Chapter 3 Mr. Tattoo is Mr. Ceo?
KARA’S POV
Eight months later…
It has been months since my last encounter with that tattooed guy. I don’t even see him when I wake up the next morning. I never get to know him, and I don’t know where to find him either. So I focus all my attention on my studies and on preparing the documents for my upcoming internship.
“Where are you going to spend your internship, Kara?” Sancha asks me.
We are at an expensive café, enjoying the air-conditioning after the exhausting task of getting our papers signed for the internship. We go from place to place to complete everything so we can finally enroll.
“I don’t know yet. How about you two?” I ask them.
“So you still haven’t found a company?” Louisse asks.
I shake my head, staring at my cup, which now only has ice left since I already finish my drink because of how thirsty I am.
“Why don’t you just come with me, girls? I’m applying at Stewheinz. My dad is friends with the CEO’s father there!” Louisse says cheerfully.
“Really? Don’t tell me you’ll be the priority then!” Sancha teases.
Louisse just rolls her eyes and tells us that all we need to submit are an endorsement letter and a résumé. We should also prepare our curriculum vitae in case they ask for it.
We go there right away. The three of us feel like we are rushing to fit into a world that is suddenly becoming real right in front of us. When we get home from the café, we almost simultaneously dig through our clothes, looking for something interview-appropriate, not too formal, but not something that makes us look like students rushing to submit a project.
When I face the mirror, I feel my hands slightly tremble. A white blouse, a knee-length skirt, and closed shoes. Simple but clean. Professional, Louisse says, so I follow her advice, even though I want to wear anything that would give me a bit more confidence.
When we arrive at the Stewheinz Building, I can’t help but gape. It is huge, ultra-modern, and incredibly intimidating. The glass façade reflects the sunlight, as if it is saying:
Welcome to the real world, Kara. Don’t mess this up.
“Wow, it’s like a hotel,” Sancha whispers while fixing the collar of her blouse.
“Girl, it’s like a mansion owned by the rulers of the universe!” Louisse laughs, though it is obvious she is nervous too.
Inside the lobby, it is cold, fragrant, and filled with people in corporate attire, fast, direct, and wasting no movement. My heart starts pounding even harder. But okay. Let’s do this. This is what I have been preparing for.
When we reach the interview room, we all swallow hard at the same time. Our names are called one by one, and when it is my turn, my heartbeat thunders in my ears. But surprisingly, everything goes smoothly. I calm down when the interviewer gives me a small smile while asking why I want exposure in the construction industry.
“I want to experience being in a real workplace since I will be an engineer soon, ma’am.”
When everything is over, we almost jump in happiness when all three of us pass right after the interview.
“Congratulations, all three of you passed!”
It feels like fireworks explode in my chest. I can’t stop smiling, and neither can the other two.
They immediately give us a tour of the construction sites overseen by Stewheinz. We wear hard hats and vests, and every step comes with a mix of nervousness and excitement. The noise of the machines, the heaviness of dust in the air, the busy workers, and the solid vibrations of the ground whenever hollow blocks are placed, all of it is an unfamiliar sight to me.
“Girl, imagine next week, we’ll be the ones assisting here!” Sancha shouts, barely audible over the drilling sounds.
“We’re not even starting yet and you’re already excited!” I laugh while holding my helmet.
We feel the heat of the sun and the weight of responsibility, but more than that, we feel the happiness of being so close to entering the world we have long dreamed of. But as we walk back to the main office hallway, a staff member approaches us.
“Miss Viancé, Miss Ramos, and Miss Vela? The CEO wants to meet the three of you personally.”
My world suddenly stops.
“So Mr. Stewheinz has arrived from his overseas business trip?” asks the staff member who has been guiding us around the site.
“Actually, he just arrives. The hiring manager informs him that we’ll have interns starting next week, so he says he wants to meet and welcome the three new members,” the staff member replies with a smile.
“The CEO?” Louisse repeats, nodding at the staff.
“Yes, right now. Please proceed to the 32nd floor. He’s waiting.”
We exchange quick glances, those looks that mean we are all thinking the same thing.
“Oh my God… is this for real? The CEO already?”
We have no choice but to follow. Inside the elevator, the three of us are silent. Every sound the elevator makes feels like another pound of anxiety in my chest.
When the doors open on the 32nd floor, we are greeted by a massive hallway with marble flooring, large glass panels, and minimalist decorations. Then we stand in front of huge wooden double doors with the words:
FINNIAN MATTHEW STEWHEINZ — CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
“Okay… girls… behave,” Sancha whispers, her knees clearly shaking.
When we enter, there is no one in sight. The office is quiet, clean, and enormous. The floor-to-ceiling window offers a view that makes it seem like we are above the entire city. There is a large desk in the center, a swivel chair with its back turned toward us, and as it slowly rotates, it feels like everything is happening in slow motion.
One second. Two. Three.
And when the swivel chair finally turns around,
my entire body goes cold. Electricity shoots down my spine, and my breathing stops.
That is when I realize why the broad shoulders, the jawline, and the way he sits, like a king on his throne, feel so familiar.
Him. Him. And him.
The man who turns my world upside down one night. The man who takes my virginity. The man whose name I never know. The man I try not to think about, but can never forget.
The tattooed stranger stands in front of me, now dressed in a formal suit, looking at us with the same eyes I once fear, and fall for.
And he is smirking.
“Nice to meet you, interns,” he says in deep, firm, and dangerously charming English. “I’m Finnian Matthew Stewheinz, the CEO of Stewheinz Construction Company.”
I feel my knees slowly weaken, heat rush to my face, and my soul sink toward the floor.
I can’t speak. I can’t move. And I can’t take my eyes off the man who is never supposed to reappear in my life.
But here he is, standing in front of me, in front of us, and now, he is our CEO.