He rushed out followed by a tremendously confused me. Once we reached the already crowded hallway, I did as I was told and made myself scarce, hiding behind two extremely tall and buff looking men. Everyone gathered there were talking in hushed whispers. Most of them seemed both awed and frightened at the same time. From the corner of my eye, I saw Master Cole and Mr. Penson making their way through the center of the parted crowd to stand flanking the elevator, one on each side. Everyone here was so excited and scared, if I didn't know better I would have thought we were awaiting the President of the country. Before I could dwell on that thought, in a split second the entire crowd quieted down and a tsunami of silence washed over the hallway. It was so quiet that I thought that even my heartbeat sounded like a drumbeat. How could it get this quiet? Were the people in this hallway even breathing?! At the far end of the corridor I heard the familiar ding of the elevator reaching the floor and I heard strong heavy footsteps enter the hallway. An icy cold filled the hallway and a chill ran down my spine. For some incomprehensible reason my heartbeat became erratic and my body started tingling as though in anticipation for something big to happen. Every head was bowed deeply in respect. Everyone was acting like this CEO was some kind of king! That thought sent another chill down my spine. The silence was deafening. It was like everything was happening in slow motion. The only sound that could be heard was that of three pairs of strong feet hitting the ground, one of them standing out in particular. And it felt like my heart was beating in sync with those particular footsteps. Suddenly they slowed and then picked up pace again, remained at one place then started moving again. Was the CEO dancing or something? Something in the back of my mind was pushing me to look up. It was like my entire body was willing me to look at the source of those footsteps that were causing strange feelings to stir inside of me. And as always my feelings won, and against everything I had been told by Mr. Talon, Mr. Penson, Master Cole as well as my better judgement I found myself raising my head and body above the bowed crowd to see the owner of those strong, commanding footsteps. My eyes were met with a broad back, clad in a rich black tailored suit that fit the owner to perfection. He was tall and well built. His dark wavy hair swayed with his every movement. He had his back turned to me but I found myself desperately wanting him to turn around. It was like something in my heart was calling out to him, willing him to turn around. And as if he heard my thoughts his back stiffened and my heartrate went into a frenzy as Mr. Talon's words echoed within my head. "As you might have heard, the CEO of this company is only 24 years old and he is the sole owner of the ROYALE Industries. He became the CEO at a young age of 22 years and in only two years, he has taken the company to even greater heights" I saw the CEO raise his head and sniff the air around him. "He is a very powerful man. Even the greatest of business heads are afraid of him and would consider themselves extremely lucky to ever be granted a deal with his company" He jerked his head to the side and I thought I saw his jaw clench. "No matter what happens make sure that you don't get on his bad side. One wrong move and he can destroy your life with the snap of his fingers" He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "His office is on the 19th floor and only a select few people are allowed on that floor. The 20th floor penthouse also belongs to him, it is his private suite. Entry is strictly restricted to everyone but him. The only other person who has been up there is the Vice President" The minute he started turning around I felt myself snap out of my daze. "He hardly ever visits the other floors or comes on rounds but regardless he knows everything that goes on in this place. And very rarely when he does come to one of the other floors, it is nothing short of a spectacle" I saw Mr. Penson and Master Cole, who were on either side of the CEO, desperately motioning for me to bow my head. "No one really knows what he is really like but they say that he is very particular about things and doesn't easily forgive mistakes or errors" I knew it was too late to correct my mistake as I saw him turn around fully so I had a view of his breathtakingly handsome face. "We are forbidden from ever making eye contact with him, but I have heard that his eyes are cold and emotionless" His eyes shot open and mezmerising chocolate brown eyes filled with shock, disbelief, and awe met my own. "Nothing can ever catch him by surprise. Infact no one has ever seen him show any feelings at all" His eyes filled with a strange emotion that looked so much like hope. His mouth was slightly ajar depicting surprise. He was breathing heavily. "He never wavers" I could see his hands trembling. "He fears nothing" His gaze remained fixed to mine, refusing to blink, almost as though he was afraid that if he did, I would disappear. "He feels nothing" In one dreadful second I saw his face scrunch up with so much pain, I thought my heart would break just looking at him. I had a sudden urge to run to him, embrace him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. And just then he opened his mouth and said something that I would never forget in my entire life. "He loves....nothing." "Mate!..."