Growing up, I always dreamed of having my own family and making sure that it would be a happy one, unlike what I had when I was a kid when my mother always spit hurtful words toward me as if I was the worst person she'd ever met and the worst person who came in her life. I was blamed for a sin I didn't commit, I was blamed for a mistake I didn't do. I always wish on the stars before that if I could only bring back time, I would reverse what happened. I wouldn't let my rapist father rape my mom so that both of us wouldn't be hurt like this. She wouldn't suffer and the same goes for me. But I was thankful that the start didn't grant my wish because if they didn't, I wouldn't happily watch my family having the time of their lives. "Mom, hurry! Daddy misses you again! And my tummy is grumbling, I want sandwicheeesss!" I couldn't help but to chuckle upon hearing that. When I reached the carpet where they were, I pinched his chubby cheeks, earning a giggle from him. "Here you go, my
"Sir, please. Give the chance this time. Please..." My chief editor's expression did not change and remained stoic. I've been trying to plead him to give me this project for almost an hour now, but I got nothing. "Hazel, I said someone was already assigned for this. Just go and focus on your designated work." I shut my eyes tight and blew out a loud breath. I know exactly what that means, Stephanie, the chairman's daughter was already on this project. Again. But it's unfair, really unfair. She has been covering this project and trying to make it successful for two years now and yet she got nothing. I tried to volunteer to do this and told them that maybe if the company will send a new journalist to cover this interview, it would be successful. "Sir, Stephanie has been trying to win this one for two years but still, nothing. Why not try to send a new one and see what will happen?" I suggested.
I looked at my reflection through the mirror one last time, making sure that I will look presentable and professional enough, and perfectly fit for the position I am aiming for. Yesterday was the cut-off for submitting applicants resume, and tomorrow will be the last day for the interview before Mr. Craige make his decision. I was scheduled for the interview today and because I found out that Mr. Craige was the one who does the interview, I practiced everything to be perfect. Practicing for my answers in a job interview was not my style, even when I was in my internship as a journalist. I want to answer each question on the spot and honestly, but this one has to be done perfectly. I need to make sure that I will pass the interview and be chosen to be his secretary. It needs to happen to be able to execute my plans. The lobby of Craige Inc. was big, it has the usual
"Are you sure you are ready?" I was holding my phone while strapping my sandals to my ankle. I was getting ready for work, and this would be my first day. "Yes, Geraldine. I was able to pass the interview, and now here I am, getting ready for work. I'll be close with Mr. Craige physically, and this secretarial position would give me plenty of time to gather the information I needed for my project." "Have you created the draft?" she asked. I nodded as if she could see me. "Yea, I saved it on my flash drive. Saving it on my laptop would be a wrong move, hackers could hack in it." "And don't you think hackers can hear our conversation at this moment?" I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Ge. Of course not. They don't have enough reason yet to tap in my devices." "Okay, okay. If that's what you think, that's what you want. Good luck with your work." "Yea, you too. I'm about to g
I looked at my luggage where I have put all the things I'll be needing. He sent me a message this morning that if I couldn't bring all of my things today, he could pay for someone to do it. Well, I only need to bring my books with me, old documents, clothes, and my accessories. The furniture and equipment in this apartment were all part of the rental, I signed a contract for this one. Two luggage, and three black duffel bags. I puffed an air and one by one, brought them to my car as Mrs. Gallarpe, the landlady watched me. I messaged her last night and told her that I'll be moving. She told me it was all of a sudden and unexpected, I told her that I too, did not expect that my boss would ask me to stay with him. "It's a part of your job." His voice and those words played in my mind again. Until now, I can't still get over it. It was obvious that I put meaning in this set-up, and he reminded me that it was for work. A slap
I woke up with a mild headache, my head felt heavy and whenever I try to move, the back part of my skull ached badly. Then I remembered that I cried till I fell asleep last night. Only then did I realize too that I was in a different room, and consciousness kicked in, knocking my brain to remind me that I agreed to stay with my new boss since I wasn't just a secretary but also his personal assistant. With that, I jolt up which made my head spin. I sat again and waited for a while before everything got back to normal. Then I looked for my phone which was just waiting on the bedside table. I checked the time and got alarmed when I saw that it was already 9:30 am. My duty starts at eight! I'm late! Carefully but also in a rush, I ran to the bathroom and turned on the shower, took a quick bath, and dressed in a black pencil skirt and white v-neck blouse which slightly showed my cleavage. While in
It has been a week since I started working as Caleb's secretary. So far, my experience with this job was doing good, given that he let me stay in his penthouse which lessen my expenses. A day after the incident in his living room happened, he called me in his office and gave me a printed copy of his house rules. He said it was to prevent things like the previous night to happen. Written on the house rules were; I wasn't allowed to pry on his things— personal things; I should ask for permission first if I can touch or look into the albums in his living room; avoid sticking my nose into unnecessary things. I sighed when I reminisce what was written on the house rules and resumed jotting down on my notepad for his schedules. He's currently on a meeting with the board of directors again, and four more meetings with important investors this afternoon. For the first week of my job as his secre
CHAPTER 7 "W-what?" It was the only word that came out of my mouth when I heard what he said. My mind was still thinking if I heard him right or my ear was just playing with me, but when he smiled and said it again, air left my lungs. "I said I like you." And it was enough to make my brain malfunction. His words played in my head as if an old scratched tape. He likes me. A multi-billionaire CEO likes me. Was this a joke? Because if it was, then he'd better stop it now. "How?" I asked when I recovered from the shock. "How did you like me?" I gave him a challenging look. Now that I recovered and my brain is functioning well as it should, he wouldn't be able to trick me. Was this his hidden agenda for being too kind to women? He would befriend them, and when he think that they trusted him enough, he would make them fall with his flowery words and leave them in the end? Oh, boy. If this was
Growing up, I always dreamed of having my own family and making sure that it would be a happy one, unlike what I had when I was a kid when my mother always spit hurtful words toward me as if I was the worst person she'd ever met and the worst person who came in her life. I was blamed for a sin I didn't commit, I was blamed for a mistake I didn't do. I always wish on the stars before that if I could only bring back time, I would reverse what happened. I wouldn't let my rapist father rape my mom so that both of us wouldn't be hurt like this. She wouldn't suffer and the same goes for me. But I was thankful that the start didn't grant my wish because if they didn't, I wouldn't happily watch my family having the time of their lives. "Mom, hurry! Daddy misses you again! And my tummy is grumbling, I want sandwicheeesss!" I couldn't help but to chuckle upon hearing that. When I reached the carpet where they were, I pinched his chubby cheeks, earning a giggle from him. "Here you go, my
Hazel Quin's "I now pronounce you, husband and wife." The venue was filled with applause as soon as the priest announced that Caleb and I were now married. I didn't know that getting married would be this overwhelming. The support from the people around was adding to the happiness I was feeling and I knew Caleb felt the same, especially now that the first important woman in her life attended the ceremony. Yes, Callista was here. A month before the wedding date, I visited Callista without telling Caleb. Of course, I was with Len and Athena on that day just in case something unexpected would happen. She wasn't expecting for my visit, she was shocked to see me unexpectedly. "What are you doing here?" It was her greeting when she finally recovered from her shock. And not wasting any time, I told her about my intent. She wasn't expecting it when I gave her the wedding invitation for priority guests. That day, I also tried my best to convince her to discuss about our setup o
Caleb Craige's "Is everything ready?" The staff is in charge of the dinner date I set up nodded with a smile. "Yes, sir. The dinner table, the lights, and the song that will play later." I nodded, "Okay. That's good." I handed him a generous tip which made him glad and I knew it made him more determined to do his work efficiently. After all, people just wanted their work and efforts to be paid fairly and appreciated, then they will do more. Fishing my phone out from the breast pocket of my suit, I dialed Athena's number to inform her that she could go and ask Hazel for a dinner now. I was glad when she told me she was already in my penthouse and convincing Hazel to go with her and the latter told her he'll ask first if I would let her. The thought of Hazel considering my decision first before deciding was boosting my pride and the chances of success for what I was planning to do tonight. It didn't take long before my phone vibrated and a text from Hazel came. Of course,
It didn't take a week before I was discharged from the hospital. But prior to that, I was advised to take a bed rest because of my delicate pregnancy. Due to the stress I've experienced during the trials, there could be a possibility that the next time I bleed, we would lose the baby. Of course, none of us wanted that to happen so we followed the doctor's advice. Caleb became more caring than before and took an out-of-office work. Instead of going to the office every day, he did all his work at home, either in our room or in his library. His meetings as well were held virtually unless his presence was mandatorily needed. He never let me get out of his sight, he was eager to take care of me. Even the foods I was eating and my bath, he took care of them all. And who am I to complain if that was the case? My heart was overflowing with joy and I felt the love I never felt before. He was too caring and too good to be true. Now, I realized Athena's words before; Caleb would do anythin
Caleb Craige's I didn't care anymore if my action of pushing Stephanie too much would backfire on me. The only thing on my mind then was to protect Hazel. "How dare you touch her!" I glowered. She shuddered upon seeing my angry state. My face was red in anger and it was no doubt that I could attack her anytime as if she was a little prey and I was the predator, but the guards held me. I was trying to control myself but couldn't, her image pulling Hazel's hair was still playing on my mind. The guards were having a hard time suppressing my moves to pounce on her when I heard Hazel's cry. "Ah!" All the blood drained on my face upon seeing blood dripping down her thighs when I turned to look at her. She was wearing a dress and with its light color, it wasn't hard to see the crimson color of the blood as she put her hands on her stomach. I was frozen on my spot and was unable to move for a while, until Athena, who came with us, shook me back to reality. "Come on, Hazel is ble
And the busy days making everything better started. The first, second, and third court trials for the cases filed against Stephanie have been done and everyone could now see what would be the outcome of the trials. We have the upper hand. Stephanie was infuriated upon seeing me again with Caleb. Her fury that her plans failed was evident, it helped the court consider the decision earlier than thought. Her temper was a disadvantage for them, she was caught one time when she tried to hurt me. Good thing the guards and Caleb were fast enough to handle her. "You bitch! Do you think I would let you go just like that?" "You took everything away from me. You don't deserve to be happy, you are a dream wrecker!" During our second trial, Stephanie's lawyer used the mentally-ill card to defend her. It showed that Stephanie might be experiencing mental illnesses, she was thinking that the world was against her and it was because of me. She was obsessed with the thought that everything tha
Attorney Lopez was in his mid-fifties but still looked young and masculine. It was no doubt that he had made several women cry in his youth. Len and I invited him into the living room after introducing myself to him. He already knew me because according to him, Caleb always mentioned my name whenever they were talking regarding the cases filed against Stephanie. "He was always saying that we have to win this so that everything would be fine again and he could focus on working on your relationship." A small smile made its way to my lips upon hearing that. He may look mad at me before but he was still thinking of fixing our relationship despite breaking his heart and his trust. Indeed, he was a good man. It was something I failed to realize before. Caleb wouldn't let me down. Instead, he would lift me up but not to the point that I would depend on him. That's just how he was, he was caring and loving in his own way. "Well, I actually don't know what to say about that. I didn't
Hazel Quin's Caleb's tired body collapsed on the bed the moment we came home. It didn't take him long to fall asleep, he didn't even bother to change. Sighing, I moved and started undressing him and changing his clothes with a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt so that he would be comfortable as he sleep. He was slightly moaning as I changed his clothes but was unconsciously moving along with my commands, making my task easier. It wasn't surprising that he would be this tired. I knew what he has been doing since he arrived in New York. He was working almost all of the time while taking care of me and slowly putting everything back in to place. It may not look like I knew it because I was always asleep due to pregnancy hormones, but whenever I was awake, I could see the dark circles and his eyes. And whenever I would wake up suddenly in the middle of the night, I would see him working and focused on his laptop. His workload was too much now that Mirna wasn't helping him any
Caleb Craige's "Just take these vitamins that I prescribed, avoid stress, staying up late, and don't tire yourself. Okay?" Hazel nodded as the ob gyne put her hands on the pocket of her gown after reminding us what we should do. This was Hazel's last day in the hospital and tomorrow, we'll be back in New York after she takes enough rest back in the hotel. Athena won't be coming back with us, she was now with her lover who just came here this morning to fetch her. Looks like they would spend some more time here before coming back to reality. I looked at Hazel who was still talking and asking Dra. Wrington, who until now still thought that Hazel and I were already married. None of us corrected her, I like how she addressed Hazel as Mrs. Craige. "If everything is okay now, I'll take my leave. Have a safe trip back to Australia." I nodded and thanked the ob before sitting beside my woman who was now getting ready to be discharged. The bills have been settled, we could go out any