The CEO and Fate✔️

Chapter 19

I blew a strand of hair out of my face as I looked at my desk. It was disappointing, to say the least. After hours of tireless working, I didn't even feel like I had made a dent. It was like a hydra. Once I could check one thing off on my list, two more things would be added.

But, no matter the work load, I never complained. Not once. Working for Zane had taught me a level of work ethic I never had before and it taught me what I was capable of. I couldn't have asked for a better and more fulfilling internship. And with two weeks left, I wanted to make the most of it.

"Baker?" Zane popped his head out of his office to find me at my desk. "Our meeting is about to begin. Front and center."

I nodded. I knew I had made it far when his military style of management amused me no longer, and I found it normal to be spoken to like that.

I collected my things and joined him in his office, in the chair right next to his. It's proximity made me feel so accomplished, so superior as I looked in front of me at the chairs where the business partners would sit. I very much enjoyed taking notes during these meetings.

"I can't believe they would want to meet at a Friday," I remarked.

Zane rolled his eyes in agreement. "They always do this. They think they can catch you off guard when you're halfway through the day before the weekend. The jokes on them! I'd eat them alive even if it was a Sunday morning."

I nodded with an amused smile. "They won't know who they're dealing with."

"You're damn right," he scoffed.

I handed him the file that he would need to reference. He grabbed it appreciatively. "Baker, did the lawyers call?"

"With good news," I smiled. "They are scheduled for next Tuesday."

"Hmm," he grunted. "And the advertising exec?"

"I've arranged your meeting with him for Monday afternoon," I replied, "so it won't run up against your time with the auditor."

Zane scanned the file and with a quick nod he approved my work. "Very good. Baker, I'd say you've been the most efficient of my interns."

I grinned. That was the closest to a compliment as I would ever get from him.

Not long after, the two moguls showed up and quickly shook hands. Then, knowing Zane's reputation, they launched straight into their proposal.

I breathed in a sigh of content as I sat back, listening and taking notes on the meeting. Mostly, as I watched the exchange I just appreciated where I was and what I was doing. Many people would kill for such a job, but I was given the opportunity and unlike the rest of his gold-digging interns, I was working hard to stay here.

"Gentlemen," Zane stood up. It was towards the end of the meeting, and usually he was not sold on propositions. He spread his arms and gestures to the New York City skyline behind him. "Let me offer you a parting piece of advice before I announce my decision. These three things—autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward—are, most people will agree, the three qualities work has to have if it is to be satisfying."

The moguls were on the edge of their seat.

"And if you work hard enough, assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires," he finished. "And your project seems to exhibit these lessons. So, I will not decline your offer, rather I'll ask for you to be someone who is given an opportunity—and who have the strength and presence of mind to seize them."