Page 479 of Savage Bosses

“Yeah…, I don’t see that happening.”

“You won’t find out what is problem is unless you try.”

Deja nodded as she sipped her drink but didn’t respond.

The rest of the week flew by, and so did the weekend. Olivia was hanging out with Caleb, so Deja decided to stay home for the weekend and catch up on housework.

Early Monday morning, she received an email from Stephen. He said she needed to put everything she was working on to the side because he needed her to work on a major project. She was going to be working on a critical marketing project for a promising tech company with none other than Stephen Farrow himself.

“Deep breaths, Deja,” she muttered, forcing herself to walk towards the entrance.

While she has reported directly to Stephen since she started, this was going to be the first time she was going to be working closely with Stephen. Deja got to the office extra early to have some quiet time before dealing with Stephen. Her steps echoed in the hollow halls of the building. It was so early there were no other employees there, except for the morning receptionist, who got there at seven o’clock in the morning. She was an older woman who was kind to everyone and greet them with a smile.

“Ms. Rose?” She greeted Deja we her signature smile. “Mr. Farrow is expecting you in his office.”

“Thank you,” Deja replied, feeling the stress rising in her. She had purposely come into the office early to have some quiet time before dealing with her hectic day. Deja followed the path as she made her way through the maze of cubicles until she reached Stephen’s door. She knocked softly.

“Come in,” his bitter voice called out as she hesitated by the door. Swallowing hard, Deja pushed it open and stepped inside. “Ms. Rose,” Stephen drawled, his piercing blue eyes locked onto hers. Even if you didn’t know who he was, he exuded an air of authority, and you knew he was the boss. “You're early. I like that.”

“Thank you,” she replied stiffly, struggling to maintain her composure. “Stephen, you’ve asked me to call you by your first name. Do you mind calling me Deja?”

Stephen nodded his response.

Deja cleared her throat and continued. “I received your email and figured I’d come in early to get started on this project.”

Stephen nodded. “Let's get straight to business, then.” He gestured to the seat opposite him. “We have a new marketing project for an up-and-coming tech company called GennTech. They've developed an innovative software solution that could revolutionize the industry, but they need our help to get it out there.”

“Sounds interesting,” Deja said cautiously, settling into her seat.

“I can’t stress enough that this must be a success. Their entire future of this company depends on it, and we have a tight deadline. We need to create a marketing campaign that will blow their competition out of the water.”

“Okay,” Deja nodded, her mind racing with ideas.

“Good. I expect you to bring your best to this project, Ms. Rose..., Deja,” he caught himself.

Stephen's voice was icy, but there was something sexy about the way he said her name.

“I won't accept anything less than the best.”

“I always give my best.” Deja clenched and unclenched her fists under the table, trying to relieve the stress and anger she was feeling. She knew she had the skills and determination to succeed; all she needed was for him to stop being so fucking hostile and let her do her job.

He handed her a file. “I’ve emailed you several documents. I need you to take the rest of the day to familiarize yourself with the company.”

She took the file. “I will review all the information.”

“Then we're done here.” Stephen dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “We'll reconvene this afternoon to begin brainstorming.”

“Very well,” Deja replied, forcing herself to rise without snapping back at him. As she left the office, she vowed to not let Stephen's cold demeanor derail her focus. No matter what, she would do whatever it took to make this project a success. And if that meant facing off against Stephen Farrow every step of the way, then so be it.

After lunch, Deja was told to meet Stephen in one of the conference rooms on the other side of the office. The room was a small, but plush, conference room.

“This will be our home away from home for the next few days. We will meet here every morning until the project is complete.”

Deja nodded as she looked around. There wasn’t much to the room. They had others that were more modern than that one. The medium-sized round table sat in the middle of the room with six chairs that fit perfectly around it. The large window displayed a beautiful view of the city.

“Cozy,” Deja muttered under her breath as she walked past Stephen to claim the chair farthest away from him.

“I chose this conference room because it’s away from all the distractions in the office.”

---