The trick worked like a charm, and the murmurs quieted down.
The room settled again.
I kicked off my self-intro, starting from when I joined Harper & Ross Corporation.
I laid out my past roles and what I was good at, in detail.
Sophia seemed quite pleased.
She kept watching me as I talked, nodding now and then to show support.
Seeing her like that made me feel even more confident in myself.
New hires were each assigned to their sections based on what they applied for.
I had gone for the assistant position to the Planning Director.
When Sophia handed me over to Director Flores and officially announced my spot, I raised a hand—I had something to say.
All eyes in the room locked onto me.
“Andrew, do you have something you’d like to add?” Sophia asked.
I stood up and replied, “Ms.
Smith, and all the leaders here—though I’ve worked a few years, mostly in the fashion line back at Harper & Ross, and I’m not totally new to the industry, there’s still a ton I need to pick up.
Being able to join Anyael is a real lucky break for me.
I do appreciate the trust and the offer to take on the Assistant Planner role.
It’s a great chance, no doubt.
But since I’ve just landed here and there’s so much I need to catch up on, I’d prefer to start from the ground up and not take on the assistant position for now.”
I hadn’t even finished before the whole meeting room was filled with surprised faces, everybody staring like I’d just said the weirdest thing ever.
Even Sophia looked hard at me, clearly wondering what I was thinking.
But smart as she was, she figured it out quickly.
She turned to the group and said,
“Andrew’s attitude toward hard work and learning fits right in with Anyael’s values.
Since this is his personal choice, the leadership respects it.
Andrew will be placed under Director Flores’ direct observation for three months.
If her assessment of his performance is strong, we’ll reconsider him for the assistant role.”
As soon as Sophia finished, the room burst into applause again.
But I knew the clapping wasn’t all for her speech.
Part of it was for me, for making such a dumb move—at least in their eyes.
I couldn’t tell if those claps meant support for someone who wasn’t chasing a title, or if they were just mocking my choice deep down.Honestly, I didn’t really care what they thought.
What mattered was that Sophia nodded at me, clearly approving my decision.
That alone was enough to put me in a good mood.
It felt great knowing the boss appreciated what I did.
To her, I must’ve seemed like someone who actually focused on the work, not someone chasing titles and perks.
The other newcomers all landed in their expected roles from the interview.
Me?
I ended up as a designer in the planning department.
Once the meeting wrapped up, people started trickling out of the room.
Sophia stayed behind, looking like she was waiting for something—or someone.
When I walked past her, she suddenly called out.
“Andrew, come to my office for a moment.”
She didn’t give me time to answer.
Grabbed some files and walked right out.
I stood there for a second, kind of stunned, then was the last to leave the room.
Outside her office door, I knocked politely a couple of times.
Her soft voice came from inside, and just hearing it made my chest feel a little warmer.
“Come in.”
Those two simple words from her… Get faster updates on g.com.
somehow they felt magnetic.
Inside that office was the woman I’d been thinking about non-stop, the one I could never get tired of looking at—her delicate skin, so fair you’d worry it might bruise at a touch.
Just thinking about being alone in a room with her made my heart thump like crazy.
Weirdly enough, I wasn’t even this nervous the first night we met.
Guess it’s different now.
She’s my boss.
But my feelings for her—they’ve only gotten deeper.
I took a breath to steady myself and stepped in.
“Ms.
Smith.” I didn’t call her by her first name or anything familiar—it was my way of keeping things professional, and also making sure nobody at work caught on to the fact that we knew each other beforehand.
“Take a seat, Andrew.”
I sat down, but couldn’t stop my eyes from drifting to her face.
No matter how many times I saw her, I couldn’t get enough.
“Is there something you’d like to talk about?” I asked.
“I just wanted to understand why you gave up the assistant director role.”
“I figured you’d already had a sense of why.”
“I’d still like to hear your honest reason.”
“Well,” I began, “It’s my first day here, and already a couple things have led people to assume I got here through connections.
Some are even gossiping.
Stepping down from the assistant position was partly because I want to ease into things—get to know the workflow from the ground up.
And partly, I want to prove I can actually do the job.
Once I’ve earned the trust of the team and other department heads, I’ll go for that position again.
That way, it’ll show you promote based on merit.”
“Andrew, I have no doubt people will recognize your abilities soon enough.
For now, take time to learn from Director Flores—and be sure to give her the respect she deserves.”