Chapter 2 Iced and Acid

The sharp echo of polished dress shoes filled the hallway, each hurried step making the employees nearby instinctively move aside.

A few greeted him with stiff smiles.

"Good morning, Mr. Harrington."

No one expected a reply.

Everyone knew the look on Elliot's face. The slight frown, the tight jaw, the brisk pace. Those were enough to tell the entire floor that today was not the day to test the young CEO's patience.

His fingers slipped beneath the knot of his tie, loosening it slightly.

Damn it.

That ridiculous dream had followed him all the way to the office.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he muttered, pushing open the office door a little harder than intended.

He could deal with anyone this morning.

Anyone but Audrey.

His gaze swept across the outer office.

Empty.

Good.

A quiet breath escaped him before he headed straight for his private office and closed the door behind him.

Three seconds. That was exactly how long the silence lasted.

"Good morning, Sir!"

Elliot froze.

Audrey.

The bespectacled woman stood beside his desk with her usual bright smile, completely oblivious to the battle raging inside his head.

"Would you like something to drink, Sir?" she asked politely. "Maybe some coffee?"

Her smile didn't falter, though she couldn't help noticing that he looked more exhausted than usual. If Elliot was already in a bad mood this early, everyone working with him today was going to have a long day. Audrey included.

He answered with nothing more than a quiet grunt before shrugging off his jacket and dropping into his chair.

Don't look at her.

Just don't.

It shouldn't have been difficult. She was his assistant. Nothing more.

"Aren't we supposed to have a meeting soon?" Elliot asked, his tone noticeably sharper than usual. "Why are you still here?"

Audrey blinked before quickly nodding.

"Yes, Sir. I just came to drop off the meeting materials for..."

"Leave them on the desk." His eyes never left the phone in his hand. "And get the meeting room ready."

"Yes, Sir."

Audrey had long since learned not to take Elliot's moods personally. Gathering the last of the documents, she quietly left the room without another word.

The door had barely clicked shut before she let out a long sigh.

"He's going to be a nightmare if he stays like this all day."

Liam, one of Elliot's assistants from the PR department, happened to walk by just as Audrey stepped out of the office. He took one look at her expression and chuckled.

"Rough morning?"

Audrey let out a dramatic sigh.

"I still regret saying yes when Mr. Ghaisan asked me to transfer here."

Liam laughed.

"Come on. That just means Mr. Ghaisan trusted you enough to handle Mr. Elliot. Besides, the promotion came with a pretty nice raise, didn't it?"

Audrey groaned.

"I swear, talking to Mr. Elliot is like talking to a brick wall." She paused before adding with complete seriousness, "A brick wall coated in level-thirty chili sauce."

Liam burst into laughter.

"That's... actually a pretty accurate description."

The two continued walking down the hallway together.

"You know," Liam said after a moment, "he's not a bad person."

Audrey glanced at him but stayed quiet.

"He's demanding, sure. Cold, too. But no one can deny everything he's done for this company."

She couldn't argue with that.

Six years at Harrington Group had been more than enough to see how both Kent and Elliot led the company. Being the heir had never made Elliot complacent. If anything, he often worked harder than everyone around him.

His standards were exhausting. But they applied to himself first.

That was probably the only reason Audrey hadn't quit despite everything.

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Easy for you to say, she thought. You don't have to deal with those acid-level death stares every single morning.

"Hmm... maybe I do need a little more patience," she admitted.

"There you go." Liam nodded approvingly. "Mr. Elliot's a perfectionist. Most of the time, when he's angry, it's because something isn't up to his standards."

Audrey nodded.

Working under Elliot wasn't easy.

But whether she liked it or not, every difficult day forced her to become a better professional.

The meeting room was unusually quiet that morning.

Elliot sat at the head of the table, flipping through one report after another while department managers took turns presenting their updates.

From the outside, he looked exactly as he always did.

Calm, unreadable. Completely focused.

Only Elliot knew how much of an act that was. His attention kept slipping. Not to the reports.

To Audrey.

She sat a few seats away, listening with complete concentration as she jotted down notes. Every so often, she adjusted her glasses or frowned thoughtfully while reviewing the presentation materials.

That should have been ordinary.

It wasn't.

For reasons he couldn't understand, even the smallest things she did were becoming distracting.

She wasn't the most glamorous woman in the company and didn't dress to attract attention. She simply did her job.

Maybe that was exactly the problem.

While everyone else seemed eager to impress him, Audrey never tried.

She challenged ideas when necessary, caught details others overlooked, and treated every task with the same quiet professionalism.

Without realizing it, Elliot had stopped listening to the presentation altogether.

Damn it.

He tore his gaze away from Audrey and forced himself back to the meeting.

"...and that concludes this week's market analysis."

Mr. Harrison, the senior manager, stood beside the screen, waiting confidently for feedback.

Elliot lowered his eyes to the report in front of him.

Something felt off.

His fingers paused on one page before flipping it back. Then another. His expression hardened.

"Mr. Harrison."

The room fell silent.

"I think there's a problem."

The senior manager straightened immediately.

"Sir?"

Elliot lifted the report.

"This market data..." His eyes narrowed. "Isn't this last week's report?"

A flicker of panic crossed Mr. Harrison's face.

"W-We were still waiting for the research team's latest findings, so we temporarily used last week's figures while—"

"And you thought that was acceptable?"

The interruption landed like a hammer.

Mr. Harrison froze.

Elliot set the report down with a sharp slap against the table, the sound echoing through the room.

"How are we supposed to make strategic decisions using outdated information?" His voice remained controlled, which somehow made it even more intimidating. "This isn't just about missing a deadline. It's about our credibility with our clients and our position in the market."

No one dared to speak.

"If you can't guarantee the accuracy of the information presented in this room," Elliot continued, his gaze fixed on the senior manager, "perhaps you're no longer the right person for this position."

Elliot's words cut through the room like a blade.

Everyone became silent.

Even Audrey instinctively straightened in her seat.

No matter how accustomed they were to Elliot's high standards, being on the receiving end of his criticism was never easy.

Mr. Harrison lowered his head, unable to hide his embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry, Sir. I'll correct it immediately and have the updated report on your desk as soon as possible."

Audrey couldn't help feeling sorry for the older man. For a brief moment, she considered saying something, but quickly thought better of it.

Interrupting Elliot now would only make things worse.

"Make sure you do," Elliot said evenly. "And I expect everyone to learn from this."

His gaze swept across the room.

"No exceptions."

Silence again.

"We don't solve problems with excuses. Contact the research team, arrange a meeting, and fix the report. If overtime is necessary, then work overtime."

He closed the report in front of him.

"I want the corrected version today."

Mr. Harrison could only nod.

"Yes, Sir."

The tension lingered, but the meeting continued.

As always, Elliot didn't stop at pointing out mistakes. He dissected every issue, offered practical solutions, and challenged each department to think beyond routine procedures.

By the time the meeting finally ended, the room seemed to breathe again. Chairs scraped across the floor as everyone quietly gathered their documents.

Elliot was the first to leave.

Audrey organized her notes, though part of her was still thinking about what had happened earlier.

"Mr. Harrison, are you alright?" she asked as she walked over to him.

The senior manager laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What can I say, Ms. Audrey? I should've waited for the research team's updated report."

"So... you really forgot?"

"I'm afraid I did." He gave her an embarrassed smile. "The holiday completely threw me off. Getting scolded wasn't exactly fun... but he wasn't wrong."

Audrey smiled in relief. At least he wasn't taking it personally.

Still, she couldn't help wondering whether Elliot's uncompromising attitude would eventually push someone too far.

"It's you I'm worried about, Ms. Audrey."

A middle-aged manager nearby adjusted her glasses before smiling sympathetically.

"Working that close to a lion every day takes courage."

Mr. Harrison laughed.

"Couldn't agree more."

Audrey chuckled.

Working with Elliot was exhausting, demanding, and completely unpredictable. Some days, it really did feel as though every conversation was a battle.

Just then, her phone vibrated.

The screen lit up.

Mr. Elliot