“Thank you for your time, Miss Cassandra. We will get back to you in a few days.” The HR manager smiled at me out of formality as she handed me my file.
One look at her face could reveal to me that I was not going to get this job as well. It was my third interview this week, and it made me realize how cut throat the competition in the job market is these days. One would be surprised to know how unwilling people could be to employ freshers, especially a beginner like me who had a few years of gap between graduating and starting my first job.
The internship programme that I was a part of was not as brutal as this one, as it was landed to me due to my father’s influence. Only now do I realize how fortunate I was back then. From here on, surviving all by myself in this world cannot be as easy as it was for me all these years,
I blinked my eyes open to better make out the face looming over me. He had a concerned expression on his face as his eyes ran over mine. He pulled out a piece of cloth and rubbed my mouth, wiping away the blood that trickled down. I couldn’t help but wince in pain at that.“Hey, Miss.” Said the stranger. It was a middle aged gentleman, I realized. “Are you okay?”I nodded, groaning, as suddenly, it felt as though my entire body hurt. I could feel tears prick at my eyes as the sting in my nose intensified. I also grew aware of the cold air striking against my wound on the knees and forearms, making me shudder against the pain. I could sense that the man was worried, a look of helplessness crossing his face.He looked around frantically, seeing if he could ge
“It does not take a genius to figure out who did it.” Enzo said as he poured me a cup of hot chocolate.I was sitting by the counter, watching him fill the cup to almost the brim before he walked toward me. Handing me the cup, he fetched one for himself and settled down in front of me. I knew that he could read me like an open book at this point, so when a small smile nestled on his lips, I didn’t wonder why.“You don’t want to accept it, do you?” He asked, amused at my blinded faith in my husband.“I know Calvin is mad at me, but I don’t think he hates me so much that he would send a goon after me.” I tried to reason, “What if it is a coincidence. What if it was a robber?”
A knock came on my door in the early hours of the morning, making me groan. I squinted my eyes at the partially closed curtains, fighting against the bright beams of sunlight slipping through them. As I looked at the clock on the wall above it, it revealed 8:30 am.That wasn’t so early after all. Perhaps it was the exhaustion from last night that put me to a good sleep way beyond my normal wake up time. Brushing the sleep from my eyes, I got up and straightened my clothes. Roughly combing my hair, I went to the door and opened it.Enzo was busy typing something on his phone on the other side. He was decked up in a polished black suit with a crisp white shirt underneath. He sported his usual Rolex on the hand that he shoved into his trouser pockets. His sharp eyes looked toward me in impatience, and I understood that
Later that afternoon, while I was lazing around in my room, I heard some commotion outside. I could hear some muffled voices, and I realized that one of them belonged to Lawrence’s and it was slowly rising. Wondering what it could have been about, I stepped out. As I walked into the living room, I realized that he was speaking to some on the other side of the door.In fact, it looked like he was blocking someone from entering.“Excuse me!” The voice said, “You better move aside right freaking now if you wish to keep your job. You don’t know who you are talking to.”As soon as I recognised that unforgettable voice, my eyes widened. Wow. What was happening?“That’s precisely what I’m worried ab
Becky's POV“Have you heard the news?” Calvin’s father, Peter said as he folded the newspaper. Tossing it on the sofa, he came to join us at the breakfast table.Calvin looked up in confusion. He had no idea of what he was talking about. But I did. And I couldn't wait to let this conversation unfold. “What?” He said.“News about Cassie.” Peter said, “She was attacked yesterday.”“Attacked?” Calvin exclaimed, dropping his spoon on his plate. “By who?”Peter raised his brows at him, giving him a sly smirk, as though he caught the culprit. “That’s what I’m wondering. Do you have anything to say?”“Me? Why would I…” Calvin’s eyes widened in realization, “You can’t possibly think I was the one behind it?”“Why not? It fits the plot.”
Cassie's POV “Ahhhh!!!!” I screamed in horror. I got up and sat straight at once. I frantically looked around, searching for my perpetrator. But he was nowhere to be seen. I then realized that I was not in the middle of nowhere. I was in my bedroom. I could feel sweat dripping from my face, and my breath becoming erratic. It was yet another nightmare. It was my third time today. In every dream, the same scene repeated in my head. I was taken to a dark lane and was attacked continuously. Before it could get any worse or before Peter could come to my rescue, I would wake up from sleep, utterly drenched with sweat and gasping for breath.Right then, the door to my room opened. Enzo walked in. “Cassie!” He said as he sat on my bed, “What happened?” “I’m sorry, it was nothing.” I said, “Another nightmare.” “Another?” He asked, surprised. “This is getting out of control. You need to see a doctor. They might help you.” “No,” I said, “I don’t want to start therapy again. I just need t
It took about an hour and a half to get done with the paperwork. The HR manager was a kind woman who seemed to have prepared a speech to talk me into accepting this job, but I didn’t need any convincing. Any qualms I had about working here right about vanished when I realized that it was Enzo who owned it. Nothing could be fishy about this place when the leader was so capable and trustworthy.However, I did take my sweet time reading all the documents before putting my sign on it. After all, it was always better to be safe and sensible about these things. After all, I checked with Lawrence if I could meet Enzo, but sadly, he was still in a meeting and had asked us to proceed for lunch without him.“We’ll go to your office next.” He said.“My office?” I asked. “I got an office room?”He winced, “My bad. I meant the tech department. Nobody there has an office room yet.”
“I’m guessing the meeting went well?” He asked, his features finally softening. He pulled the seat toward himself and took a seat on it, gesturing to me to do the same.“Yes.” I said, sitting across from him “It was a no-brainer actually. The moment I realized you were my employer, it wasn’t much of a debate. I had to sign the document.”He raised his brows, “So you’ve learned.”“It’s hard not to. Your name is everywhere.”He chuckled, “I thought you’d pick up sooner.”“My bad, I can be very dense sometimes.”Truly, I couldn’t believe I didn’t know this all these days. The fact that I didn’t even bother to ask my company’s name before showing up here for an interview says a lot about how my brain goes into an off mode when I’m around Enzo. He takes care of everythi
Cassie’s POVI was busy looking at the screen when I heard someone tap on my desk.Looking up, I found Patrick in front of me.“Hi. Can I do something for you?”“I need to talk to you. I hope you're not busy.”“Of course not.”He nodded, “I need to apologise to you, Cassie.”I frowned. Apologise to me? “What for?”“For throwing you under the bus that day.” He sai
Enzo’s POVMy hands climbed to her waist, and my face inched closer to hers.Her fingers dug into the skin on my shoulder, her eyes clasping shut. The moment was here and I was about to claim it. But it slipped away from my hand just as quickly.Suddenly, I heard the noise of the door opening. Someone walked in. Cassie didn’t miss that either.She jumped from my body at once and scrambled to her feet. Smoothening her dress, she tried to regain her composure. I stared at her in astonishment, cursing at the intruder.Bloody hell, I was so close! Who the hell interrupted us?
Chapter 88: ClaimCassie’s POV I watched as the printed papers fell from the machine. They were neatly piling up on each other until the machine abruptly stopped. I pressed the power button but it didn’t restart. I frowned. What was the problem? I tried to reboot the system once again but it didn’t help. Annoyed, I banged on the machine so it would work. But it didn’t help. I was going to do that once again when a hand reached toward it from behind me. I turned around to see Enzo appear. He grabbed the wires and did something. All of a sudden, the machine started working again. My face flushed. Clamping her eyes shut, I started speaking. “Sorry,” I muttered and watched the papers stack up once again. “What are those papers?” He asked. “A code.” I put them all in a while and was about to leave. His arm came forward to block my path. I looked up at him in puzzlement. “I need to speak to you.” I turned to face him. “Yes?” He let out a sigh and looked away from me. “Where were
Enzo’s POVIt was past ten o’clock but Cassie still didn’t come home. Where was she? After lunch, I did not see her. Even while leaving, the receptionist informed me that Cassie had left work at six thirty. I assumed that she had gone home without me. I was wrong. When I came home, there was no one.I realized she must have gone to see Calvin since she was expecting him today. Angry, I decided not to call her.I cooked dinner for myself and ate it alone. The clock struck eleven when I was done cleaing up after myself. I was getting worried now. Where the hell was she? As I looked out the window, I noticed that the rain increased. There was a storm outside. I could barely see anything. Could Cassie be stuck somewhere? Maybe she needed my help.Sighing, I quickly grabbed my phone and called her. It rang three times before going to voicemail. I frowned. Why was she cutting my calls? Before I could dial her number again, I heard the door open. A sigh left my chest. Cassie finally arrived
Cassie’s POVEnzo came to join us for lunch, but once he saw me, he walked away.I did not understand why Enzo was behaving this way. Was he still angry with me? But no, it didn't look like anger. It looked like he was hurt. Like he was disappointed with me. But why? What have I done to hurt him? I had to make things right with him soon. Things couldn't be this way. I will talk to him tonight. For now, I will let him walk away. The rest of the lunch was boring with Enzo. I remained a mute spectator. I was hardly interested in what everyone had to say. After lunch, I found a disappointing email waiting for me at my desk. ‘I can’t come to the office. I’m too busy. Meet me at Millard’s cafe at 7 pm. I will be waiting for you there.’ - Calvin Anderson. I sighed. So he was not coming. The entire day I was waiting anxiously for his arrival. All of it for nothing!‘Thanks for the heads up. I would have appreciated it if you told me this earlier. I had other things to do.’ - Cassie Harp
Enzo’s POV “You did what?” Leo’s voice boomed into the phone. I winced, pulling the phone away from my face for a brief second. “Yeah, you heard me.” “Wait a minute,” He said, “She made a small mistake in the document and you scolded her for that in front of everyone? Man, what is wrong with you?” “I don’t know, Leo.” I said, massaging my temples. “It’s just that… the case was important to me. And I was already in a bad mood since morning. Losing the client added to the injury. Out of anger, I dumped all my frustrations on her. And now I regret it.” “You better regret it, Enzo. This is the last thing you should be doing to a woman you fancy. I mean, she’s probably never going to talk to you after this. There go your chances of wooing her.” I widened my eyes. Was he right? Did I permanently blow my chances?“Shit, Leo. I made a huge mistake.” I said, “What do I do now? What if she never talks to me ever?”“You can find out by one way. And that is by apologizing to her.” “Apologi
I gritted my teeth in anger. The things she could say! This woman had no control over her mouth.“What?” Emma asked, perplexed.“It’s true. Did Cassie not tell you guys?” Becky said. “She married my boyfriend when I went into a coma. She was married to him for three years, keeping him under her lies. But of course, how long can a person lie? Her truth came out and her husband left her to get back with me. Poor Cassie got a divorce and she can’t see us happy. So now, she’s trying to break our relationship once again.”“Shut up, Becky.” I said, “You’re spewing lies and trying to ruin my life all the time. Have you got no shame?”
I scrambled to my feet nervously. Trailing behind him was Patrick and he looked equally disturbed. I had no idea why they looked so angry.Enzo slapped a file on my desk. When I looked at it, I realized that it was Harris Gerald’s case file. Frowning, I looked up at him.“Enzo, what’s the matter?” I asked.“You’re asking me?” He scoffed, “Open that file and look at it for yourself.”I grabbed the file at once and flipped through its pages. A certain page caught my attention, as it was struck off with a red ink. I quickly started reading it and soon, I realized the blunder I had made in it. I couldn’t believe it. How did I miss something so
Enzo’s POVI downed my second dose of coffee for today, and yet, the throbbing headache didn’t subside.I groaned in regret as I thought about the weekend. I had to meet with Leo and Hank last night for an event and I had a little too much to drink. Because of that, I was not able to focus on my work today.Thanks to the charity ball, I managed to land a very important client. He was Harris Gerald, one of the biggest clients we landed this year. He’s been on our radar for a quite a while, and he has finally agreed to meet with us today. I couldn’t let anything meddle with that.The meeting had to go well.“All set?” Patrick said as I walked into