Fiona Chen eyed the steaming tea in front of her and gulped before looking at the woman wearing a pink jumpsuit, her boss. Fiona smiled and leaned against the velvet sofa she was sitting on.
“Tell me… when was the last time that you slept with someone?” Her boss, Catherine ‘Candy’ Jones, lifted her brows. “Please don’t tell me it was four years ago?”
Fiona frowned in response. “Why is this relevant to me feeling bored?”
“Well… first and foremost, you are stressed. You don’t need the money and yet you worked all week. I told you, you can have the CEO position of WILD and WICKED anytime but you prefer to travel the world with your clients.” Her friend smiled at her before leaning against her velvet pink swivel chair that she had someone customized.
Here they go again. No matter the topic, her friend would never stop including the topic of making her the CEO of their company. She had gotten tired of saying no to her.
“I told you… I am bored,” Fiona answered. To be fair, her life was really boring these days. Aside from the occasional body guarding, all she did was operate on some people who didn't want to go to the hospital. It was like a routine that was getting boring. “And please… you are making it sound like I am an escort or something.”
“Fiona… I really think you should find someone—a date. I don’t know a f*ck buddy. Just someone that could make you stay in one place for at least a month?”
“Nope. Too busy to deal with other people.” She was too busy with her own problems, she didn’t need more of those problematic men.
“You just said you’re bored?”
“I am bored! I need some excitement in my life. Apparently, holding scalpels all the time isn’t really that fun.”
“Then find someone to sleep with?” Candy’s auburn hair that looked like Fiona’s, moved as she tilted her head.
“Good suggestion.” Fiona nodded. “But I don’t have the time.”
“You have the time to operate on some drug lords but you have no time to flirt with someone? Come on! Sex is part of our physiological need. It’s vital for survival.”
Fiona made a face. In the past five years, she has never slept with another person. Surely, this was proof that sex was not vital for survival. “I don’t like it.”
“You need a shrink.” Candy chuckled. “I mean… no offense but you can’t like me, alright? I will only break your fragile heart.”
Fiona held the tea in front of her. Smiling, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the aroma of jasmine tea— her favorite. Candy had been teasing her about her sexuality since she refused to sleep with one of her friends. Of course, she didn’t mind. “I have standards.”
“Oh? Is it the typical tall, dark and handsome?”
“Tall… big and handsome,” Fiona said before she chuckled. “Someone smarter than me.” To be fair, the man that Candy introduced was a total douchebag who couldn’t stop talking about his Ferrari. Then he felt offended when he saw that she was riding a Bugatti veyron. Fiona would never forget the man’s face when he realized that she could afford something he couldn’t. “Alright, it's time to stop talking about d*cks. Do you have something for me?” she asked the woman who took her in while she was abandoned by her whole family five years ago.
“Seriously? You just— Fiona look— You are still carrying your suitcase from your other job. You need vacation.”
“My need for money is more pressing than a short vacation,” she retorted.
Candy snorted, unimpressed. “You have millions and you will turn twenty eight tomorrow, still you talk like you were twenty two. Can you at least…”
“Nope. Please remind me to change my accountant next time. I don’t want you knowing my finances anymore.” Fiona chuckled. Her friend was actually a brilliant accountant lawyer who has been taking care of her finances since they decided to start this company. She then put the tea cup on the circular glass table in front of her. Her green eyes stared at Candy’s dark brown ones before she smiled. “I’m bored. I need a job.”
Candy rolled her eyes and sighed. “What kind of job do you need this time?” The right to choose jobs was not because she was the co-owner of the company. It was because of her track record. A bodyguard who had an SS clearance was not something that many people could achieve at her age.
“As usual… the top secret ones,” Fiona said. Jobs like those were just the best. Those were the ones where she could pretend to be another person while guarding someone. And to Fiona, being another person was better than being Fiona Chen.
“I have one that would be perfect for you. But… the requirements are quite— ”
“Do I qualify?”
“Of course you do.” Candy grabbed a folder and was about to give it to Fiona but she didn’t accept it and just waived her hand.
“As long as it’s dangerous.” The harder the better. At this point in life, Fiona didn’t care about danger anymore. She wanted the thrill, the fun. These were the only things that mattered in her eyes.
“Crazy,” Candy said but it was clear that this was nothing new to her. After all, Fiona always wanted the deadliest mission, something that would make her forget everything. “The pay is huge but we neede to sign a confidentiality contract. The client is a millionaire from HongKong, young and— ”
“I can read the file before we meet the client. For now… I need a bath.”
“Who told you to come here just after you finished your… part time job?” Candy glanced at her suitcase. “Meet me two days from now in this address. It’s a private villa. The property is not under his name, security is thick so please… don’t bring any guns? Oh… and here you go—”
“A gift?” Fiona smiled, her mind was still focused on the fact that she couldn’t bring any guns in the meeting. Just the thought of walking around without her glock was already ruining her day. But she said nothing. She understood that some clients were much more demanding than the others. This was a part of her job.
“Tomorrow is your birthday. I know you won’t want to celebrate it with other people.”
“Oh. Then… thank you?” Fiona smiled, a dimple appeared on her left cheek. Then she accepted the gift and opened the pink box in front of her friend. “A vacation for two?” She arched an eyebrow.
“You need one.”
Fiona snorted but shook her head. “Thank you. I’m sure… I will use this soon.” After the job, Fiona was planning to take a six month leave anyway. Going to the Caribbean for two weeks was actually a very good plan.
Welcome! This is Brey and I really hope you will like this novel. Have a wonderful day ahead. Stay safe and healthy! -Brey
Fiona eyed the alcoholic beverage in her hand. She wondered when was the last time that she celebrated her birthday with someone. Five? Six years ago? Shrugging, Fiona started twirling the glass, a habit that she developed over the years of being alone. She leaned on the bar counter.Lost in her own thoughts, Fiona started twirling her hair, using a finger to play with her auburn hair that reminded her too much of her mother; she hated it. She cocked her head to the side, staring at the muted bottles across her. For some reason, she felt its liquid have started to dance as it reflected the lights from the bar.Perhaps it was only because she was drunk. Fiona chuckled inwardly before she looked at the dancefloor on the first floor of the bar. She was currently on the second floor and walking towards the dance floor would require her to walk down the glass stairs that glittered under the beautiful diamond-like chandelier then into the carpeted floor that would lead her t
Fiona always hated having a hangover. However, this time she felt like having a headache and focusing on the pain was better than thinking of what she did last night. It wasn’t only embarrassing. It was definitely something she never expected to do.“Hey! Are you listening to me?” Candy’s voice brought her back from her stupor. She held the phone closer to her ears.“No. I am having a terrible headache.”“Well… I have been waiting in the office for the last thirty minutes. Did you forget? We were supposed to meet with the client today!”“Client?” Fiona frowned before she facepalmed. “Oh! I remember.” She knew Candy was rolling her eyes on the other line. “I— I will take a quick bath and see you at the private villa. Send me the address.” Without waiting for Candy to say something, she ended the
Fiona couldn’t calm down. For some reason, she felt that seeing Luca again was not a coincidence and it was making her nervous. She opened her computer and started searching everything about Luca Han. The man actually went to London to study—which explained his accent. He also went to Harvard to finish his degree. He could speak and read five languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, French and English. And it was said that he was fluent in all of the languages.He got his doctorate in Materials Science & Mechanical Engineering at the age of twenty-four and even won international awards because of his thesis. It was noted that he was a genius.Considering his impressive background, it was no wonder that his grandfather Mr. Simon Han, who is also the Director of HICI, made him the CEO of the company when he turned twenty-six. Since then, the company has become one of the top construction companies in Asia. This man was loade
Fiona was frowning. She tightened her grip around the piece of paper, hoping to stop her arms from shaking. The documents were very thorough. It showed an examination of the doctor who operated on her mother, showing that she was experiencing some tremors on her hand and foot. This was taken four weeks before her mother’s surgery.The document also contained some signatures of her father.“Do you believe me now?” Luca asked. “Of course, it’s fine if you don’t believe me. You can always ask your father. I’m sure with all this proof, your old man won’t deny anything.”“And in return, you want me to become your secretary?” The email files that she read said that he needed her to act as a secretary to protect him from the women who liked him. Silly. However, Fiona understood that some wealthy people just needed to spend their money on something.“That was before I knew
“Being my wife would make them accept you. No questions asked. I am sure your stepmother would do everything to become your new best friend. Don’t you think so?”These were the words that made her angry at his proposition. Thinking about it now, she knew she had been really… impulsive. Considering that she already signed the marriage certificate, she knew that regretting her decision now was completely useless.She reluctantly met Candy’s eyes.“You’re crazy.” Candy shook her head.“Please tell me something I don’t already know.”“Do you even know him? I mean… like his family? You just signed a marriage certificate like that without knowing if he is a serial killer who wanted to cook you and serve you for dinner?”“Good thinking.” Fiona nodded. “A cannibal…” Her thoughts took her to that one-night stand.
Despite flying all the time, Fiona still thought an airport was like a canvass full of anxiety.The sea of people moved with ease as the lights from the tall windows hit them. The serenity and chaos would usually give her some unexplainable emotion of sadness.This time, though, the feeling didn’t come. She wondered if it was the champagne.She eyed the clouds that rested on the skies as she walked out of the private plane Luca arranged for her. The plane was under his name, but he insisted it was hers now. He said it was some bride price.“Welcome to Hong Kong International Airport, Miss Chen. I am Robert Hou, I will be your chauffeur for today.” The man was wearing a tuxedo, especially his white gloves made him look more professional and mature. Fiona smiled and let the man handle her suitcases before she walked inside the black Mercedes that was waiting for her, just a
Coming into Hong Kong didn’t just mean that she would act as his wife. Luca asked her to become his personal secretary. He insisted it was for his protection—something she was very good at.However, Fiona thought this had become a problem.First, Luca didn’t tell her about her gorgeous secretary that was working for him for two years now. Naomi Jiang.She was tall, about his age, and drop-dead gorgeous. Fiona thought she could easily join Miss Universe or any other international pageant. She stared at Naomi before she took a sip of the coffee in front of her.Fiona’s smile didn’t lessen the tension inside Luca’s office.“You want me to train her?” Naomi asked, eyebrows lifted in surprise. The sweet smile on her face when she welcomed Fiona, vanished as if it was never there in the first place. “Mr. Han… may I know if I did something wrong?”Fiona waited
“You will start working tomorrow,” Naomi said. “But it is essential that you come here in the basement to familiarize yourself. Those boxes are full of letters to Mr. Han. You have to check every letter and arrange it by… date.”Fiona eyed the stack of boxes in front of her. This room was definitely a storeroom. It wasn’t dirty, but it smelled of wet paper, which wasn’t very pleasant. “There are about fifty boxes in here,” Fiona said. And what did familiarizing mean? Was she supposed to look at everything today? This woman’s scheming was a bit irritating, eh?“Sixty-eight. There are sixty-eight boxes. Full of letters, the packages are at the back. There should be about twenty boxes of those packages,” Naomi said as she looked at her wristwatch. “I still have to attend