Her Sweetest Mistake (Amelia) novel Chapter 98

Office Affairs

“You…your shoes,” she glanced down at Isla’s dancing toes. “Can you stop doing that?” she requested politely but there was hint of anger in her voice…

Isla’s eyes followed the brunette’s eyes back to her face. “Oh, I’m deeply sorry.” she apologized, her voice a soft British whisper. “It happens whenever I’m nervous.‘

The brunette’s tightened jaw softened. “I understand, I’m nervous too.”

“Really? How do you manage to remain calm? Please tell me your secret.” Isla whispered as she noticed the sharp glares from the people with her.

“Well,” the brunette glanced back and forth between the people in front of her and the hallway. She gestured for Isla to bring her ear closer to her mouth. Isla brought her left ear closer to the brunette lips. “Think of your man in lingerie.” The brunette whispered.

A loud giggle escaped Isla’s lips before she was able to control her laughter.

“Really?” Isla asked in between a muffled laughter and the brunette nodded. “I’m Isla. Isla Hamilton.”

The brunette smiled, “British huh? The accent sold you out. I am Eleanor Campbell.”

“British? You didn’t strike me as one.” Isla teased.

“Damn. Guess I need to try hard.” They both shared a laugh before Eleanor spoke. “I was born and raised in America but of British descent.”

“Cool,” Isla replied before glancing at her watch impatiently. “How long has it been?” she looked back at Eleanor.

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know. I came in 5 minutes before you.”

A wide smile broke out of Isla’s lips exposing her left cheek dimple. “Then we are fucked.”

*****

The conference room was filled with an air of anticipation as the company board, led by the CEO, gathered to hear pitches from interested individuals competing for the position of CEO’s secretary. The room was large and modern, with a large wooden table at its center, surrounded by high–backed leather chairs.

At the head of the table, the CEO, a middle–aged man with a commanding presence, sat with a stern expression, his icy blue eyes fixed intently on the incoming candidate. A beautiful redhead with bright striking red heart- shaped lips. To his right and left sat the other members of the board, each with a notepad and pen at the ready.

As the candidate, Isla, walked in to present her pitch, the room fell silent. A man in a tailored suit collected her folder and walked over to the CEO’s end to give it to him.

Isla took a deep breath, smoothed out her dress, and began to speak in a confident, clear voice. Her eyes wandered around the room before landing briefly on the middle–aged man.

His sharp striking facial features made her heart skip. As he flicked his lower lip with the tip of his tongue, Isla shivered involuntarily. They held each other’s gaze for a couple of seconds before Isla averted her gaze.

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“Good morning, esteemed members of the board,” Isla started. “I am thrilled to be here today to present my ideas on how I can contribute to the growth and success of this company as the CEO’s secretary.”

The CEO’s gaze returned to her as her British accent caught his attention. He stared shamelessly ignoring the burning stare beside him. His wife.

Isla walked over to a large screen behind her, where a presentation was projected. She clicked a remote, and the screen came to life, displaying a series of slides that highlighted her qualifications, experience, and ideas for improving the company’s sales.

“As a highly organized and detail–oriented individual, I believe I can bring significant value to this role,” Isla explained, as she navigated through her presentation. “My experience in marketing and customer service has given me a unique understanding of what drives sales and how to build strong relationships with clients.”

The board members listened intently, their eyes scanning the slides and taking notes. The CEO leaned forward, his expression unreadable.

“One of my key ideas is to implement a new customer relationship management system,” Isla continued. “This would enable us to better track customer interactions, identify areas for improvement, and tailor our sales approach to meet the unique needs of each client.”

As Isla presented her presentation with sweaty palms that she kept rubbing on her skirt, the board members nodded thoughtfully, their expressions a mixture of interest and doubt.

The CEO leaned back in his chair, steepled his fingers, and spoke in a deep, resonant voice, his eyes scanning her body.

“Thank you…” he flipped open the folder and his eyes scanned the first page. “Miss Isla Hamilton. That was a good presentation. Can you tell me, how you plan to measure the success of your ideas, and what kind of return on investment you expect to see?”

Isla’s confident smile dropped but it returned like it never left. She straightened her shoulders ready to address the CEO’s questions. The board members leaned forward, eager to hear her response, as the interview continued.

“Pardon me Sir, but my name is pronounced eye–la, not ISla. I hope you don’t mind.”

He smiled tightly and shook his head, “Not at all. Go on. Miss Hamilton.” his gaze was still fixed on her.

Isla took a moment to collect her thoughts before responding. “To measure the success of my ideas. I plan to…” a loud beep reverberated from the phone in her left palm. She glanced down to look at the phone without anybody noticing but the contents of the message made her cuss. “Fuck.” The word left her lips before her brain could comprehend what was going on.

“You plan to fuck?” a sultry thick familiar voice brought her back to reality,

She raised her head and her eyes swept across the other curious eyes staring at her.

Noah’s impatient gaze couldn’t leave the redhead who stood thinking of how to defend her words. He could feel his wife’s burning stare but didn’t bother to look at her. She had a little argument and she fought to be here.

She told Noah that she must be present when he chooses his secretary. Noah saw no problem with that, but she has been rejecting his potential applicants for no reason. Noah was growing impatient and was tired of the torture. He knew she wanted to reject the redhead too, and Isla kind of gave her a just reason to, but Noah was

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tired.

“Speak child,” Brenda, the wife urged Isla. “You said you plan to fuck.”

“No…no ma’am. I received an overwhelming message and the word escaped my lips involuntarily. I am sorry for such a vulgar word.”

“What was the content of the message that made you lose your guard?” Brenda battered her eyelashes vigorously as she looked at Isla.

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Office Affairs

Isla opened her mouth to speak but no words were formed. Noah stepped in.

“Brenda, you are scaring the child,” he turned to face Isla. “Continue.”

Brenda rolled her eyes but didn’t say a word. Her vicious glare sips Isla up.

Isla squared her shoulders in readiness to speak again. “I plan to track key performance indicators such as sales growth, consumer satisfaction, and retention rates. I also propose to conduct regular review sessions with the sales team to identify areas for improvement and adjust our strategy accordingly,”

Noah nodded thoughtfully, his expression unreadable. “And what kind of return on investment do you expect to see?”

Isla opened her mouth to speak but the ping sound from her phone interrupted her but she resisted the urge to look at whatever it was again.

“Based on the industry bench…‘

“It seems like you have a lot more important things to handle. Why don’t you wait outside?” Brenda cut her off.

“Ma?” Isla asked confusedly.

“You are dismissed,” Brenda said in a cold, strict voice.

“I…Ma’am.” Isla stuttered helplessly but Brenda gestured toward the door for Isla to leave.

Isla bowed her head slightly and turned to leave. Brenda’s voice echoed from behind her. “She is not fit for the job.”

Tears fell from Isla’s eyes as she walked out of the boardroom.

As she stepped into the waiting lounge, Eleanor ran to her. She scanned her face before pulling her in for a warm hug.

“The lady’s words got you, huh?” she said rhetorically.

Isla pulled away and sniffled back her tears, “She was mean to you too?”

“Oh darling, she was mean to everyone in skirts.” Eleanor chuckled as she replied to Isla, “I pray to not be a jealous wife in the future.”

“That makes sense,” Isla exclaimed. “I thought she was a random senior employee responsible for the interview,”

“No, she is the first lady,” Eleanor said. “What made you receive her venom? I’m curious as to what an innocent girl like you must have done to tick off the bomb.”

Isla glanced around them to make sure nobody was close by, then she showed her phone to Eleanor who gasped loudly as she saw the message.

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“You guys are dismissed,” Noah ordered the board members to leave.

“Stay,” Brenda countered but the board members chose to listen to their boss.

They packed their belongings and fled the scene.

“Why are you here today, Brenda?” Noah asked, loosening his tie.

“To watch my husband choose a suitable secretary. Thank goodness I was here. Look at how the girls in this generation dress with no common sense of morality.”

Noah huffed, “Next time, stay at home.”

“How can you say that? I’m your wife and…”

“Soon to be an Ex–wife,” he glanced at her with a stern expression.

Brenda rolled her eyes, “Well you don’t have to be mean about it.”

“This is my working hour, Brenda. Can we discuss more at home? I have a secretary to hire.”

“Discuss more at home? Lies,” Brenda scoffed. “Well at least don’t pick the redhead. She is a distract…”

“Perfect choice.” Noah chimed in. “Jude,” Noah called out and a young man in his late twenties entered the office.