alya.
“...don’t expect a second chance.”
“Yes, sir,” Alya replied in a tiny voice.
Arka’s pointed look told her to leave immediately. With dragging steps and a tight chest, Alya turned and left the room.
“Hang in there, Al... Don’t cry,” Sofi whispered, immediately wrapping her arms around Alya the moment the girl stepped out of the room. Apparently, Sofi and Maya had been spying from behind the cubicles the entire time.
“Sniff... His mouth is so nasty! What a jerk!” Alya finally let her frustration spill out.
“There, there. Our boss really is as fierce as a tiger, but oh my gosh, his face makes up for all that cruelty,” Maya comforted her innocently.
“Shh! Watch your mouth, May!” Sofi scolded her in a panic.
“Whatever! He may have a handsome face, but his mouth is garbage! How am I supposed to keep working with him—”
“If you can’t stand it, the exit is wide open. Do you think I care?”