CEO for one day

Chapter one

The office is unusually busy today, Cat thought to herself, looking around, Why’s everyone behaving like they’re on a mission or something?

She continued to ask herself a few more questions in her head as she ambled in through the corporation's automatic doors. And those still freaked her out.

“I just really wonder how they know to open just when you approach and close right after you walk past.” She said out loud to no one in particular, then she realized she’d just said that out loud and immediately blushed. What if someone had heard her?

She felt so old school just thinking about it, but that thought dissipated just as fast as she’d thought it, because someone had-quite painfully- pushed her to the side. “Watch it!” A body guard following right after the person who’d pushed her barked.

“Ow?” She yelled, rubbing her shoulder and looking back at who had pushed her.

“Walkway.” Another other bodyguard muttered icily, striding ahead clearly in a hurry, not even glancing back at her.

She suddenly stiffened. Uh oh.

She needed to look around more. She’d just been gangwayed by her boss.

A coworker walked up to her, taking her by the arm. “You’re lucky the person who’d just hit you didn’t look back,” He said, “Or that would’ve probably meant an immediate employment termination. Something you definitely cannot afford right now, you know.”

“Thanks, Julius.” Cat responded, smiling sheepishly.

“Be careful, Kitty.” Julius said again, winking and dashing to the other end of the office.

“See ya later!” She called after him.

She remembered every emotion she’d felt the second she’d gotten her employment mail, as it was a pretty big deal to her to get picked out as one of the newest employees of the Severn Seven Corporation, only the biggest Oil and Gas Plant in Georgia.

Freshly out of Georgia Tech, Broke as hell, and having studied Business management, it was literally her one way ticket to the life-and bank account of her dreams. Now she just had to focus on actually keeping the job.

Finally reaching her office, Cat sighed again. “I’m seriously regretting not checking my memo today.” She muttered, thinking back to earlier when she rushed out of her one room apartment that morning. Her red hair was messily out of place and work papers were strewn over her desk. More papers fell over as her intercom buzzed and she reached over to press the red button.

“Catherine Heidi Stokes.” She heard Jazmine Sullivan, her co-worker and the only person she was on best friend level with since she started this job four months ago call out her full name.

“I would retaliate but I unfortunately do not know your middle name.” Cat responded drily.

“You’re literally the only employee not in the Grand Hall right now. The Official Announcement to kickstart the competition week is about to be made.” Jazz said, sounding impatient, “Did you not check your emails?”

Cat closed her eyes for half a second. She could feel a migraine coming.

“Cover for me Jazz. Please.”

“You have twenty minutes before George gets here.”

“Perfect.”

“Cath-”

She beeped the intercom off, grabbing the folders and papers that had fallen off her desk from the floor and shoving them back on before dashing out to find the nearest elevator.

Every single one was out of order. Her only option left were the stairs. She had fifteen minutes.

At the door of the Hall, she saw a familiar dark grey suit about to enter. He looked back for a split second, then hesitated.

“You again.” He said, raising an eyebrow incredulously , “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were trying to piss me off.”

“I-” Cat began to stammer, her cheeks flushing a bright red.

She didn’t think he’d have recognized her from this morning. But apparently, George Severn paid attention to details. Of course he did. It was clearly one of the reasons why even though the seventh branch of the Corporation had just opened in Georgia, it was estimated by the Georgian Times- and Georgian TV- to be one of the most successful Companies in the State by the end of the year. It didn’t help that his name was George as well. Weird coincidence.

“Just get in.” He said, motioning her to go in ahead of him.

She walked in, hoping she had at least tucked away her stray hair before running into him, then remembered that even if she had, she had literally just taken the stairs.

Well there she had it for first impressions.

“You’re late.” Jazz hissed, pulling Cat towards her. She nearly melted into her arms. “I ran into George.” She cried.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t remember that.” Jazz said.

“Twice!” Cat cried again. Jazz’s eyes widened as quietness washed over the hall.

George Severn, Tall, Dark, handsome, the owner of the Severn Seven Corporation and their boss had just stepped onto the podium, accompanied by a few bodyguards.

Cat winced.

“I’m not going to bore you all with pleasantries as I know we all have jobs to get back to,” He started, his low baritone rocking every fiber of the grand hall, “But for the start of the Christmas festivities, the Severn corporation usually has a set of, er, activities we normally complete to jog the productivity our employees.”

“Is he British?” Cat whispered to Jazz, who was clearly fawning over Mr. Severn as he spoke. She knew everything about the guy, and in her mind they were close enough for her to start calling him by his first name, a thing she had now passed on to Cat. Cat only hoped she wouldn’t call him George by mistake one day now that she’d started running into him randomly.

“Half.” Jazz replied, “His mother.” She explained.

“Oh.” Cat nodded, looking back at the podium.

“There’ll be a set of Challenges going on throughout the week, carefully curated by me. An itinerary shall be forwarded to your Head of Departments to review and forward to your respective emails, whereafter a raffle shall be drawn and whosoever gets the voucher rares to become the CEO for-”

“One day.” Jazz drones, finishing at the same time as George.

The hall immediately erupts into a low round of applause as George explains what this implies and swiftly walks off the podium, his bodyguards following after.

“How do you know this?” Cat asks, turning to her friend who was already getting up to make her way to her office upstairs.

“I read my emails as a dutiful member of this company.” Jazz replied, squinting and shaking her head, “How do you not know this?”

Chapter two

“We’re trying as hard as we can to recover all your funds, Miss Catherine and hopefully they’ll be ready by the end of the month.” A nervous voice said over the phone to Cat that evening.

“That’s what you said four months ago, Calvin.” Cat snapped. “I can’t keep on pretending to be interested in this job. I’m barely keeping up with emails. And I’m broke! Where’s my Father?”

“Still, er, in Prison Miss Catherine.” Calvin replied, “Your mother was released a few days ago though.”

“Ask her if she can send me five hundred dollars.” Cat asked hurriedly.

“I simply doubt she can, Miss Catherine.” Calvin said, and she could feel him shaking his head. He wasn’t lying.

“Why don’t we give this job a chance,” He continued, “Until at least you’re able to stabilize your funds and we’re able to get your father out of the knackers.”

The knackers. Who even said a thing like that? Only Calvin of course, her former chief of staff–back when she actually had staff.

Cat rubbed her temples. That headache was on full blast right now.

She just didn’t have the time.

“My funds will be recovered by the end of the month?” She asked again, trying to be hopeful.

“By all statistics, yes, Miss Catherine.” Calvin responded.

Cat tried to relax her nerves. By the end of the month, she would be back to her normal life. She would no longer have to be broke and dependent on a job to be able to get the basic things such as groceries or clothes. And most importantly, her not checking her emails wouldn’t have any dire consequences. She suddenly remembered that she was supposed to check that right now for a memo her head of department should have sent by now.

“Alright, Calvin. Thanks.” She said, hanging up and turning to her computer to find her mail app.

Sure enough, she’d found the newsletters leading up to the announcement at work today in the grand hall, and she felt even more out of place. Luckily there hadn’t been a dress code, because apparently there was one for tomorrow.

Her phone beeped and she glanced over at her lock screen. An iMessage from Jazz.

check ur emails.

It read.

She smiled. She was lucky to have found a friend like Jazz, and she hoped Jazz saw her as a friend too even though she hadn’t planned on telling her the truth about herself, now or anytime soon. Regardless, she hoped they would be friends for even long after this whole fiasco.

To be fair, It was wishful thinking Jazz that would want to be friends with her after finding out who she really was, but it was a chance she was willing to take.

She shut her computer and plopped on her bed to take the nap her body had been craving all day. Seconds after she hit the bed she realized that she was terribly hungry as well. She tried to remember what she’d had for breakfast and no thought registered.

Then she realized. She still wasn’t completely used to the fact that now she had to be fixing her meals by herself unless she wouldn’t be eating. The pain from that thought made her wince. She took a deep breath. Relax, Cat. She told herself. She would sleep now, then when she woke up she would order something. See? Easy. Simple. Fixed.

Three and a half minutes later she found herself pulling a jacket over her messy, red hair and grabbing her car keys. Of course she wouldn’t be able to sleep hungry. The human body was wired so weirdly.

She’d thought about making an order but decided she was far too hungry to wait even a second longer. And there was the fact that her hunger was literally about to blind her. She got into her Subaru Crosstrek and turned the ignition, but after a few failed kickstarts, it slowly dawned on her that she was out of gas as well.

“Does anybody even check these things!” She yelled to nobody in particular, five seconds before remembering that nobody truly did, or had to, and it was alllll her now.

She had to have some bread stashed somewhere inside.

Getting back into her apartment and scanning her kitchen for some peanut butter to go with the bread she’d scouted from the counter, she picked up her phone and shot a thanks, girl. Done. To Jazz before google searching simple meals to make for breakfast.

She at least knew how to make omelette and the likes. Now she just had to meal prep or meal plan or whatever they called it.

The peanut butter was thankfully in her fridge next to –thank goodness –some apple juice. She preferred Orange, but now that she was poor Apple juice would just have to do.

She sat on the island, savoring her meal when her phone beeped again. Jazz, she saw from the Lock Screen.

Found what to wear tmrw or need some help? x

She nearly laughed at how the message was signed off. Jazz’s excitement about this whole thing was slowly beginning to rub off on her. She was clearly in her British era to match George, whom she had now started to see a future with. She didn’t even blame the girl. Their CEO was a very attractive man.

It was easy to delve into the history of the Severn Corporation and the Severn family at large.

She, on the other hand, didn’t have the luxury of paying attention to whatever she felt for him-which even if she did would be nothing at all. She was too busy figuring out her own shit.

Her phone beeped again and she was just about to pick it up and reply to Jazz’s message when she saw it was actually Calvin who had texted.

Your Father has been released. The message read, leaving her eyes wide and her mouth ajar. Calling you in thirty minutes.