Chapter 1

“That will be all for today.” Charlotte ended her first meeting for the day.

One after the other, her team members left the conference room, leaving her with her assistant, Bella. Charlotte went through the documents in front of her for the last time, before gesturing to Bella to move closer.

"You can send the documents to the general manager," she said. Her assistant moved closer to pick up the documents. “When is my next meeting?”

“In thirty minutes.”

Charlotte stood up. “I am heading back to my office. Get me a cup of coffee on your way back.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Charlotte headed to her office to attend to a few documents before her next meeting. As she walked past a few workers who did not notice her, she could hear how they slandered her for being icy and aloof.

“I do not know how her team members cope with her.” a young woman in her early twenties said.

She was dressed in a blue short gown which was above her knees. She is an intern recruited a few days ago; Charlotte's assistant was involved in her recruitment and she was supposed to work under Charlotte but was taken by the head manager of the marketing department.

"I heard she sacks anyone who makes a mistake. No matter how little it is." A man from the marketing department answered.

Charlotte doesn't know much about the man except for being in the marketing department. Having no good relationship with the head manager of the marketing department explains why anyone from that department will slander her at every chance they get.

“I think she is nice and simple.” the man in a blue shirt and black trousers said. He is in his late forties, calm with his facial expression hardly readable.

From what Charlotte heard, he had spent not less than twenty years in the company; which was right before her husband took over the company. He doesn't work for her. He worked for her father-in-law before he died and now he works for her husband.

"Why would you say that? She doesn't seem nice to me." the new intern insisted.

"You are new here, you do not know much about her. Do you?" The man answered and the intern could not give a reply. "From what I know," the man continued. "She is a competent and talented deputy general manager who is..."

"Mr. Williams, you are not the type to get involved in office gossip. Why are you interested in this?" The man from the marketing department asked.

"I do not like it when you slander someone without proof," Mr Williams answered. "Now that I have made things clear, I think I should get back to my work post."

When Mr Williams turned to leave, he noticed Charlotte staring at them. He bowed and she smiled before he walked away. The rest doesn't seem to notice her yet and even if they do, she doesn't think they will care. Charlotte knew there wasn't any reason for her to keep listening to their slandering, so she headed to her office.

Sitting on her chair, she began to go through the documents on her table. Also on her table was the name stand with her name boldly written alongside the deputy general manager, aside from other documents well arranged on the table. Her assistant walked in a few minutes later with a cup of coffee just like she wanted.

"Your coffee, ma'am." she handed over the cup to Charlotte who gave her a genuine smile as a form of appreciation.

"Thank you, Bella.". Charlotte sipped from the coffee before dropping it on the table. "How many minutes do I have before the next meeting?"

"Ten minutes."

Charlotte stared at the documents in front of her. There were two documents left for her to go through.

"Do I have a meeting after this one ends?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Any time to rest?"

"Yes ma'am. About ten minutes. It's a meeting with the executives. You also have a lunch meeting with L&K Enterprise."

Charlotte nodded, keeping the documents aside. She should get ready for her next meeting. When she gets back she will quickly go through them before her next meeting.

"What did the general manager say about the documents?" She asked.

"I am so sorry. I should have briefed you on his reply when I got back. I..."

"You don't have to apologize, I understand. Just tell me what he said."

"He has a meeting with your husband..." Charlotte stared at her and she chuckled nervously. "I am so sorry. I mean the president. He promises to sign the documents when he gets back. He will send the document to you before the end of the working hours."

Charlotte stood up. "Let's head to the conference hall."

**

Charlotte walked into the company with her assistant trailing behind. They had just got back from a lunch meeting with the president of L&K Enterprise. Charlotte had a beautiful smile indicating she had won another contract for the company. Her smile soon faded when she walked closer to a group of young ladies gossiping about her and her husband.

There had always been gossip about how distant they were despite being married. And though most of what has been said isn't the truth, Charlotte sees no reason to defend her marriage; there has been no display of any intimacy between them both privately and also publicly which Charlotte suspected to be the source of the rumor. Charlotte tries as much as she can to disregard all these rumors while she silently endures the painful state of her marriage to her husband.

"You should not listen to them, ma'am. They are..." her assistant tries to cheer her up.

Charlotte smiled. "You don't have to cheer me up, Bella. I am fine."

Charlotte walked past the group of ladies unnoticed but when her assistant announced her presence, making them scurried away in fear, Charlotte could not help but smile. She could tell that Bella did that for her sake.

Bella moved closer to her with a smile. "Do you see them? They were so scared."

"I can see that. Thank you. Do I have any meeting soon?"

"You have about two hours to rest."

Charlotte sighed. "Then I should get some rest. You should get some too, Bella."

Charlotte got to her office and sat on the chair. With her eyes closed, she had just one thought in her mind; a way to break through the frosty barrier in her marriage but how she will do that, she doesn't know!