"Amanda, I'll take you home." Jeff still tried even though the blue-eyed woman still refused.
"I'm fine, and it's just a mild hangover. I can still drive. Stay here, Jeff. If you leave your birthday party, what about everyone else? They want to have fun with you." Amanda hoped Jeff would understand her wishes.
They stood in the corner of the ballroom. Renting a large room at a famous hotel in the city for his birthday was no hardship, as Jeff was born the only son of a wealthy man and was poised to inherit the family business.
"But—"
"Jeff, calm down. I'll call you when I get home."
The man grunted; he looked disappointed, but there wasn't much he could do. "I have to give in?"
"Of course, I appreciate you. So, stay here. I'm fine." Amanda smiled. She touched Jeff's arm, the smell of alcohol wafting from her lips. "I'm going home now. Have fun."
Amanda left the man and went out the door guarded by two burly men, and Jeff was undoubtedly annoyed. His attempt failed again.
Jeff liked Amanda; she worked for Jeff's father's company as a secretary, but Jeff's every attempt to get close to Amanda showed no signs that the girl was melting because Amanda was always warm towards others. It was no different when Amanda faced Jeff or other men.
"My head feels very dizzy." The woman with the white dress on her body staggered as she approached the elevator. Honestly, Amanda needed a friend to take her to the basement, but everyone was busy partying, so she was reluctant to disturb them.
The elevator doors opened, and Amanda sat down and touched her head as she entered the elevator. She hadn't even noticed that a man in a maroon suit was already standing there.
"Did I drink too much?" Amanda muttered. She stood to the left of the tall man beside her, the woman leaning against the elevator wall. "Very dizzy."
Then, suddenly.
Hoek.
Amanda spewed clear liquid from her mouth and littered the elevator floor.
"Damn! I should have gone to the toilet before entering the elevator. It's a good thing there wasn't any—" She paused after turning her head to the right side and finding another person watching her.
The woman squinted as she endured the nausea in her stomach. She tried to remember anything from the man staring at her without blinking as if sharing signals, and Amanda was busy translating them.
"Do I know you?" asked Amanda, still half-conscious.
The man tilted his head and smiled dismissively. "I was surprised to meet a girl from an arrogant family after years of disappearance."
"You—" Amanda bent down again to spit out the contents of her stomach.
"Your behavior is very detrimental to others, and the cleaning service will get pressure from their superiors because of your bad attitude. Can you think?" The man scoffed again, and he didn't care about the condition of the woman near him.
"Ori, Oriaga Niel. Am I right?" Amanda tried to act normal. She wiped the vomit off the corner of her lips and looked back at the man.
"It's good that you still recognize me. If not, it's probably because you found a man who your family should ostracize."
"Why bring up the past all of a sudden?"
"Because I want to talk about it, Amanda Claire." Oriaga was quite ruthless, his eyeballs becoming wider with rows of eyebrows coming together.
"But, I never insulted you."
"Really? But, you just kept quiet when they did. You never defended me in front of anyone, you remember!" Oriaga was angry.
Just then, the elevator doors opened, and Amanda got out and walked away even though the dizziness in her head had not disappeared.
Oriaga had silently let the woman go, but suddenly, his body moved towards Amanda, who had almost reached her car in the basement parking lot.
Oriaga grabbed Amanda's arm before pulling her against the side of a pillar. Amanda's back had to hit the post because Oriaga's pull was quite strong.
"What. What do you want, huh? My head feels dizzy, and I have to go home soon. Get out of the way." Amanda tried to escape, but Oriaga intended to hold the woman back.
"Are you drunk? Did you meet a man in this place? Did you become a bitch and engage in prostitution?" Oriaga accused her without hesitation.
"Oriaga, your words are too mean."
"Really? This is what you deserve."
"Looks like you've changed a lot."
"Of course." Oriaga grinned. "The wheels are turning too fast for me."
Amanda smiled, her head leaning against the pillar. She hated the situation because she couldn't fight the man before her. Getting drunk was the wrong choice, and it had already happened. She should have stomped on Oriaga's feet with the tips of her heels, then run away.
"What business is it of yours if I become a bitch and have sex with anyone. Are you going to get mad?" Amanda laughed. "My whole life is none of your business. We haven't interacted in a long time, and when we do, you say many bad things."
Oriaga paused but kept her grip on Amanda as the woman tried to get her off.
"Let go of me. Do you want to get—"
Hoek.
Once again, things went from bad to worse when Amanda accidentally spewed her guts on Oriaga's maroon suit.
She looked into the man's eyes, looking cold and intimidating.
"I need to go to my car and get tissues to clean your suit." Amanda hoped Oriaga would grant her wish.
However, the man was still silent. He took out his cell phone from his pants pocket and dialed someone.
The direction of his eyes reluctantly turned away from Amanda's face, making a little fear in the woman appear.
Amanda realized that Oriaga was utterly different.
"Open the mansion's gates in the north for me and prepare everything now. I'll stay overnight at that place," Oriaga ordered the person who answered his phone, then put the cell phone back away.
He looked down at the stain on his suit.
Amanda swallowed.
"I—"
"You asked, what do I want from you? Now, I want you." Oriaga pulled the woman in another direction. The situation in the basement parking lot was tranquil; only they were there, but at some angles, the CCTV cameras installed could record the surrounding case.
"What does that mean? What do you mean!" She was losing strength from vomiting so many times, but Oriaga was brilliant to seize the moment.
"I want you. Still not clear?" He forced the woman into the car and buckled her seatbelt, then looked down in front of Amanda's face. "If you are a bitch, this is your job. I can pay you as much as you want."
Fear was getting the better of Amanda. "Oriaga—"
"Shut up." Oriaga closed the door and sat behind the wheel. "If you keep trying, I will drop you on the highway when the car speeds up. Do you want that?"
"YOU'RE CRAZY!!!"
"Thank you for realizing it."
The car moved out of the basement. The situation locked in Amanda. She touched her dizzy head without being able to rebel or escape, and Oriaga smiled meaningfully as if seeing victory in sight.
***
This luxurious mansion in the northern corner of the city is one of the best mansions with a view of nature that is a feast for the eyes. Standing on the edge of a cliff and looking out at the blue ocean or walking along the coastline, waiting for the sun to set in the evening, is the highlight.Oriaga Niel has owned the three-story mansion for the past three years, but she rarely visits the estate in the north if she doesn't need peace.After an hour and a half of Oriaga driving his car alone without a personal driver or bodyguard, he had called someone. He ordered them to delete the CCTV footage of the area around the elevator and basement at the time the man had mentioned.Oriaga did not want to look like a 'perpetrator' if Amanda had lost the effects of her hangover. Oriaga realized that his current actions could cause problems that disrupted his business.While the woman didn't say much, Amanda was trapped by a problematic situation. She had intended to call her family, but Oriag
"You kidnapped someone, sir?" Zayn had never been one to limit his words, and he had been Oriaga's confidant for a long time. The man came to the mansion at midnight after taking care of the CCTV at the hotel, as Oriaga had ordered earlier.Oriaga thought for a moment, then shook his head. He wanted to deny it. "I don't think so, but you have other duties.""Tell me."Oriaga threw away the cigarette butt and stepped on it, and they were standing in the courtyard of the mansion or right next to the man's car. He held out a car key to Zayn."What do you mean?""Bring that woman's car here. I don't know where she parked it. You can do it yourself, or if you find it difficult, then take Dean with you."Zayn nodded, and he accepted the car keys. "You cleared the name, and I had seen the CCTV footage, so I asked about kidnapping.""I've known her for a long time.""Ah, alright. I'm leaving now, sir." Zayn hurriedly entered his vehicle before leaving the place, while Oriaga chose to sit on t
"Ah, so the family business went downhill seven years ago. A karma that is hard to avoid." Oriaga smiled wryly, and he sat on the sofa and raised a pair of legs on the table, a laptop on his lap.He had ordered someone to look up the details of Amanda Claire Griscouv, a brunette with bluish irises in her eyes.Oriaga was still in Paris after attending a Fashion Week as the CEO of the fashion and jewelry brand 'Gregorious,' a brand Oriaga co-owned with her grandmother that went global four years ago, competing with other big brands."She wanted to be a clothing designer but instead worked as a secretary in a medium-sized company. Can't her parents afford to pay for their daughter's education to become a designer?" Oriaga chuckled. She was busy, assuming.Amanda was no stranger to Oriaga's life, and they had been close friends while studying at the same university in London. However, Amanda's family's attitude towards Oriaga was quite painful. The man received too many insults and press
"Thank you for accepting me as a guest at your place. Sorry for disturbing your rest, Mr. Oriaga." Elia left after observing Oriaga for a while. The man was silent primarily and turned his attention to the laptop screen.Oriaga felt grateful for having a laptop beside him, and he was tired of responding to the model for discussing something less attractive."No problem, my time is tight." Oriaga escorted Elia to the main door."Ah, yes. I have a contract with a fashion magazine in Amsterdam. It would be great to visit there, and you can accept an invitation to dinner with me.""Really? When are you coming to Amsterdam?""In two months." Elia smiled. She walked out after Oriaga opened the door. "I'll go now." She looked at the left side and found someone installing a camera at the end of the hallway, then looked back at Oriaga. "Eum, I wanted to say goodbye beforehand.""What does that mean?"Suddenly, Elia pulled Oriaga's hand and hugged him. The camera managed to get a picture of the
"Amanda. I heard from Samantha that you tried to sell your car on a trading site. Is that true?" Jeff suddenly appeared in front of Amanda's desk, surprising the woman. She blinked before erasing the tension in her."It is.""Why do you want to sell it?" Jeff was curious.Amanda was still working; she had several reports to complete to the CEO, and Jeff's appearance at this hour was disturbing.However, of course, Amanda couldn't do anything more. She was dealing with the company's owner, so even though Jeff acted out of line, Amanda tried to keep her attitude.The woman got up and looked around. Everyone was busy behind their cubicles, while Jeff seemed to disregard the situation. The CEO's office was right across from Amanda's cubicle."Because I want to sell it." She sat back down with a flat expression."You need money?""Everyone needs money. Am I wrong?" Amanda was starting to get fed up with Jeff's questions."No, I mean, you need it because of an emergency?""We can talk about
"How about it, Amanda? Would you allow me to buy your car?" Jeff was still curious and kept pressing Amanda, and he came back to her after his work was done.Amanda was silent as she looked down, exhaling as she glanced at the car beside her. It was still a handy vehicle, but Amanda's family's economic hardship was getting increasingly urgent, so giving up something when she had earned it with her sweat—would be pretty tricky."How?" Jeff asked again.Amanda looked at him. "I'll think about it some more, Jeff. Maybe tomorrow I'll give you a decision. Now I have to go home.""Alright, I'm waiting for your answer."The woman nodded, and she quickly disappeared behind the car door. She had time to wave before driving the car from the office basement.***Oriaga had just arrived home after visiting one of the 'Gregorious' boutiques in the corner of the city to check on the progress of the launch of several new dresses since last month. He always wanted to be the first to see the progress
"Did you manage to sell your car, Amanda?" Pamela looked towards the courtyard, and she still found her youngest daughter's car there. "What is it?"Amanda smiled wryly. She had hoped that when she got home from work, her mother would greet her and ask how the day was going, but she got a question that made her take a deep breath every time she was at home—Amanda's patience was always being played with."I'm still using it, Mom." She passed Pamela in the doorway and went to the kitchen, cold water being something Amanda wanted to consume. The summer weather tickled her throat."So, when are you going to sell it? Nadine gave the debt collector one week." Pamela followed her daughter into the kitchen."Soon, Mom. In less than a week, my car will be sold. Stay calm.""Are you sure?" She doubted it.Amanda nodded. "I'll change my clothes first before cooking dinner.""Do it."After changing her clothes, Amanda tied her hair up high and put on her apron. The tiredness after work was no big
In the end, Amanda agreed to Jeff's request to buy her car after discussing it with Nadine last night, more precisely when her sister came home around ten o'clock, and Amanda had not been able to fall asleep then. As a result, they exchanged ideas and decided to sell it to Jeff.This morning, Jeff went to Amanda's house as she had requested in the chat her had sent him last night, and he found out that the reason Amanda was selling her car was that she had to pay off the house payment that had been delayed for a long time."I'll add the money," Jeff said as he punched in a few digits more than Amanda's price on his cell phone, sending the money through his account."No, Jeff. Don't do that. Just keep buying at the price we agreed on." Amanda felt awkward. If only Pamela hadn't interfered with the situation this morning, Jeff wouldn't have known anything about her problem.Amanda felt very guilty. She should have asked Jeff to meet her outside. She even forgot that her mother had wante