Maya stood frozen for two seconds, trying to understand how her entire life had changed in one sentence. Ten minutes. That was all she had to prove she wasn't another assistant who would crumble under Adrian Cole's impossible standards.
Adrian didn't give her time to breathe.
"Desk," he said, pointing to a polished white table in the corner. "Sit."
Maya hurried to the seat. The chair was so soft it almost swallowed her. She placed her bag on the floor and straightened her back, trying to look less nervous than she felt.
"Good," Adrian said, walking toward his own desk. "We'll start simple."
Maya exhaled.
Simple sounded good.
Simple sounded safe.
Adrian tapped a document on his screen. "Read this contract and tell me the error on page three."
Her heart dropped.
That didn't sound simple.
Maya moved to the desktop monitor on her table. She clicked through the pages, eyes scanning the text so fast she almost felt dizzy. Everything looked perfect. Clean. Precise. No spelling mistakes. No grammar errors.
And then she saw it.
A number.
A single misplaced number.
The contract stated 18% when the previous calculations said 8%. That would ruin the entire agreement.
Maya raised her head. "The interest rate is wrong."
Adrian looked up sharply. "Where?"
"Page three, section two. It says eighteen percent instead of eight."
He stared at her as if she had just solved a problem no one else could see.
Most people would have panicked. Most people did panic.
But Maya had always been good with details. Her whole life had forced her to be careful — with money, with choices, with everything. One mistake could break her.
"Correct," Adrian said quietly.
His tone held no praise, no warmth, but something changed in his expression. A tiny shift, barely noticeable, like he was seeing her for the first time.
"Next," he said.
He walked toward the door. Maya jumped up and followed him, her heart beating faster. They entered another room — a small meeting space with glass walls. Papers were scattered everywhere, boxes on the table, files on the chairs.
Maya blinked. "All this?"
"You will organize it," Adrian said. "Every file, every contract, every folder. Alphabetical order. Then by priority. Then by division."
She stared at the mess. It looked like someone had emptied the entire company into one room.
"This… might take a while," Maya whispered.
"You have eight minutes left," Adrian replied.
Her stomach twisted. Eight minutes? On this mountain of chaos?
But she didn't complain.
She rolled up her sleeves, pushed her hair behind her ear, and got to work.
For the next few minutes, Maya moved like her life depended on it. She grouped files, sorted folders, separated departments, skimmed labels, and arranged documents with a speed she didn't even know she had.
Her pulse raced. Sweat formed on her forehead. She didn't stop once.
When the timer on the wall beeped, she stepped back.
It wasn't perfect — but it was cleaner, organized, and understandable. The chaos was now structured chaos.
Adrian walked in and scanned the table.
"You didn't finish," he said.
Her chest tightened. "I know. But I—"
"You did more than expected in eight minutes."
Maya blinked.
Was that… a compliment?
Adrian didn't confirm it. He simply walked past her.
"Follow me."
They went back into his office. Maya rubbed her palms against her skirt, feeling exhausted but strangely proud.
Adrian sat down, folded his hands, and looked at her.
"Why do you want this job?"
Maya froze.
She didn't expect a personal question.
She didn't expect him to care.
But his eyes held something different from before — something searching, something curious, something that made it hard to lie.
She swallowed. "I need the money."
He raised a brow. "Everyone needs money."
"No," she said softly. "I need it to survive."
Adrian's eyes flickered. For a moment, she couldn't read him at all.
"And what will you do if I hire you?" he asked.
"Everything I can," Maya said. "I'll work hard. I'll learn fast. I won't quit, even if you're difficult."
He leaned back slightly. "Difficult?"
Maya's mouth tensed. "You… seem like someone who doesn't like people."
His lips lifted in a small, dangerous smirk. "You're observant."
"Or honest," Maya said.
"Both," he replied.
Silence filled the room.
Tense, but not uncomfortable.
Sharp, but not painful.
After a long moment, Adrian stood.
"You passed the ten minutes."
Maya's breath caught. "Does that mean—"
"You start tomorrow."
She almost gasped. Relief washed over her in waves.
"But," he added, his eyes settling on her with quiet intensity, "if you want to survive here, you must understand one thing, Maya Reed."
She swallowed. "What's that?"
Adrian stepped closer, his voice low and smooth.
"I don't trust easily. Don't give me a reason to regret hiring you."
Their eyes locked — her uncertainty meeting his cold certainty.
And in that moment, Maya realized something she didn't expect.
This job wasn't just going to change her life.
Adrian Cole was going to change it too.
Whether she was ready or not.