When she reached her flat, she received an unexpected call.
“This is Oscar Sands. Congratulations for being the latest member of 5Cattleya” she recognized the voice as the old man from the interview.
She wanted to scream, but she waited for the rest of the news.
There’s always a catch.
“I’m sending you the formal job offer, if you agree with the terms, you can e-sign the contract and send it back to me” Oscar Sands said in a formal tone.
Celine checked her email excitedly but her excitement was immediately replaced with contempt.
‘Is this a joke?’ she thought.
She immediately called back the number.
“You’re hiring me for a double role but the basic pay is the same?” she started her query in a not so friendly manner.
“Yes, but-“ Oscar was not able to finish his explanation when Celine cut him off.
“If you’re asking so much, I want a $5M signing bonus” Oscar could not believe what he’s hearing.
Who would demand a signing bonus just like that?
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow” Oscar just agreed.
Anyway, he has specific instruction to hire her no matter what.
“What do you mean okay?” now Celine was confused.
“You wanted a signing bonus; the company will give it. As long as you agree to be the CEO’s temporary secretary” Oscar said.
“Miss Yates, we need your reply within the day whether you accept it or not” Oscar reminded her before ending their call.
She sat in front of her laptop contemplating whether to accept it or not.
Need a job? Check.
Need a lot of money? Check.
Need a husband? That’s it.
If she accepted the offer, she could find out who the ‘mystery Daniel’ is.
Maybe he’s just one of the secretaries of the big bosses that’s why he’s there.
That explains why he wasn’t talking at all.
If she can pull her rank on him, he would have no choice but to pretend to be her husband on the engagement party.
Perrrrfeccct!!!
She wanted to scream.
With renewed determination, she gladly signed the job offer and chose a nice dress to wear for the next day.
That night, she slept with a smile on her face.
***
The next morning, she was busy with the whole on-boarding process: laptops, ID cards, locker keys, the usual works.
Oscar explained that CEO Stevenson just flew in yesterday and needs a secretary urgently that’s why it was a priority for the whole company.
If the CEO could not settle asap, she would not get her own project to manage.
Now Celine understood why the double-role.
“The CEO will come in later. He will also hand you the signing bonus” Oscar said before leaving her with reading materials about the company.
The more she reads about the company the more impressed she became.
But she could not find any article about CEO Stevenson, nor any photos of him.
When Oscar picked her up for lunch, she started her questions.
“I didn’t see the CEO’s profile in the company website, why is that?” she asked curiously.
“He’s very low-profile. But he is well-known in the business world for his achievements overseas” Oscar explained.
“I hope you can get along with him. He’s not a people person” he added.
“I’ve been told the same. I guess we can relate” she gave a dry smile.
As soon as she sat back on her seat, her intercom buzzed.
“Coffee, please” she heard a deep, commanding voice.
She instantly froze.
That’s Daniel’s voice.
She rushed inside the CEO’s room to confirm but the desk was empty.
When she turned around, her head bumped into something hard that caused her to lose her balance.
She tried to grab onto anything she could to stabilize herself when she felt two strong arms around her waist.
“Are you looking for me?” she heard the voice as she regains her balance.
When she looked at the person in front of her, she didn’t know how to react.
“D, it is you” she said excitedly then started pinching his cheeks.
Then she started squeezing his arms.
Imagine the man’s shock when she started unbuttoning his shirt.
“I love the enthusiasm, Miss Yates. But this is borderline harassment” the man said.
“Wait, I need to see something” she kept on unbuttoning his shirt until she found what she was looking for.
“It really is you” her eyes turned misty.
“CEO Stevenson, the Smith family wanted to arrange for a meeting” Oscar walked in the room unannounced.
Imagine his shock when he saw the almost shirtless CEO in front of a teary-eyed secretary.
What happened?
“Leave us” the CEO ordered and started fixing his clothes.
Both Oscar and Celine headed for the door.
“He meant me” Oscar said to her.
She slowly turned around still could not believe Daniel is in front of her.
“Don’t you think you have a lot of explaining to do?” she asked as soon as she caught her breath.
“Don’t you have a coffee to make?” he asked back.
She walked towards his pantry and made two cups of coffee.
She sat in front of the man looking intently without saying anything.
“Ask away, Ms. Yates. You’re wasting my time” Daniel said.
“I need your help” she was desperate.
“Is the $5M bonus not enough?” Daniel asked.
“It’s not like that. I just need to attend a dinner. I’m sure you can do that for an old friend right?” she chuckled.
“Well, I have a lot of questions but it’s work time. Let’s catch up later. We’ll leave at 5pm” she said domineeringly.
Before she could reach the door, she heard the man’s voice.
“I’m not available”
“What? Since when?” she asked in shock.
Daniel would always say ‘yes’ to her.
No matter what she asks.
“I need to sleep” Daniel said.
“Your sleep can wait. Sleep after dinner” she widened her eyes in disbelief.
Her future depends on that dinner and this man had the nerve to sleep???
Unbelievable.
“No” the man objected.
“Daniel Grant. This is important” she called out.
“I thought it’s just dinner. Why is it so important?” he immediately caught on with her lies.
“Because dinner is very important. Anyway, sleep after that. I’ll buy you coffee” she said with finality.When she looked at Daniel the man was still not convinced.“Fine” she rolled her eyes then went back to the sofa.Daniel sat in front of her and brought her coffee.“I need someone to introduce to my mother so she will get off my back” she started.“It’s not formal. We can say we just started dating, nothing official. Just a one-time deal” she assured the guy.Daniel studied her worried face and he wanted to laugh.“What’s in it for me?” Daniel asked.“I’ll do one month overtime without pay” she said excitedly.“You don’t get to file overtime. Your contract says 24/7 secretary” he reminded her.“I’ll buy you a new coffee-maker” who would reject that?“All my appliance
All eyes were widened at her revelation.For full five seconds no one dared to make a sound.“Well mother, I’ve told you he is real. I hope you can stop arranging dates and marriage proposals for me” Celine said.“Thank you for your time, we’re leaving” she was about to grab Daniel’s hand when Daniel took a seat in the table.“I know it’s a shock” Daniel said smiling.It was a shock even for him.What happened to ‘nothing formal’, ‘just started dating’ thing?But he always manages his composure well.“Apologies, Mr. Stevenson for getting dragged into our family matters” Minerva said cautiously.“Celine, is this your attempt to avoid the lawsuit?” Minerva asked in a reprimanding tone.“Minerva, Celine’s matters are my matters” Daniel immediately interjected.“We didn’t kno
When she saw how serious Daniel’s look was, she could not help but snort.“Pbbfftt”“That’s funny” she gently removed his hands from her face.“Let’s go. Send me home. I’m so hungry” she pouted her lips as she sat in the passenger seat.“Don’t you think you should be pleasing me right now?” Daniel suddenly asked.“And why would I do that? I already owe you one favour. That’s enough” she said with a raised eyebrow.Does he think he can outwit her?“I don’t know, maybe I accidentally tell your Uncle Clint that I did not sign any marriage certificate”“Just maybe, what do you think?” he challenged her.She looked at the man in disbelief.They already made the deal.Would he back out now?“But you already agreed” she never thought Daniel would betray her.&ldquo
She eyed him sideways trying to gauge his seriousness.“If it has come to this, I guess you’re right” she agreed to his proposition.“Do you have your own swimming pool?” she wondered if she could resume her swimming regimen.Daniel is not sure if she’s aware of the complexity of their situation.Does she understand what living under one roof means?“Nope, just a penthouse” he simply replied.“Wait. It’s not the same storage room you had while we’re in college, right?” she panicked.“That’s so small, we could barely fit in there” she objected.“You never complained before when you wanted to sleep-over” he reprimanded her.She just rolled her eyes.His financial status back in college is unknown to her.He doesn’t have a car and other flashy things while studying but he always had a lot of cash to pay
They went back to her unit to shower and get a change of clothes for the next day.While she’s doing her business, Daniel freely roamed around when a pink album caught his eye.“Our Wedding” he read the title in confusion.The more he browsed the pages, the more confused he becomes.Is he suffering from any amnesia?The photos are not as he remembers it to be.“Convincing, right?” Celine appeared in her pink cartoon pyjamas.“I edited most of the photos so if anyone wanted proof, I could easily show this one”“No one could tell since everything was made seven years ago” she winked at him proudly.She has really covered her bases.After keeping the album in her desk drawer, they prepared to leave when her door bell rang.“Hide” she whispered to Daniel who quickly went inside her room.“Baby girl!!!” Linda Lopez hugged her as
“What did you say?” Brendan stood from his seat ready to attack.“I said you’re a snake” Daniel stepped forward provoking Brendan.“Enough!” Linda interrupted.“Grant, we’re dating” she admitted to stop both men.Daniel scoffed.“What, you couldn’t get Celine, you went after the best friend? Classic snake” Daniel clapped annoyingly.Brendan’s fist was fast and it landed partially on Daniel’s cheek.Daniel’s quick reflex prevented him from getting a knock-out.“At least I’m not a hypocrite. Going back to your true colours now?”“What happened to the loner-geek persona you created for Celine?”“Did she find out you’re a star athlete who doesn’t need glasses?”“Classic hypocrite” Brendan clapped back at him.This time it was Daniel’s fist
“Your what?” Oscar asked after a complete silence.He wasn’t dreaming, was he?“Just send the details in my email” he said not wanting to repeat what he said.“Another thing, I need a new house with a swimming pool and a garden”“We’ll move in once she gets better” he said casually.After a few more instructions, they ended their call.Celine spent the rest of the morning sleeping.She only wakes up to have soup or water.Oscar called again at lunch time to give a briefing.“I think you scared the secretary on her first day. She didn’t show up today”“She’s also not picking up her phone. What a model employee you hired” Oscar said sarcastically.“She’s here with me” Daniel just said.“Ohhh” Oscar doesn’t buy it.Will the prima donna secretary work in a hospital?
“With who?” Daniel came from outside.“That’s not a very decent advice, isn’t it Linda?” he asked in gritted teeth.“Don’t listen to her. Only you can decide when you will be ready for that kind of bullshit”“And you have to tell me if you meet someone you like, you understand?” he commanded.“Scratch that, you cannot like anyone without my approval”Celine could only look at Linda for support.Linda shook her head.She was forced to nod in agreement.If Daniel started talking like this, no one in their right mind would even dare make a sound.After confirming Celine is ready for discharge, Linda went back to the Yates Holdings.“D, where’s my surprise?” she asked once they were back in his flat.“Rest first. I’ll bring you there tomorrow” he planted a kiss on her forehead then went to work.