Chapter 1

"Good job, Miss Vernace," Mr. Rusco applauded me as he was smiling ear-to-ear. He stood up and extended his right arm to shake hands with me. "You never failed to amaze me with your competence and skills."

Mr. Rusco, the humble CEO of Hornbrown Investments, is here today at the Manila Branch to check on the performance of his managers. As of now, he was done listening to my presentation and based on his expression, I am one hundred percent sure that he liked it.

"Thank you so much, sir," I replied to him in a polite tone before I reached for his hand and moved it slightly so that we could both shake hands. "It's my great pleasure to work in this company."

Loud applause was heard throughout the meeting room after I presented our monthly sales today at Hornbrown Investments. I am not saying this to brag, but I am one of their most valuable financial managers here at the Manila Branch, not only because I’m a professional and I communicate well with investors, but also because of my competence in the stock market.

I can easily boost the direct investments from my clients by letting myself play with them… for money and fun. Life is like the fluctuation of the stock market, and if I won't take the calculated risk and let myself get drowned in fear, I won't be able to learn everything about its technicalities and the ways on reducing the risks associated with investing.

I know how to play with the stock market since it's been a long time since I studied it. Name it, and I'll play with it. If there's someone more deserving to be the branch manager of Hornbrown Investments, specifically in the Manila Branch, it's me.

Not that man who's sitting around the corner who was caressing his lower lip using his index finger while looking intently at me.

Kleinder Maze Velasco.

When he noticed that I was staring at him, he instantly raised an eyebrow and smiled subtly, like he was teasing me. He didn't even bother to look away even though I caught him staring.

He was far away from my seat, but it feels just close enough to make my blood boil immediately for his mere existence. Just by looking at his eyes, I know what he was thinking while I'm here, trying to impress Mr. Rusco as he was re-reading my proposal over and over again.

"No matter how many times Mr. Rusco praises you, I will remain as the Branch Manager of Hornbrown Investments, and that won't change as long as I'm here."

That’s what he always tells me using his gaze. This wasn't exactly the first time as this happens every month.

I raised a brow but he just smirked as he looked at me, carefully examining my every move. He may be the branch manager, but he was just sitting in the swivel chair and resting around the corner. What did Mr. Rusco see in him? Why did he hire that guy as the branch manager?

Mr. Rusco glanced at Kleinder, and this jerk just waved his hand at our boss, causing him to look away from Kleinder. I shook my head as he was so unbelievably shameless, but to my surprise, our CEO didn’t even scold him for what he did.

What kind of connection do you have with this company, Kleinder?

I would have liked to hit him so hard because of his rudeness, but I couldn’t do it because Mr. Rusco is still here. If he was too lenient with Kleinder, then he was too strict with us. It was unfair and I know it, but what can I do? Mr. Rusco the CEO. We should obey no matter how ridiculous the rules will be.

I know I am competent in what I do, so I won’t stutter or stumble regardless of the number of people watching me present. Even Kleinder won’t be able to make me nervous with his stares.

"You never failed to impress me," Mr. Rusco complimented for the second time as he gave the blue folder to his secretary. "You are still under observation to be the manager of the new branch, but you do have the potential. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you for the compliment, sir. The company made me this way," I answered back as I bowed my head as a sign of respect.

He patted my shoulder before he walked towards the glass door in the meeting room. He had a lot of bodyguards who came with him. There were four of them and they all had big bodies. They also wore tuxedos like some sort of businessmen.

His female secretary was positioned to his left side, saying something to him as they walked. Maybe she was telling him about his other agenda for today because it was still early. It's only eleven o'clock in the morning.

And because of the time, I'm starting to get hungry.

"Come on. Let's eat!"

"I'm so famished. I thought I'm going to faint because of the CEO's presence. It's like he's draining all my energy. Gosh!"

Those are just some of the conversations of my co-employees here in the meeting room, asking each other to eat in the cafeteria already. Most of the managers here were close to each other, except for me. Shainara is my only friend here in the company, but unfortunately, she wasn't able to attend the meeting due to personal reasons.

We needed to set up our table every time we'll make a presentation. Now, I need to clean up this mess. I pulled the projector out of its plug before I turned off the laptop. There is a laptop already assembled here in the room, so when someone makes a presentation, we will just plug the flash drive directly into the laptop. That’s faster for presenters, and it is convenient as well.

One of the concerns here in the past was the malware scattered to every laptop, which Kleinder immediately resolved. After that incident, he immediately installed an Antivirus for all laptops here in the company. Some people were against it in the beginning because that software was expensive, but what we didn't see was the long-term reduction of costs because of his strategy.

Nearly four million dollars were saved in company costs when Kleinder installed that software. It's annoying to admit it, but he is a really good manager, which is also the reason why the Manila Branch is the strongest Branch of Hornbrown Investments today. Maybe it was the reason why they were lenient on him.

However, it wasn’t the only reason why this branch is the strongest. Aside from Kleinder, I am also here. If Kleinder is the most competent branch manager, then I am the best finance manager.

"Congratulations, Miss Vernace."

Instead of being happy because someone greeted me, I was even more annoyed. Kleinder was the one who suddenly approached me, still smiling as he watched me remove the flash drive from the laptop. Since I was so spaced out earlier, I did not notice that it was only the two of us left here in the meeting room.

"All you have to do is pull out the flash drive quickly, Vernace," he added to me when he saw how I pulled out my stainless flash drive from the laptop. I need to move it back and forth before I can remove it. "No need to move it. Just put it in… and take it out.”

I looked at him with a deadly gaze because of his last sentence. He raised an eyebrow at me because I did that. However, because of the smirk on his lips, I don't have to doubt myself that what he said earlier had a double meaning.

If he’s able to attract other women because of his baby face and his flowery words, it's not the same case as mine. I won’t fall for a guy who thinks that women are just toys that they can throw away when they find them useless.

“Maniac.” I sighed heavily as I acted like I was going to throw my flash drive at him, but instead of being afraid of what I did, my brows furrowed when he laughed. Hardly.

His laughter even echoes in the whole room. So annoying.

"Oh, I'm not saying anything. What a hot-headed personality, sweetheart," he replied with a smile before he raised both his hands as if I was a cop and I was arresting him.

How was I able to survive in this company where he is the branch manager? Is it because of my fringe benefits? Because of incentives? Because of the salary? Honestly, I don’t even know how I survived the days when the two of us needed to talk in private because I had to report the status of my clients, especially the VIP ones, to him

"How can I control my temper if you’re here, annoying me?" I asked him back before I took some documents that I used earlier in the report.

I pinned it to my right armpit while holding the iced coffee in my left hand. I had bought it earlier before I went to work. In crucial jobs like this, I will always need a cup of coffee to fully wake up my spirit, especially today, since I only had three hours of sleep last night to prepare for this presentation.

Every end of the month was a great blessing and punishment for me. A blessing because I get my salary, and punishment because this is the day when we need to organize reports, the financial documents, and check the overall sales of the company. My clients often come to me at the end of the month to ask about the standing of their investments. It was a mess, but a beautiful one.

I love my job so much, but not the environment. Not my branch manager. The work was worth the stress, but not him. Thinking about him made me forget that he was in front of me at the moment.

"I'm still your branch manager, Vernace," he said unequivocally as I walked back to my office. He followed me. "Show some respect, woman.”

He may look young because of his facial features, but he can also look so scary when he’s serious. Maybe that's one of the reasons why women here in our company adore him so much. He may look like a saint, but I do know that a devil is sleeping inside of him.

And I am badly curious to find out how bad he is. I can't wait to unleash that devil inside of him... so that I can break him.