MMORPG: Birth of the World's Luckiest Player

Chapter 496: Face to Face

Mellory Financial was one of the city’s true powerhouses, its headquarters planted squarely in the bustling downtown core. From the twenty-eighth floor, Marcus looked out over the metropolis below, watching the endless flow of traffic and people weave between glass-and-steel towers that glinted under the sun.

The view hit him harder than he expected. From up here, everything felt different. Smaller. Manageable. No wonder people chased higher ground, chased authority and vantage points like this. Standing above it all carried a quiet, intoxicating thrill.

He lifted his gaze to the sky, a clean, brilliant blue that felt almost close enough to touch. Still, twenty-eight floors were not the peak. Nearby, more than a dozen buildings soared past fifty stories, and farther off stood a tower that reached eighty floors into the air. Marcus imagined standing at the very top, looking down on everything like a hawk surveying its territory.

Yeah. Everyone wanted to climb higher. He was no exception.

Behind him, the door opened with a soft creak. Light footsteps entered the room, unhurried and composed, drawing closer.

"How does it feel?" a woman’s voice asked. "Pretty good, right?"

Marcus did not turn immediately. From her footsteps alone, he could tell she was calm and confident. When she spoke, her voice caught him off guard. It was smooth and refined, gentle but carrying a quiet strength beneath it. Pleasant in a way that lingered.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "It’s great. And the weather today is perfect for..."

He turned around mid-sentence and froze.

The woman standing before him was stunning.

Her brows were delicate, her eyes bright and sharp, her nose small and refined, her lips full and well-shaped. Her features were flawless, polished and harmonious, soft lines blending perfectly into one another. She was the kind of beauty that felt deliberate, almost unreal.

Her short, dark hair framed her face cleanly, giving her a sharp, confident edge. There was pride in her eyes, an unshakable self-assurance that demanded attention without trying. Even without saying a word, she radiated authority.

She wore a navy-blue tailored suit, its cut clean and precise, fitting her slender frame perfectly. The sharp collar and cuffs, the subtle detailing, all of it enhanced her elegance and composure. Combined with her faint smile, the effect was overwhelming.

In her hand was a cup of tea.

’She must be one of the new CEO’s assistants,’ Marcus thought instinctively. He had never seen her before, but it made sense.

Even for someone used to being around beautiful women, this one stood out.

She noticed his stare and smiled knowingly. "Surprised?"

Clearly, she was familiar with this reaction.

Marcus snapped out of it and chuckled. "Surprised? A little. But mostly impressed. Maybe even in awe."

He was being honest. Then, before his brain could catch up, he added, "Has anyone ever told you that suit looks incredible on you?"

She laughed softly, not loud or exaggerated, just a brief, elegant sound. Somehow, even that small laugh made her more captivating.

"I’ve heard that before," she said lightly. "Don’t you have anything more original? Something with a bit of thought behind it? I’m almost disappointed."

Marcus could not help admiring her composure. Most men would already be tripping over themselves. He also found himself vaguely envious of the new CEO. Having an assistant like this was unfair.

Still, something felt off. If she was an assistant, why had Ms. Lindsey not brought the tea herself?

"Is that my tea?" Marcus asked casually as she stepped closer, reaching out to take the cup from her hand. "I wasn’t flattering you. Just saying what I saw. If you want better praise, let’s see how this tastes. Maybe it’ll inspire me."

He took a sip.

The tea was light and fragrant, brewed to just the right temperature. Smooth, delicate, expertly prepared. Then he noticed something odd.

There was only half a cup.

"Half?" Marcus glanced at her, confused. Was this some corporate etiquette he did not know about?

When he looked up, she was staring at him. Not casually, but wide-eyed, frozen, her gaze locked onto the cup in his hand.

"What?" he asked.

He looked down at himself, then back at her, completely baffled. She did not answer, only continued staring. Feeling awkward, he took another small sip.

Her stare did not waver. Now he was genuinely uncomfortable.

Before he could say anything else, the door opened again. Ms. Lindsey stepped in, holding another cup of tea. She stopped short when she saw them and spoke calmly. "Oh, Ms. CEO, you’re back."

Marcus almost died on the spot. He choked violently, spraying tea everywhere as he coughed. It was humiliating.

’CEO?’

The woman he had just flirted with, casually taken tea from, and judged as an assistant was the CEO herself.

Everything clicked in an instant. No wonder she had asked if he was surprised. No wonder her presence felt different. This woman, barely in her twenties, was the head of a Fortune 500 company.

Of course he was surprised.

Marcus looked at the cup in Ms. Lindsey’s hand, then at the cup he was holding, then back at the elegant woman in front of him.

’Oh no.’

This cup was hers. That explained the delicate porcelain. The careful brew. The half-filled cup.

And the other half? Already gone.

His stomach sank. He awkwardly pointed at the cup and said, "Uh... yours?"

He placed it down on the table as quickly as he could.

Thank god it was hers, he thought grimly. If that cup belonged to someone unpleasant, this would be a nightmare.

But really, how was he supposed to guess? She was young, stunning, and looked nothing like the stereotypical executive. Assuming she was an assistant had been entirely reasonable.

To his surprise, the CEO did not seem offended at all. She simply smiled, graceful and composed. "So you’re Marcus. You look more energetic than in your photo. Better than I expected."

She studied him carefully, her gaze sharp. "But I have to say, with that presence of yours, when your previous boss fired you, you accepted it without resistance. That’s disappointing. Hard to believe, really."

So that was it. She thought he had been weak. That he had let himself be trampled.

Marcus shrugged, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "If I hadn’t taken it lying down, would I be standing here right now, having a private meeting with Mellory’s new CEO?"

She paused, then nodded slowly. "Sharp answer. Seems like you never intended to work under your old boss for long anyway."

She looked at him for another moment, thoughtful, then spoke plainly. "If I gave you a platform where you could truly spread your wings... would you be interested?"