Chap 1 INTERVIEW

'Why do you keep coming to bother me? Don't you know that your arrival will make my husband angry because he is jealous?' Karin's mother exclaimed at the man with slightly shabby clothes and an appearance that looked like he had not slept well and was unkempt, but this did not take away from the good looks on his face.

"I love you and I want to take you and our child away from that rude man," said the man.

Suddenly Karin saw her stepfather walking closer to her. Karin could smell the strong aroma of alcohol coming from his body.

'You have to pay for the betrayal your mother has committed against me!' Karin's stepfather's hand shot up to deliver a slap, as usual, to Karin's face and thin body.

Karin jolted awake from her sleep, with cold sweat dripping down her face and back, she felt that the dream was so real. 'Oh Lord! Why does that dream come back? Why do faces from my past always appear? What does all this mean?' Karin thought.

Karin woke up from her sleep, then sat on the bench next to the bedroom window, thinking about the meaning of her dream.

Karin didn't realize that she had fallen asleep while sitting up. Until the alarm sound on her cell phone rang, it startled her. Karin hurriedly got up from her seat and walked to the bathroom.

She was too excited about the interview she was going to have today. There are high hopes for what she wants from her interview later. 'I have to get that job because this could be the answer to my problems all this time,' Karin muttered to herself.

A few minutes later Karin was outside her apartment building. She walked towards the bus stop, which would take her to the company where she was interviewing. And she almost missed the bus. Luckily, she arrived just as the bus was about to leave.

Arriving at the Atmaja Corp company. Karin walked into the magnificent building, feeling nervous and with cold sweaty hands.

According to the information he received, she will undergo a direct interview with the head of the company. Sitting in front of a room with walls painted white, the feeling of nervousness became even more pronounced.

Karin had just arrived at the door, which was promised to be the place where she would conduct the interview, as secretary to the head of the company.

A voice was heard saying her name and inviting her to enter the room, the door of which was tightly closed.

"Miss Karin Arvantie?" called a woman wearing a professional suit. A dirty expression appeared on her face, making Karin's heart beat fast when he was called. "It's your turn! How come, you will apply to be a secretary, while your appearance..." She said when she saw Karin's unkempt appearance.

Karin stood up from her chair and stepped into the room. Beads of sweat adorned Karin's forehead, clearly showing her nervousness about facing the job interview that soon awaited her. This was Karin's first experience undergoing a job interview.

Ignoring the woman's disapproving gaze, she would avoid the woman with the dirty expression on her face, which clearly showed an aura of dislike towards her. She knocked on the tightly closed door in front of her and after being invited in he opened the door.

Karin felt her back feel like it was burning. And she felt that it was certain because the woman had called her. She didn't know the reason why she didn't like her.

When she entered the room, Karin's gaze fell on a man sitting in front of a table with paper covering his face. The man's black hair was pulled back, looking very neat. His body, which was clad in a white shirt, still looked sturdy in Karin's eyes, especially because the sleeves of the shirt were rolled up to his elbows. With the top two buttons of his shirt open and showing a little hair on his chest.

Karin was a little hesitant to greet the man who was sitting in his work chair. And it looks like he is very serious about what he is doing.

"Excuse me, sir," Karin called as she stood next to the chair provided for her, not daring to sit down until she was asked.

Hearing the woman's voice, the man sitting in front of Karin lowered the paper he was holding. The man's expression looked cold, with his thin lips pressed tightly.

In that second, Karin felt frozen. Her heart immediately started beating fast, when faced with a handsome face, even though it seemed cold. However, that wasn't the only thing that surprised her. The face of the man sitting in front of her was so similar to the man who was present in her dream last night.

The sharp gaze given by the black eye was so immersive. Coupled with thick eyebrows and a firm jaw, Karin should admit that this man's face was the most handsome man she had ever seen in person. Even if Karin watches television, it seems quite difficult to find a man as handsome as that!

"Sit down." The man's deep voice shook Karin's heart, making the woman without thinking immediately act according to the direction. "Introduce yourself," he said firmly, making Karin feel a little annoyed for some reason.

Karin kept in her heart her admiration for the appearance and masculine aura that radiated from the CEO of Atmaja Corp. 'How can us women not be attracted to him? A handsome face, with a cold and mysterious aura that makes him feel like a challenge,' thought Karin.

Before daydreaming for too long, Karin immediately introduced herself, "My name is Karin Arvantie, I graduated from a famous university in this city with cum laude honors. Sir!"

While Karin introduced herself, the woman felt that the black eye was not moving from her face, making Karin's throat feel dry and her heart pounding fast.

'Why does he keep looking at me and making me anxious? His gaze seemed to want to immediately take me to bed,' Karin muttered to herself.

After introducing herself, Karin was surprised by the question that came from Ryan's lips. "Have we met?" With eyes glued to Karin's figure, Ryan added, "Your face looks familiar and reminds me of someone whose face I don't want to see again?"

Karin was surprised to hear Ryan's question, in a voice that sounded nervous she said, "We've never met in person, sir! I've only seen you interviewed on television and in magazines."

Karin bit her lip because she was afraid, she had answered Ryan's question incorrectly, which was completely unrelated to the job she was applying for.

Ryan's gaze moved to Karin's lips, which looked sexy and seductive. Those lips seemed inviting to be kissed.

Ryan stood up from his chair and circled the table before finally leaning against it. Two arms folded in front of his chest, a smile on his lips. "Hmm, what's your reason for applying to be my secretary? This is a big company, while you just graduated." Ryan asked, with an intense gaze.

Ryan's question made Karin silent for a moment. She had to give intelligent answers so that she would be accepted for work. "I want this job, because of the salary offered and I am also sure that I will be able to become a secretary, as your company requires."

Karin's heart beat faster and faster. her hands felt cold sweat. She had never felt a hot aura, being close to a man, like this, let alone Ryan's sharp gaze which never left her lips.

Ryan's eyes were focused on Karin's lips which were red from being bitten. "Is that so? Are you sure you can work professionally with me and not mix it with personal matters?" The man walked over to Karin who was sitting in her chair, causing Karin to feel a kind of magnetism that made her want to stick to Ryan, because of the man's masculine aura.

Ryan put both hands on the arm of the chair that Karin was sitting on and they were only a few inches from the woman's face, the corners of Ryan's lips lifted. "Are you sure you're not here because of me? Maybe you're trying to feel like I'm a lover, like what the media usually shows."