Chapter 1: First Impressions

Arielle stood in front of the tall AMI tower with a slim briefcase in hand. It held all of her credentials, reports, and her résumé. A crowd of professional looking adults were walking in and out of the building as she barely mustered the strength to step inside. It was intimidating to say the least. She took a deep breath and walked inside along with the rest.

This is for you mom, she thought.

She walked over to the open elevator that already held two more people than it's recommended limits. She walked in bravely nonetheless. An unwise decision, but she was much too excited to care. The elevator went up, climbing past each number until reaching the floor 107.

By that point the elevator only had her on it. Everyone else got off by floor 89. She wondered why she needed to go up so high, but it was included with her first day instructions.

Ding! The elevator rang out loudly. The strong steel doors opened and she feigned confidence while strutting out. She looked around and her eyes landed on an older lady at the front desk. Her hair hung to her shoulders speckled in various shades of grey and white and thin glasses sat on the bridge of her nose.

"Hi," Arielle called out to the secretary. "My name is Arielle Burnes. I'm the new intern." Arielle showed the secretary her ID and upon seeing it, the secretary nodded in approval.

"Oh!" The older lady smiled. "Hello there Arielle, my name is Susan Davis, but you can call me Sue. You must be here to see Alexander Marquee. He's in his office. I'll let him know you're here." Susan grabbed the landline in front of her and clicked a button towards the top. "Mr. Marquee, your intern is here." Susan smiled at whatever Mr. Marquee said in return before placing the phone down.

Arielle's eyes widened dramatically. "A-Alexander?" She stuttered out.

Susan looked over at her with concern. "Yes, are you alright, dear?"

Arielle attempted to compose herself and cleared her throat before nodded quickly. "Yes. Yes, I'm okay."

The older lady continued to look her up and down. The girl was clearly frightened, Susan thought. "Okay," She responded with a gentle expression. "His office is down the hall. I'm excited to work with you." She said with a smile before ushering Arielle towards the large doors.

"Thank you, you too." Arielle nearly squeaked. She had thought that she applied to be an intern to one of Alexander's favored employees, but not Alexander himself.

Her small hands knocked at the large and noticeably dense doors. She could hear shuffling about in the room before hearing his voice. "You can come in!" A deep voice beckoned. She gulped and smoothed down her flowy a-line skirt before pushing open the door.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she saw a handsome man sitting behind a large wooden desk. He looked much younger than she would have expected for a CEO. His hands were holding various papers. Just a quick look at him made it apparent that he was rather large and strong man.

Her eyes went to his pristine suit. Any man would plead to know who his tailor was. It fit him well. It was not obnoxiously tight nor excessively baggy. It was appropriate and he wore like it was made for him because it most likely was. His dark hair slightly curled and had such a shine to it. Everything about this man seemed perfect and Arielle didn't know how to handle that, so she gulped and looked away. She could not be distracted by appearances.

Because she looked away so quickly and without truly looking into his eyes, she didn't realize Alexander's gaze on her. He took in how she was dressed. She was clothed rather modestly. The skirt she wore was long and it flowed along her legs beautifully. It did not cling to her skin and seemed to be made of a pleated, ivory silk. It looked like something only the rich could afford, but he had never heard of nor seen this woman before. He was almost certain that she was not rich.

Her curls framed her small oval face and danced along the tops of her long lashes. He took notice of her button nose and full lips. He was able to see that even her tanned skin glowed naturally. He forced himself to look away out of respect for her.

He cleared his throat and gestured to the seat in front of his desk.

"You may have a seat." He stated.

Arielle nodded and gracefully walked over to the royal blue chair. It's so soft, she thought to herself.

She's so beautiful, he thought to himself.

They sat in silence and she began to fidget with her fingers. He shook his head again. He did not have the time to be distracted. Not right now. Too much was going on and his rivals were trying to destroy his business and his life. He cleared his mind of her for the moment and looked over a sheet he had prepared for her. It listed every task she would need to complete while she worked for him and it included her pay rate.

"This is for you," Alexander said as he pushed the document over to her. "Everything on that sheet of paper is what I expect of you. Did you get the chance to E-sign all of the documents we emailed to you before coming in?"

Arielle nodded eagerly. She had done it the same day she received her letter. She wanted this process to be as quick as she could make it. She had even woken up before the sunrise to get here on time seeing as her commute now included a lengthy train ride. Arielle's mother needed her and so for the first time and four years, she was living at home again.

Alexander could see that Arielle's mind had wondered, although he had given her the time to. His mind had become clouded sitting in his own office simply because of her. He realized that she had not even spoken a word to him yet. He didn't like how much he wanted to hear her voice. He thought of things to say in attempts of tricking her to speak. To say something, anything.

"So," he began. "What influenced you to apply here?" Such an original question, he thought to himself in annoyance. Who asks that after giving someone employment?

She glanced up at him. Her dark brown eyes widened at his question and curiosity. In attempts to not seem rude, she looked for the right words. He watched and waited. Time felt as though it was slowing down to taunt him.

"This is likely to become the most successful company in all of NYS within five to ten years time. I would like bring my skills to help accomplish that and to learn from the best of the best." She paused and looked down at her hands before continuing to elaborate further. "And... I want to do this for my mother. She worked hard for me and I hope to return the favor. She took over the role of both parents when my dad died and so, she should be able to retire much earlier." Arielle turned her attention the expansive NYC style office window and stared out at the various skyscrapers decorating the city beneath the vibrant blue sky. "I want to give her the world on a silver platter." She spoke quietly, ending her response there.

Her voice was beautiful as he expected, but as she answered he learned that her heart was beautiful too.

Each word she said was melodic and felt like a kiss to his ears. It made him think of angels. Alexander was never a religious man, but looking at her made him question that. A woman as beautiful as her must mean there's a God, he thought wistfully.

Arielle adjusted herself awkwardly and smiled over to him. His gaze was lingering on her and she wasn't any the wiser because her gaze frantically moved from object to object in attempt to ease her nerves. She didn't realize the control she was already gaining over him and how much he didn't like it. Alexander Marquee wasn't one to swoon over women. They swooned over him. He was the most wanted and available bachelor in NYC and yet here he was becoming a puddle for a beautiful woman who had no status or money that she could possibly give him that he didn't already have.

"Um," Arielle paused. Don't say "um", she thought. He'll think that I'm lacking in intelligence. Say proper words! She scolded herself.

"I'm sorry, sir. I know that you're a busy man, so I can get started on whatever task you had for me." Arielle offered. She offered him a soft smile that in turn caused him to feel weakened by her.

"Yes, that would be a good idea," he agreed. "You seem like a smart woman. Why don't you grab me a coffee and then come back here and shadow me?"

"Shadow you?" She responded in surprise. Shadowing the CEO? She worked incredibly hard for her degree and dreamed of making it to the top, but never saw that it would be so immediate. Shadowing him would grant her amazing skills in half the time and it would guarantee a spot in the company long term. I could buy mom a new house with a paid off mortgage, she thought happily.

Alexander grinned at her shock. It was an amusing and adorable expression that graced her face. He rose a brow at her and leaned a back while enjoying this. "Would that be so horrible?" He feigned offense.

"No, no!" She quickly rebutted. "I-I can do that."

He kept his composure and held in his laugh. "Well, why don't you grab that coffee and grab yourself one too from the cafeteria. Here's my cafe card."

"Oh it's okay Mr.Marquee."

"I insist. Please. And call me Alexander." His eyes were soft as he watched her. She just stared back in awe before nodding in agreement. He gave a soft smile to her, something he didn't do often, and let her go out to grab their coffees. He refrained from watching her as she left. The way she carried herself and spoke made her seem very kind and filled with much self respect and dignity. It was clear that she worked hard to get here and something about the idea of checking her out like that made him feel bad, so he didn't. She had hardly said a word, yet she was already winning him over.