CHAPTER 4

MINLYN VERMOSA

"Is everything alright? Are the reporters here for today?" Our professor asked in front. Most of my blockmates are already here and waiting to do the reporting. Nathalie is not here yet as well as the CEO so I know they are together.

"Nathalie isn't here yet, miss," I informed.

She turned to me. "No, they will come together with the CEO. She told me that she will take care of her fiancé first."

I nodded and sat in my chair, waiting for them to arrive. I still have class after this.

While waiting, I first reviewed what I researched last night as well as what I researched in the library earlier. I have to study because it will be embarrassing if I falter later in front of the CEOs. I don't even know why they are here.

"Okay, students, get back to your seats to welcome the CEO." Miss Abandon announced.

I put the paper away and adjusted my seat. I can already see five men outside including Nathalie. The only thing I wonder is why Nathalie is behind.

Isn't her fiancé next to her?

"And now, let's give them a round of applause, Mr. Hendrake Jeiz Thompson with the board members of The Cosmos and his best friend, Lou Allenza."

We all applauded as the CEO and four board members entered with Nathalie in the back, and another man with a big smile. But my eyes landed on the man who was also looking at me. I was very surprised that it was that man who was watching our presentation today—who is also Nathalie's fiancé.

"A pleasant day to you, Mr. Hendrake Jeiz and company," greeted Miss Abandon happily.

The board members smiled but Mr. Thompson kept looking at me. He didn't even smile. Nathalie was there in the back with a small smile on her face.

"We are happy because of your visit. Today you will be able to watch the presentation of two of my students who are really good when it comes to academics. They are also one of the top students here at the university." Miss Abandon added with a hint of excitement in her voice.

One of the men with him answered. "We are also happy to witness your student's presentation. We are excited to know who will win them and be given the chance to work in our company."

My lips parted. Miss Abandon did not even inform about the result when she won the presentation. And I didn't know it was a competition.

I looked at the CEO and creased my forehead when I saw that he still didn't take his eyes off me.

Seriously, isn't he shy?

"Okay, so should we go start now?"

Only then did the CEO take his eyes off me. He faced Miss Abandon.

"Did they prepare a powerpoint presentation?" he asked coldly.

I saw how Miss Abandon was secretly startled because of his voice. "N-no, t-they didn't."

I swallowed. I'm nervous because we don't have a powerpoint presentation. Miss Abandon didn't even tell us that powerpoint was needed.

"Why?" I was surprised when he suddenly faced me. "Why didn't you prepare a powerpoint presentation?"

I stood up in shock, still nervous. His gaze is strange and it's like I can't make a mistake in what I say.

"M-Miss Abandon didn't say anything to us..." I answered shakily. I turned to my professor and saw that she was giving me a bad look.

The CEO turned to Miss Abandon again. "Didn't I ask you to tell them to prepare a presentation?"

Miss Abandon gulped. "W-well...They did prepare a research paper instead. T-they will present it t-to all of you now."

The CEO was about to speak again but Nathalie interrupted.

"I did prepare a powerpoint, hubby. I know you prefer the powerpoint presentation," she said in a flirty voice.

Even though I said it badly, that's exactly what I heard in her speech. But I was very surprised when the man looked at her with a sharp gaze.

"You are not my wife, Nathalie. You are just my secretary. Don't call me such disgusting names," he said sharply. His gaze was also sharp on the woman.

I could hear behind me the faint laughter of my blockmates. Maybe they were happy because the CEO humiliated Nathalie. He even said that she is just a secretary and not a wife, which is the opposite of the woman's story earlier.

I shook my head, sighing. He's scary. If I ever win here—even though that's impossible, I still won't work for their company. I'd rather be in the coffee shop and ride Thraia's evil stares at me every time Yhael approaches me.

"Where are we going to sit? We want to watch their presentation." The CEO said after a moment.

Miss Abandon reluctantly pointed to the seats at the back. The CEO nodded and went ahead. He even passed me and accidentally touched my arm which made my hair stand up. Some board members followed him.

"Everyone, let's be quiet and watch the presentation of Miss Nathalie Alonzo and Miss Minlyn Vermosa."

Nathalie and I stood up and went to the front. I gathered my research papers as well as some research I got earlier. Meanwhile, Nathalie fixed her powerpoint and set up the projector. From what I can see, it looks like she's going to win.

But isn't he the secretary of Mr. Hendrake?

I shook my head. I should stop worrying about her, I should worry about myself now.

After a few minutes, Nathalie and I started talking in front. We both presented our work and counter attacked each other. No one beat us.

"Place and environment do affect the sales of a certain product. Because if a place is not in order or the environment is not good, no one will buy. Of course, consumers tend to buy things in the cleanest place as possible. Who wants buy a product in a dirty place, right?" I explained.

Nathalie shook her head. "It doesn't matter! I don't care if customers don't like my products just because of my place and environment. For me, the price of the product still affects more than the place."

"Your price is low but your surroundings are dirty, who will buy them? Of course, if your surroundings are dirty, your products will be dirty too. Cleanliness and safety is important when it comes to products," I argued.

"But your product is expensive! Not everyone has the privilege to buy expensive products. Nowadays, people prefer cheap products."

I grinned secretly. She doesn't get my point. "Who said my products are expensive? I will not raise the price because they are clean. If I am a producer, I will make sure that my products are safe, clean, and cheap," I said proudly. The alarm went off exactly so she didn't counter what I said.

I grinned. I looked at the CEO and saw him staring at me. There was a strange expression in his eyes. I don't know if I'm seeing correctly but there is a small smile on his lips.

I looked away from him. I looked up at Miss Abandon who was looking at me. After a while she went to the front while we took our place on his side.

"That presentation with debate was thrilling! Both sides were able to explain and point out their topic," said Miss Abandon. "Any comments from our visitors?"

The CEO stood up and approached us. "Both sides did explain their topic well. But only one of you will get the chance to work at my company."

Then I suddenly remembered something so I interrupted. "But, Mr. Hendrake, Nathalie is already working for you as a secretary, isn't she?"

His gaze turned to me. "If she wins, she will remain as my secretary. But, if she's not, you will be my secretary at The Cosmos and she will get fired," he answered with his stern voice that sent chills down my spine.

I gulped. I just nodded in no time. Nathalie suddenly screamed.

"What?! Seriously?! You will fire me because of her?! That's unbelievable!" she exclaimed. Her eyes are raging in anger.

But the CEO remained so cool. He even smirked at her. "You know, I've wanted to fire you for a long time. If it wasn't for my mother, you would have been fired a long time ago. Maybe this is a chance for me to fire you." He then turned to me. "What do you think, Miss Vermosa? Would you like to be my secretary?"

I was stunned. I was speechless because of the shock. I looked at Nathalie and saw that she was staring sharply at me. It seems that at any moment, she will attack me like a lion.

"A-ah..."

The CEO smirked. "I'll take that as a yes."

My mouth gaped. I'm not saying anything yet! I did not agree.

"Thank you for having us here, Miss Abandon. We'll go now," he said. "Let's go, Minlyn."

"H-huh? I-I'll c-come with you?" I asked in surprise.

One of the board members answered. "Yes, Miss Vermosa. Sir Hendrake will talk to you in private."

I shook my head. "But I can't go with you. I still have class after this."

"I'll excuse you to your classes for this day. I'll talk to you about your job and then you'll go home," explained Sir Hendrake.

"But, S-sir—"

"Hep." He raised his forefinger to shut me up. "No excuses. You won this competition. No one in the board members disagreed in my decision. You will be my secretary."

I swallowed and looked at the board members. I saw a smile on their lips while looking at us. I turned to Nathalie, who until now was giving me an evil look. Miss Abandon is the same for reasons unknown to me.

"And, Miss Abandon, you know she won this competition. I expected you to give her a high grade in this subject," he said to the professor.

The professor seemed to have returned from his trance and faked a smile at me. "Of course. This lady deserves a reward after her hard work."

The man suddenly smirked and gave her a sharp glare. "Of course, you should. And don't glare at her. You won't like what I'm going to do to you," he warned that made me gasp. Even Miss Abandon lost her fake smile and turned pale.

"Let's go." I couldn't do anything when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me out.

The others automatically looked at us. The others were amazed but most of them were glaring at me again. I was embarrassed but this man holding me didn't seem to care.

"Great, maybe she won the competition."

"Isn't Nathalie her opponent? Nathalie should win because she's his fiancé."

"Maybe she flirted with the CEO so she won."

"Yuck. She's really flirty."

That's what I hear whispering as we cross the road. I just don't pay attention to their whispers because I'm used to it.

But not this man.

I was surprised when he suddenly stopped and faced the students. His eyes were so sharp that I couldn't help but be afraid.

"Who do you think you are, bitch?" he asked the girl who is now trembling in fear. "You don't have the right to fucking call her a slut."

I swallowed. He looks like he's going to kill her. I looked around and saw others who were scared. The surroundings were quiet as if they were waiting for what would happen next.

"And you." He pointed his finger at the other girl. "She won the competition because she is smart. She won because she justified her topic well. She won because she has brains unlike you, stupid girl."

The woman was about to shed tears because of the words he said. Because he was holding my wrist, I pulled him. He looked at me. I don't know if my eyes were just playing with me but I saw how his expression softened.

"Y-you're hurting these girls...stop, calm down...l-let's just leave..." I said calmly.

His eyebrows knitted and stared at me. I maintained the eye contact, hoping he would follow me. It was only a few minutes before he avoided it and sighed.

"Listen, everyone. From now on, I don't want it to be heard that you hurt this girl. You can't talk bad about her. When I find out someone has hurt her, prepare yourself because it's dooms day."

Everyone nodded in fear and quickly left. He faced the two women again.

"Spread the news. Nathalie is not my fiancé. She was just a mere secretary. But not anymore." That was not a request. That was a command. A comman that everyone should follow.

They quickly left in front of us. The hallway was quiet again before we walked again. He's still holding my wrist, he doesn't seem to have any intention of letting me go.

Soon we reached the office. I just saw it now. I didn't know there was such an office here at the university.

"Kindly stay here. I'll just talk to her," he ordered the board members. They nodded while we went inside.

"Since you've won the competition, I want you to be my secretary at The Cosmos. That is a cosmetic company," he began. "I witnessed how dedicated you are when you were presenting earlier. Even though you didn't have a powerpoint, you managed to justify your research. You made a point regarding your topic."

I smiled because of his praise.

"Now, since you are my new secretary, I will bring you to my company tomorrow. And kindly resign to your job," he added, making my smile disappear.

"Immediately? W-why so fast?"

"Because I need a secretary now."

"But Nathalie is there to be your secretary."

He creased his forehead. "Didn't you understand what I said? You've won the competition. And you know the result when you win."

I was silent.

"Look, if you are thinking about her, don't worry, she will never interfere with you inside the company. I will ban her there."

I shook my head. "It's not like that...I just don't want to leave the shop like that," I said calmly.

"What do you want, then? Endure the pain when your co-worker hurts you?" he said sarcastically, his voice sounding angry.

I bowed down. I didn't speak anymore because it was scary when he got angry.

I heard him sigh. "Please, Minlyn. I badly need your help right now."

I looked up because of what he said. His voice was very soft and when I looked at him he looked weak.

"My mom is forcing me to marry Nathalie. Fortunately, you won the competition earlier so I now have a chance to change my secretary." He trailed off. "That's what my mommy and I agreed on. That's also the reason why we have to watch the presentation of other students."

I was stunned because of his story. I really thought he was just on a trip to change his secretary.

"Please, Minlyn..." he pleaded.

I swallowed. I don't know if I will agree to what he wants, but I feel sorry for him. I know the feeling of being forced to do something you don't want to do. Marriage is sacred. That shouldn't be taken for granted.

But I don't want to get involved in his trouble with his mommy. My life is quiet and my family may feel sorry for me.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but no. I can't accept your offer."

I saw how his face fell. He looks defeated.

I stood up and bowed in respect. "I'll go now, Sir. You can just choose another student here to be your secretary. I'll go now."

I went out and saw the other board members. They looked at me so I bowed in respect to them before turning away from them.

I went downstairs to go to my next class. I didn't follow what he wanted so I can't go home.

Even if I want a bigger salary, I don't want to empathize with his parents' issue. I don't know them and my quiet family might be implicated.

While walking, I looked up and saw him looking at me. We stared at each other before I looked away and walked away.