He's My Ruthless Billionaire

"Why…why me??" I cried as he dragged me to the room and threw me on the bed. My head collided with the sharp headboard.

"Because it's your fate!" he yelled.

"But…who are you to decide my fate!?!" I finally decided to talk back to him.

"So, you've got the guts to talk back?" He chuckled, and a smirk formed on his lips. "Then let's get this straight today, love," he said.

"W-what? N-no!" I said, but his expression changed to rage as he narrowed his eyebrows.

He came near me and took my face in his hands.

"L-leave me…p-please," I said.

"I want to make you crumble, and I will. You just wait and see, Hailey," he said and left the room.

Hailey’s POV:

“OKAY, MOM!” I yelled in the loudest tone I could because it’d been 20 minutes, and she was making my ears die of noise pollution. I mean, who the hell shouted bloody murder just so their daughter would get up? And it was only…

I looked at the clock.

KILL. ME.

“MOM!! Why didn't you tell me it’s 8 am?? I’m gonna be late for my job interview!! I mean seriously, mom!!” I yelled, and she started stomping up the stairs.

Yes, she had been shouting from the ground floor until now!

“That’s why I’ve been shouting, dear. Don’t waste another minute. You know how big this opportunity is!” she yelled as she made her way towards my room.

“Yes, mom, I know!” I said and got up. I went to the bathroom and did my daily routine, which was nothing more than brushing my teeth and a bath. After that, I stood in front of my closet, fighting with myself over what to wear that would be professional enough yet still look casual.

***

Here I was.

This building is…awesome. More than awesome. Yet I couldn't work up the courage to enter it and meet my life-long crush.

Yes, the CEO of this company was my dream boy. And that of endless girls out there. And I was gonna finally meet him.

With great courage, I entered the building, passed the double doors, and was taken aback by the sight ahead of me.

Fantastic.

I looked here and there and finally found a receptionist.

“Hello, miss, I’m here to interview for the position of personal assistant to the CEO.” I maintained a slight smile as I faced the young woman.

“Yeah, you’re Hailey Cameron, right?” she asked, one hand flipping through her files while the other stayed on her computer mouse.

“Yes, I am,” I replied, and she smiled.

“Please take the lift to the 20th floor. The CEO’s office will be the 5th room on your left. It’s bigger than the others,” she said.

“Thank you, miss,” I said, but as I was leaving, she stopped me.

“And, Hailey, the CEO's door provides a one-sided view from his side. So, please don’t try to peek inside before going in,” she whispered.

Well, that would be embarrassing.

“Y-yea, thank you…”

“Maria,” she said.

“Oh, thank you, Maria,” I said, and shooting her another smile, I left for the lift. Taking a quick breath, I pressed the ‘20’ button.

When I reached the 20th floor, I could clearly see ‘CEO’s Office’ written on the door to one of the rooms. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on it. A deep, masculine voice responded, “Come in.”

I entered the room and found the man of my dreams working on a laptop. He didn’t pay any attention to the ‘intruder,’ so I spoke up.

“E-excuse me, sir?” I said. I could feel my nervousness getting the better of me.

He still didn’t look up, just said, “hmm.”

“Sir, I’m here for the interview,” I said, and he finally glanced towards me. His gaze went from my eyes to my body, looking me from top to bottom, then back to my eyes.

“Welcome, Ms. Hailey,” he said.

Wow. He knows my name!

“T-thank you, sir,” I said. He gestured for me to sit down across from him, and I sat down hesitantly.

“Introduce yourself,” he said in a firm tone as he looked straight into my eyes. I couldn’t maintain eye contact, so I looked down.

“I—” I began, but he interrupted me.

“If you can’t look me in the eye, then you'd better leave,” he said harshly, and I looked back up at him straight away.

“S-sorry, sir,” I said, suddenly worried. He smirked.

“Continue,” he instructed.

“I graduated from the University of California, San Francisco, and I—”

“That’s not a business school,” he said and looked at his laptop. “Why apply for a secretary job?” he asked.

“Well…that’s…I…”

“Confidence! That's the first rule of business,” he said and smirked again. “No confidence. No business. No job. So get out, NOW!” he yelled.

“But, sir, I’m capable of doing this job!” I said as I realized that he was testing me.

He smirked. “Impressive,” he said. “Any relevant experience? What did you do before applying here?” he asked.

“Actually, no, but I am sure I can do this job well,” I said.

“Okay,” he said in that formal voice of his. “But that's not enough to become my personal assistant.”

“Sir, please, I’ll do my best if you give me a chance. I really need money because my mother is not well,” I blurted out.

“Oh, well in that case, I’ll consider hiring you—but only after you take this test,” he said and handed me his laptop. “Find the most recent file and summarize its contents in five minutes.” He smirked, and somehow, I already knew it was impossible. Summarizing takes time, dude.

Still, I tried, and with my knowledge of computers, I was able to find the file in two minutes. It was encrypted, for god’s sake! I managed to guess the correct password based on the clues he gave. After that, I saw the length.

OH GOD. IT'S 12 BLOODY PAGES!!

“Sir, this is—”

“I’m going out,” he said and left the office.

WOW. GREAT.

I still did my best, but I could only summarize two pages by the time he entered the office again.

“Time’s up,” he said in a dominating voice.

“Sir, actually…I could only do…err…two pages,” I said with embarrassment.

“Let me see,” he said and took the pages. Then he smiled.

NO. NOT A SMILE. A SMIRK.

“Do you think you got the job?” he said.

“I…uh…that's for you to decide sir, so…”

“I asked your opinion, Miss Hailey!!” he said with a little frustration.

“Oh, ok sir…I think I’m capable of doing the job, but if it requires that I summarize twelve pages in three minutes, then I really need to think about it.”

“Well done, Ms. Hailey, you got the job.”