The Secret between my Ruthless Billionaire CEO Boss and I

Coffee smelt stayed in the air, blending with the faint fragrance of old carpet. Her final opportunity to make it to Reynolds Enterprises for the interview, she moved back and forth, peering at the clock. Her sister's doctor's text on her phone buzzed: "We need to talk about Sarah's treatment options." Lois is hard on her breathing.

She had no time for yet another call. The clock mocked her every stride as it ran on. She inhaled deeply, then gathered her notes and the folder containing her résumée. Should she fail this interview, she would not know what would happen to her younger sister, Sarah, whose fight with a severe illness was taxing their already limited means. But her ticket was this chance at Reynolds Enterprises. She cannot afford to miss it.

Pulling her coat on, she combed her hair, attempting to straighten the chaos from restless evenings and hectic work hours. Though she knew she had to, looking polished was difficult. She reached for her handbag, but her phone rang as she started towards the door.

As Lois stared at the screen, her heart stuttered. Doctor Rogers.

Her pulse accelerated and she responded before the phone could reach voicemail.

"Lois," the doctor's voice was composed but her skin pricked from underlying urgency. "We have to go over Sarah's most recent test findings. It does not seem good. I.]

Lois grabbed the phone tighter, her palm feeling numb as her stomach fell. "I am headed to an interview. Could I perhaps call you back?

"Lois, this is not something I can wait for." She felt the words strike her.

Her throat closed, but she nodded despite the weight of the call resting on her shoulders. "I shall be there as soon as I can. Simply keep her steady, please.

She hung up, but the horror persisted. It only got more pronounced. Her mind flew while the minutes dragged long as she drove, the metropolitan skyline flickering in her rearview mirror. She wanted this job, she needed something, but she wasn't sure if she could manage the strain of both her sister's declining condition and her urgent need for employment.

She was flying on fumes by the time she arrived at Reynolds Enterprises. She parked and felt sick waves sweep over her. She ran into the building barely having time to gather herself.

She moved across the shining hallways, her heels echoing in the lobby, but a cold sweat started on her back. She was just short of meeting the man who would transform her life. Though Lois wasn't ready, going back now was not possible. She was already delving too deeply.

The faint jingle as the lift doors opened. Feeling her heart hammer against her breast, Lois hurried fast down the corridor until she came to his office's massive wooden doors. Her phone buzzed once more as she advanced.

The physician of her sister was phoning. Lois paused, but time to respond was short. She opened the door and started inside.

The room appeared to lose temperature the moment Lois walked into Steve Reynolds' office. This was the kind of place that screamed power: sleek, simple furnishings, dark leather chairs, a polished mahogany desk, and book shelves stuffed with pricey volumes. Steve personally, though, was the most striking element.

Sitting behind the desk, his sharp blue eyes locked onto hers, non blink. Lois tried not to look away from him. His jawline was sharp, his face sculpted with the hardness of someone who had experienced both triumph and agony. Though the edge in his gaze made her second-guess that assumption, his dark hair was just right to make him seem effortlessly put together.

He stood not to welcome her. Rather, he waved to the chair across from him silently, and she sat down feeling the weight of his eyes on her. His eyes flicked over her momentarily, noting her messy look, then he surely wondered how someone like her could find herself in his office.

"So,," Steve's voice was low and silky, yet it had a command that straightened Lois. You're Lois Frazer.

Her throat got constricted. Indeed, Mr. Reynolds.

His lips closed into the tiniest of smiles as though her anxiety had been expected. "I don't have time for pleasantries," he continued, his voice harsh and every word bursting with power. "Why ought I to believe you?"

The thoughts of Lois went empty. She couldn't find the correct words even though this was the moment she had been ready for. Now, all the strategies she had practiced, the notes she had written, felt useless. She just had one shot, but all she could think about was the weight of her sister's illness and the shockingly high bar ahead of her.

Steve's eyes closed, and for a split second she imagined she saw something flutter in them, a trace of something more human. But her thoughts were cut off as the door to his office opened before she could process it.

Startled, Lois felt her pulse skip across her throat as a man with a confident, even arrogant walk into the office. He was tall, with dark, slicked-back hair and a pricey suit that shouted force and impact. He was clearly used to obtaining what he wanted and handled himself accordingly.

Steve greeted him coolly, his voice a little less sharp than previously, but still loaded with authority. "Charlie Lacey," Steve said.

As Charlie sized her, Lois sensed a change in the air in the room. His eyes stayed on her for a too long second that caused her skin to crawl. His eye gleamed with predatory brightness, not fit for a business environment.

Charlie turned to Steve with a smile instead of acknowledging her. With sarcastic tones, he said, "I see we have a little audition going on here."

Frozen in her seat, Lois was trapped in the centre of a power battle she did not completely grasp. Though every instinct urged her to leave, she found herself unable. Not today. Not when her sister's health's future rested on her doing this, nor her own survival.

Charlie looked at her, his smile broadening. His tone patronising, he asked, "You really think you can handle Reynolds?" "Good fortune."

The heart of Lois flew. Her ears repeated Charlie's words, a subtle warning. Though there was obvious hatred between Steve and Charlie, she had no idea how deep their rivalry stretched. That was personal. And she had lately entered the middle of it.

Charlie's eyes swung back to Steve, taunting him with a glare more lethal than any words he could have used.

Lois realised nothing in her life had ever ready her for this moment as the door closed behind her.

Eyes darting frantically over the stacks of papers before her, Lois sat at her desk. Though the buzz of office conversation around her, all she could concentrate on was the weight of her new assistant job for Steve Reynolds. She had spent the last week adjusting to the hectic, high-stakes world of Reynolds Enterprises, but nothing had equipped her for the obvious tension that permeated the room every time Steve walked in.

People were cautious, walking on eggshells, as if any wrong action may set off a storm; they were not merely courteous around him. She had seen it herself in the lift that morning when one employee dropped a folder in front of him and shook hands as he hurried to pick it up. Steve had not even noticed them; he was simply staring ahead with his usual coolness, and yet the whole exchange left the room quiet with discomfort.

Trying to keep some grace, Lois changed the files in front of her and looked at Steve's closed office door. She had not yet seen him in action, the CEO in his natural state, but from the murmurs she heard it was obvious his reputation rested on more than simply financial success. Steve Reynolds commanded regard. Nobody dared oppose his choices or ask questions of him.

Looking about the room, Lois caught brief exchanges between colleagues. Usually the quiet one, she kept to herself, but the whispers from the cubicle occupants were hard to ignore. A woman with greying hair among the more experienced staff members leaned over to her friend.

"Don't mistake crossing him," the woman said, glancing sharply at Steve's office. " nobody dares challenge him."

Her friend nodded, voice just audible above a whisper. "I heard he had top level adversaries. Some consider him to be untouchable. One would not want to be on his negative side.

The heart of Lois missed a beat. She was aware Steve was strong, but enemies in high places? One she wasn't sure she was ready to play, it seemed like a risky game. Was she entering a universe in which the consequences exceeded her wildest expectations?

She turned once again to check if Steve realised the rumours about him were so pervasive. She knew the office door Though the atmosphere in the room was almost stifling, it was obvious that none of anybody here dared to question him; Lois wasn't sure if she would ever.

Lois had been assigned to bring Steve some urgently needed documentation. Her knuckles just brushing the wood, she delicately tapped his office door. She pushed the door open and entered holding the folder out in front of her because there was no reply.

Steve Reynolds sat behind his large desk, the world outside his office surrounded by the tall glass. The late afternoon light highlighted his sharp features, which gave him even more commanding presence than she had remembered. Usually cold and calculated, his piercing blue eyes flicked momentarily towards her as she came in.

Lois sensed her heart speed up and her throat constricting. She was not accustomed to this sort of influence, this kind of authority. Steve seemed like a man in charge of everyone in his business, not just its operations. Lois felt the weight of his eyes on her, as though he was evaluating her and determining whether she was worth his time even in the silence that surrounded them.

"Lois Frazer," he continued, his voice silky but firm, the least trace of familiarity in it. "You have been doing great; haven't you?"

She let out a strong gulp. Yes, Mr. Reynolds, I am sure. I'm only performing my work.

He nodded once, then his demeanour changed as if he was bored with small chat. He dropped the pen he had been spinning between his fingers and slanted back in his chair, narrowing his gaze.

"Do you have secrets, Lois?," said.

The question was direct and calm. She felt as though it were a strike to the gut, and for a moment she struggled to breathe. She stopped not sure what to say. Her thoughts echoed with the question as her mind ran. Secretes? In what sense did he mean?

His stare pressed against her chest, weighing her. Was he looking at her? Alternatively was this only another exam meant to gauge her allegiance?

Her hand still poised in front of her, her heart thudding in her ears, she remained still. The room appeared to get smaller around her, the air charged with conflict. Though nothing seemed like the correct response, he was waiting for her to talk.

Steve's phone rang just as she opened her mouth. The unexpected sound was a nice diversion from their wordless struggle of will. It took him away. Lois couldn't get rid of the sensation, though, that she had just been given a test she wasn't ready for even as he answered the call.