"Pay the compensation?" Alia echoed, squinting in disbelief.
"It’s in your employnt contract," Catherine stated coolly, a small sinister smile hanging off her lips. "If you resign from your post without providing a three-month advance notice, you will need to pay the compensation fee. It’s written here."
She pulled out the employnt contract Alia had signed, pointing to the line.
"Mr. Sullivan here agreed to pay the compensation fee," Catherine said. "What will your choice be?"
"This is ridiculous!" Alia yelled. "I am not the one who wants to resign from my post."
"You don’t understand the picture here," Catherine said. She stood up, her palms pressed against the table while her manicured nails clicked against the surface. "There is no longer any post to speak of. Matteo is no longer the CEO of X’el. Aiden is."
"And Aiden needs a secretary."
The door suddenly opened, and all four people present in the room turned their heads in synchrony to see Aiden standing at the door. He was dressed in a pressed suit — the first ti Alia had seen him so formal other than at her flop of a wedding — but even so, his hair was ssily ruffled and he did not wear a tie, the buttons left undone.
"Aiden," Catherine said, her eyes wide open with surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Why wouldn’t I be here?" Aiden retorted. "I got forced into this position― or are you saying that I needn’t show up, and this is just an empty title?"
"No, no, of course not," Catherine said.
She walked around the table to her son and began fussing over his clothes. However, before she could do much, Aiden moved back and away, walking straight to the chair that Catherine had vacated.
He didn’t wait for his mother to say a single word. Instead, he looked at the contracts that were left on the desk, quickly frowning as his eyes scanned through the terms. Even though he was no business prodigy, it didn’t take one to realize how unfavorable the clauses were.
Taking hold of Alia’s unsigned contract, he ripped it into two, causing the HR personnel to suck in a cold gasp of air.
"I think there won’t be a need for this," Aiden said. "I’m still new here, no matter what, and I need to learn the ropes from soone. Won’t having a secretary who worked for my brother be the best choice of a ntor?"
"Aiden, darling," Catherine tried to say. She cast Alia a subtle glare before returning her gaze back to her son. "Alia is a fairly new staff as well. She isn’t able to teach you everything you need to know―"
"Well, you’ve already fired the one who can," he said, looking pointedly at Ronan. "And disallowed my brother to step into X’el from this day forth. So Alia would be the closest help I can get after those two."
Then, he turned his eyes to Alia.
"Isn’t that right, Alia?"
There was an unexplainable softness in his gaze — almost pleading — and Alia quickly found her throat dry as her mind went blank. Words failed to roll past her tongue, and she could only gape dumbly until Catherine made her way over to Aiden’s chair.
"Aiden, if you need a secretary, we will find you soone who is more fitting for the role," Catherine said. "Actually, how about―"
"No," Aiden firmly said, cutting his mother off. "Either you convince Alia to be my secretary, or I will promise you I will try my best to lead X’el to bankruptcy," he declared.
The glint in his eyes could only be described as diabolical, sharp, and full of nace. Aiden ant it.
"Otherwise, good luck convincing the board of shareholders to agree to Dad coming back to lead the company. I am sure they will be absolutely thrilled after how he had nearly emptied all their wallets."
"I― This..." Catherine looked back and forth between Aiden, Alia, and Ronan before she gritted her teeth and bit down hard on her bottom lip. Swirling over to Ronan and Alia, she said, "Please leave the office." Then, she specifically pointed to Alia. "Wait at your desk."
They were ushered out by HR shortly after, the door closing shut behind them. Alia could faintly make out the sound of shouts and yells coming from inside the office, but the soundproofing did enough for the majority of the conversation to be muffled.
"You agreed to pay the compensation?" Alia asked Ronan once the HR staff left.
"It’s not as though I couldn’t afford it," Ronan said with a shrug. He began to pack the things at his own desk. "I’ll need the freedom the compensation can give. You should see the list of industries X’el has their toes in― how can I cockblock my brother if I am not allowed to jump over to Sullivan Enterprises?"
"I thought you didn’t want to work for your family’s business," Alia said with a slight frown.
"Desperate tis, Alia, desperate tis," Ronan said. "And Matteo―" He then cut himself short, pursing his lips into a thin line. "Well, I think you should ask him directly about it. I shouldn’t be the one to tell you the news."
"Tell what?"
Ronan only offered Alia a pat on the shoulder. "I’ll see you when I see you," he said. "Good luck with the she-demon inside."
Without another word, Ronan gathered his belongings and left, whistling a rry tune as he did. Several of the staff stationed on this floor had their eyes trailing after him as he walked past them. So of them threw looks of contempt in Alia’s direction, while others held pity in their gazes.
Alia didn’t have much ti to properly examine which of the two had more on their team, for the door to the CEO’s office quickly opened. Catherine stepped out, glaring hard at Alia before she left, her nose in the air. She didn’t say a single word, her heels clicking against the floor as she strutted to the lifts.
The door was left ajar, and Alia poked her head in.
Aiden sat at the desk, his head in his hands while his fingers were buried in the ebony strands of his hair. She cleared her throat and knocked on the door once, signaling her presence. When he looked up, she stepped in and closed the door behind her.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
Aiden quickly recovered, regaining the smile on his face. Whatever mont of weakness Alia thought she saw evaporated before her very eyes, and he stood to his feet, his hands tucked in the pockets of his trousers.
"I ant what I said just now," he said. "I need a secretary. And if you’re willing to help my brother, how about continuing your job as my secretary instead?"
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