Chapter 7 Chapter 7 The arrival of the new CEO

　　When Zara reached the office, her friend and colleague Jude Allen came to her with a frown on her face, "Why are you late? Do you know everyone came in an hour earlier today? Mr. Cooper is pretty anxious. He is running around in the office. Everyone is nervous." She pouted and glared at her.

　　Zara was dumbfounded. She also noticed the panicked look of the staff when she arrived, but couldn't figure out why they were so flustered. And now, Jude was acting weirdly. She was only half an hour late today and all thanks to Nicholas. When she recalled last night's madness, she couldn't help but blush.

　　She pursed her lips and asked warily, "Why so? What happened to Mr. Cooper?

　　"Oh my God, don't you know?" Jude paused for a while to take a good look at Zara and winced, "Tsk, tsk. How will you know? You were on leave. Anyway, the new CEO is coming today to take over the position." A wide grin surfaced on her face.

　　"Is that so?"

　　Zara was pleasantly surprised. 'Cliffex' was a small start-up company that merged with 'Global Solutions' a couple of months ago. She didn't expect that the new CEO would appear unnoticed. Now she could imagine how anxious and nervous Mr. Cooper would be. She asked in a frenzy, "But why is he coming without prior notice?"

　　"Maybe he wants to check how the work is going on."

　　"Everyone, listen carefully."

　　A crisp male voice echoed in the office before Jude finished speaking properly.

　　All the staff came to an alert and turned to look to the source of the voice, only to see a tall chubby young man standing amidst the office. He was the VP of Cliffex, Mr. Jayden Cooper. Everyone approached him.

　　"The CEO is on the way. He will be here at any minute. I want you all to be polite and sincere towards him. I don't want him to punish anyone of you on his very first day. Am I clear to all?"

　　"Yes, Mr. Cooper."

　　All the employees said in unison.

　　"Alright. Laura, Rose, Jude, and Zara, you should be at the front gate to receive him with bouquets. Understood?"

　　"Yes, Mr. Cooper." Laura chimed coquettishly.

　　"Yes, yes. We understand, Mr. Cooper. We won't let you down." Rose joined with Laura.

　　"Go get ready to welcome the CEO."

　　Jayden Cooper swept his gaze to all the staff before leaving.

　　"I have heard that our new CEO is pretty handsome," Laura said excitedly.

　　"Not only that, but he is young and single." Rose Chirped, clasping her hands together. "Oh, how I wish if he falls in love with me." Rose started speculating on her relationship with the new CEO.

　　"There are so many young ladies from wealthy families who are after him. He is filthy rich. He won't spare a glance at us, let alone falling in love." Another one scoffed.

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　　Their gossiping continued. Zara had no interest in listening to their gossip, but she couldn't deny the fact that she was also curious to know who the new CEO of the company was.

　　Was he cold and aloof like Nicholas?

　　Wait. What was she thinking? Zara shook her head. Why would she compare someone to Nicholas?

　　"Let's check the arrangement." She held Jude's hand and walked to the entrance.

　　Half an hour later, a black Mercedes stopped in front of the office building. Jayden Cooper with his assistant walked up to the car. All the pair of eyes inside the office were looking curiously in the direction of the car. They didn't want to miss a single moment to take a look at the new CEO.

　　A tall sturdy man in his black suit came out of the passenger seat and opened the back door.

　　Now Zara was also eagerly looking at the car. A shiny black leather shoe came out first. Then a tall slender figure in a grey suit appeared in front of everyone. He was indeed really handsome. Gasps could be heard from the surroundings.

　　Zara's pupil shrunk to see him. She found him familiar, but couldn't remember where she had seen him.

　　"Good morning, Mr. White. Please, come in this way."

　　Jayden Cooper politely greeted him and made a gesture to him to go forward.

　　Isaac White nodded and marched ahead elegantly.

　　"Hello everyone. He is the CEO of our company, Mr. Isaac White." Jayden Cooper introduced him to the staff.

　　"Good morning, Sir. I am Laura from the finance department." Laura smiled coquettishly, passing the bouquet to him.

　　Isaac smiled a little and nodded. Then he glanced at the robust man next to him. The man nodded and took the bouquet from her.

　　Laura was a little disappointed, but she kept her smile on.

　　Jayden Cooper passed a cold look at Laura. But quickly he changed his appearance and smiled, "Mr. White, she is Miss Rose from the HR department."

　　"Good morning, Sir."

　　Rose greeted him politely. She hesitated for a moment whether to give the bouquet to the CEO or the man in a black suit standing next to him.

　　Meanwhile, Jayden Cooper signaled her with a scornful glance to give the bouquet. She nervously passed the bouquet to Isaac, but this time also the man in the black suit received the bouquet.

　　They approached further and Jayden introduced, "She is Miss Jude from the operation management department."

　　"Good morning, Sir."

　　Isaac nodded curtly with a stiff smile.

　　Jude passed the bouquet directly to the man next to him.

　　"And she is Miss Zara, from the same department as Miss Jude."

　　Isaac glanced at her and smiled a little. Their eyes locked for a few seconds.

　　"Good morning, Sir."

　　"Morning."

　　After hesitating for a while, Zara passed the bouquet to the man in a black suit just like Jude, but to her surprise, Isaac took the bouquet and smiled at her.

　　Jude, on the other end, was about to pass out to see the scene. Rose's jaw dropped, and her eyes went wide in shock while Laura's mouth twisted in jealousy.

　　Zara only stared at him with her wide eyes, dumbfounded. The more she looked at him, the more familiar she found. Before she could come out of her daze, Isaac White walked further inside with Jayden Cooper followed by the man in a black suit.

　　"Wow! He took the bouquet from you and also replied to your greeting. You are damn lucky, girl."

　　Jude's words broke her trance. She rolled her eyes and said, "Don't assume anything." She turned and went back to her desk.

　　"I am telling you, he is impressed with you." Jude followed her with a grin on her face.

　　Zara ignored her and began to check a file. Jude leaned back on the desk and continued, "Oh, how handsome he is. I will be jumping and screaming all over the office if he smiled at me the way he smiled at you."

　　Her eyelashes were flapping like those of the butterfly wings. Amusement spread on her face.

　　Zara only shook her head. She had no interest in any man. Her life was already in a mess with the handsome young CEO of the Apex Groups. No one knew that she had married Nicholas Grantham. If the news leaked, all of her colleagues would pass out in shock.

　　Zara couldn't help but thank Nicholas. He agreed to this marriage only if the wedding was done secretly. Only the family members were aware of their wedding. It was good for both Nicholas and Zara. Nobody would come to know about their marriage when the term of the contract ended.

　　"But look at you. You are acting so dull as if you are not affected by his charms." Jude slapped on her arm.

　　"Ouch. What is it?" Zara scowled at her, rubbing her arm. "Don't forget he is our CEO. Stop daydreaming and go back to work."

　　"Yeah, yeah."

　　Jude left, puffing with anger. Zara rolled her eyes and buried her head in the file.

　　Inside the CEO's office.

　　"I need a secretary," Isaac revealed his wish.

　　"Yes, Mr. White. The hiring process will be done shortly." Jayden Cooper responded politely.

　　"No need to hire now. I want to check with the internal employees. Send some good candidates from the management department. I will take the interview personally." Isaac ordered in his firm tone.

　　"Alright." Jayden Cooper walked out immediately.

　　Within half an hour, Jayden Cooper sorted out ten names from the operation management department who were efficient and competent in their job. Then he circulated an internal email, asking the chosen employees to go to the CEO's office for the interview of the secretary's position.

　　The chosen candidates were nervous and excited at the same time while the others were envious of them. Zara was choked by her saliva to see her name on the list. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

　　Just as she was wondering, Jude came and exclaimed, "Oh my God, I can't believe that my name is on the list. Your name is there too. That means we have a chance to work closely with the CEO."

　　Zara came to her senses and turned her head to look at her. "Don't get too excited. He will personally take the interview. Did you forget his cold look?" Zara reminded her that the interview wouldn't be so easy.

　　Jude's face turned pale instantly, "Yes, you are right." She took a deep breath and said, "But I will do my best to crack this interview."

　　"Good luck."

　　The interview was scheduled after the lunch break. All the ten candidates came to the top floor of the 5th story building and sat on the chairs arranged for them in the corridor in front of the CEO's office. All were pretty tense except Zara. Jude was right. Zara was not affected by this process as she was not interested in being the secretary of the CEO. She just came to attend the interview because Jayden Cooper chose her name. She wouldn't be heartbroken like the other candidates if she was rejected for the secretary's position.

　　The interview started shortly. One by one the candidates went inside the office and came out with flushed faces. Finally, it was Jude's turned after eight candidates, and she went inside with wobbly legs.

　　Zara was now a little tense, not for herself but for Jude. Jude was very excited about this interview, and she hoped that she would pass it. She would be sad if she was not selected. Zara truly wished that the CEO should select Jude as his secretary.

　　Five minutes later, Jude came out of the office with a long face. Zara rose from the chair and approached her, "What happened? How is it?"

　　Jude opened her mouth to say something, but before that, the man in a black suit opened the door of the office and called out, "Next candidate, Miss Zara, come inside."