My heart plummeted and I turned around quickly, hiding my face.

No. This could not be happening to me right now.

Not only was he my father's best friend, now he was the CEO too?

It was like the universe was working overtime to keep us close.

The man who had called me a ‘good girl’ and made me beg was just about to inspect my work.

Was this just some big joke?

Kiara who was sitting at the text desk noticed my discomfort and shot me a curious look.

I forced a smile because the last thing I wanted was for her to know that the man I had told her about was standing in front of us right now about to carry out an inspection.

I would not hear the end of it. She would make sure of that.

But not only that, it was bound to become office gossip.

Kiara and I had been friends for a while, but I knew she had little to no control over her mouth.

In the past, she had had fallouts with a lot of people in the office.

We had managed to stay friends so long because I did not tell her things of so much importance.

I forced myself to look at my screen, my hands shaking as I pretended to type.

My mind raced as I put the events of last night together.

Had he mentioned anything about his job while we were talking?

Mrs. LeVaughn’s voice broke through my panic. She was still clutching her clipboard like a lifeline.

“Mr. Sterling, this office is specifically for the sales team. They have worked hard on the quarterly reports. You need to see the progress we have made.”

Petyr nodded, his expression unreadable. His silence seemed to make everyone sit up straighter, “I look forward to seeing the reports. But first, Brandon mentioned something about recent promotions.”

His voice was low and smooth and full of authority. My heart pounded wildly as his eyes swept over the team. His gaze lingered on me for a fraction of a second longer than other people.

Did he recognize me?

Or was I just being unnecessarily paranoid?

“Let’s start with that. I would like to meet the new leaders.”

My stomach dropped.

Ten departments in this company and for some reason he decided to focus on promotions.

At this point, I was done with this year.

Worse, Mrs. LeVaughn's eyes landed on me first.

“Okay. We'll start with our newest promoted employee, Miss Maria Bennett.”

I knew the moment he saw me. The look in his eyes changed to something I could not quite place but it sent heat rushing to my cheeks.

He didn't look surprised to see me at all. Or maybe he just had so much composure.

I stood, my legs ready to give way and I forced a professional smile.

“Miss Maria Bennett is our newest addition to the sales team leaders.” Mrs. LeVaughn continued, “She's been an exceptional employee since day one.”

But I could see that he was not paying any attention to her.

He stepped closer to me and extended a hand. “Congratulations on your promotion.”

Electricity shot through me when I took his hand.

“Thank you, sir” I murmured and pulled back, refusing to look at him.

But his touch lingered in my mind.

“Walk me through the sales analysis.”

Nodding, I turned my laptop towards him and opened a spreadsheet.

He leaned over my shoulder. He was so close that I could feel the heat of his body and smell his cologne.

It was the same one he wore on the night we met.

I steadied myself and began explaining the figures and data displayed on the spreadsheet.

He listened intently, hanging on to my every word and asking questions.

When I was done, he nodded slightly. “Your promotion is well deserved.”

Then he straightened and turned to Mrs. LeVaughn.

“I'll meet other staff now.”

He did the same thing he had done with me with the other employees.

He praised when it was due and gave sharp criticism when he felt there was need.

By the time he was done, the team was visibly exhausted so we took a little break.

He strode into his office, followed by Mrs. LeVaughn.

Everyone filtered out of the office to the company canteen to cook off.

I ordered some cappuccino cookie sticks dipped in chocolate while Kiara, who had started her weight loss journey again for the tenth time this year - and it was only july - simply ordered water.

“I mean, I'd forgive him for questioning me that way because he's hot.” Kiara said.

‘He’s not hot,” I countered and turned around so she wouldn't see me blushing.

She looked at me for a while, “Where are your glasses?”

I gasped and hit her arm. There was once a time I wore glasses but my sight had gotten better without them so I finally ditched them.

“I mean,” She said as she laughed, “You might need them now. Because what do you mean Mr. Sterling is not hot?”

Worried that I'd turn completely red, I didn't reply anymore. I just buried my head in my phone, scrolling through pictures and pictures of models.

Thirty minutes later, the break was over and we all found our way back to our offices.

I was done packing so I carried my box and headed to my new office.

Just outside the door, Mrs. LeVaughn stopped me, “Miss Bennett.”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Sterling would love to speak to you in his office.”