CHAPTER 1 : Spark

- "One month... Give me one month to teach you how to live."

[FEAR]: feminine noun, from the Latin Pavor, a feeling of anxiety felt in the presence or at the mere thought of danger, real or supposed.

Fear, that old invasive friend... It is always there, every second of my life... Whispering in my ear, running down my cheeks, hanging on the tip of my lips, embracing me at night with its icy caresses...

For as long as I can remember, I have been afraid of everything: afraid to go out, afraid to have friends, afraid to love without return, afraid to die and paradoxically afraid to live.

Today, I am especially afraid. It's the first day of my one-month probationary period as the personal assistant to the president of Nova Corporation. According to the research I had done for my job interview, he was born of a French father and a Japanese mother. He joined the company at only 18 years old, after a tragic plane crash that took the lives of both his parents. Now 26 years old, he has built Nova Corporation into one of the best, if not the best, entertainment companies in the country with countless overseas contracts. One would think that with a job like his, he would spend his time cloistered within the four walls of his office but the reality is quite different. He is as much a workaholic as he is a heartthrob and a thrill seeker. He is always on the front page of extreme sports magazines. In short, he's not afraid of anything.

- "This is it... I'm there, no way back. " I whispered in front of the huge glass and steel building of Nova Corporation.

I slowly cross the hall, looking around. A fountain stands in the middle of it and the sunlight reflects on the marble statue above it. The sound of my sneakers resounds with each of my steps and finally stops when I reach the reception desk. A young man dressed in a black suit, surely from a great fashion designer, welcomes me with a big smile:

- "Hello Miss. Welcome to Nova Corporation. How can I help you?"

- "Um ... Hello, I'm Mr. Faust's new assistant. I'm here to get my badge so I can access the elevator leading to his office."

As soon as I finish my sentence, the young man stops and looks at me from head to toe. It doesn't take much more to make my brain start boiling: is the sweater I've put on over my shirt not professional enough? Should I have worn heels? Is my bun too strict? My -

- "Miss?" the young man asks, waving a card in front of my eyes and cutting off my frantic train of thought in the process.

- "Y-yes?"

- "Here, your badge. Mr. Faust has already arrived and has asked me to inform you that he is waiting for you in his office on the top floor."

- "Thank you, have a nice day!" I said as I took off in the direction of the elevator.

Once inside the metal cage, I place a hand on my chest feeling my heart jump and drum like a bomb about to explode. I take a deep breath and then blow slowly through my mouth. One more time, then another and I continue this cycle as I climb the 35 floors.

TING, a ringing bell snaps me out of my thoughts once again and signals the opening of the doors to a huge, spacious office taking up the entire top floor. The view is breathtaking, but as I am afraid of heights, my legs tremble slightly.

Facing me, sitting in a brown leather chair, is my new boss. He holds a file in his hands and without even looking up, he starts to read its content aloud to me:

- "Selene Katell, 24 years old, languages spoken: French, English, Spanish, Japanese and Korean, one month trial period as a personal executive assistant ... hmm."

Once his monologue is over, he closes and puts the file back on his desk. It is at this precise moment that he raises his head.

Blue. Blue is the only thing I can think of. It's as if my brain can't process the information coming to me from his eyes. I stand there, petrified. He gets up, walks slowly towards me and then holds out his hand.

- "Ace... Ace Faust, nice to meet you Miss Katell."

Still petrified, my eyes wander over the man standing before me. Tall, porcelain skin, ebony hair pulled back, an angular jaw, as if carved from stone and eyes ... eyes as blue as the ocean and slightly slanted.

- "Miss Katell? Are you going to let me catch a cramp reaching out to you?" he said with a slight chuckle.

Coming out of my torpor, I clumsily shake his hand while mumbling incomprehensible and inaudible excuses. My hands are clammy, my legs are shaking and I feel a drop of sweat sliding down my spine. He must have noticed my discomfort because he says to me, laughing softly:

- "Aren't you hot with that big sweater? You can take it off. That way you'll surely be more comfortable."

- "No!" I exclaim a little too loudly while clutching my sweater like I'm holding onto a life jacket.

- "Fine. As you wish," he answers without taking his eyes off mine.

Truth to be told, I'm suffocating under this sweater but I'm afraid to take it off, afraid to expose my slim-fitting shirt and have people look at me and judge me, it terrifies me.

- "Miss Katell, if you don't mind, I'll show you to your office," he says as he starts to walk.

I follow his lead and, to my surprise, we don't head for the elevator. We continue walking until we arrive in one of the corners of the gigantic room. There is a spacious second office. It is made of glass and steel, just like the building. It is surrounded by geometric shelves filled with hundreds of files meticulously organized in alphabetical order. I also notice a small table with a small fridge and a coffee machine.

- "Here is your office. I decided to put it on my floor so I don't have to waste time going up and down unnecessarily. You can bring your meals in this fridge, it's yours. Any questions?" he said while making coffees.

- "I don't have any about my premises, but could I know which job I should start with?" I ask him shyly, forcing myself not to look down.

- "Today, I would like you to go through the files on these shelves so that you are aware of all of our past, current and future contracts. You are going to be my right-hand in this business. Also, I need you to know the people we work with and more importantly how we work with them."

Again my brain comes to a screeching halt... Did he just say I need to know all these files before tonight? Did I hear him right? Is that even possible? How? Why? Wh-? My heart is racing again, my head is spinning and I feel like I am drunk... drunk with fear. My existential crisis is stopped by an outstretched hand and a coffee.

- "Here, a coffee will get you through the day."

- "Thank you ..." I say as I take the scalding cup and bring it to my lips.

I don't like coffee, it's bitter and it gives me heart arrhythmias. My heart already has its fair share of thrill rides with all my daily fears so I avoid coffee like the plague. But today I have no choice, I want to make a good impression and my petrified statue trick when I arrive is more than enough.

Wanting to finish as soon as possible with this demonic beverage, I decide to gulp it down as fast as possible. Only small problem ... I choke and while I try to control my incipient cough, I meet the carnivorous smile of my boss. He clearly looks amused by the situation.

- "Are you going to be okay, Miss Katell? Do you have any other questions?"

- "No thank you that will be fine sir." I reply trying not to show that I want to run away on my first day.

- "Well, I'll leave you to it then. You know where to find me if you run into any problems."

After one last sly smile, he leaves my corner of the floor and I allow myself a long sigh. It's going to be a long, long day but I'm not discouraged. I knew that by applying for such a prestigious company I would have to be up to it. If my fear has given me anything positive, it's being organized and knowing how to work under pressure. So I took a stack of files and decided to make a summary sheet for each one. That way, in the future, I won't have to search for the information I need for hours.

The time passes as quickly as the blink of an eye. I'm immersed in the files and have energy to spare because of this damn coffee. Tomorrow, I promise, I'll bring myself a thermos of tea.

A tapping of fingers on my desk startles me. I lift my head, taking my eyes off my ocean of files. I meet Mr. Faust's eyes again, amused by my reactions. I think he is considering scaring me as his new sensation sport.

- "Can I help you, Mr. Faust?" I said, trying to control the murderous look I gave him.

- "I was just coming to let you know that it's one o'clock in the afternoon and that it's lunch time. It ends at 2 p.m. Be on time. Be punctual," he replies with his eternal smirk.

He is definitely attractive. I understand his reputation as a heartbreaker. However, right now, I feel more like I'm looking at a little brat than a man.

After my little mental vendetta against my boss, I grab my lunch and decide to take it by the fountain to avoid the cafeteria crowd. The fewer people around me, the better off I am.

While I'm eating, I decide to call my parents who have told me about 500 times that I should call them during my break to tell them everything. My parents are what you would call chicken parents. They have always protected me from everything and I think that was part of my fear of everything. The other part of that fear? My school bullying because of my hair. I was born with a white streak among my Venetian blonde hair. This lock that frames my face, my mother and grandmother also have one. Who would have thought that a lock of hair would be responsible for so much hate?

-"So my darling? How is work going? Is your boss as handsome as the papers say? Is he nice to you? Is he-"

- "Mom ... One question at a time or you'll forget to breathe again," I said, laughing. "Yes, work is going very well. There's a lot to do but I already knew that."

I deliberately leave out the part where my beloved boss is having fun scaring me, otherwise I'll get the wacky "tough love" theories from my mother who is desperate to set me up with everyone.

After a CIA-like interrogation, our call ends and I decide to go back to my office even though it's only 1:30 pm. Getting a head start won't hurt me with the pile of files that still awaits me before tonight.

22..23...34...35...TING, the elevator bell rings just like this morning. The door opens on an empty office, Mr.Faust must still be eating. So I dive back into my files without further ado.

TING!

- "Ah!", this damn ringing makes me cry out slightly in surprise.

This is followed, not surprisingly, by a small laugh from my boss, who sits down at his desk as if nothing had happened.

You stupid - No ... Selene, keep calm, it's not worth it. Besides, I'm not going to lie to myself. Except for swearing in my head, I'll never have the courage to say it to his face.

5 hours later

- "Hmmm, I finally finished all these files" I say while stretching.

- "It's a good job, Miss Katell."

One jump later, I stand up stiff as a board on my chair.

- "Sorry... I didn't think you could hear me from where you are sir" I say, cursing myself for speaking so loudly.

- "There's no harm done. It's already 7 p.m. and the employees are planning to go out for a drink around 7:30 to celebrate the arrival of all the new people. Will you be part of it?" asks Mr.Faust while walking towards me.

- "I'll be there," he says. 

-"I unfortunately already have plans tonight, sorry."

That's not true, totally not true, I don't have anything planned. I am for a change, simply terrified. Going out for a drink with colleagues means drinking alcohol, and alcohol means loss of control.

- "What a shame...so we'll see you tomorrow Miss Katell."

After politely saying goodbye, I take advantage of the fact that he is putting his things away and run to get the elevator to myself. I hate closed spaces and Mr. Faust's new hobby is to scare me, so I'd rather not let him find out about this one, or any other for that matter. People always use other people's fear to hurt them, and I've had enough of that.

As I leave the building, I close my eyes and enjoy the fresh air and the light of the setting sun for a moment, which caresses my face after a long day of work.

On my way back, I stumbled upon a newly opened bookstore-cafe. As I have nothing to do, I decide to take a hot chocolate and read a little. I skimmed the books with my fingertips and stopped in front of a Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice. I must have read it a dozen times already but I never get tired of it. I am an eternal romantic. I always hope, like a little girl, that one day Prince Charming will come and sweep away all my fears with a wave of the hand.

With my book in one hand and my cup in the other, I sit comfortably cross-legged in a big, soft armchair at the terrace. The cool evening air crunching my skin, I decide to grab one of the plaids at my disposal to cover myself. Plaid, which, a few minutes later is abruptly torn off my knees.

- "What the-" I begin before stopping dead in my tracks.

- "So these are the plans you already had tonight, a book and hot chocolate?"

- "Mr. Faust? What are you-" I choke.

- "Come on Selene, we're not at work anymore, you can call me by my first name... Call me Ace," he says, leaning towards me.

I take back what I said. He's not a brat, he's a man and he's way, way too close. At this very moment, I'm dreaming that my chair is the closet that leads to Narnia so I can disappear into it.

- "How did you know I was here? Weren't you supposed to have a drink with the employees?"

- "Indeed, I was supposed to ... until I saw you running to leave the office like your life depended on it. It made me curious and I decided to follow you."

What? Didn't he just say he followed me? While keeping his smirk on? I have goosebumps... 

I have goosebumps because I'm scared... Right?

- "Tell me Selene, what is the point of a life like you lead? Running away from everything and everyone?" He said as he straightened up and towered over me with his eyes.

- "And yours then? Multiplying the conquests and the sports more dangerous than the others? Risk every day a little more to die unnecessarily? " I retort annoyed before placing my hand against my mouth instantly regretting to have shouted at my boss.

It is then that I see it, the spark of challenge that I have just ignited in his eyes. In one swift motion, he places both hands on each of my armrests.

- "I asked the question first..." he sneers.

- "I-I guess my answer is pretty logical, I want to keep living, I don't want to die so young."

- "No."

- "No?" I ask, not understanding what he's getting at.

- "Your heart is still beating, but you are not living. You're just a spectator of a world that moves on without you." He says while pointing his index finger at my chest.

Stung by his comment, I lose my temper and answer him:

- "You know sir ... your last name: Faust, it comes from a popular tale of a man who sold his soul to the devil to acquire power and knowledge. It reminds me of you: you who think you know everything about me and consider yourself all powerful."

- "You're being so formal with me again..." he says, bringing his face closer to mine.

He gets so close that I can feel his warm breath attacking my cold-blue lips. I don't recoil this time but I am petrified, as if his blue eyes were those of Medusa. Captivating as well as dangerous.

- "Yes, I know that story. Nevertheless, let me correct you. I didn't sell my soul to the devil... I am the devil." he replies, taking care to whisper the last part in my ear.

I know he doesn't mean it literally and that he's not really the devil, but his words leave me speechless. Amused and clearly pleased with the effect of his speech on me, he straightens up and says:

- "One month... Give me one month to teach you how to live."

Author's Note: And that's the first chapter of my first short story! It's a total of 5 chapters that will be published every Wednesday ! So I'll see you soon!

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