02.

Emma slung back into the car, started it, and zoomed out of the penthouse. From the car's side mirror, she noticed Jace's eyes intently fixed on her car. The look on his face, she wished never to see.

She didn't need to see him to know he was furious.

As she drove aimlessly, Emma continuously slapped her forehead in regret and fear. How could two things go wrong in one night?

How could she have been so careless?

The first time she agreed to send her nudes to her boyfriend, she ended up sending them to her boss.

How is she supposed to face him from now on?

How would she explain to her engaged boss that she meant to send those sultry pictures to her crazy boyfriend?

He would fire her anyway.

Jace Sanders would never spare her for that act of carelessness. Knowing that he had her naked pictures was embarrassing enough.

What was the need to go back to embarrass herself more?

She just lost her job. Her contenders must be happy. The two most important things in her life were gone within an eye blink.

Tears poured down her eyes as she maneuvered into the road, her hands shaking on the steering. Constantly dabbing the tears that were blurring her vision but wouldn't cease, Emma parked the car roughly and cried.

Her heart was heavy and broken at the same time, her mind filled to the brim with grief. She lost the best boyfriend she's ever had and the highest-paying job she's ever gotten. What else could go wrong?

When she eventually raised her head, the sky had grown even darker and her head slammed with an ache.

Tiredly, Emma opened the car door and climbed down. Her legs swayed as she recognized the area she was in.

As expected, she was only a few steps away from the club she and Josh frequented during the first few months of their relationship.

It was at this exact club where she first met Josh and the same place where they had their first dance together and kissed.

Emma trudged towards the club.

What better way to end a bad night than getting wasted?

She sat at the pub, ignoring the usual putrid stench of alcohol, sex, and sweat.

Before the bartender could ask for her order, she spoke.

"Two bottles of anything to get over a bad night."

"Right away, ma'am." He smiled at her, and immediately, two bottles were placed on the counter for her. She flipped the cap and chugged the bitter liquid.

-

Soon, Emma was drunk, and the more she drank, the more she realized she was wrong.

Her worries were still glued to her mind. Relentlessly, she chugged down more alcohol and ordered another bottle.

She thought of Josh. It was at this exact spot that he fearlessly made the move to talk to her.

According to him, he watched her every time she came into the bar. But he was scared to approach her because of how she heartlessly rejected other guys who did.

When Emma started working for Jace, she had just gotten out of a relationship with her college boyfriend. He turned out to be a fraud and had duped her of every penny she had.

Penniless, she attended the interview at S.H., and when she got the job, Emma put her heart into it, especially when she discovered the kind of person her boss was.

A man who sought nothing but perfection from his workers. A man whose life was imprinted in his job.

Once a staff slacked in their duties, even a little, he heartlessly fires them. Thanks to Emma's broken heart and empty account, she improved her performance.

According to her colleagues, she was the first secretary of Jace Sanders to have lasted that long. The rest either resigned or got fired.

Jace's personality wasn't one that could be handled by a weakling. His words were brutal and piercing when pushed. His temper was nothing less.

Emma, on several occasions, had thought of resigning too, but she knew she could never get a job that paid that much anywhere in the city.

There was no aspect of her life that Jace didn't have a problem with.

In the beginning; it was her dressing, and then he moved to her pace, then to her style, then to the amount of time she spent on her phone and simple tasks, then to the sound of her voice, then to her unprofessionalism.

Because of him, Emma had to change her wardrobe and fill them with clothes that looked professional and properly covered her body at the same time.

Despite all his constant complaints for the first three years she worked with him, Jace never fired her.

Perhaps, he expected her to resign and quit on her own like the other, but Emma didn't. Instead, she fixed everything about her that he didn't like.

From the fourth year up till that moment, he never had a problem with her again, or maybe he did, but she didn't notice because she had already gotten used to his grouchiness.

She loved her job, and it was the one thing in her life that Emma never wanted to lose; that was before Josh came into her life, of course.

Before they began dating, Emma told him everything about her work and how it demanded a lot of her time but Josh waved it off, telling her he would be understanding.

And he was. At least for the first year but the second and third year, their relationship hung on a thin thread.

And now he was accusing her of neglecting him to screw her boss, after breaking up with her.

Emma chugged down more wine until the third bottle was empty; at this point, she was completely wasted.

Her phone vibrated and she answered the call before it could ring out.

"Miss Smith--

"Josh," Emma cried, "I'm at the club right now. You know that club downtown where we first kissed? Yes, I'm there." She sniffed and dabbed the tears from her cheeks, "All these guys keep hitting on me, and it's scary, but I'm not going to leave; I will stay here for another five minutes."

Emma wiped her eyes again and sniffed, "If you don't show up in five minutes, then I will accept your break-up and delete you from my life forever."

She dropped the phone and cried again.

"..Five minutes. Please show up Josh," she sobbed, "please."

Jace took the phone from his ear.

"Sir, the directors are waiting." Drake, Jace's assistant, walked to the balcony where he stood to inform him.

"I'll be back. Start the meeting."

Jace headed down to his car, climbed into it, and drove out of the penthouse.

Twenty minutes had elapsed when he finally located the club. Stepping into the horrible place, his eyes scanned around as he dialed his secretary's number.

While it rang in his ear, he wondered if she constantly visited places like this. Just the sight made his stomach twitch with unease.

The phone stopped ringing and he dialed her again. No response.

Did she leave? It was past five minutes already.

He was about to give up when he saw a lady with a similar figure as his secretary walking into a corridor. Without a moment of thought, he followed her.

"Emma?"

When she turned, it was difficult to identify the face before him in the darkness. He took out his phone and began turning the flashlight on when she dragged him, the phone dropped out of his hand.

Without warning, she crashed her lips onto his and tugged him into a room with her, kicking the door close with her legs.

Not giving him a moment to decide, she began taking off his clothes while tearing hers off her body, their lips still fastened together.

Jace found himself reciprocating every one of her movements; she was too strong to pull out of anyway. Or maybe he just didn't try hard enough.

The moment he felt her bare thigh and slick core, Jace easily forgot his initial mission at the club.