Author: Xia Xiao Qi One day, I drank too much, and I regarded my serious and abstinent boss, Joaquin Salvatore, as my first crush.When I woke up, I asked nervously, "Yesterday... We..."Joaquin replied, "What? Ms. Jobling, are you not going to be responsible for it?"I thought I was doomed and would be fired, but Joaquin said that he would give me a week's leave to rest.A week later, he circled me in a corner and asked, "I gave you a week. Have you figured out how to be responsible for me?"I was confused.1I had been Joaquin's secretary for six years. Many people said that I went through a back door. Otherwise, I would not have been promoted from an ordinary secretary to a personal secretary.I had always ignored the gossip because I felt that the truth would prove one's innocence. I could stay with Joaquin for so many years mainly because of my ability.Nonetheless, I did not expect that I would really sleep with him one day.I really did not want to sleep with h
6I could not remember how many years it had been since I last had a break to relax. Throughout the years of being Joaquin's personal secretary, I worked overtime during every holiday. I was even on standby during long holiday weekends.Since a few months ago, I had been asking Joaquin to give me a few days off and let me have a good rest. He had never approved my leave. Now, he finally had a conscience.It seemed that it was worth sleeping with him.It was good timing for a rest. I did not know how to face him after what had happened. I could use the leave to think about things.The first thing I wanted to do during my leave was to lie down and sleep at home.Since I suffered so much last night, the first thing I did after reaching home and delegating my work was mute my phone, lie on the bed, and fall asleep.After falling asleep, I had a dream. In the dream, I was in a dreamy church. There was a man kneeling in front of me, proposing to me, but I could not see his face clearl
11The restaurant where Joaquin and the others were eating was a little far away from here. It took me half an hour to drive there.When Yuri saw me arrive, it was as if he saw his savior. He immediately came forward to greet me. "Yulissa, you're finally here.""Where is Mr. Salvatore?" I asked."In the private room. He drank too much and is now sitting there, refusing to leave." Yuri led me to the private room where they were eating.Everyone had left, and Joaquin was the only one remaining.I realized why Yuri was so helpless after seeing Joaquin sit on the sofa in a trance, like a lost child with an innocent face and hazy eyes."Mr. Salvatore." Yuri walked over and patted Joaquin on the shoulder as Yuri called Joaquin softly.Joaquin shoved Yuri's hand off outright. "Where is Yulissa? I want Yulissa to pick me up."I had never seen Joaquin like this in all my years of working alongside him. I really wanted to take a picture of him with my phone.However, at the thought of
15I quickly helped him match the clothes to be worn for the next week according to his weekly schedule. Then, I called to order breakfast for him and left his house before the sound of water stopped."Mr. Salvatore, I've matched your clothes and watches for a week. They are all in the first wardrobe, from left to right. I ordered takeout for you for breakfast, which are the spaghetti and sandwiches you often eat. I also made coffee for you. I handed over my work to Yuri and bought today's ticket to return to my hometown. See you in a week."I lied to Joaquin, so I wouldn't wait for him to catch me at home. After changing my clothes, I drove to Xaviera's house right away.At that time, Xaviera was probably still asleep. Fortunately, I had her door lock password. I opened the door and went in directly to give her a surprise.However, as I walked into her bedroom and lifted the quilt, I found two people lying on the bed."Ah!"The loud and sharp scream hurt my eardrums.I wanted
19Joaquin was so generous to give me a few more days off. He even promised to reimburse the travel expenses when I came back.I was overjoyed. On the way to the airport, I was thinking about whether to change economy class to first class. After all, air tickets could be reimbursed.However, before I could say anything, the staff who handled the boarding pass told me that my ticket had been upgraded to first class."Is it free?" I asked."Yes, madam. You don't have to pay any extra fees." Looking at the beautiful staff who flashed a standard smile, I felt like rushing up to hug and kiss her.I was afraid that the police would arrest me for doing that, which would delay my wonderful trip, so I only said "thank you" politely to her. Humming a song, I headed to the VIP waiting room with my boarding pass.When I found the gate, the boarding had already started.I had traveled with Joaquin many times in first class before, but I had never felt so comfortable. This time, I was travel
23After our Maldives trip, we then went to Thailand.During the two days in Thailand, I tried to keep my distance from Joaquin as much as possible. However, he could not feel my alienation at all.At a restaurant in Thailand, when the waiter saw us walking in together, he immediately took us to the couple's seat.The waiter even took out a spinning wheel and said, "We have a special promotion activity for these few days. Couples who come to the restaurant have a chance to win a free meal. You two may give it a try.""We..." I was about to clarify that we were not a couple, but Joaquin responded, "Okay, we'll try."Hearing that, I was rendered speechless. Even if he wanted to do that, he should not be too engrossed in acting. Did Joaquin not feel sorry for his baby who was waiting for him abroad?Before I could refuse, Joaquin had already spun the spinner.A few seconds later, the indicator on the spinner stopped at [Enjoy an 80% discount when two people share an ice cream.]"
27Joaquin sat back down in his seat. He then told me about his story with the young boy.The young boy was not the man he loved, but rather his brother.His younger brother, Damian, had fallen in love with someone in high school, and they had loved each other deeply. However, their relationship was exposed four years ago, and they didn't know how to face their parents. Hence, they made a pact to leave this world together.In the end, the boy left, and Damian survived.Although he survived, he became mentally ill.Since then, he had always felt that he was a girl and had mistaken his older brother, Joaquin, for the person he liked.Throughout the years, his parents had taken Damian overseas for treatment, but despite visiting numerous places, he was not cured. As a result, they decided to bring him back to their hometown for treatment.I didn't expect the truth to be so dramatic and heartbreaking.After listening to Damian's story, I felt sorry for him.Joaquin even told me h
Joaquin (Extra)1It was a sunny day in April when I first met Yulissa.The location of our first encounter was an intersection near my office.An old lady lay on the road, and it caused a massive traffic jam. Even though there were many onlookers, no one offered to help.I said to Adam, "Go down and take a look. If she did indeed have a fall, we should send her to the hospital.""But Mr. Salvatore... what if she's trying to extort money?" Adam replied."There are surveillance cameras. Why should we be afraid?" My voice deepened. Firstly, I didn't want to waste my time around here. Secondly, I thought of my grandmother, who'd passed away from failing to get immediate medical attention after a fall.A human's life was at stake now. We couldn't just focus on the minuscule possibility of being extorted.Just then, a young woman walked over before Adam could alight from the car. Holding her phone, she started recording a video as she helped the elderly woman to the side of the roa
15Anyway, there was a more important matter. I asked seriously, "Lionel, are you sure you're with me because you like me and not because of your grandfather?"Lionel looked at me as if I were an idiot. He furrowed his brows slightly with an unhappy look."Of course."His words were concise but the meaning was clear.His voice was not loud but enough to make my heart pound like a drum.My breathing hitched and I couldn't help but stare at him. I turned red from my earlobes to my neck, and he turned his face away and stopped looking at me.It was then that I realized that Lionel also gets shy sometimes."Got it, so I'll go work now!" I said haughtily before sitting back in my seat and discreetly stealing glances at Lionel across from me.The group chat was buzzing with messages, and I quickly scanned through them.[Ms. Barrett has made Mr. Graham happy! Hooray!][Yay! Thank you, Ms. Barrett!][I'll sing you the "Thank You" song!]I always thought that gossip was more common
11That night, I received an exquisitely packaged gift and when I opened it, it was a stunning red haute couture dress.It was from Lionel, and the accompanying card read, [Wear it to the party tomorrow.]I was speechless.I guess I was supposed to thank him.Morgan excitedly felt the texture of the dress and praised it endlessly."Ella, you have fair skin, so red looks good on you. Lionel has good taste! He's not as stupid as you make him out to be."How could I have such an idiotic bestie who liked this kind of red color that even my mother wouldn't wear?Of course, I could only vent to her, and the next day I still wore the festive red dress to the banquet.Lionel looked at me for a long time before looking away as his ears turned unusually red again.I was wearing high heels. Swaying and trying to avoid falling, I had to stick close to him while holding onto his arm tightly.Lionel's body stiffened even more, and I reminded him softly."Why are you more nervous than me?
8When I woke up in the sterilized hospital room, I saw Miranda looking at me anxiously."She's awake, she's awake! Lio, your wife is awake!"When I heard that, I almost choked on my breath.Lionel's eyes were dark, and his expression was indifferent.Miranda noticed that he didn't say anything, so she patted him on the shoulder anxiously."Lio, you're really something! Young people should indulge themselves when they want to. Holding back for too long can lead to problems. Look at Ella. Her nose is already bleeding."I had just woken up and was still a bit dizzy. For a moment, I didn't understand the connection between indulgence and nosebleeds.By the time I figured that Miranda was talking about sex, she had already arranged a presidential suite in a five-star hotel for me and Lionel.It was a sea-view room with floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out onto a stunning sunset vista.My legs were shaking. It was my first time sharing a hotel room with a man, and it was even
4As a competent secretary, wherever the boss was, I would be there.If my boss wanted to check out the snowy scenery, I would accompany him to the outdoor balcony to enjoy the white snow.Of course, the boss sat while I stood."Don't you have anything to tell me?"My heart tightened. Did he guess?The check in my pocket instantly turned into a hot potato. After all, the money belonged to the Graham family.After brainstorming, I recalled all the novels and TV dramas I had read and watched. Was it a trap set by Lionel and Miranda? Were they waiting for me to fall into it?I smiled awkwardly and said, "Mr. Graham, you're truly brilliant. This check was given to me by Mrs. Graham, and she asked me to take good care of you. I never intended to embezzle these 150 thousand dollars. Even if you didn't mention it, I would have spent every penny of the money on you."I endured the pain in my heart and handed him the check.Lionel lightly tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing
Author: Chen Chen My bestie suggested to me a get-rich-quick scheme; seduce a CEO and wait for his mother to bribe me with money to get rid of me.To my surprise, when his mother arrived, she cried tears of excitement and said, "Finally, someone dares to seduce my son!"That left me utterly bereft of words.1The road to riches was paved in many ways, but I chose the most difficult path.Finally, my hard work paid off. After experiencing repeated setbacks, I adopted a life philosophy of "the more setbacks, the braver one became." Eventually, I was summoned by the CEO's mother.Contrary to what everyone saw in dramas, this "domineering CEO's mother" was gentle and soft-spoken. She even took me to a hot spring.Despite the snowy weather, I wasn't cold while soaking in the outdoor hot spring, but I was a little scared.Various scenes of family conflict and murders played out like a TV drama in my head, and I couldn't help but shiver.I wanted to confess to her that I was
11No wonder Shaun acted unusual the night before. He was forced to go on blind dates by his family with these beautiful and excellent girls from good families.I didn't know how I parted with Adelia in the end. When I returned home alone, it was dark already. I buried myself in the quilt and stuffed myself for a while until Shaun called me.I didn't answer.I just sent a message to tell him that I was tired and would like to have a rest.Shaun didn't say anything more. He only texted me to have a good rest and didn't come to me after.Looking at the phone with a black screen, the gap between Shaun and me that I deliberately ignored seemed to vaguely appear.Shoot!I didn't want to think about it anymore. I just want to sleep.The next day, I went to Palmer Group to report for my duty.While filling in the form at the front desk, I saw Shaun coming down with people surrounding him.Shaun was so dazzling and outstanding.When Shaun's gaze was about to shift in my direction,
7That day, Shaun talked a lot. And I finally realized, after spending so much time with him, Shaun had gained a special place in my heart.Then, Shaun and I became a couple just like that.The first thing that Shaun wanted to do was to teach Adelia a lesson after being in a relationship with me. Yet, I stopped him. I didn't want our relationship to be made public for the time being, and I planned to tell Adelia once I graduated.Nonetheless, I had not made our relationship public until then. Shaun accused me several times of not publicly acknowledging him as my boyfriend and forcing him to become a jerk who dared not tell people about his relationship with his girlfriend.I had no words.I just realized what an awful person I was.Especially on the night of graduation, I was drunk again after attending a gratitude dinner with Adelia.The last scene I remembered was Shaun pressing me against the wall and kissing me."Emma, what are you thinking about? Why is your face blushing
4The weak couldn't win against the strong. Of course, I couldn't go against Shaun.He dragged me into the mall with a clear target in mind. After a while, Shaun stopped at the entrance of a shop.I raised my head, and an alarm blared in my mind. I immediately understood what Shaun meant when he said he was going to shop with me.Ha.Men.I was certain that men like Shaun, who appeared to be composed and reliable, were actually seducers.Looking at his perfect side profile, I remembered the scene when I first met Shaun.I was in my sophomore year at that time. After hanging out for a whole year during freshman year, Adelia and I established a strong relationship and became best friends.One day, Adelia asked me to accompany her home. When I saw her acting like a thief when she was just going home, I was puzzled.Adelia told me that her uncle was at home that day and that he was the person she feared the most in their family.He was serious and solemn, and only a glance from
Author: Chen Chen After taking a shower, I walked into my best friend's room with a bath towel around my body.I took out a few pieces of bralettes and asked her which one looked better with my new red dress.My best friend, Adelia Palmer, didn't respond for a long time.Just then, a low and deep voice came from the phone."The black one looks good."1I was going for an interview at Specter Technologies the next day. For this interview, I specially asked Adelia to accompany me to the mall to buy a red dress.Red made me look energetic, and it made me feel positive.In fact, I had worn a red dress during my university entrance exam, my thesis defense, and even when I dumped a jerk.During dinner time, Adelia answered a phone call, and her face immediately fell. It seemed that not even a limited edition bag could cheer her up."Emma, Uncle Shaun is back. I'm going to sleep over at your place tonight."I froze.The ravioli in my bowl suddenly became tasteless as a tal