After getting dressed, Lily drove to CyberBolt Headquarters. She parked in the employee parking lot and got out of her car. She pushed open the glass doors and walked through the lobby.

She passed by dozens of employees, some working on computers, others talking on phones, and a few walking around aimlessly.

Then she noticed a familiar face standing beside a desk.

"Good morning!” Kylie greeted her cheerfully. "How are you today?"

"I'm great!" she smiled. "Thanks for asking."

“Harold is waiting for you in the conference room.”

Lily stopped in her tracks.

Again? What did I do wrong this time?

She let out a heavy sigh, and marched toward the conference room where she found her boss waiting. But this time, he didn’t have a stack of employee evaluations. Instead, he had a stack of papers and a pen in his hand.

"Please sit down. We have a lot to discuss." Harold smiled.

"Okay," Lily nodded, glancing suspiciously at the papers in front of him.

“I need you to do something for me.” he began, “How familiar are you with the Jackson-Stanley merger?”

"I've read the press release."

"Excellent," he said. "The merger is likely to bring a lot of new opportunities to Cyberbolt. With the merger, CyberBolt will be able to increase the size of our sales force. This will allow us to expand into the European market. This means that we may have more customers than we can handle. But before we start selling to these new clients, we need to train our sales force. They won't be able to operate without proper training."

"I see." Lily said.

"In order to meet the requirements of the merger, we need to hire more people. We also need to invest in new equipment."

"Is this why you wanted me here?" she asked.

"Not exactly," he replied. "I have a different task for you."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow.

"As you know, one of the advantages of being part of the merger is increased access to capital. In fact, once the merger is complete, CyberBolt Entertainment will be the third largest company in the world. We will have access to a larger pool of investors who will help us with funding for future projects."

"Right."

"But before any of that can happen, the CEO needs to sign the agreement to merge." he frowned, “And Mr. Demyan seems reluctant.”

"Okay," she said, feeing lost.

"Mr. Demyan refuses to sign the agreement unless you agree to a certain arrangement."

"What kind of arrangement?"

He opened a folder and took out an agreement. He handed it to her and Lily scanned the first page. Then she looked up at Harold with confusion.

"This looks like a promotion to become Timur’s Personal Assistant.” she cringed, “Do I have to sign this?"

"You do if you want to continue working here."

"Why?" she asked. "What's the catch?"

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"There isn't one." Harold replied. "But this deal will secure Cyberbolt Entertainment's place in the industry. It will ensure that we have the resources we need to keep growing and expanding. If you refuse, we will be forced to close down."

"So basically, you need my signature because for some reason I'm the only one who can convince Timur to approve this merger?" she asked. "Am I right?"

"Basically."

“But why me? Why am I the one you're asking to take this risk? Aren't there other people here at the company who might be better suited to this job?"

"Yes, and they are." Harold replied. "But you're the only one who can get past Timur. Everyone else either hates him or is scared of him."

"So what kind of deal are you offering me?"

"Twenty-five percent salary raise, two weeks paid vacation per year, and one week off to go on a cruise to Europe."

"Europe?" she repeated. "Wait… you want me to go on a cruise with Timur?"

He shook his head. "Don't worry. I already made sure that the ship has an escape pod. You can just jump overboard and swim away if things don't go well."

Lily stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Are you serious?" she gasped.

"Completely."

"Oh my hell!" she laughed again. "How do you expect me to do that?"

"Well," he shrugged, "if you don't like the offer, you can just refuse to sign the contract. Then we will have to lay off everyone here. So I'm afraid that's your only option."

"That's ridiculous." she scoffed. "I'm not signing anything until I have more details."

"Please, Lily!" he said, holding up his hands. "This merger is critical to the future of our company. Once we get the CEO to sign the agreement, we will be a billion-dollar corporation in less than three months. But for some reason Mr, Demyan has taken a fancy to you, and he refuses to sign unless you agree to become his Personal Assistant."

She paused for a moment, mulling over his words.

"What makes you think I will be able to convince Timur to approve the merger?" she asked.

"Because he likes you. And he trusts you."

"Wow," she muttered. "Really?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Harold nodded sadly.

"So this is it?" she asked. "You want me to sign an agreement and pretend it doesn't bother me?"

"No, no," he shook his head. "We can fix this. All you have to do is ask Timur."

"What?" she raised an eyebrow. "You want me to 'ask' Timur to approve the merger? How does that make any sense?"

"It's simple really," he said. "All you have to do is pretend you're interested in him."

"I'm not!" she snapped. "I don't even like him!"

"But you can fake it, right?" he pressed. "I mean, you must have seen him in action before, right?"

"He's a jerk!" she replied.

"Yes, I know," he sighed. "But you can make him see that you like him. You're smart; you can probably figure out how to do it."

Lily stared at him for a long moment, then shrugged.

"Fine," she said. "I'll try."

"Thank you," he smiled. "Now, I have a meeting in ten minutes with the Vice President of Human Resources. Do you mind if I brief you on this morning's review while we walk? I also need you to present it to him.”

"Sure." she replied.

As she followed Harold to the elevator, her mind was reeling. If it wasn’t for the fact that she needed this job as a cover story for her real employer, then she’d be making a beeline for Human Resources right now to file a sexual harassment complaint.

They reached the elevator and got inside. As soon as the doors closed, Harold turned to her.

"Okay, here is the situation." he began, "Timur is in love with you. But he is afraid that you will turn him down and reject him."

"And you want me to talk him into agreeing to the merger?" she frowned.

"Precisely." he nodded, "To do that, you will need to convince him that you’re interested in him. If you can do that, then he will happily sign the merger agreement and the company will be saved."

"For real?" she said. "You want me to flirt with Timur? Are you crazy?"

"Of course not." he rolled his eyes. "That would never work."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I know Timur isn’t a very attractive man," he sighed, "But he's rich. And he's got a killer accent."

"A killer accent?" Lily repeated. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just do your best to sound as charming as possible." he said. "Go ahead and tell him that you're flattered by his interest. All you have to do is pretend to be interested in him. Just don't come across as desperate. That's important."

"Okay." she agreed, "I'll try."

"Excellent." he smiled, "I'm counting on you, Lily."

Once the elevator arrived at his floor, he gave her a key for the Penthouse level.

"I'll be back after my meeting," he told her. "If you need anything, just call my cell phone."

"Okay." she said, "See you later."

With that, Harold exited the elevator and walked off toward his meeting.

Lily stood there for a moment, staring at the doors.

Should I really do this? Could I actually pull it off?

As much as she hated Timur, he was still the CEO of the company. If she failed in her mission, then the whole company could suffer.

She chewed her lip, deliberating. Finally, she decided to go for it. After all, if she did fail, then she was going to be fired anyway. At least she'd die with her honor intact. But if she succeeded, then she would save the company from bankruptcy.

"Screw it," Lily smirked to herself. "I'm doing this."

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