The Devilish CEO and His Crazy Secretary

Linda Martins POV

"Miss Martins, come into my office, now!!." I heard my boss, Tyler Smith, echoed through the bustling office.

Despite me throwing colorful curses his way, I quickly made my way to his office. "Miss Martins, I need the report on this month's car accessory sales. Also, ask the accounts department to send me the file on accounts. Schedule a meeting with Mr. William for the day after tomorrow." He continued giving me instructions without even looking at me. How rude, I thought to myself

"And have you arranged for my dinner meeting?"

"Yes, sir," I replied, still cursing him in my mind.

"Ensure the document brief is completed before the end of the work hours. You may leave now." He said without a speck of humility.

"Okay, sir." I nodded, already dreading the workload he had just thrown my way

I left the office and headed straight to the bathroom, where upon entering I locked the door and screamed in frustration in face front of the mirror. I looked my face and could not believe what I was seeing, my once happy, colourful face has now become tired and colourless and it is all thanks to one person, the great Tyler Smith.

I was so frustrated to the extent that I slammed my hands on the counter, however it only hurt me, which in return annoyed me because of the futility of my action.

As I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, it seemed to mock me for the predicament I found myself in. I asked myself why I had chosen to work with this human-machine that does not seem to possess any emotion.

My reflection met my gaze and, to my surprise, mimicked my moves. "You're asking me? Ask yourself. "Hahahaha" It seemed like my reflection was making fun of me. You were the one jumping with joy when you got the job. You chose not to quit the next day even after you saw the red flags and also because you had a tiny crush on him.

I sighed, realizing the truth in my reflection's words. "Tyler Smith, what have you done to me?

-----------------------------

After completing the task my boss had given me, I handed him the document he had requested for, and after perusing through the documents he had earlier asked for, he left for his dinner meeting. Taking a moment to unwind, I settled into my chair for a brief moment before deciding to call it a day. Making my way downstairs, I stopped a taxi to take me home.

The cab pulled up in front of my home where I resided with my housemate, Susan. Our landlords, the stern Mr. and Mrs. Hall, occupied the adjacent property. After settling the fare with the taxi driver, I stepped into the house and collapsed onto the couch.

Enjoying the moment of peace, I suddenly heard the sound of someone crying. Hell no, I said in my mind as I knew no one was meant to be at home. A hint of anxiety crept in because I knew Susan does not come home early. I scanned the living room with my hand in my chest, however, I found nothing amiss. Another sniffle followed by sobs prompted me to go on high alert. I stood up, tracing the source of the sound.

The crying led me to the door of Susan's room. I hesitated, surprised by the unusual early return. "Susan, are you in there?" I knocked, and to my surprise, the unlocked door creaked open with just one knock. Peeking inside, my concern deepened.

"Susan- Oh, my goodness. What in the name of Jesus happened to you?" I rushed to her side, desperate to understand the cause of her distress and source of her tears. What could have happened to make my lovely housemate to make her cry, I wondered as I sat next to her.

"He... He dumped me. Dylan dumped me." Susan's voice wavered with pain and hurt, and I bit the inside of my cheek, knowing how delicate the subject was for both of us and how unprepared I was for consoling a heartbroken lady. Despite Susan's bold demeanor, when it comes to matters of the heart, she is quite delicate and soft.

While I was novice in consoling people who has had their heart broken, I was accustomed to being dumped multiple times as such I couldn't ignore Susan's distress. My dating history was a series of short-lived relationships, each ending with them telling me I was too crazy for their liking.

"What...what did I do wrong? Susan said as she cried

Why did he break up with me, Linda?

"How am I supposed to know" I thought to myself

Why did he dump me like garbage?" Susan's voice trembled with hurt and confusion.

"Whoa, hold on a second." I gently pushed her away, steadying her shoulders. "Keep one thing in mind, sweetie, you are not garbage. Don't ever say that again, got it?" I scolded her

"But he-"

"Oh, shut up." I stood up, placing my hands on my waist. "Okay, tell me one thing: what did you do when he broke up with you?" I inquired, seeking to understand her reaction.

"I begged him not to do so, and when he refused to listen, I ran away, crying." She sniffed.

"Susan, did Dylan give you any reason for breaking up with you?" I asked calmly,

"No. He just said 'it's over.'

Oh my! I said smiling mischievously at what I had just thought of

"Then let's teach him a lesson," I suggested.

"What can we do?" She asked, a little bit confused and eager at the same time.

A wicked smile crept onto my lips as a sinister idea materialized in my mind. "I won't tell you; I'll show you. But first, tell me where we can find him at this hour."

"Umm... at his restaurant in the mall." She answered reluctantly

"Perfect. Let me change, and then we'll leave.

We drove to the mall in Susan's car – it was her problem I was aiming to solve, so her car it was.

She parked, and as she unbuckled her seatbelt, she asked, "What now? She asked, are we going to confront him?"

"Nope," I laugh wickedly. "Something better." Gazing out the window, I asked her which of the cars parked in the parking lot belonged to him.

"Look straight. That black BMW parked near the yellow board." She pointed. "But why do you want to know about his car?"

"Because we're going to damage his car." I said with the most villainous tone.

"What?! No, Linda, this is insane," she shrieked. I shot her a deathly look, and she complied.

"Okay fine, but we don't have to damage his car. We can flatten the tires or something; that would be enough."

I gave her a sweet, innocent smile. "Deflated tires won't make any difference, but a single scratch will pierce through his heart. And my darling, we are going to scrape his car."

"What? No! This seems like some childish prank."

"It's not."

"You are behaving like a high school girl on revenge, Linda. This is ridiculous."

"Revenge is revenge, taken by whosoever. Besides, I'm not harming anyone, am I?"

"No, but-"

She attempted to argue back, but I didn't give her a chance as I stepped out of her car and dragged her along.

"Let's go," I said, preparing myself as if going to war. "Linda, this is stupid. We will be reported if we get caught."

"There is no CCTV around, and no one is here, so we won't get caught." I took out a flexible knife from my pocket. "You keep a knife in your pocket?" She asked in surprise.

"For protection," I replied. One cannot be too careful.

"Take this and do the honors," I said firmly, giving her the knife, but she stepped away.

"I'm not doing this. Linda, this is a crime."

I banged my hand on the car's hood, showing her the knife with the other. "Now."

"No. It's not right, and besides, this car-"

"Oh, shut up. If you can't, then let me do the honors."

A screeching sound echoed as I grazed the knife on the hood. The black metallic color started to fall off, and I felt satisfied, as if I had gained serenity.

"Linda, no-"

"Don't worry, Susan. Your friend is here. I will take your revenge," I said absentmindedly, my heart and soul dancing in glee as I had not done something crazy in a long time.

"Linda, for God's sake, listen to me for once. This is not his car. You are scraping someone else's car," she whisper-yelled, grasping my upper arm.

But it wasn't her statement that made me stop; it was a deadly, firm, and utterly familiar voice that forced my hands to halt, my heart to race louder. "What's going on here?"

"Shit!! I'm outta here," I heard Susan's dreadful voice before she left me alone.

Fear surged through me, my own soul cursed me for my stupidity, and my legs gave up on life. Still, I managed to turn and face the owner of the voice, and when I did, my face lost color. All the wicked plans fled my mind, and the knife I was holding dropped to the floor.

I was doomed.

"Mr. Smith, I appreciate the opportunity to conduct business with you, but the amount you are proposing for this deal rather insufficient." Scott Brown slid the catalog file onto the table as he spoke.

I was having a dinner meeting with Mr Brown. "Mr. Brown, here at Galo Autotech, we pride ourselves on fair business practices. We take great care to ensure our business associates face no undue losses," I stated, pausing to gauge his reaction.

After some negotiations, we eventually reached an agreement, we both rose to bid each other farewell.

As we parted ways, I left the restaurant and made my way to the elevator. A conference phone call awaited me from my best friends,James Gomez and Paul Johnson.

"How it went?"James asked, referring to the meeting I just finished. I thought to myself, how could he have possibly known that the meeting had ended and called me at the moment I left the meeting.

"It went well" I said. Now we have a new rubber supplier for our tire manufacturing unit." I responded as I stepped out of the elevator into the parking lot. Sticking the phone to my ear, I marched towards my car.

"So, heading home now?" He asked.

"Yeah, need some sleep," I mumbled. A sudden frown appeared on my face when my eyes landed on two women standing near my car, doing something that I couldn't understand.

Were they trying to steal my car?

"See you tomorrow, guys." I hung the call and walked towards them.

"What's going on here?" I asked in a hard, stern voice, annoyed.

One of them scurried away in fear when she saw me but one was still there. Slowly, she turned to face me and I frowned deeply when I saw a familiar face.

Miss Martins?

Her wide eyes caught my attention, and I raised mine in confusion as something dropped from her hand. Lowering my gaze, I noticed a knife on the floor. Why on earth do you have a knife? I aksed.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Smith. H...how was your m...meeting?" Her stuttering baffled me as I have never seen her stutter.

Perplexed, I questioned, "It went well. What are you doing here? And what are you doing with a knife?" I asked again

"It's a mall, sir, a public place, and I came for shopping. I...I shopped for a knife." She laughed nervously, her explanation not quite adding up.

I simply nodded, unlocking the car with the remote key and heading towards the door. However, she unexpectedly blocked my way, almost colliding with my chest. At this point I could not understand what was happening in front of me again

"Why are you blocking my way, Miss Martins?" I frowned, taking two steps back from her.

She scratched the back of her neck, attempting to speak, but only mumbling to herself. Finally, she said, "I...uh, I want to know wh...what happened in the meeting, what all you talked about? Yeah, that is what I want to know."

"Excuse me?" I questioned, wondering if she was even listening to herself.

"Actually, I...I need to make notes so-"

"If I wanted you to take notes, I would have asked you to accompany me to the meeting," I pointed out the obvious.

"Yeah, that makes sense," she nervously laughed again. What in the world was happening to her?

"Miss Martins, step aside, I have to leave," I stated firmly as I was close to being annoyed

"No!" She suddenly shouted, once again coming closer to me. "I mean... No, I still have something to talk to you."

"Talk to me in the office." I gently pushed her aside and took a step forward but abruptly stopped when my eyes landed on the hood of my car. My eyes widened.

It was scraped!

"Damn! Who did this to my car?" I screamed, as I was almost hurt by the sight of my scraped car.

"I swear it wasn't intentional," I heard Miss Martins say.

It's her? Gritting my teeth, I furiously glared at her.

"It was you? Why? Are you crazy or what?" I shouted.

"I swear I had no idea it's your car. I wouldn't have done it if I knew it's yours. I thought it's someone else's car, and-"

"Mine or not, you can't do that to anyone's car!" I banged my fist on the hood. "Damn!"

"Don't do that; you'll damage it more," she shrieked.

Seriously? I said not believing what she just said

Closing my eyes, I rubbed my face with my palms. "Tyler, don't be angry. Calm down," I mumbled to myself. Sighing, I looked at her. I had just signed a new deal, and I was in a good mood, but she ruined it.

"We'll talk about this in the office tomorrow," I said in a calm tone, trying hard not to snap at her again.

"In the office?" Her panic-stricken eyes studied me. "You are surely going to fire me, I know. Please, please don't do this. Cut my salary but don't fire me, please." She begged.

Well, I wasn't going to fire her, as she was a very efficient employee, and I could definitely get my car repaired in minutes. However, I had to teach her a lesson for her foolishness.

"Miss Martins, don't make me create a scene at a public place. I'll talk to you tomorrow," I said firmly. After rubbing the scraped part again, I sat in the car and drove off.

___________________________________________

Linda Martins

"Oh no! He's definitely gonna fire me." I panicked so bad.

My mind raced, desperately searching for a way to salvage the situation. Suddenly, a name screamed at me – Barbara Gomez, my best friend. She was kind of close with my boss, and involving her might be my saving grace. However, I hesitated.

"I think I should first talk to him tomorrow, and if he doesn't understand, then I'll involve her.

Yeah, that's better." I reassured myself, still dreading how I would face him the next day.

"I told you it was a bad idea!" Susan's voice grated on my nerves. Traitor, I said to her

I turned to face her in rage. "Bad idea? I was doing it for you, and what did you do? You left me alone with the devil."

"Hey, I appreciate that you wanted to help me, but I was against the idea of car scrapping from the start.

I sighed, realizing I couldn't be angry with her. It wasn't her fault; it was me who wanted to go crazy.

"It's okay, Susan. I'm not mad at you. It's me who is unlucky." I sighed.

"But hey, girl, your boss is too hot. It was the first time I saw him out of the screen." She teased, punching my upper arm.

"Too HOT," I agreed, injecting sarcasm into my tone.

"Hot-tempered. He's gonna show me his hotness tomorrow by firing me. And I swear if I get fired tomorrow, I'll burn your boyfriend alive because I'm in this situation because of him." I vented my annoyance in one breath.

"Okay, I get it. I think we must head home before you burn this place down." She dragged me to her car, and we headed home.

I couldn't sleep the whole night. So, when morning arrived, I bathed and quickly prepared for work. My lack of appetite prevented me from eating breakfast.

Arriving at work, I knocked on his door, and he asked me to come in.

"Good morning, sir," I chirped somewhat actively, hoping my upbeat voice would change his mood.

"Oh, come on, Linda, as if it is possible."

"Miss Martins, the car..."

Oh god, he hasn't forgotten it yet.

Panicking, I blurted out, "Sir, I... please listen to me. It wasn't intentional, and I told you I'll pay. If you want me to, you can cut my salary, but please, please, please do not fire me. I'm really-"

"MISS MARTINS."

Flinching, I abruptly stopped rambling.

"The car accessories sales report I asked you to bring to me hasn't reached me yet. Where is it?"

Huh?

What is going on? I was confused.

"A...are y...you not firing me, sir?"

"Do you want me to?"

"What?" I asked.

"To fire you?"

"What, No!" I exclaimed loudly. "Why would I want that?"

"Then go bring me the reports, if not I will grant you your desire of firing you."

"I still have my job!" I did a little booty shake outside his office.

Tyler Smith

"Then go bring me the reports." I said with a little bit of irritation.

After a moment of staring at me, she finally left to bring me the reports. It would be childish if I had fired her for her not so negligible mistake.

"The reports, sir." Miss Martins came and kept the file on my desk. I picked it up to read but stopped when I saw her still standing in the same position.

"You want something?" I inquired, raising my eyebrows.

"Uh, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for not firing me. 1

"Miss Martins, it's fine. You may leave." I said a bit louder because I knew she wouldn't shut her mouth till I do not say it to her strictly.

"Oh, yeah. Sure, sir. Thank you again."

I again began to read the documents and a few moments later I received a phone call from my grandmother.

"Hey, Grandma," I mumbled, rubbing my forehead because I knew I was going to get an earful.

"Tyler, this kind of behavior wasn't expected from you. What have you become? Don't you care about this old lady who has her eyes stuck to the door, waiting for her grandson?" She rebuked.

Yep, I hadn't visited for years now.

"Sorry, Grandma. Work keeps me busy." I sighed.

"Don't give me excuses as I know your reasons. Listen, for the first time I'm asking you to not care about all that happened, and please come to see me. I have something important to discuss with you." She said softly almost tiredly. There was something unusual in her voice that made me worry about her.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She sighed. "I'm perfectly fine, for now, but this isn't about me. If possible, I want you to visit me today as this talk can't be delayed. I'm waiting for you. Don't disappoint me this time."

And she hung the call, leaving me confused, worried, and distressed. I hoped she's okay. I wasn't able to think straight. I loved my grandma dearly but she asked me to visit the place I detested the most. She asked me to visit the place once I called my home. She wanted me to visit the people who tossed me into the loneliness and most importantly, where I won't ever find the one dear to me.

Few minutes later, my friends Paul and James entered into my office, we chatted for a little while before they left

I informed them that Grandma called and she wants me to visit her. I said gloomily. They knew about my issues with the place I was going to visit.

"Is everything alright?"James asked.

"I don't know. I don't even want to go but she has something important to discuss with me."

"Oh, okay. Umm... You can meet her somewhere else, you know?" Paul said.

"She won't agree. It's okay, I'll go."

"You sure?" They both asked and I nodded my head saying, "I have to. I can't avoid going there forever."

"Call us if you don't feel good, alright?"James said as he stood up from his chair.

"I don't want to see you upset," Paul said softly, gazing at me intently.

"No need to worry as if I get upset, I'll come to play with Mary and Derek," I responded.

When they left, I smiled a little. I knew they are the only ones who could lighten my mood. I didn't have to worry about sour mood. My only concern was...How would I step into that house?

:::::::::::::::::::::

I stopped the car in front of the grand house I hadn't visited for so long. The House help staff welcomed me, astonished and shocked. Why wouldn't they be? After all, I had stepped my foot on the property after five long years.

I roamed my eyes in the house trying to recall my happy days at the place but...nothing. Nothing flashed before my eyes. No image of me running in the house; no calling for mom or dad; no playing with my sibling...nothing. No happy faces to recall. Just my cries. For me, This place was just a piece of architecture. That's it.

"Where's Grandma?" That was the first sentence I spoke as I was here only for her. I was then led to the library where she spent most of her time reading books. I smiled when I found her engrossed in the book with her glasses on her nose tip.

"Your glasses might slip off your nose," I stated playfully, standing at the entrance of the library.

"No, it won't." She said as she turned a page of her book, still not recognizing my voice. "I have been wearing my glasses like this since forever-" She all of a sudden shut the book and darted her eyes towards me. Her eyes turned wide and her jaw dropped a little.

"Oh my god, Tyler!" She screamed with all her will, standing on her feet.

"Don't scream, Grandma. You'll get a sore throat." I smiled, walking towards her, and hugged her.

"You are finally here. I thought you won't as always." She embraced me in a tight hug, tears dripping from her eyes.

Sniffing, she smiled and observed me with pride. "My grandson has turned so handsome, just like your grandpa." She laughed and I chuckled.

"You took five long years to show your handsome face to me." She complained.

"We have done video calls several times, Grandma."

"That's reel but this is real, more comforting, and emotional. Video call is nothing compared to this." Her shiny, moisture-filled eyes admired me dreamily.

She suddenly banged her forehead with her palm. "How foolish of me. I haven't asked you what you'll eat, yet. Tell me what you want? Do you want me to prepare mac and cheese for you? You have always loved to eat it when you were little. No, not just that, I will cook a proper course meal for you. You are staying, right? I will prepare dinner tonight and-"

"Hey, hey, hey, grandma." I stopped her rambling. "I would love to eat food cooked by you but I'm not here to stay. I have come to talk to you."

Her face that had lit up like a Christmas tree lost its colors by listening to my confession. Her eyes lost shine but she still managed to flash a smile. A painful smile.

"I can understand your reasons. I won't complain as you have finally fulfilled my long due wish. I always cry silently thinking that I can never see the other one but now as I have seen you, I can die in peace."

My body went still and my eyes got filled with moisture at the mention of the other one but I stayed calm.

"So what-" I was going to ask her what she called me for but stopped in the middle and body turned still when I heard a high pitched familiar voice.

"Mother, Linda, my friend has organized a small party to celebrate one month anniversary of her dog and she has asked me to bring you too, would you like to accompany me?"

I averted my eyes when she entered the library in order not to see her face.

"Oh god, is that you Tyler? It's been so long." She came rushing to me and sitting beside me she snaked her arms around me.

"My son, how are you? It's been too long I have seen you. Don't you miss your mother?"

Patricia Smith, the one who gave birth to me but had never done anything to be called a mother still, my etiquette never allowed me to disrespect her. I just cornered myself from her.

My throat clogged, forcing me not to reply to her fake concern. Clearing my throat, I detached myself from her. "I'm doing fine, mom."

"Oh, how I missed your voice." She patted my cheek.

Yeah, that's why you never tried to call me. Not even once.

"You don't know how much I miss you and your brother."

My brother! I miss him too.

For the second time in my lifetime, I saw tears in her eyes. I didn't know whether they were genuine but they made their presence felt.

Clearing my throat, I shifted away from her. "Ahem, so um... Where's dad?" I asked, uncomfortably.

Mom wiped the moisture from her eyes and chuckled. "Oh, he's not home, he's busy. You know your dad, he has always been interested in politics, and fortunately, this time he's competing to be a senator so he's always engaged in events."

Engaged, busy, occupied. Words I had grown up listening to.

"It's fine," I mumbled but it wasn't fine at all. Dad had never been there for me. Never.

Mom's cell phone chose the moment to ring.

"Hello, yeah... I'm on my way. Oh, come on how can I miss such an important party." And she hung the call.

She sighed. "Mother, guess you won't be coming with me as your favorite grandson is here. And Tyler, I hope you're staying. I'll catch up with you later as I have to go. Being a competing senator's wife I have to make more public appearances. I hope you understand.

Yeah, an animal's birthday is way more important than your son. She has always been like this. Attending parties, being social, showing off her wealth.

"I understand." I have always understood that I wasn't at all important to them that's why they pushed me away. They were too busy to take care of their children.

"So, I'll get going." She flashed a smile and marched out of the library without glancing back and here I kept looking at her, hoping maybe for once she might decide to spend time with me. But no. She went out.

I took a deep breath when I felt a soft pat on my shoulder. "Don't be upset. You know your mother, she has always been like this."

"I don't expect much from her or from dad. They have always been invisible to me."

Sighing, I shifted to face grandma. "So, what is it you want to discuss with me?"

Her wrinkled face creased more, showing the aging lines of her skin. There was exhaustion in her eyes. I couldn't pinpoint what exactly was bothering her until she told me the reason that left me stiff, crushed, and shameful of my own act of negligence.

"It's about my great-grandson, Robert."