The entire office of the Valois building was turned into a literal piece of chaos till now. Office staff were running here and there, papers were scattered on their desks, and people were running for their lives.
There was a huge, like HUGE line of people that had come for the interview for the CEO position from across the sea. The heartbeats of the candidates were rising from time to time as they saw, one by one, every candidate was rejected.
But the thing was, they weren't the only ones panicking. Inside the interview room, the electors were also in the same boat. If they can't find the perfect CEO in two days, then they might be the ones who are giving interviews.
Another candidate entered the room after knocking on the door and getting permission from the insiders. A bright smile was plastered on his face; he was trying to hide his nervousness, which was kinda obvious.
He sat on the chair as the other party started questioning him. After the introduction part, the real deal began.
"Please explain your experience with managing global corporate team," the head interviewer said, looking down at the candidate's resume.
The boy cleared his throat, adjusting his tie. "Well, sir, in my last company, I managed a team of fifteen department heads. I always made sure everyone worked smoothly together. On top of that, I have excellent culinary skills. I actually went to a top culinary school, and I love creating beautiful, delicate dishes. I believe a good CEO should truly understand the taste and presentation of the food."
The interviewers nodded slowly. It was a decent, normal answer, but it was way too basic for a massive rising company like Ora & Olio Globals.
The head interviewer leaned forward, his eyes turning sharp. "Mr. Valois demands aggression and deep strategy. Let's put you in a real situation. Imagine our main food supply chain faces a sudden political crisis at the international docks. Your ingredients are rotting by the hour, and the local authorities are demanding a heavy bribe to release the ships. If you pay, you break the Valois law. If you don't, the company loses millions in a single day. What is your move?
The boy's bright smile faltered a bit. He swallowed hard before answering. "Um... I would probably call a press conference immediately. I would expose the corrupt officers to the media so public pressure forces them to release our food trucks without any bribe."
The interviewers secretly sighed inside. It was a completely lame, textbook answer. Public, media and drama would take weeks, and by then, the food would turn to dust. Elena would have manipulated the local shipping laws or just used secret backup routes to bypass the docks entirely.
They all remembered a similar situation that had happened when Elena was in charge . She had simply sent the money, and the locals immediately released the ingredients. But by the time those corrupt officers realized the cash was completely fake, Elena was already gone.
Cherry on top, she had also hidden secret cameras inside the delivery trucks. The cameras captured every single official's face on video. She sent the proof directly to the higher police, and all the corrupt officials were arrested immediately.
She had won the whole thing without a single fight, leaving absolutely no crumbs. She perfectly killed the snake without breaking the stick.
The second interviewer, a strict woman in a black suit, decided to throw an even trickier question.
"Let's talk about internal corporate warfare," she said coldly. "The former CEO built a legendary system here called the Nexus Project, which connects our main production to the Eight Hubs across the region. Now, imagine a senior manager from the tech pool—someone the staff loves—openly disagrees with your new strategy and tries to turn the board against you. How do you handle this person?"
The boy thought for a moment, trying to sound professional. "I believe in teamwork, ma'am. I would invite him to a nice dinner at a premium restaurant, serve him the best meal, and have a soft, open conversation to clear up our misunderstandings so we can work as friends."
The room went completely dead silent.
The interviewers looked at each other, their faces filled with pure exhaustion. A nice dinner? Soft conversations? Alex Valois would have crushed that manager's career by sunset, and Elena would have used her sharp intelligence to make the manager look completely foolish in front of the entire board.
"Thank you for your time," the head interviewer said, closing the folder with a loud snap. "We will let you know."
The boy's face fell as he realized he had failed. He stood up, bowed awkwardly, and walked out of the room with heavy steps.
The head interviewer rubbed his temples, feeling a massive headache coming on. "Next candidate, please," he groaned into the microphone. "And pray they actually have a brain this time." He murmured the last sentence to himself but the other people in the room also heard it as a tired smile flashed on their face .
Minutes passed into hours and hours passed into days but still , the desired CEO was not found .
At Elena's apartment
Elena was currently in the kitchen preparing dinner, or rather, she was experimenting with new food. Chloe was sitting at the dining table, looking tense as she was checking the news regarding the new CEO.
"Why are you doing this, Elena?" the voice came from the dining area.
"Huh?? What do you mean?? I am experimenting for the new project," Elena answered, while all her attention was on the fish in her hands.
She had cooked the fish multiple times, on different flames and with different ingredients, but still, she couldn't get the flavor which she was expecting.
Suddenly, a hand was put on her shoulder. Elena was still unbothered, as she knew who the owner was.
"Now, you are not even the CEO . You are secretary of that Valois guy, and still you are experimenting with food. Do you even have an idea whats going on ?? There are rumours that the board has already selected a candidate. Why are you not worried about it?" Chloe said.
"You know, Chloe, we are preparing food for island countries like the Maldives, and countries like Japan and Thailand, because we haven't launched any of our food hubs there. They are the people who love seafood the most. But as most of these countries fall in Asia, infact all of these and we have to be careful because Asians love spices. I am just experimenting with the fish to get the maximum flavor out of it," Elena told her, giving the details about her experiment, which was clearly not an answer to what Chloe had asked.
"Seeing you as a master of culinary arts, I didn't realize you are also a master of changing topics that naturally. Why are you not taking any tension?? Huh??" Chloe said in a sarcastic way.
"Taking tension?? It's not quite my type," Elena said as she took out the cooked fish from the pan.
"Oh, is it like that?? So what's your type??" Chloe said, folding her arms.
"My type is to... give people the tension. You know the saying: Don't get stressed, make others stressed," Elena said, winking.
"Oh Elena, don't be so carefree. It's giving me anxiety," Chloe said with a sigh.
Elena just shook her head with a little smile on her face as she tasted the fish. "Ummm..." she said, as her smile grew wider because of the delicious meat. It was just as expected.
"Oh my God, it's so damn good. Here, taste it," Elena said, as she took some of the flesh and placed it in front of Chloe's mouth.
The other girl, unable to do anything, just ate the fish from her friend's hand. The fish was cooked to absolute perfection, but to Chloe, it didn't feel that good because she was too tense to relax and give compliments.
So she just simply said, "Yeah, it is good."
Elena made a dramatic expression as she pouted cutely. "Just good?? It deserves fabulous!" said Elena with a gasp, making her friend melt at her cute expression and hug her tightly.
"Oh Elena, don't be so childish. Umm, what about the mission?? What have you planned?" Chloe said, her expression turning serious.
"Hmm. You don't have to worry about it. This thing is always in my mind," Elena said, making Chloe nod.
"Yeah, I know, but I am just... ah... I am just worried, Elena. We can't even go to Italy now because of that jerk. What will we do?? We will definitely need help," Chloe said, as the other party patted her shoulder, an indication for her not to worry.
"Hmm. So that's what is bothering you. Don't worry, babe. It's true that we can't go to Italy, but it doesn't mean we can't get the help. If we can't go to the help, then the help can come to us," Elena said, a mischievous look taking place on her face.
At the Valois Empire
Back at the building, the people were panicking.
" Calm down , don't panick. We will tell the issue to sir. " The chief official said , trying to make sure his juniors don't take much stress .
Suddenly the door opened as Alex Valois entered the room followed by Jimmy blackwood. He went straight towards the head of the office chair .
" Is the Air conditioners not working properly Mr.hansen ?? " Alex asked raising his eye brows as he sat on his chair.
N-No sir, everything is just perfect," the old man said, his voice shaking as the meeting began.
Alex leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes scanning the faces of every single board member sitting around the long table. The room was completely silent, except for the soft sound of the air conditioner. But despite the cool air, every single director was sweating. They looked like prisoners waiting for a judge to give a final punishment.
"If the room is perfectly cool, Mr. Hansen, then why does your entire team look like they are about to faint?" Alex asked, his voice low and calm, yet it carried a dangerous weight that made everyone freeze. "I gave you exactly two days to find a permanent Chief Executive Officer for Ora & Olio Globals. I approved a massive budget, a luxury penthouse, and a high salary to attract the top talent. Now, tell me the results. Who is the new head of the company?"
Mr. Hansen swallowed hard, looking down at the thick stack of files in front of him. He looked at the other directors, silently begging someone else to speak, but everyone kept their eyes glued to the floor. No one wanted to face the young master's rage .
"Sir," Mr. Hansen finally started, clearing his throat nervously. "Our HR team worked day and night without taking a single break. We put out the advertisements across the entire nation, and we even received hundreds of applications. A massive line of people showed up at the building. We interviewed corporate geniuses from London, business experts from New York, and top managers from Frankfurt."
"I don't care about their hometowns, Mr. Hansen," Alex interrupted coldly, his fingers tapping slowly against table. "I care about their brains. Did you find a person who understands the complex structure of the food network? Did you find someone with the aggression to handle our upcoming international projects?"
The chief official wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead with his white handkerchief. "Sir, we put them through the toughest practical tests," Mr. Hansen quickly explained. "We didn't just ask normal interview questions. We put them in incredibly hard situations and gave them complex business problems to solve on the spot. We tested their mindset on how to handle extreme pressure, sudden corporate crises, and internal arguments among the staff."
Alex raised an eye brow, his interest slightly sparked. "And what did they say?"
"Most of them gave completely lame, standard answers, sir," the old man said. "They talked about calling press conferences, or inviting angry managers to nice dinners to clear up misunderstandings. They had absolutely no real strategy. They were completely textbook. They didn't have even a single percentage of the sharp intelligence that the former management had."
Hearing the words former management, Alex's jaw clenched for a split second. He didn't need them to say the name out loud to know exactly who they were comparing these candidates to. They were comparing them to Elena. That mastermind, who had secretly used fake money and hidden cameras to destroy corrupt dock officers without breaking a single rule. Elena, who could silence an entire rebellious board with just a single glance. The CEO of Ora and Olio Globals which doesn't have to ask the staff to give her the respect it recognition. She was that talented that respect itself comes to her.
Alex felt a strange wave of frustration mix with a deep sense of pride in his chest. It was a he hated her from the core of his bones. He hated that she was his enemy, but he respected her brilliant mind more than anyone else in the world.
"So, what you are telling me is that you wasted forty-eight hours and found absolutely nothing?" Alex asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper that sent a visible shiver down the old man's spine.
"N-No, sir! That's not it!" Mr. Hansen quickly said, opening a bright blue folder and sliding a resume across the long table toward Alex. "After filtering through hundreds of useless candidates, we finally found one person who stood out. He has a master's degree from a top business school, and he handled a medium-sized food distribution company in Asia for five years. His answers were not perfect, but compared to everyone else, he was the bestest of all. The entire board has come to a joint conclusion. We suggest you appoint him, sir. He is our best choice to save the company from bankruptcy."
Alex didn't even touch the blue folder. He didn't even look at the candidate's picture. He just stared at Mr. Hansen with a cold, mocking expression that made the old official's heart stop.
"The bestest of all?" Alex repeated the words, letting out a short, sarcastic laugh. The sound was so dry and chilling that the entire board dropped their heads instantly. "Mr. Hansen, you are missing the entire point of the Valois Empire. I did not build a multi-billion dollar kingdom by settling for the 'best of a useless group.' I don't want a CEO who is just slightly better than a bunch of failures."
"Ora & Olio Globals is a rising star in the culinary world," Alex said, his deep voice roaring through the silent space. "It needs a leader who is a literal mastermind. It needs someone who is capable of handling both work , a person who can cook both inside and outside the kitchen . A random businessman from Asia who handled a small team cannot run my empire. If I put a weak person in that seat, there won't be much difference when the company didn't had a CEO."
"But sir," Mr. Hansen pleaded, his eyes wide with panic.
"The European managers are already refusing to sign the new contracts without a CEO's signature. If we don't choose this guy today, we won't be able to execute any future projects. The company will freeze!"
"Then let it freeze for today," Alex snapped, his tone final and absolute. "I am completely denying your suggestion. I reject this candidate, and I reject your entire selection list. You can stop the open interviews immediately. I don't want to waste another single second watching your HR team fail."
The board members looked at each other in total shock and despair. If Alex rejected the only good candidate they had, then they were completely doomed. The two-day deadline was over. They were going to lose their jobs.
"Sir... if we stop the interviews, then who will sign the European papers tomorrow morning?" the strict female director asked, her voice trembling. "We don't have any other option left."
Alex slowly leaned back in his large leather chair. The angry, frustrated look vanished from his handsome face, replaced by a dark, victorious smirk. His eyes flashed with a wild, unpredictable light, showing that he had already planned the entire game by himself behind their backs.
Jimmy Blackwood, who was standing quietly behind Alex's chair, noticed the look on his master's face and secretly smiled to himself. He knew that whenever Alex wore that specific smirk, it meant he had just made a move that would completely shock the entire world.
"Don't look so miserable, directors," Alex murmured, his deep voice sending a sudden chill straight down the spines of the board members. "The seat will not remain empty tomorrow morning. I have already made my choice."
The room went completely dead silent. Every single official raised their eyes, staring at the young billionaire with pure confusion and intense curiosity. The urge to know the name was killing them inside.
"You... you have already chosen the CEO, sir?" Mr. Hansen asked, his voice barely a whisper. "Who is it? Is it one of the directors from our main Valois Empire?"
Alex didn't answer the question directly. He slowly stood up from his chair, adjusting the cuffs of his expensive dark gray suit, looking like a king who had just placed a trap for his favorite enemy.
"You don't need to ask for the name, Mr. Hansen," Alex said, his dark smirk widening as he looked at his own reflection in the glass. "In fact, tomorrow morning, when the person takes the crown and sits in the chief cabin, you guys may very well know who that person is."