“Girl if you don’t get your self up this minute, I’ll have to drag your sleepy ass to work.”

Allison said while shaking Arabella who was half asleep and half awake.

“I’m awake I’m awake” Arabella said standing up. Looking like she fought with the soldiers during World War Two. She picked up the old alarm clock and saw the time. It was 8:30am, which means she has 30minutes to get herself to work.

“Shit I’m going to be late.” Arabella said almost jumping off the bed. Ran into the bathroom, in the process bumped her head straight into the wall. This left Allison laughing.

“Bell, you’re acting like the world’s ending,” Allison said between laughs. “Didn’t you sluggishly agree to this job in the first place?”

It’s 8:59 and Arabella escaped being late, or she thought.

She entered into The glass filled. Twenty four story building, the floors sparkle with marble tiles, Men in luxury suits walk around and they are always on calls. You may wonder, who are they always talking to. Woman wear slick skirts, Burning red heels with there fake boobs and plastic Face. This wasn’t a place meant for Arabella.

“Don’t worry, you won’t be seeing any of them during work hours, it’s usually the head cleaners that clean this place after work hours.” Allison said, reassuring her as the walked to the HR office to get Allison’s badge and uniform.

Arabella looked up at her confused with one of her brow up. “If we are not cleaning here where are we cleaning then?” She asked.

“The top floor, where the board room is, offices and the rest which include the Hot CEO penthouse across the building. Rumor has it that his hot and sexy as hell and also cold but I can already imagine him and how sexy he would be on bed.” Allison said stopping her tracks doing something that looks like daydreaming.

“Ewww, don’t tell me you are daydreaming about him already, and what do you mean you haven’t seen the guy you work for, is he a ghost or something?.” Arabella asked with a questioning look.

“Not really, shit it’s 9;30 we need to get going, will tell you all about it later.” Allison said dragging Arabella which made both of them to increase their pace.

After walking for two minutes the got to the HR office, Allison halted, fixed her uniform and proceeded to knock. After knocking twice, then came a not so soft voice of a woman clearly in her early twenties.

“Come in.” She said sharply

Allison looked at Arabella, calmly assured her to calm down and opened the door.

“Good morning Harley.” Allison said calmly to the young woman in her front, black blazers, penciled pants, red bottom heels, red lipgloss and also fake standing boobs entering a data into the Apple computer in her front .

“You are late.” Harley replied not looking up still typing.

“Erm yes, I had a bit of a delay-

“What ever the delay is or was, doesn’t give you the right to be 30minute late, those floors don’t clean themselves do they?” She cut her short roughly, this time around looking at the two ladies standing in her front. First at Allison then at the young looking, petite girl who she must admit is very pretty.

Then she turned to Allison who was already bottling ip in anger. “Who is she?”

Allison replied clearly angered. “She’s the friend I told you about that is joining the company”

“Okay, what is she doing just standing there? Mr Black is coming to the company this afternoon for an important meeting so hurry up and start cleaning.” She said rudely purposely triggering Allison.

Allison stormed off with a confused Arabella as she was about to open to door she was stopped but what Harley said.

“Oh By the way, Mr Black is coming by 2:00pm so you and your poor mutt should clean up before then.”She said with a smirk.

Allison angrily shut the door behind her after muttering “Bitch.”

“Who’s she?” Arabella asked The already boiling Allison.

“Mr Black’s Personal Assistant, she’s his spokesperson everything she says stands.” She said rolling her eyes.

“People respect her here, well everyone except me and she hates it.” Allison added.

Arabella tugged her a bit, urging her to loosen up.

“Hey she’s not worth your anger, ignore and by the way we have to start working before Mr Black the mysterious CEO comes in.” She said increasing her pace.

“I wonder how if he is as sexy as they say he is” Allison said in a flirty tone.

“Allie-.” Arabella said pushing her a bit, the both laughed and hurried to the elevator.

They got to the supply store in the building, then they saw that Arabella’s badge and uniform was already there. Allison and Arabella changed into their work uniform, picked up their supplies and cleaning supplies. Shortly they find theirselves in the top floor. The hallway very quiet The elevator doors slid open with a smooth ding, revealing a carpeted hallway so plush that Arabella felt guilty just stepping on it. Recessed lights bathed the corridor in a warm glow, making every surface gleam—even the doorknobs sparkled like they’d been polished by angels on overtime.

“Whoa,” she breathed, clutching her mop handle closer. “This place looks like money decided to build itself a penthouse.”

“Correction,” Allison whispered, eyes alight with mischief, “money and ego. Remember, rumor says Xavier Blackwood Knight likes his office to remind people who’s king.”

They approached a frosted-glass door stenciled with EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM in gold. Allison scanned her badge; the lock clicked open.

Inside, the space stretched wider than Arabella’s entire orphanage dining hall. A mahogany table ran the length of the room, surrounded by twelve leather chairs that probably cost more than her college tuition. One wall was floor-to-ceiling windows, the skyline framed like modern art. Another held a bar stocked with crystal decanters and water that looked fancier than regular water.

“It’s so quiet I can hear my heartbeat,” Arabella murmured.

“Enjoy the calm,” Allison said, rolling in a sleek chrome cleaning cart. “Harley will come up here later, nose in the air, looking for a microscopic speck of dust she can write us up for.” She mimicked Harley’s voice: ‘Dirty floors offend Mr Black’s delicate eyes.’

Arabella giggled, earning an exaggerated bow from Allison.

They set to work, falling into an easy rhythm. Allison sprayed the long conference table with lemon polish, Arabella buffed behind her with a microfiber cloth. They worked their way around the room, chatting about nothing and everything: Allison’s failed attempt at baking banana bread last night, Arabella’s fear of elevators (“I swear they’re just fancy metal coffins”), even a brief debate over whether pineapple belonged on pizza. It felt…normal, something Arabella had almost forgotten could exist.

Half an hour later, the boardroom gleamed. They high-fived—gloved palms squeaking—and wheeled their cart toward the CEO’s private office at the opposite end of the floor. The door there bore no label, only a sleek black X engraved into ebony wood. Subtle, powerful, terrifying.

“Moment of truth,” Allison muttered, swiping her badge. Nothing happened.

“Maybe it’s jammed?”

“More like Harley forgot to activate your clearance.” Allison’s jaw tensed. “Let me try mine.” She tapped her own badge. The lock flashed green, but the door still refused to budge.

Arabella pushed gently—then a little harder. The door swung open so fast she stumbled and caught herself against the frame, heart hammering. “Friendly door,” she joked, though her nerves jangled like loose change.

The office was pure masculinity: dark oak bookshelves, charcoal walls, a fireplace that probably lit with a voice command. In the center sat a massive obsidian desk devoid of clutter—save a single crystal tumbler and a closed laptop with the initials XBK.

“Okay,” Allison whispered, “dust, vacuum, done. Five minutes tops.”

Arabella crossed to the windows, where floor-length drapes the color of midnight framed a dizzying view of the city. She pulled a feather duster from her apron and worked methodically down each shelf—until she reached a row of framed photographs. Curiosity won.

There, amid images of board meetings and ribbon cuttings, one photograph snagged her attention: a little boy, maybe nine, standing beside a sleek black stallion, both wearing matching stubborn expressions. The boy’s eyes—icy even in the picture—felt unsettlingly familiar.

“That must be mini-Mr. Black,” she mused.

“Careful,” Allison warned, though an affectionate smile tugged at her lips. “If the ice prince catches you snooping, he’ll have your head on a platter. A very expensive platter.”

Arabella slipped the photo back exactly where it had been and moved on—but not before her sleeve brushed a tall, cylindrical sculpture perched on the corner of the shelf. It wobbled once…twice…and toppled.

Time slowed. She lunged, arms flailing, but the sculpture evaded her grasp with the grace of a ballerina. It hit the glass-topped side table, ricocheted, and slammed onto the rug, shattering into an explosion of ivory shards.

The silence that followed was deafening.

“Oh my God.” Arabella’s voice barely registered as sound. Her pulse thundered in her ears.

Allison sprinted over, eyes huge. “What did you do? That’s Carrara marble, Bells! You just murdered a rock worth more than my car!”

Arabella dropped to her knees, frantically gathering fragments. “Help me hide it.”

“You can’t hide marble dust!” Allison squeaked. “And there are security cameras everywhere.”

Arabella’s stomach lurched. “I’m fired. Second day and I’m already fired.”

Allison knelt beside her, placing a calming hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out, okay? Maybe it was already cracked. Maybe Mr Black won’t notice.”

As if conjured by their panic, a chime sounded overhead: “Attention staff. Mr Blackwood Knight has arrived on site.”

Arabella’s blood turned to ice water.

Allison shot to her feet. “Vacuum the debris, I’ll distract Harley.” She scooped up the larger pieces, popped them into a trash liner, and stuffed it under her apron like contraband.

Arabella hauled the cordless vacuum from the cart. Her hands trembled so badly she could barely press the power button. At last it roared to life—louder than she remembered, loud enough to wake the dead and definitely loud enough to alert Harley five floors down.

She hurried across the rug, nozzle scooping up marble flakes. But the vacuum’s transparent canister filled fast, the shards rattling around like damning evidence. She could see them mocking her.

Then, disaster part two: the vacuum sputtered, choked, and died—half a heartbeat before the unmistakable ding of the elevator echoed down the corridor.

Allison’s voice hissed from the doorway, “He’s coming!”

Arabella froze. He, as in the ghostly CEO she’d never seen, the man whose office she’d just vandalized.

Footsteps approached—slow, confident, each one echoing authority. A shadow stretched across the hall carpet, long and predatory, before spilling over the threshold.

Arabella’s gaze locked on polished black loafers as they crossed into the room, stopping inches from the fractured sculpture shattered on the rug.

Silence.

She slowly lifted her eyes, past tailored charcoal slacks…a crisp white shirt open at the throat…broad shoulders beneath a midnight coat…until they met storm-gray irises that froze her lungs mid-breath.

Xavier Blackwood Knight surveyed the scene with a calm tone which wasn’t genuine, jaw ticking once, twice. His gaze drifted to the lifeless vacuum in her trembling grip, to the empty pedestal, then back to her face.

Arabella’s throat worked, but no words came.

Behind him, Allison hovered in the doorway, expression stricken.

Mr Black’s lips parted, voice a low velvet threat. “I assume,” he said, each syllable measured, “there is an explanation?”

Arabella swallowed, heart battering her ribs. She opened her mouth—

—and the office phone on his desk rang, slicing through the tension like a blade.

He didn’t move, eyes never leaving hers. “Speak,” he commanded quietly.

Arabella drew a shaky breath, mind scrambling for a lifeline she wasn’t sure existed. Outside, thunder rumbled against the glass, as if the sky itself sensed the storm brewing inside the room.