Antony was taken aback when he stepped out of his apartment lobby and found a beautiful woman in a sexy red dress waiting for him. The stunning model, currently serving as the brand ambassador for his company, waved her hand adorned with expensive diamonds and greeted him with her signature smile. Instead of returning the smile, Antony gave her a sharp look.
Lately, this woman had been crossing boundaries, much to Antony's annoyance. Despite explicitly instructing her not to invade his private space, Anastasia seemed far more stubborn than he had anticipated. Should he instruct his apartment security to blacklist her as a visitor? Of course, he could do that; he paid handsomely for their services.
"What are you doing here?" Antony asked flatly.
"Today, I'll be signing a new contract with Coskun Company. So, why don't we go together?" The woman inquired with a teasing manner. Antony merely raised an eyebrow and, without saying much, walked away, leaving her behind.
His chauffeur was already waiting, even holding the car door open for him. Antony got in first and allowed Anastasia to make her way to the other side. He wasn't the type to be overly courteous to a woman, like opening doors for her, especially when she was not much different from his employees. No special treatment was warranted.
After closing the door, his driver returned to the driver's seat and smoothly accelerated the car.
"What about the dinner event tomorrow?" Anastasia suddenly spoke up. Antony furrowed his brow, trying to recall which event he had to attend tomorrow.
As the leader of a major company, despite Antony's reluctance to socialize, there were times he had to attend events hosted by partner companies. If such occasions required him to bring a date, Antony had recently designated Anastasia as his companion.
Not because he had feelings for her. This arrangement was purely business. Antony needed to maintain his image, especially in the eyes of his competitors. Making Anastasia his companion was part of the agreement she had willingly entered into. Let others speculate about their relationship, but the company officials knew the nature of the arrangement they were currently involved in.
Although in the eyes of others—especially men—Anastasia is beautiful, in Antony's eyes, her beauty and the allure of her body cannot arouse his passion. Up to now, Anastasia—or any other woman—has not been able to ignite his desire. Nothing has been able to disturb his feelings. In Antony's eyes, their presence is nothing more than a shield for life.
They arrive at Coskun Company. Antony intentionally instructs his driver to go straight to the company's basement reserved for executives' parking. He no longer stops his car in front of the building to avoid public scrutiny. He doesn't want to hear more gossip about himself and Anastasia, especially today, with a major meeting in his office. He doesn't want to tarnish his image in the eyes of his subordinates.
Antony gets out of his car, and somehow, with her high heels, Anastasia can move quickly and match his steps. The woman intentionally embraces Antony's arm tightly, preventing him from letting go.
"There's someone else here," she whispers in his ear. And those words make Antony stop his rejection. Okay, he has to maintain his image, he thinks to himself.
They continue walking towards the elevator, and it seems that the person Anastasia mentioned is also following them. Antony enters the elevator, and as he turns around, he can see her. A beautiful girl wearing a long-sleeved black shirt intentionally folded to half sleeves, a knee-length pencil skirt, and black shoes with a five-centimeter heel. A casual look that is the complete opposite of Anastasia's appearance.
The girl looks so beautiful and radiates an inexplicable aura that Antony can't describe in words. What catches Antony's attention is the cold gaze the girl gives him, even if only for a moment, before she turns around and faces away from him.
If, until now, Antony has received admiring looks from women he has just met, this time is different. And this response disturbs him enough.
Okay, if the girl doesn't greet him, Antony concludes that she is not one of his employees. So who is she?
Antony glanced at the documents in the girl's hand. Perhaps she's one of the applicants? He wondered in his mind. Observing the floor the girl was heading to, Antony speculated that she might be one of the subordinates of his associate or an employee from his branch. The fifteenth floor is designated for the company's meetings.
Antony observed the girl from behind, her black hair styled in a simple modern bun. Strands of hair escaping from the bun made her graceful nape visible, even though it was covered by her shirt collar. The woman had small shoulders, and though not conventionally slim like a model, she had appealing curves in all the right places.
Exciting. That was the word that crossed his mind about the girl. Antony was surprised because, for the first time in years, he felt that way about someone he had just seen for the first time.
Earlier, Antony caught a whiff of a soft fragrance in the air when the girl turned away from him. Something suddenly felt constricted below. It wasn't because of Anastasia, whom he knew had been trying to entice him by clinging to his arm and occasionally touching the front of her shirt while nuzzling his neck.
No, it wasn't because of that. Antony completely ignored Anastasia the moment he saw this girl in front of him.
Yes, his attention was solely on the girl in front of him. And if only the elevator were lined with mirrors, he was sure he could see her glancing in his direction. Even though he didn't know what was on her mind, Antony saw the beautiful head shaking slowly.
Right on the fifteenth floor, the girl exited the elevator without even a glance in his direction.
For him—a man who usually received glances from women, old or young—her indifferent attitude slightly wounded his ego.
The elevator doors closed again, and the next moment, he let go of Anastasia's hand, which by now had made him uncomfortable.
Antony chose to fold his hands in front of his chest. Suddenly, he felt irritated but also empty at the same time.Who is that girl? He asked himself, curious. His mischievous thoughts somehow surfaced spontaneously. It seemed he had to find out who she was. And he had to get the information. Not now, but later. A promise he made to himself. Because right now, there's still a lot of work to be done.The elevator then stopped on the nineteenth floor. Antony walked out of the elevator, ignoring Anastasia calling his name. Let the woman handle her own affairs because Antony had already decided to terminate his contract with her, no matter if he had to pay a penalty. There was someone else he wanted to pursue right now, and it wasn't Anastasia.Antony entered his own office, the largest and most luxurious room on the floor. Not because he had a penchant for luxury, but once again, it was all about maintaining his image as the CEO of the company. His secretary opened the door after informi
The classroom was starting to empty as some of its occupants had already gone to the cafeteria for lunch. Abigail remained seated at her desk with an open book on the table, lamenting the math grade she had just received."Darn it!" the teenager muttered with a hiss.Her friend sitting beside her glanced over from the corner of her eye. "Bad again?" she asked, grinning teasingly.Abigail turned to the face of the beautiful Italian-descendant girl and then squinted. "Are you satisfied because I got a lower grade? Are you satisfied because you can mock me as you please?" she retorted, annoyed.Flavia, the golden-eyed, pretty girl nodded happily. "At least I know there's something an Abigail can't do. And that's math," she chuckled gleefully. Once again, Abigail just squinted. "Abby," she called."Hmm..." Abigail replied as she put her book back into her light blue backpack."My grandparents invited me to spend the weekend in Manhattan. Do you want to come?" she asked, pouting playfully.
KansasMonday came around again. But for some reason, this Monday wasn't like the usual Mondays filled with sour faces and a bit of grumbling from the employees feeling bored with the routine. This Monday seemed more chaotic. Claire, walking in from the front door, already noticed how the office boys and cleaning services team were bustling around with their tools in hand. And not only that, even the security guards seemed busy cleaning their guard posts.Claire ignored them and continued walking towards her office. And it turned out, it was just as chaotic in there. Claire placed her bag in the designated drawer under her desk and glanced at Bella with confusion. "What's going on?" she whispered to her friend. Her eyes scanned the room, observing her colleagues busy sprucing themselves up.Bella looked back at Claire with an incredulous look. "You don't know?" Bella asked Claire, who responded with a raised eyebrow. She looked back at Bella with a puzzled expression. "The owner of Co
"So, what's your position at Coskun Company?" Claire looked lazily at the man sitting across from her. His name was Erick, the son of one of her mother's social circle friends.At first glance, Erick was quite handsome. He had a tall stature, fair and clean skin. His face was free of acne or any scars, which Claire suspected was the result of regular visits to a beauty salon. His clothing also hinted at affluence.Of course, Claire's mother mentioned that Erick's father was a diamond entrepreneur, making him undeniably wealthy. On a scale of one to ten, Claire rated him a nine based on appearances alone.However, that was just the external assessment. For the past half hour, Erick hadn't stopped talking about himself and his family, boasting but consistently belittling others. He commented on every person who entered his field of vision, offering unnecessary judgments and excessive self-praise. Now, it seemed he was evaluating Claire.If it weren't for the need to uphold her mother's
"Where are you?" The loud shout made Claire wince. She wanted to move the phone away from her ear, but upon seeing the flat square object on the bathroom sink, Claire realized she had a Bluetooth headset in her ear."Why? Missing me?" Claire retorted, waving her hand gently to reduce the water on her hands before placing it under the hand dryer."Missing your fleas! Damn it!" The girl on the other end snorted. "Where are you now? Don't tell me you're in the restroom!""Do you have a GPS on me, or are you monitoring me from your favorite basin?" Claire chuckled. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, adjusting her hair before grabbing her phone and leaving the restroom."Say whatever you want. Just tell me where you are. It's Monday, Claire. Are you heartless enough not to go to work and add to my workload? Just last weekend, I praised you, and now you're burdening me with all this?" Her friend complained again. Whether she liked it or not, Claire couldn't help but laugh."Sorry,
"Can I help you with something?" greeted a woman whom Claire was sure was the receptionist for that floor."Where's the meeting room?" Claire asked after shaking her head a few times to clear her mind of inappropriate thoughts."Are you from the branch office?" the receptionist asked again. Claire nodded affirmatively. "Please go straight ahead, pass through two doors. The meeting for all branches is in the third door." Claire nodded in understanding and followed the instructions from the receptionist named Selin.The first room she passed had thick transparent glass walls. Inside, people were engaged in serious discussions—clearly an internal division meeting. She continued walking while observing. The second room also had thick transparent glass walls with an oval-shaped table inside, but this one appeared empty.While the third door had black-tinted glass, probably the type that allows one to see outside but remains opaque from the outside. Claire forgot what it's called.She knock