*Patricia’s POV*
I felt the tension that surrounded the entire kitchen of the bakeshop as the news about the new owner spread. Everybody’s wondering why the old owner of the bakeshop sold the rights of all the branches of this bakeshop since business was doing well and in fact, the name of the bakeshop has been a household name already. They say that it was sold to an old man, but since he got sick, his son came to take over and handle the business.“Get yourselves ready,” our kitchen manager instructed, “and show him we can handle pressure and, therefore, work naturally even if he is around.”“I heard our boss is a hunk,” Rea whispered, “and not only that,” she noted, “he is still a bachelor.”“Behave, Rea! You are still too young to think about these things,” Ryan, the cousin of Rea, interrupted.Rea rolled her eyes before going back to her station. She is assigned to the pastries station while I am in charge of all refrigerator cakes. All the cakes and pastries sold in the different branches came from here, that is why this branch was the busiest of all.“Aren’t you going to join them and fix yourself?” Ryan asked as he noted how red the lips of the girls in the kitchen were. I sighed at the thought that these girls looked so desperate to catch the attention of our new boss. I couldn’t blame them. Work around here is exhausting. We have to work ten hours a day, five days a week and must forgo the thought of having a love life. So I guess getting a chance to be one of the lucky girls that our hot boss would date is what all this fuss is about.“Are you okay?” Ryan asked.“Y-yeah,” I replied.Ryan raised his brow as if telling me he did not believe me.“He came back,” I sighed.I’ve told Ryan some of my past, except for the part where I got married and then got divorced. I can never tell him about it but I can never say I was married to Stuart. Stuart never talked about the marriage. He never admitted it to anyone, and it is only our parents and our closest friends knew about it. I also have no reason for telling Ryan about the marriage. We’re done and there is nothing I can do about it. Besides, Stuart will never claim that I was once his wife.“What do you plan to do?” Ryan inquired.“I guess I just have to avoid him,” I shrugged.“Whatever you plan to do, always remember that Rea and I will always be here for you,” he tapped my shoulder before heading to his station.“The boss has just arrived,” I heard our supervisor announce, “he is currently checking the dining area and is heading to check our workplace.”Everyone started getting busy when the kitchen door opened.“This is our kitchen area,” the store manager explained, “this is where we bake all the cakes and pastries that we deliver to different branches in the country.”I could not see them because my back was facing the kitchen door, but I could sense that the new boss and our store manager were heading my way. I guess this is one of the courtesy visits that a new boss is supposed to do, so I calmed myself.“This is Ryan Gersava,” I heard our store manager introduce my friend, “he is in charge of making sure that our cookies and finger treats are well baked.”“Good morning, Sir,” Ryan greeted.“And this is Rea Acain,” the store manager continued, “she is the assistant of Ryan.”“Hi,” she could not hide the excitement in her voice.“Here is our head of the kitchen, Miss Marjorie Santilan,” they moved closer to my area.“Good morning sir,” Miss Santilan cheerfully greeted, “we are happy to finally meet our new boss.”“And here is the in-charge of the refrigerator cakes, Patricia Sandoval.”I took a deep breath as I prepared my sweetest smile, which immediately died when I turned to meet our new boss – Stuart Cordoval, the one and only.I could see how his smile wilted when he saw me, and I wish a sinkhole will open the ground and suck me alive. I knew this day would come, but I was not prepared for it. I gulped and tried to speak.“G-good morning, sir,” I finally spoke and then immediately returned to what I was doing.I closed my eyes when he simply moved to meet the next worker introduced by our store manager. I could not help but feel the pain of the coldness of his presence. I knew he would be this cold, but I never thought he’d act as if he never knew me, as if I had never been his wife.“Attention, everyone,” the store manager called out, “our new boss would like to make some announcements.”“Before anything else, I would like to formally introduce myself as the new owner of Blue Plate,” his eyes traveled our faces, but he showed no emotion when he saw me.“I am Stuart Cordoval, owner and CEO of Cordoval Corporation. As the new owner of Blue Plate, I expect my employees to do their work well. I do not want my employees to slack and flirt. I want them to be professionals. I am a very private person and I do not intend to entertain anyone in my office unless they set an appointment or they have a matter of life-and-death news. I hope I made myself clear with that.”He said all of those in a matter-of-factly – and with an icy voice. I do not know, but I have the feeling that he intended the last part of his message for me. Maybe he thought I’d stalk him again. Well, honestly, I wanted to because he is still as irresistible as before. He has become more handsome and I could not help but feel belittled. I was nothing but just his employee. The gap between us makes it impossible for him to look my way. Even if my love for him never changed, it still does not change the fact that I was just part of his past, which he wanted to forget.*Patricia’s POV*I never expected what happened, but I am thankful that everything became clear. Because of the revelation, this is the right way for Stuart and I to start over again. We both love each other, and there are no more secrets. I could not say that I had already forgiven Sandra because I still hated the idea that she tried to manipulate Stuart so she could have someone to fall back on. But everything happens for a reason. What happened paved the way for Stuart to prove he truly loves me. He never gave up on me, even when I had already given up on him.As for Alexis, Xander came to take Alexis and Sandra. They have decided to continue Alexis’ treatment in the United States with the hopes that they will be able to find a donor there. I wish them well, and I hope that the experts in America will be able to help them.I do not want to think that everything will be perfect. Things will never be perfect in this world. What matters is that we learn to love, forgive, and change fo
*Stuart’s POV*I can’t measure my happiness while watching my wife sleep in my arms. I caressed her face as I admired her delicate features. She moved and tried to cover her face with a pillow, but I stopped her.”Stuart,” she complained, ”I am still sleepy.””What? I didn’t do anything,” I replied.”You are seducing me, mister!” she opened her eyes and squinted at me.”Seducing? I have not even started it yet,” I pulled her closer to me, ”but if you are already seduced, why don’t we do what we did last night.””You’re crazy!” he lightly punched me on my arm, ”I told you, I am still sleepy,” she pouted.”Hmm,” I kissed her forehead, ”I love you.””Love you too,” she said, now closing her eyes, ”but can your hands behave? They are being naughty.””Really?” I smiled, ”guess my hands now have their own minds.””Stuart!”Damn, that was sexy! I liked it whenever she uttered my name. I did not stop myself anymore. I held her chin and tasted her lips. She responded to my kiss and brushed her
*Patricia’s POV*A relieved smile was painted on his face as he said, ”Love, I love you too, but let me just finish my proposal, okay?”Tears flowed from my eyes as I shook my head, ”I love you so much that I can’t let you have a damaged heart.”His smile quickly faded, ”Love, please,” he pleaded.I was about to answer, but someone from behind interrupted, ”I will not allow you to embarrass my son to everyone, Patricia.”I turned to see the angry face of Stuart’s father as he said, ”Stuart, get up!”His voice was filled with authority that even when he was not holding a microphone, everyone could still hear him.”I-I’m sorry, Mr. Cordoval,” I blurted out, ”but I think this is what’s best for all of us.””Who told you that this is the best?” his voice roared across the hall, ”you signed a contract.””Is this about the contract wherein your son bought all my services?” I tried to make my voice firm.”I am not referring to that contract, Patricia,” he answered.I do not know what he was
*Stuart’s POV*I swallowed my pride and stayed persistent because I did not want to give up on pursuing Patricia. For more than four years, she has been my stalker, not giving up no matter how I tried to drive her away; now that the table has been turned, I cannot just give up this easily. Seeing her in my office daily was good, even if she treated me coldly. She wants everything kept on a professional level, so I decided to assign the preparations for the company’s anniversary party to her. That way, she will be too preoccupied to notice me watching her. There is still pain in her eyes, and I hate it because I know that I was the one that caused her all those pain.I wished I could turn back time. I wished I could undo everything I had done to her. I wished I had known better before.”Is the mini stage ready?” I heard her ask her assistant, ” How about the menu? Is everything ready?”She gave out a relieved smile every time her assistant confirmed positively. She obviously loved what
*Patricia’s POV*”Good morning, Miss Pat,” the secretary greeted me, ” Sir Stuart has been waiting for you since he arrived this morning,” she continued as she opened the door for me.”Love,” Stuart stood as soon as he saw me.”Stay right there,” I said, ”first condition, stay away from me. It would be much better if you maintain a certain distance between us.””If that will make you stay, I will do it,” he answered.”That’s another one,” I pointed out, ”I am here to work, so if it is time for work, don’t do anything that will make my work awkward. Treat me as an employee. And lastly, I demand a break. That means I should not be with you all the time. If you agree with my conditions, I can start now.””Everything’s clear,” he said, ”but I already have a secretary, so you’ll do your usual work assignments besides being a secretary.”I don’t know why I felt jealous, knowing he kept his secretary even if I was already there. I should be glad my workload will be lessened, but why am I dis
*Patricia’s POV*”Patricia Sandoval,” the agent called my name. I have tried applying for a job but to no avail. I have not received any invitation for an interview. This is why I tried relying on a job placement agency. This way, I could probably get a chance to land a job that suits my qualifications.”I am sorry,” the agent handed me my application, ”we cannot hire you.””W-what? What do you mean?” I was confused.”I am not authorized to tell you the details,” she lowered her head as if she was guilty of something.”Don’t you have anyone whom I can talk to? I need to know what is wrong with my applications. Why am I rejected? This seems to be the same with the other companies I have applied for.””I will be honest with you,” she whispered, ”your resume is good, but I think there is a problem with your employment history. When we entered your name, it says there that you are blacklisted.”BLACKLISTED. Only one person came to mind when I heard the word. Stuart is the only person capa