Chapter 4 of Beneath The Midnight Mask

Aria Bennett arrived at Ashford Global Holdings forty minutes earlier than she was supposed to.

Not because she wanted to impress anyone. Not because she suddenly enjoyed waking up before sunrise.

But because after her first day, she had learned one important thing about Ethan Ashford. Being unprepared around him was a mistake she would only make once.

The building was already intimidating before she even stepped inside. The glass walls, the quiet employees, the way people lowered their voices whenever his name was mentioned.

Everyone here moved like they were afraid of making the wrong move. And after yesterday, Aria understood why.

She walked into the executive office with a notebook in her hand and a determined expression on her face.

Today would be different.

She spent the first hour studying everything. Ethan’s meeting schedule. His preferred format for reports. The way he liked information organized.

The details that most people would overlook. Because apparently, with Ethan Ashford, small details were never small.

“Good morning.”

Aria looked up to see one of the employees from the administration department standing near her desk.

“Good morning.”

The woman smiled slightly. “You’re here early.”

Aria glanced at the mountain of documents beside her. “I figured I needed the advantage.”

The woman laughed quietly. “You’ll need more than that.”

Aria raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

The woman hesitated. Then she lowered her voice.

“Mr. Ashford has had three assistants in the last two months.”

Aria paused. “Three?”

She nodded. “They all left.”

Aria looked toward the closed office door. “Because of him?”

The woman gave her a look that answered the question. “Just don’t take anything personally.”

Aria looked back at the door. That was easier said than done.

At exactly eight-thirty, the door to the CEO's office opened. The conversations around the executive floor died almost instantly.

Ethan Ashford stepped out with the quiet confidence of a man who never had to announce his presence. His charcoal suit fit him perfectly, tailored so well it looked as though it had been made for no one else. His dark hair was neatly styled, and the expensive watch on his wrist caught the morning light as he adjusted the cuff of his sleeve.

He stopped beside Aria's desk. "Ms. Bennett."

Aria looked up immediately and rose to her feet. "Good morning, Mr. Ashford."

"Bring the schedule," he said. Then, with a slight gesture toward the open door, he added, "Come to my office."

"Yes, Mr. Ashford."

Aria picked up the folder she had prepared before sunrise and followed him inside.

Today, with the panic of her first day gone, she noticed something she hadn't had the chance to yesterday.

He was undeniably handsome. Not in the effortless, charming way that invited conversation, but in a sharp, intimidating way that made people think twice before speaking. Strong features, steady gray eyes that missed very little, and an expression so composed it was almost impossible to guess what he was thinking.

It was easy to understand why business magazines liked putting him on their covers. It was equally easy to understand why no one smiled when he walked by.

Ethan walked behind his desk before looking at her.

"Did you review my schedule?"

"Yes."

"And?"

She handed him the folder she had prepared before sunrise.

"Your nine o'clock meeting has been moved to the larger conference room because the original room became unavailable. I also adjusted the gap between your investor call and the board meeting. You only had ten minutes between them, and I thought it would leave you rushing across the building."

Ethan flipped through the pages without saying a word.

Aria searched his face for some sign that she had done the right thing; approval, disapproval, even the slightest reaction, but his expression remained unreadable, revealing nothing at all.

Finally, he closed the folder. "The font is different."

She frowned, wondering if she had heard him correctly. "I'm sorry?"

"The schedule." He placed the folder neatly on the desk between them. "You changed the font."

"Oh." She glanced at the page. "Yes, I did. The previous one was smaller and a little difficult to read, so I changed it to make everything clearer."

"I didn't ask you to redesign it." He said it so calmly that the criticism stung even more.

Aria held his gaze. "No, you didn't. I just thought a clearer format would make the schedule easier to follow."

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.

Ethan studied her with quiet patience, as though deciding whether she simply lacked experience or enjoyed challenging instructions.

"That," he said at last, "is the problem with people who try to improve a system before they understand why it exists."

His words struck a nerve.

She had spent hours preparing that schedule, paying attention to every detail she could think of.

Instead of defending herself emotionally, she answered honestly. "I understand your point. But if something can be improved, shouldn't it be?"

A brief silence settled between them, thick with unspoken tension.

Most people lowered their eyes when Ethan Ashford questioned them. Most people apologized immediately. Aria Bennett did neither.

Ethan leaned back slightly, his expression still unreadable. "Learn the system first," he said. "Then decide whether it needs improving."

She considered arguing again. Instead, she gave a small nod. "Understood."

He picked up the folder once more. "And restore the original font."

Aria bit back a sigh. "Of course, Mr. Ashford."

As she turned to leave, she couldn't help thinking that working for Ethan Ashford was going to require far more patience than she had ever imagined.

By lunchtime, Aria had already learned five things about Ethan Ashford.

First, nothing escaped his attention. Second, perfection wasn't a goal to him, it was the minimum requirement. Third, he never repeated an instruction. If you missed it the first time, that was your problem. Fourth, "thank you" seemed to be missing from his vocabulary. And fifth,working for him was going to test every ounce of her patience.

The morning had disappeared in a blur of phone calls, calendar changes, meeting confirmations, and an endless stream of documents that somehow found their way onto her desk.

Every time she thought she had finished one task, two more appeared. She barely had time to drink the coffee she'd made before it turned cold.

Still, she refused to complain. She had worked too hard to earn this position. She was not about to let one impossible boss chase her away.

Just after two o'clock, her desk phone rang. "Mr. Ashford would like to see you."

Aria took a steadying breath, grabbed her notebook, and walked to his office. She knocked once.

"Come in."

She stepped inside. "You wanted to see me, Mr. Ashford?"

Without looking up from the document he was reading, Ethan picked up a thick file and slid it across the desk.

"I need a summary of this before you leave today."

Aria reached for it. The file was much heavier than she expected. She flipped it open. Page after page of reports, financial projections, legal notes, and market analysis stared back at her.

She looked at him. "This is over two hundred pages."

"It is."

She waited for the rest of the sentence. There wasn't one.

"You want the summary today?"

His eyes finally met hers. "Yes."

She glanced at the clock on the wall, then back at the file. "There are only a few hours left."

"I am aware."

Aria pressed her lips together. She was beginning to suspect he enjoyed impossible deadlines.

"If there's a particular area you want me to focus on," she said carefully, "it would help to know."

Ethan closed the folder in front of him. "I hired you because I expect you to think, Ms. Bennett." His voice was calm, but every word carried weight.

"Use your judgment."

For a second, Aria simply looked at him. She wanted to point out that even the smartest assistant could not read minds.

Instead, she gave a single nod. "Understood."

She picked up the file and headed for the door.

Just before she stepped into the hallway, she heard his voice again.

"And Ms. Bennett."

She turned.

"Do not summarize every page."

She blinked. "I wasn't planning to."

"Good."

That was apparently the closest thing she was going to get to helpful advice.

She walked back to her desk, balancing the thick file against her hip. The moment she sat down, she let out a slow breath and looked at the mountain of paperwork in front of her.

Then she muttered under her breath, "He is definitely doing this on purpose."

Across the office, one of the senior managers overheard her and chuckled. "You'll get used to him."

Aria looked up. "I sincerely hope you're wrong.”