Lionel was excited and nervous as he waited in Xavier Corp to be called in for the interview. He rechecked his CV just to confirm that it had no mistakes. Not that he could’ve done anything about it at the last minute. He had almost screamed in excitement when he heard about the sudden vacancy at Xavier Corp.

Lionel had idolized Katherine Xavier for a long time, and knowing he had a chance to work for her was a dream come true. Katherine Xavier was a young businesswoman who had inherited a small company from her father and turned it into a giant in the industry. Xavier Corp was first founded as a tech company, but Katherine had managed to expand it by entering new markets. Since Lionel had majored in business, he had always been curious about the budding businesswoman.

It wasn’t news to Lionel that she was a strict, short-tempered woman who had zero tolerance for mistakes. But he didn’t care about the rumours. He just wanted to work for her and learn everything he could. According to him, the toughest bosses taught the greatest lessons.

He perked up as soon as his name was called. He fixed his tie as he stood in front of her office. His heart pounded against his chest as he put on a smile,just like he had practised at home. He looked at the name on the door, written in bold letters:

Katherine Amelia Xavier, CEO, Xavier Corp.

He sighed deeply and knocked on the door, hearing a deep, feminine voice say, "Come in." He opened the door and greeted her, but froze the moment he saw the woman who sat behind the desk like she owned the world. He felt star-struck in her presence.

Her office was so huge, it could probably fit his entire apartment in it. He wondered what billionaires did with offices that big. Did they host sleepovers in there with their billionaire friends? He thought.

He bit his lip when she looked up from the file she was reading. Her gaze felt like it could see through his soul. It was so intense that he almost felt naked but it felt weirdly good.

Every part of his conscience screamed at him to turn around and run from that gaze, but a small part of him wanted to jump into the lion’s den and that small part won. His heart thumped in his chest, but he managed to remain calm, mentally applauding himself for that. Katherine narrowed her eyes at him, looked him over as if scrutinizing every detail, and then motioned for him to sit in one of the chairs in front of her.

Lionel handed her his CV and Katherine went through it nonchalantly. She was too mesmerised by the man in front of her to go through that stupid piece of paper in front of her.

"Tell me about yourself, Mr. Lawson," she said, keeping her eyes on the file in front of her. She wasn’t sure why she hesitated to meet his gaze again something about him unsettled her, in a way that was unexpected. It wasn’t often that someone caught her off guard, but there was something about this man that tugged at her attention more than she liked to admit. She mentally cursed herself. She wasn't sure whether she liked this new, strange feeling.

“You’re looking at everything about me, Ms. Xavier,” he sassed and regretted it instantly. His usually sharp mind had decided to stop working the moment he laid eyes on her.

Katherine was quite surprised at herself for not snapping. Her usual response would’ve been to kick the person out for sassing her. But now? She was just... amused. She noticed how flustered he became as soon as the words left his mouth.

“I meant that every official detail is in my CV, which you’re currently reading, ma’am,” he tried to cover up, but it didn’t sound much better.

Her brows furrowed as she stared into his eyes. He braced himself, expecting her to throw her probably super expensive chair at him, but instead, she just closed the CV and placed it on the desk. She crossed her arms and smirked.

“Fine. Now that I’m not looking at your CV and I don’t know anything about you—would you do me the honours of telling me about yourself?” she sassed back.

Lionel cleared his throat and began answering her. She had a victorious smile on her face, and Lionel mentally facepalmed for getting himself into this situation. After he finished answering her, he looked at her, waiting for a response.

“Tell me about your biggest challenges and how you solved them,” she asked, her brows still furrowed. She observed his every movement, unable to look away from his eyes. She could sense how confident he was when he answered her and she had already decided that he was the one.

Something about the way he held her gaze made her pause. No man had ever dared to stare right into her eyes, but he did. It wasn’t as if he wanted to challenge her authority. He didn’t need to. It was the quiet confidence he carried with him. He wasn’t overeager like the others. There was calm in his voice, and his actions were measured, like he knew exactly what he was worth. That intrigued her.

“You’re hired. Go sign the contract papers and bring me my coffee. You have six minutes. If you’re late by even a second, you’re fired.” She smirked as his eyes widened.

“Now, Ms. Xavier?” he asked, confused. He hadn’t expected her to respond that way—none of his previous jobs had ever made him start immediately.

“Did I stutter?” she questioned, and that was his cue to get up and follow her order.

He was amazed by the effect she had on him. He felt a little scared in her presence... and a little turned on.

“How do you like your coffee, Ms. Xavier?” he asked.

“That’s for you to find out,” she said, glancing at her wristwatch. “Your time starts now.”

She hid a smirk that threatened to break across her lips. It was quite amusing to see him so flustered.

Lionel rushed out of her office and went straight to the receptionist, who was talking on the phone—which Lionel noticed was with Katherine. He quickly looked at the name tag: Anthony Smith.

Mr. Smith disconnected the call and smiled at him. “Please tell me your full name, Mr.?”

“Lionel James Lawson,” he replied and glanced at the time on his phone.

“Do you know what she drinks as her coffee?” he asked, hoping for a miracle.

“Only her personal assistants know that, Mr. Lawson,” Anthony said, smiling. “Here’s your contract. Please sign it.”

He handed him the papers, and Lionel quickly signed them. By the time the formalities were over, 1 minute and 48 seconds had passed. He asked Anthony where the coffee machine was and sprinted to it.

Lionel noticed that he had only three minutes left. He quickly grabbed a cup of black coffee and rushed back to her office.

“Five minutes and 56 seconds. Not bad for your first day,” she said, stopping her timer.

Did she really set a timer?! he thought as he placed the coffee on her desk.

He held his breath, praying it would be the right one.

Katherine took a sip. Her eyes widened, and she stared at him.

That’s when Lionel knew... he screwed up.