1 1 - The Icewoman

"There goes the icewoman – Qaya Stone," Maze Paul, the junior HR manager, whispered to her new colleague Hamir. "She is the CEO for our J Country branch and she will be your boss for now. You must be really careful around her."

Hamir Sen stared after the gorgeous young woman who strode past them. She walks like she owns the place, he thought to himself. He turned to his companion. "Why?" he asked curiously.

Maze sighed. "Don't be taken in by her beauty. She is arrogant as hell, and a really hard taskmaster. She keeps sending employees crying to HR. And she's really cold – no family, no friends."

Hamir cocked an eyebrow. "If she is so problematic, why is she still here?" he asked curiously.

Maze frowned. "You mean why the President keeps her and even made her the boss of the J Country branch?" she asked.

"Yes," Hamir replied with a nod.

"She is the best at her job," Maze confessed reluctantly. "The profits she makes are always the highest amongst any of our branches in the world."

"What about attrition?" he asked. The Colossus Group had always been famous for an excellent work culture and low attrition rates – so, if this cold CEO was so bad, wouldn't their employees be quitting often?

Maze had a complicated expression on her face as she spoke up. "Zero, on an organisational basis. No one she's trained ever quits the company – she always manages to get them placed in other teams or locations, even if they hate her, and they do really well, so we can't really complain," she said.

Hamir's surprised expression made her giggle.

"I know, I had the same reaction when I heard it the first time," Maze said with a big grin. "Unpleasant as she is, the CEO has never done anything that would be harmful to the company."

Hamir smiled slightly. "Lives for the company, eh?"

Maze nodded. "I don't know the details, but I've heard that the President rescued her from somewhere a decade ago and gave her a job." She sighed. "She's not friendly at all and very few people actually like her, but she's definitely respected for her work. We were running figures for fun the other day – if she quits and starts out on her own, it is estimated that she will take away about 75% of this area's business."

Hamir let out a low whistle. "That's impressive." And that's why the old man sent me here, he thought wryly.

"It's even more impressive when you consider that she's only twenty-five," Maze told him. "Like most people here, I dislike her personally, but I can easily acknowledge that she's definitely one of the greatest assets of this organisation. It's a sort of grudging admiration, and we love to brag about her when we're outside. You won't believe how many awards she's gotten for us. They are all displayed in the meeting rooms; I'll show you around during lunch."

Hamir nodded absently and wondered if there was any chance that Qaya would recognise him. She had never met him before, and he had only glimpsed her once, when she had visited his father at the hospital a few weeks ago. He hoped that she would not – at least for the next two weeks. After that, he would tell her himself.

A hand on his shoulder pulled Hamir from his thoughts. Maze's face was uncomfortably close. He backed away with a murmured apology.

Maze laughed. "Don't space out like that when you are with her, all right? That'd be dangerous," she teased.

Hamir nodded absently.

Maze took his arm and dragged him away. "Time for you to see your boss."

They walked to the corner cabin and knocked on the glass door. Qaya was on the phone, but she gestured at them to enter and take their seats.

She has a nice voice, Hamir found himself thinking as she concluded the phone call. She turned to face them, and he found himself mesmerised by the woman in front of him. Her smooth, dusky skin; her dark, liquid eyes; her plump lips with only a hint of colour; her perfect, curvaceous figure…this was certainly the most alluring woman he had ever met. Her cold, distant demeanour and her air of unattainability only made her more desirable.

Maze stomped on his foot, bringing him back to reality. Hamir blushed and looked away. He had never been so fascinated by a woman in his life.

"So, Mr. Hamir Sen, is it?" the icewoman drawled, looking up from the file handed to her by Maze.

Hamir nodded nervously, wondering if he had imagined the extra emphasis on his assumed surname. Then he scolded himself silently in his heart for feeling nervous and peered at the beautiful young woman in front of him.

A corner of Qaya's lips tilted upwards in a cold smile. "Welcome to the Colossus Group," she said mockingly. She turned to the HR manager and dismissed her with a curt, "Thank you, Maze."

Maze shot Hamir a pitying look and scampered off as fast as her legs could carry her. Hamir suddenly had the vision of a mouse running off in a hurry at the sight of a cat.

Qaya leaned forward on her desk and blinked slowly, her gaze as hypnotic as a deadly snake.

"Why are you here?" she asked softly, but her eyes were full of danger.

Startled, Hamir could only answer with a lame, "Excuse me?"

The sharp eyes did not waver.

"Why has the President sent his precious first-born to this office with fake papers?" she asked quietly, her voice almost a whisper.

Hamir froze. How had the woman known so easily? No one was supposed to!

"Sorry, you must have someone else in mind," he said finally, keeping his voice as steady as he could.

Qaya smiled, and the transformation was nothing short of miraculous. If she had been a siren before, her smile made her a radiant goddess. Hamir bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself under control. How could anyone say this woman was cold? He could see the fire in her eyes.

"It is not very often that I make mistakes, Mr. Goldstein," she drawled.