When the ceo loses control

The girls’ apartment looks like a battlefield.

Clothes everywhere, makeup scattered across the table, coffee spilled on the floor.

— WE’RE LATE! Maëlia screams, running around half-made-up, one heel in her hand, the other foot bare.

Raven storms out of the bathroom, swearing.

— Stupid d*mn straightener… If this keeps up, I’m going to burn this outlet—and the whole building with it!

Lune, usually so gentle, is starting to lose her patience too, which proves just how disastrous the situation really is.

— Raven, calm down… we have ten minutes…

— Ten minutes to look like employable women? Lune, be serious. Ten minutes is barely enough just to tame my hair!

She tugs at a rebellious strand that refuses to cooperate.

The strand wins.

— I swear I’m going to cut it. I don’t even care.

Maëlia throws a cushion at Raven.

— YOU ARE NOT CUTTING IT, WE NEED YOUR PANTHER LOOK TO IMPRESS THE CEO!

Raven bursts out laughing.

— The CEO? That guy’s probably as stiff as a 60-year-old lawyer. I doubt he’ll even notice my hair.

— Raven… he’s 25, Lune murmurs while searching for her shoe under the couch. A young prodigy, apparently very… serious.

— Serious, so boring, Raven concludes.

She snaps open her lipstick and applies it in two seconds.

— There. I’m ready to humiliate billionaires. Let’s go.

Maëlia smacks her forehead.

— No, Raven! The goal is to get the job, not humiliate CEOs!

— We can do both, Raven suggests sincerely.

Panicking, Lune finally slips on her heel and jumps up.

— Please, just this once… let’s try to be normal!

Raven looks at her as if she just asked the impossible.

— Lune, sweetheart… in what world am I normal?

Maëlia nods.

— True. We’ve got Raven “I speak before I think” Hale. Me, the official drama queen. And you, Lune “I stress and cry over nothing” Marlowe. We’re objectively doomed.

Lune stares at them, panicked.

— You’re really not helping…

Raven grabs her keys, her bag, and throws the door open.

— Come on, panthers! Let’s seduce, charm, shine!

They rush out.

Raven adds:

— And if the CEO talks to me badly, I’ll insult him.

— NO! — RAVEN NO!

Maëlia and Lune shout in unison behind her.

Raven shrugs.

— I’ll do my best. But if he’s arrogant… no promises.

What she doesn’t know yet…

Is that at the same moment, on the other side of the city, Aiden Vesper—the cold, dominant CEO—is checking the time with irritation.

And that their meeting is about to spark a war. An obsession. A dangerous promise.

The taxi speeds through the morning traffic, honking at everything in sight. Raven, Maëlia, and Lune are squeezed in the back, buried under their bags, files, and the guilt of being late. Yet Raven sits with her arms crossed, head held high, as if they weren’t rushing toward the biggest opportunity—or disaster—of their lives.

— “We’re dead,” Lune repeats for the seventh time in a minute.

— “Stop saying that,” Raven grumbles. “We might be dead, but we’ll be dead and gorgeous.”

Maëlia rolls down the window to let some air in, then turns back to them.

— “Okay. We’ll be there in five minutes. Breathe. Calm down. Smile.”

Raven raises an eyebrow.

— “I don’t smile. It makes me look approachable.”

— “That’s the whole point of an interview, Raven!” Maëlia snaps.

Raven shrugs.

— “They’ll lie about the salary, I’ll lie about my attitude. Everybody wins.”

The taxi finally stops in front of Vesser Corp, a building so tall it’s almost dizzying. A fully glass façade, sparkling like a giant diamond. The kind of place that screams: You’re not rich enough to walk in here.

Lune swallows.

— “Are we sure they hire people like us…?”

— “Sweetheart,” Maëlia says, patting her arm, “they’ll hire whatever we convince them to hire.”

Raven steps out first, pays the driver quickly, then turns toward the tower.

She stares at it.

Frowns.

— “Why do I feel like this building wants to judge me?”

Maëlia rolls her eyes.

— “Because you feel guilty for being an ill-mannered goblin 80% of the time.”

— “I accept the compliment,” Raven replies.

They walk toward the entrance, where two massive automatic doors slide open silently. The lobby, enormous, is even more impressive than the outside: modern chandeliers, black marble floors, glass elevators shooting up at dizzying speed, and perfectly dressed employees.

Raven leans toward her friends.

— “Alright… we go in, breathe, and try not to look like three clowns lost in a luxury district.”

The others nod.

Until Maëlia whispers:

— “Raven… look at your dress…”

She looks down.

The coffee she spilled earlier… is on her dress.

Raven mutters a nearly religious “fuuuuuck…”

— “Soooo professional,” Maëlia comments sarcastically.

— “Sh*t, is it visible?” Raven asks, pulling at the fabric.

— “No, no, it’s fine…” Lune replies.

A dangerous interest.

Raven tilts her head.

— “What? Do I have something on my face?”

— “No,” Aiden says. “Just… on your dress.”

Raven clenches her jaw.

Aiden smirks slightly.

Cassian murmurs:

— “Touchdown…”

Raven fires back instantly:

— “Better a stain on my dress than a stick shoved up your—”

— “RAVEN!” Maëlia and Lune scream at the same time.

Aiden suppresses a laugh.

Just one.

But enough for Cassian to notice.

— “Ohhh. Interesting…” Cassian whispers.

Then adds:

— “Well… if you don’t move. Or breathe. Or walk.”

Raven rolls her eyes, grabs her bag, and holds it in front of her like a shield.

— “No one will notice.”

But of course, when they reach the reception desk, the receptionist—a perfectly styled woman who looks like she was downloaded from a fashion catalog—looks them up and down… then stops at the stain.

She smiles coldly.

— “Ladies, may I help you?”

Raven answers before the others, a sarcastic smile on her lips:

— “Yes. We have an interview. And before you ask: yes, we’re late. Yes, it’s my fault. And no, I’m not sorry.”

Maëlia and Lune literally facepalm at the same time.

The receptionist blinks, then resumes her professional smile.

— “Your names, please.”

They give them.

She checks her screen, then says:

— “The directors are already waiting for you on the thirtieth floor. I suggest you hurry.”

Raven smiles.

— “Perfect. I love making billionaires wait.”

The receptionist freezes.

Maëlia grabs Raven’s arm and drags her toward the elevators.

— “SHUT. YOUR. MOUTH,” she whispers through clenched teeth.

— “What? I didn’t lie.”

Lune presses the elevator button, trembling.

The doors open.

They step in.

The doors close.

And then…

Raven murmurs:

— “Okay. Maybe… I shouldn’t talk too much.”

Maëlia and Lune shout at the same time:

— “OH REALLY? YOU THINK?!”

Raven bursts out laughing.

— “What? I like making a good impression.”

— “NO,” Maëlia groans. “You like giving people heart attacks.”

Lune twists her hands nervously.

— “Girls… what if we fail…?”

Raven takes her hand.

— “Then we fail together. But we won’t fail because we were ourselves.”

The elevator stops abruptly on the thirtieth floor.

A “ding” echoes.

The doors open onto a massive, quiet, luxurious… almost intimidating hallway.

Raven exhales slowly.

— “Okay. It’s time.”

Maëlia takes a deep breath.

Lune closes her eyes for a second.

They take a step forward.

Their fate is waiting… behind a single door.

A door where three names shine in gold letters:

Aiden Vesper Cassian Drayko Elias Rowan

Raven smiles.

— “Alright… let’s go humiliate three billionaires.”

And she knocks.

The meeting room is silent.

Too silent.

Aiden Vesper hates useless silence—the kind that settles when you’re waiting for something as trivial as… three late candidates.

He checks the time for the fifth time.

— “Eleven minutes late,” he says coldly.

Cassian Drayko, sitting across from him, spins a pen between his fingers.

— “Relax, Vesper. Maybe they’re having a rough morning. Like… a power outage. Or an existential crisis.”

Aiden raises an eyebrow.

— “Or they lack discipline. Which would be worse.”

Elias Rowan, silent until now, finally closes his file.

— “You’re stressing for nothing.”

— “I’m not stressed,” Aiden replies immediately.

Cassian bursts out laughing.

— “Yes, you are. You want every second to follow your military-level schedule.”

Elias adds:

— “You’re going to end up with an ulcer.”

Aiden ignores them both.

He stares at the door.

Something irritates him.

The lack of professionalism.

The wasted time.

And… something else. A strange feeling. A premonition.

Then finally:

knock knock

Cassian smiles.

— “There they are.”

Aiden straightens slightly.

— “Come in.”

The door opens.

Raven Hale walks in first.

And Aiden forgets to breathe.

Not because she’s beautiful (even though she is).

Not because of her incredibly provocative eyes.

Not because she carries herself like she doesn’t care about the world.

No.

Aiden is struck because she radiates… chaos.

A living, vibrating, untamable chaos.

And Aiden, obsessed with control, immediately feels something shift inside him.

Behind her, two other young women follow: Maëlia, elegant despite her agitation, and Lune, smiling politely with a soft, almost shy gentleness.

But Aiden only sees her.

The insolent one. The wild one. The storm.

Raven Hale.

She walks forward casually and stops in front of the table.

Her eyes land on him first.

Then on Cassian.

Then on Elias.

And finally, she exhales:

— “Wow. There are… three of you.”

Cassian laughs. Elias smiles.

Aiden doesn’t move.

Raven continues:

— “What is this? A promotional bundle? Three for the price of one?”

Maëlia closes her eyes, mortified.

Lune bites her lip.

Cassian nearly chokes laughing.

Aiden blinks slowly.

— “Ladies, have a seat.”

Raven sits as if she’s in her own living room: relaxed, legs crossed, defiant gaze.

Aiden stares at her.

For a long moment.

Intensely.

And the more he looks at her…

the more his irritation mixes with something else.

Aiden ignores it.

He regains his composure.

His voice turns icy again.

— “Very well. Let’s begin.”

Raven smiles.

— “Perfect. I love interrogations.”

— “This is not an interrogation,” Aiden corrects.

— “Oh really? You look exactly like someone who’s about to politely insult me for thirty minutes.”

Cassian coughs to hide his laughter.

Elias rubs his eyes, already exhausted.

Aiden looks up at her…

And that’s when it happens.

The thought.

The promise.

Silent, violent, burning:

I’m going to tame you.

No matter the cost.

Raven, meanwhile, stretches in her chair and adds:

— “Alright. Shall we start, Mr. CEO-who-frowns-too-much?”

And she smiles.

A smile that sets his patience on fire.

A smile he wants to break.

And kiss.

And destroy.

And possess.

Aiden Vesper doesn’t know it yet…

But that day, the CEO has already begun to lose control.