Chapter 3: Mr. William Bradshaw

"I trust that you have done your homework on the person whom you might be assisting?"

"Of course. Mr. William Bradshaw, youngest son of one of the richest families in the world. Their assets are estimated to be at around 80 billion dollars. His father, Mr. Robert Bradshaw was the one who used the family's wealth to set up Happle Inc., which has grown to become the largest technology company in the world with a value of over a trillion dollars."

No matter which job she attended an interview for, Liz always made sure to learn as much information as she could regarding the employer.

"Good. Then do you know why you were selected even though you attended a second-grade university?"

The abrupt question slightly startled Liz.

Although this was something that had puzzled her too, she had only assumed that they were scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Yet, the tone of pride and confidence in the receptionist's voice made her realize that this probably wasn't the case.

Realizing that the interview had already started, she decided to go with her gut instincts and answered, "Because you must have found out that I rejected a full scholarship from Harvard."

The answer was met by silence, as Liz couldn't see the expression on the receptionist's face which was actually a slight smile.

Although Liz wanted to ask if she was correct, she kept her mouth shut and continued following behind the woman whose high heels made a 'click-clack' on the marbled floor.

After all, if she wasn't, she might already be outside the building by now.

....

The headquarters of Happle Inc. was a sprawling complex over an area of 200 acres. Located on the outskirts of New York. Liz had had to be driven from her apartment in Brooklyn for over 2 hours to reach this location.

Both during that journey and this walk which felt like it had been going forever, she had been thinking about just how she would introduce herself to the man with whom she might be spending a lot of time with in the coming months or, hopefully, years.

After reaching the end of the hallway on the 6th floor of this central building in the complex, Liz was led inside and asked to sit in another reception area while the woman entered the room that lay beyond.

So far, all the walls had been unfurnished and metallic, giving a feeling as if she were inside a machine. Now, she understood that this choice was definitely made by the man beyond the doors in front of her, as even this room was the same.

After a few moments, the woman came out and held the door open for her, saying, "Mr. William has 15 minutes before his next meeting. Please come in."

Taking one last deep breath, Liz got up and walked forward confidently before entering the office of the highest-paid CEO in the world.

As the door closed behind her, Liz finally laid her eyes on Mr. William Bradshaw.

Seated behind a glass desk, he was looking into a monitor with striking blue eyes which reminded her of the beautiful sight of sun rays brilliantly reflecting off of the surface of the sea.

His fair face looked almost pale, but his athletic body which could be seen due to his perfectly fitting 3-piece suit signified that this was a man whose body was at peak human condition.

His glossy black hair was combed back neatly, while his high cheekbones and sharp jaw gave his face a masculine look that would make anyone turn back to take a second glance.

The straight, thin lips and the slightly pointed nose only served to enhance the image that William Bradshaw represented: that of a perfect human male specimen that could take anyone's breath away simply by looking at them.

It was the same for Liz. This first sight made her stop in her tracks and stare for a second, wondering why such a man hadn't taken up modeling as a life career.

'Cos he has bucketloads of money! That's why! Now stop acting like a hare-brained idiot and ask if you can sit!'

The voice in her head which was both her most trusted friend and hated enemy spoke at this point, making her snap out before being the man in front of her looked up.

"Sit.", he said, in a deep voice that seemed to resonate for a few seconds in Liz's ears before finally registering its message in her mind.

Although Liz tried to do so carefully, she found herself collapsing on the plush chair.

Seeing this, an expression passed on the man's face which made Liz completely snap out of the spell that had been cast due to his perfect image.

Derision.

As someone who had clawed her way to where she was, there was one thing which Liz would never bear even if it meant losing her life:

Being looked down upon.

So what if he had a perfect face, a perfect family and a perfect life?

Pretty faces like his could be found a dime a dozen if one ventured to Broadway.

Her face setting into an expression of indifference that seemed to mirror that of the man in front of her, she said, "I'm Elizabeth Redmaine. Nice to meet you."

The words said in a neutral tone and the expression on her face elicited a reaction from the man which would definitely have shocked even the receptionist who talked to him every day.

An eyebrow rose, as if he had finally found something to interest him in his dreary life.