Author P.O.V A dark-haired man with a tan complexion and piercing dark eyes exited the towering apartment building, his posture exuding confidence as he slid into the sleek interior of his sports car. This was Owen Brown, a name known to anyone who paid even the slightest attention to the culinary world in South California. He was not just any chef ,he was a celebrity. Over the last six years, he had built a veritable empire, opening a chain of restaurants and cafes, with The Dream being the crown jewel of his achievements. His cooking show drew millions of viewers, and his charm ensured that every public appearance turned into a headline. But beyond the allure of his talent and fame, Owen’s personal life was an open secret. He was a man who had everything, wealth, influence, and women. To him, relationships were like the outfits in his wardrobe quickly cycled through and replaced. Paparazzi had long crowned him the Bachelor of the Year, much to his amusement. Owen’s foot hit the ac
Casey P.O.VAfter paying the cab driver I exited the cab and quickly rushed into my office, soaking from top to bottom and did not need to start on my makeup. I probably looked like a drenched cat . I ran towards the elevator.“STOP!”. The doors shut on my face and I crashed into it. Damn it.I took the stairs by the lift , rushing up like I was chased by hounds of hell . My office was on the seventh floor and I had climbed up seven flights of stairs. I think the thing that lost weight is my legs because upon reaching my floor I could hardly feel my legs, my lungs were burning because of how fast I was running. The celebration around the cubical caught my attention. People had gathered around my junior and for some reason they were congratulating her . I put my bag down on my desk and asked with a smile “What is all this about?”.My co-worker smirked and said “I have been promoted to assistant manager of the company”. Her words wiped the smile right off my face. “Congrats” said thr
Casey P.O.V“Have you gotten out of work yet? I am almost done , about to leave the apartment ”. I placed the phone on the dressing table with the speaker on . I will go with the soft cherry colour lip gloss. It is going to bring out the colour of my dress . My dress was a red crop top, embroidered with black net and with a heart shaped neckline attached with a black leather body fit skirt that looked like a second skin , along with a belt .My ass looks good in the skirt. Usually I am more of a sweatpants and loose shirt kind of girl but I am jobless and soon will be a homeless kind of girl if I do not pay the rent soon, so why not treat myself for one day and forget the shit that has gone down. Placing the perfume back on the table to pop another mini Cooke in my mouth. Yumm these goodies are a piece of heaven. I rubbed my wrist against each other.“What is the point of going for dinner if you are going after finishing a tank of cookies ?” I took another cookie and started munching
Casey P.O.V“Thank you” . After paying the cab I entered the restaurant. The restaurant’s entrance bell chimed above me , a welcoming smile from the attendant greeted me. The warm ambiance of the place, with its soft lighting and murmured conversations, momentarily eased my nerves. "Reservation for Deniz," I said, my voice steady. The attendant checked the list and nodded, "Right this way.”As we weaved through the maze of tables, I glanced around, half expecting my friends to come on time for once.But no, they were fashionably late as always. The attendant led me to a table with a perfect view of the entire restaurant.As I settled into my seat, I let out a small sigh of relief, allowing myself a moment of relaxation.Then, as if the universe decided I was too comfortable, I saw him. My heart dropped. There he was, my ex-boyfriend, walking into the restaurant with the girl he had cheated on me with. Panic surged through me, and I instinctively shrank into my chair, hoping they wouldn’
Casey P.O.V Deciding I needed something stronger than water to handle this, I moved to the bar. I can not watch my ex-boyfriend kneel down and propose to the girl he cheated on me with anymore like he did not make his happy paradise on someone's grief. The bartender greeted me with a smile. "What can I get you?”. He was not wearing what the other bartenders were wearing, black shirt with the logo and pants instead he was wearing a sleeveless beige denim T-shirt , with a chain necklace around his neck , he was wearing scratched jeans , usually it looks on men like they have been disowned by their family and have been on streets for weeks but somehow he made it look great on him It was like fate just slapped me on my face when the cheers grew louder. "Whiskey, straight," I quickly replied, taking a seat in the bar. I shook my head when my head began to spin. It must be the wine I was drinking before.As the bartender poured my drink, I glanced over at my ex, who was beaming at his
Casey P.O.VI woke up with a start, my head pounding and my mind foggy. I looked around. I was in an unfamiliar hotel room. I was alone on the bed with a blanket over me, and my head was pounding like thousands of trucks ran over my head. I tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over me, forcing me back onto the pillow. I groaned with my eyes tight closed while I pinched the bridge of my nose in pain.What happened last night? I thought, rubbing my temples. The last thing I remembered was drinking at the bar, the bartender was serving me drinks whose head I was frying with my sob story and then nothing. As I lay there, I became aware that I was not alone in the room as the sound of flowing water came from somewhere inside the room . My eyes flew open wide. I looked around the room, my shoes were on the floor. I quickly looked under the blanket that I was covered with. Why in the name of Hades I am naked under the cover? I quickly pulled the cover up to my chin. My heart ski
Casey P.O.VThe apartment was in disarray, a testament to the whirlwind of emotions that had swept through it. Clothes were strewn across the floor, half-packed boxes littered the living room, and the faint sound of honking from the moving truck outside filtered in through the open windows."You still have two days but you decide you will move out today only just a few hours after your ex told you to move out, " Zazu said , her voice seething with anger as she pulled out a suitcase from the closet. She opened the suitcase on the bed, somehow folded clothes and placed them into a suitcase, though she was angry her movements were deliberate and calm whereas I was throwing anything in the bag on whatever I was getting my hands on.“I just want to get out of here and end this drama" I replied, throwing another handful of belongings into a bag with a mix of anger and sadness. "I can't believe he did this to me. I trusted him and kept the house in his name because….”. I dumped another set o
Owen P.O.VTurning the shower off I lifted the towel off the rack to dry myself off.I stepped out of the bathroom, wrapping the towel around my waist, and gazed around the room. The bed was a tangled mess, sheets strewn about like a wild animal had ravaged it. The pillows were scattered across the floor, and the blankets were twisted and knotted. But the girl from last night was nowhere to be seen.I scanned the room, my eyes searching for any sign of her. Her purse was not on the table, her phone and keys next to it were all gone. "Hello?" I called out, my voice echoing off the walls. "You here?" I flipped the long curtains of the window to see if she was hiding there. You never know when girls get some weird ideas of hiding and the girl from the last night sure came from the psychopath category.I approached the bed, peering underneath, thinking maybe she'd passed out or fell down and rolled under the bed. Who knows. After experiencing her Jacky Chan moves last night I can believe
Casey’s P.O.V The buzz of the gala preparations was a strange mix of chaos and excitement. The event was just a day away, and while the fallout from Rachel’s actions had initially shaken me, it had also ignited a determination in me that I hadn’t felt before. This was my chance to prove myself, to show Mr. Davenport and the supervisors that I could excel even under pressure. After the meeting yesterday, Rachel had stormed out of the office, leaving behind a trail of venomous glares and whispered threats. While her behavior had been exposed to some extent, I could not shake the feeling that she was not done with me. But I did not have the time or the energy to dwell on that. I had a gala to prepare. The morning was a flurry of last minute vendor calls and double-checking every detail. The floral arrangements, the seating chart, the lighting , everything has to fit perfectly in these puzzle. I had Karen helping me coordinate with the caterers, and even some of the supervisors had
Casey P.O.V The moment Rachel handed me that ridiculous list of tasks, I knew she was setting me up to fail. The smirk on her face as she walked away had been a silent declaration of war, and for the first time since joining the company, I was not willing to roll over and take it. Because of the disaster with the decoration Mr.Davenport had to shift his charity gala to the weekend. That was extremely embarrassing . I had spent the day scrambling to contact vendors and make last minute arrangements, but the absurdity of the tasks and Rachel’s obvious attempts to sabotage me became clearer with every failed call. But I still went with the lists and completed my task only to get burnt in the end because apparently the client never asked for those things. As the work day came to a close, I sat at my desk, staring at the crumpled list she’d given me. My colleagues whispered as they passed, their pitying glances making my skin prickle. They knew what Rachel was doing, but no one dared t
Casey’s P.O.V. The conference room was already filled when I walked in, my notebook clutched tightly in my hand. I glanced around, spotting Rachel at the head of the table. Her perfectly styled blonde hair catching the morning sunlight streaming through the windows and a confident serious look on her face gave her an air of authority that was hard to ignore. She had been a thorn in my side since the day I joined the company two days ago. Her ability to undermine me at every turn was nothing short of impressive, and I braced myself for whatever she had planned today. The other team members greeted me with polite nods, but Rachel barely acknowledged my presence, her attention focused on the papers spread out in front of her. She always had an air of control, as if every detail, every moment, revolved around her. “Morning, everyone,” Rachel began, her voice sharp and commanding. “Let’s get started. As you all know, we have been entrusted with organizing a charity gala for our clien
Casey P.O.V The plate of food was already half-empty when I returned to the living room. I had offered him to eat because it was already late.Owen was lounging on my couch, his long legs stretched out, his tie loosened just enough to make him look less put together but somehow even more attractive. He glanced up at me with a faint smile, but I could still see the tension in his shoulders still there, the storm brewing behind his eyes. Owen might have let Daniel get into his head than he let on. I hesitated in the doorway for a moment, biting my lip. He had just dropped a confession on me, a raw, unfiltered truth about how he feels about me. First I was happy that he felt something like I do for him but then confusion and fear because I knew how Owen was . I have enough experience of life time how cheating bastards are. I do not need anymore experience. It was fine until I knew what he felt because I thought it was a one -sided crush. I will soon get over it but now, I do not know ho
Owen P.O.V The office was eerily quiet as the hours dragged on. Most of the staff had gone home, leaving only the hum of the air conditioning and the faint tapping of my fingers on the keyboard. But no matter how hard I tried to focus, Daniel’s words echoed in my head. The bastard has successfully gotten into my head. Damn it. He had said Casey’s name like a taunt, he knew it would get a raise out of me. And like an idiot for a moment, I gave him what he wanted. The thought of him so much as speaking to her let alone trying to involve her in his games made my blood boil. Daniel is nothing but trouble. I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my temples and sighed. The work in front of me felt like a burden now, a flimsy attempt to push away thoughts of Casey. Since Daniel left I was not able to concentrate. Casey had sent me a message earlier, saying her work was done for the day, but I had not had the chance to call her back yet. Grabbing my phone, I hesitated. She had said she was lea
Owen P.O.V I sat at my desk, my hand hovering over the keyboard, immersed in the details of a newly finalized contract. The past two days had been chaotic, and the remnants of it still simmered under my calm exterior. My name and reputation had been dragged through the mud, my investors rattled, my suppliers shaken. And all of it traced back to one man, Daniel Black.It had taken every ounce of strategy and persistence to stabilize what Daniel Black had tried to destroy. He hoped to see me fall but I stood on my ground, exposing his schemes in the media, ensuring everyone knew just how far he had gone. The fallout had been brutal for him. Just as I finished scanning a clause in the document, the sound of the door opening pulled my attention away from my computer. I thought it was one of the guys from the accounting section with the finance report. God I was so wrong. I wish I had not looked up.Standing before me was Daniel , he entered the office, unannounced, like he owns this place
Casey P.O.V The first day at Brown Group was nothing like I had expected. I had walked in with my head held high, eager to prove myself, but it did not take long for reality to hit. The office was sleek and modern, with glass walls, polished floors, and an air of efficiency. I was assigned a desk in the operations department, a space filled with a group of women who eyed me as if I did not belong. I could feel their stares from the moment I walked in, but I brushed it off. “Good morning,” I greeted with a polite smile, setting my bag down and adjusting the blazer I had chosen this morning. The women exchanged glances, whispering among themselves, their eyes flicking from my clothes to my face with a look I recognized all too well. Judgmental bitches get over yourself. This is an office not a New York fashion week ramp. “Morning,” one of them finally responded, her tone cold and clipped. She was tall, with sharp features and an even sharper attitude. Her name tag read Rachel Thom
Casey P.O.V The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, and I stepped into the quiet hallway leading to my apartment. My heels clicked softly against the polished floors, each step a reminder of the long day that had finally come to an end. The interview at Brown Group had drained me, both mentally and emotionally. All I wanted now was to collapse on my couch and let the weight of the day fade away. Owen was out for a business meeting so I would not be thanking him for what he did any time soon. I unlocked the door and pushed it open gently, careful not to make too much noise. The living room was dark except for the faint glow of the TV, which flickered softly across the walls. I had not expected anyone to be awake, but as I closed the door behind me, I heard movement from the couch. “Casey?” a familiar voice called out groggily. I glanced over and saw Zazu sitting up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looked cozy, wrapped in a thick blanket, her dark hair slightly tous
Casey P.O.V The morning air was crisp as I stood in front of the towering glass building that was Brown Group’s headquarters. The corporate giant I had heard so much about, the one that Owen had worked so hard to build, and now, for reasons I could not quite explain, I was about to step into it. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what was to come. You can do this Casey. Show them what you have got. I had spent two days planning what I was going to do. After giving ten interviews and being rejected by eight I think I have acquired enough interview experience after not giving for five years.I was trying to figure out the best way to keep my identity hidden. I did not want any special treatment or the perception that I was here because I was his pretend fiance and now real wife which no one knows yet because we are crazy enough to get drunk and get married. But that was not the reason . I just do not want anyone to say I got this because I am his fiancée, so, I disguised myself