Meeting the bride

Slowly, Scarlet eased into her seat in contemplation. She really needs a place to calm her nerves and returning to the same place that is the root cause of her headache is not a solution to her problem.

In one swift motion, she dialed out to Bryan and the phone rang.

~Lucian Office~

Bryan was about to leave the office when Scarlet called him back. "Sir, she is the one calling." He reported carefully.

Lucian Sterling had come to find pleasure in creating troubles for his new wife.

"You pick the call, set it on handsfree and reply to her as usual." He quickly instructed.

Bryan picked up the call, and Scarlet voice filtered out the phone.

"Bryan, I don't think I can be able to return to the house today. I have so much going on that I need a place different from my troubles to rest".

She didn't expect everything to come crashing down on her in one day — debtors coming to collect debt, sold to pay the debt, married to the debtor and now as though that is not enough posted to the President's office.

She is beginning to think someone is out to get her but then she can't blame anyone but her parents who had been the originator of the problem.

"Bryan, can you please talk to your boss... Am losing it.... I just got a notice of been assigned to our group president as personal assistant. And I am sure the work will be demanding."

"You're assigned to your president?" He asked feigning surprise. Aren't you in the design department?" He queried further.

"That is the crux of the problem, I just got the notice some minutes ago." She said.

"Isn't it just attending to his needs? Will it be that demanding?" Bryan asked.

"Well... I don't know because for the four years I have worked in the Sterling group, I have not seen the president and from the report so far all his assistants are male but now I have to be the female.

So I can't really say what the nature of the job might be and I can't cope with the challenges of office if I don't cool off my head and I needed this work."

Bryan listened to the distress in Scarlet's voice, rubbing his temple as he exhaled. He could understand her frustration—she had been thrown into chaos all in one day.

"Scarlet, take a deep breath," he said, his tone gentler than usual.

"A deep breath?" she scoffed, gripping the phone tighter. "Bryan, in the span of a few hours so many things happened —debtors came knocking at the door, parents tendered me as object of compensation by marriage now I am being transferred to work under a man whose story has gone far and wide for who and what he is. How do you expect me to breathe?"

Bryan sighed. "Look, I get that this is overwhelming, but it's not as bad as it sounds."

"Not as bad?" she echoed incredulously. "You're not the one dealing with it!"

Bryan glanced at the man beside him, his aura imposing and commanding behind the mahogany desk but his face had turned into various shades out of anger.

Lucian nodded at him to continue, they needed to find out about her and this frustration is a vital point to provoke her.

"Okay, okay, fair point,"Bryan admitted.

He felt sorry for her, she had passed through a lot but if she must deal with Lucian, then she still needs to strengthen her psychological tenacity.

"But let's break it down. First, the marriage—yeah, it's not ideal, but at least you're not being thrown into a toxic environment. Second, working as the president's assistant—it might be tough, but it's still your job at Sterling Group, right?"

Scarlet pressed a hand against her forehead in frustration.

"Bryan, I've worked here for four years and never once seen the president in person. Do you know what that means? It means he's a ghost, untouchable, a figure so high above me that we might as well not exist to him."

And now, out of nowhere, I'm supposed to be his personal assistant? It doesn't make sense!"

Bryan was silent for a moment casting a subtle glance at the man behind the desk before responding.

"You're right. It doesn't make sense. But that's why you need to keep your head straight. I don't know what Boss is thinking, but I do know that he doesn't do things without a reason."

Scarlet groaned. "That doesn't make me feel better, Bryan. So please, tell him I won't be coming home for now."

"I am telling you this because you seem to be his trusted aid which is why he entrusted you with the marriage process" She instructed lightly and ended the call.

In the presidents office, Lucian brows furrowed his fingers tapping lightly on the desk at her narrative— she never had an idea of who he is, so the marriage was a sheer coincidence and misplacement of identities. "Interesting."

Bryan, seeing Lucia calculative gaze shifted uncomfortably. He knew Lucian must be thinking of something else for him to furrow his brows. "Bryan, since the identities have been misplaced, it will remain so. You will become her assistant. You take care of her matters while keeping an eye on her."

"Find out the supposed man, she should have married and at all cost settle the issue to avoid unnecessary attention." He instructed calmly.

Bryan's eyes widened slightly. "Sir?"

"I think you are the only one familiar with her at the moment." He said lightly

Bryan nodded with understanding. From the first time, he met her.. he developed an affinity with her that he wished she was his lost twin sister. But then, their features are not the same.

Lucian picked up a file and flipped it open, his expression unreadable. "And one more thing—let's keep the situation as it is and go with the flow."

"Are you planning to keep your identity from her?" He asked.

"Not really but until she returns from her friends house."

~Scarlet's office~

After ending the call, Scarlet sighed deeply rubbing her throbbing neck. Her eyes darting around the office she had spent the last two years in and will be leaving in thirty minutes.

She packed up her possession in that office with great care and precision. With an exaggerated sigh she slowly made her way to the CEO'S office in a dragged footsteps.

Scarlet's heart pounded as she stepped out of her office, her hands clutching the small box containing her belongings. Every step toward the CEO's office felt heavier, her mind swirling with anxious thoughts and questions of why".

She had spent four years working at Sterling Group, diligently doing her job, staying out of trouble, and avoiding the high-profile figures that ran the company. Now, she was being pushed right into the lion's den.

Her footsteps echoed softly down the hallway, slow and hesitant. She could feel the curious gazes of her colleagues as she passed by. Some whispered, some merely watched, but she ignored them all.

Upon reaching the top floor, she hesitated in front of the imposing double doors of the CEO's office. The receptionist outside gave her a quick glance before nodding. "You may go in. The president is expecting you."

Scarlet swallowed hard, her palms slightly damp. She inhaled deeply, squared her shoulders, and knocked twice.

"Come in," a deep, commanding voice responded from within.