The CEO's Favorite

Chapter Eleven

I try to stop Gabriel, but he's so much stronger than me and my pulling doesn't seem to faze him. Instead, he's pulling me along with him.

"Gabriel!" I try to plead with him.

"Mr. Hernsburg." He corrects unfailingly, not even pausing in his steps to look at me.

When he enters the elevator, I follow suit. I thought I was stubborn until I met this man who seems to always have his way. "Why are you doing this?"

He gives me a side glance. "You don't even know what I'm doing."

I pause as he turns to look straight ahead. He's right. I don't know what he's about to do, but I know it won't help my reputation. I open my mouth to keep protesting but shut it back when I realize that my attempts will be futile.

Instead, I take a minute to appreciate his side profile. His nose looks pointier and his jawline looks sharper, but maybe, that's just because he's quite angry.

I don't realize we've reached the fifteenth floor until I hear the ping of the elevator stopping. There's chatter on the other side that instantly dies down when the elevator opens, Gabriel stepping out immediately.

For a second, I don't move, not wanting to witness the outcome of Gabriel's visit. But his strides are long and confident, putting a good distance between us in that second.

All eyes turn to him as he walks with purpose, hands in his pockets, with me trailing behind him like a lost puppy. I see the dirty looks most of them give me as we walk past, but I try not to dwell on them.

Gabriel's steps don't falter until he sees his prey and he takes a sharp turn, heading straight for the man's cubicle.

Everyone holds their breath, including me.

The man looks up at Gabriel's arrival, standing up with immediacy. "Good day, sir." Gabriel doesn't answer him, and he looks confused when he looks behind Gabriel to see my horror-stricken face.

"Have you ever heard of privacy?" Gabriel asks instead, repeating my words and if it wasn't a serious situation, I'd laugh.

The man's eyes fall on me again and he realizes why Gabriel is here. He still decides to play dumb though. "What do you mean, sir?"

"What do I mean?" He chuckles. "What's your name?"

"Randall."

This time, I accidentally let out a snicker, freezing when all eyes turn to me, including Gabriel's who looks amused. "Well, Randall, I ask again, have you heard the concept of privacy?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir."

Gabriel scowls at him. "I'm not thinking of firing you, but if you decide to keep acting dumb, just know you're replaceable."

Randall's eyes go wide as if he's just realizing that. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to go through her stuff."

For a fleeting moment, everyone is confused, wondering who 'her' is, but realization quickly dawns on them when they see me chewing my lip in guilt. I blush in embarrassment at the attention I receive. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid.

"Why did you do it, then?" Randall keeps quiet and irritation grows on the boss's face. "Don't fucking make me repeat myself, Randall."

"S-she had been working since she came in," he admits with a stutter. "The others were becoming suspicious, so I tried to check what she was working on."

"And if you'd been successful, what would you have done?"

Randall mumbles something that no one catches, but a dark look makes him repeat himself. "I would've deleted it, sir."