CHAPTER ONE

Hazel's POV

Not all of us had a happy childhood life and a lot things could have caused that. It could've been financial issues, health issues or the situation at our homes. Some people had a horrible childhood because they had nothing, not even the most basic needs, others had everything but couldn't enjoy these things because of sicknesses, some were bullied by their mates time and again and others had broken families.

My childhood was not good at all and do you know why?...well I'll tell you why. My father is the reason why I had a horrible childhood. He was a horrible, mean jerk. A wealthy and no nonsense business man. Growing up I watched my father beat up my mother almost all the time and even now that I'm nineteen, I still get to witness that. The funniest thing is that my mother still loves my father despite everything. I wonder how that's possible because for me I hate my father.

Yes

I hate my father because he hurts my mum and I all the time and doesn't feel any remorse.

This night happens to be one of those nights when my father will loose his temper and get my mum and well beaten only that this night is worst. It's past midnight and I'm running on the street in my pyjamas, barefoot. I couldn't bear what just happened at home, my father has gotten my mum and I well beaten and my mum happens to be lying in a pool of her own blood as a result of hitting her head against the wall when my father pushed her. He was already charging towards me and that's when I fled away.

I've been running for more than thirty minutes and now I have no idea where I am because every where is dark. I don't have my cell phone with me so there's no way I can contact anyone. I need to get help as soon as possible else my father will kill my mum.

"Hey!"

Someone calls from behind and I freeze on the spot. I have a bad feeling about this. I've heard a lot of awful stories about young girls being killed by thugs at late hours. I slowly turn around and see three no nonsense looking guys smirking at me.

"H...hi" I greet nervously.

"Get her!". The guy in the middle orders and the other guys charge towards me, before I know it I'm being dragged to an unfamiliar building. All my screaming and thrashing goes in vain because no one comes to rescue me. Once we get into the building which happens to be old and evacuated, the three guys pin me to the floor and take turns in raping me mercilessly, breaking my virginity in the most brutal way.

Kill. Me. Now.

I will never forgive my father for this.

SIX YEARS LATER

It's been six years since I got gang raped, six years since I lost my mum, since years since father was sentence to thirty years in prison for assaulting and murdering my mum. The last time I saw him was in court on the last day he was judged and sentenced, since then I've considered myself as an orphan. The three guys who raped me were caught and are now serving jail sentence. That's one thing I'll forever be grateful to the law for.

Right now I'm twenty-five years old. I live with my best friend Wendy in a flat we rented once we had graduated from college. Wendy works as an Accountant in a renowned bank in the city and as for me, I just got a new job as a the PA to the CEO of Heritage Affairs. My former boss was a pathetic nincompoop who had no iota of respect for his employees.

So right now I'm standing before my mirror, inspecting my outfit. I want to be well dressed so as to make a good first impression. My mum always told me that first impressions are very important and you might never know where it'll take you. I have on a blue black kneel length pencil skirt with a white long sleeved shirt filed into it and a matching blue black suit jacket over it and a little scarf around my neck like a tie.

"Wow!, you look hot!" That's my crazy best friend Wendy. Trust me I don't look hot, she's always exagerating things.

"No I don't, I look professional" I correct.

"Professionally hot!" She insists and I scowl at her. I wonder why she's so stubborn.

"Wendy!" I whine and she rolls her eyes.

"Come on, being hot is not a bad thing, dress to impress remember?"

"Well I'm not going for a photoshoot sweetheart, I'm the PA to the CEO of Heritage Affairs and that entails work, work and only work. Impress is out of that league"

"But still, he's gonna be mesmerized by your beauty"

"That's "IF" he even notices me, you do know how these rich guys could be right?"

"Think positive for once"

Honestly I don't even know why Wendy and I are having this talk. I'm going to work for crying out loud!

"There's nothing to be positive about, I don't care how he sees me or what he thinks about me"

"What did men ever do to you to deserve this hatred you have for them?"

"I don't hate men" I correct.

"Why don't you want to have anything to do with them?"

"You're wrong there, I have sex with men. That's a big deal"

"You have sex with random men, you never settle for a relationship. You're always satisfied with one night stands" she lists worriedly and I smile.

"It's fun, you should try it" I say still smiling.

"No, you should try having a real relationship with a guy, for Christ's sake Hazel you have a lot of suitors" she cries.

"Like...?" I ask in doubt.

"Nelson, the landscape Architect"

"Nelson is a womanizer" I say in a bored tune.

"What about Alex?"

"Alex is an egocentric goat who thinks he's smart but is as dumb as the ass of a chicken"

"And Derrick?"

"Derrick is a self righteous dog and the list goes on. Thanks a lot for caring honey bunch but that night those guys took away my dignity as a woman, I lost all the respect I had and will ever have for men and to think of the fact that my father who happens to be of that same gender got my mum killed only makes matters worse so....have a nice day"

I carry my hand bag , peg her on her cheek and turn to leave then I remember something.

"Oh..." I say as I turn around " and next time if Blake has to sleep over, let me know so I would spend the night out and spare my ears your sexual moans all night... it's annoying"

I say with a frown and she gasps in shock.

"You eavesdropped on us having sex!" She says in astonishment.

"Ew no!, You were just too loud"

"No I wasn't!" She denies flatly.

"Oh please, you were probably in Jupiter by then so you wouldn't know if you were loud or not"

"Ugh!..." She says in frustration as she covers her face with her palms.

"I know, right?. Have a nice day, I love you"

"I love you more" She blows me kisses as I leave the bedroom. When I get downstairs, I see a very shirtless Blake eating breakfast.

"Good morning Blake"

"Good morning Hazel" He greets with a smile.

Traitor!

I don't like Blake for my best friend. He's a rich and good looking fella but there's something about him that I dislike very much, the fact that he once hit on me while he was still dating Wendy. I had warned him severely and threatened to tell Wendy if he ever tried it again and since then he's been a good boy but I still don't like him because I know he doesn't love Wendy enough. He doesn't treat her right and I'm tired of advising Wendy about breaking up with him. She's so blinded by her love for him that she doesn't even want to see his faults. I always feel like eating her head up whenever she takes his side during an argument. He doesn't deserve her!. But I do believe that one day Wendy will realise herself and put him in his right position and when that day comes....ugh!, I've got to go.

"Just wear a shirt already" I say as I walk outside to my black Audi where I get in and drive to the Heritage Headquarters.

When I arrive, I pull in the driveway, alight from the car and walk into the building where I take the elevator to the nineteenth floor where mine and the CEO's office are located. When I get to the nineteenth floor I meet with a woman who welcomes me with a smile.

"Good morning Madam"

"You can call me Gloria"

"Oh... Gloria"

"Good morning, you must be Hazel"

"Yes I am"

"You can go in, Mr Klaus is expecting you"

"Thank you"

I walk to the office door which is closed and exhale deeply before I knock. Seconds later a voice comes through.

"Come in" says a calm but confident voice.

I open the door and step in confidently and the view before my eyes is a wonder to behold. I admire the white comfy couches and the transparent glass table at the center. The office chair behind his table is like an actual throne and the ceramic tile below are so beautiful that for a moment I feel bad for stepping on them. White must be his favorite color because almost everything in this office is in the color white. The office is very spacious and for a moment I wonder if he's claustrophobic else why would someone have such a spacious office.

"Miss Hazel Kenish" the CEO's voice snaps me out of my thoughts and I turn to him. He's actually very pleasant to look at.

"That's me"

"You're Welcome to Heritage Affairs" he says warmly

"Thank you Sir"

"You're Welcome"

He says with a smile. He even has the courtesy to smile, he could be nice after all.

"I'm sure you know what being a Personal Assistant is all about"

"That's why I applied"

"That's good then. Gloria will show to your office and let you know everything you need to know about your work here"

"Okay Sir"

"Good, for now I need you to get me a cup of coffee. Bitter and hot. Here's my card". He gives me his credit card and it's code.

"Please get my coffee from "Parker's Cuppa", you can use GPS to find it."

"I'll be right back".

I turn around and leave his office. Wanna know what my boss looks like?, he looks like a Greek god. Even though he was seated, I could tell that he's a tall and graceful man with an athletic body build. Even with his tuxedo on, I could see his muscles printed out and damn!, he's one delicious man. He's not only handsome but he's smoking hot like hell fire. He's also very soft spoken and respectful. We're gonna work together just well.

*. *. *. *. *.

"How was work today?" Wendy asks as she sits by my side on the couch. I'm watching my favourite series CSI Cyber.

"Hectic!. My boss is one busy business man"

"I can only imagine."

"How's Blake?" I ask out of nowhere and she looks at me in awe. "What?" I ask confused.

"Since when did you start caring about Blake?" She asks with a cresed brow. She knows Blake is the last person on the planet I care about so my question shocked her.

"Trust me I don't, he just crossed me mind"

"Oh...he's fine"

" Good to hear"

"Tell me about your boss" She says with a sudden excitement that I don't understand.

"What about him" I ask confused

"Is he handsome?, Is he hot?" She asks eagerly and I chuckle

" Well... he's okay"

"Is he hot?"

"Get away from me!" I say as I get up from the chair.

" Come on, don't be such a party pooper, just a little info about the CEO won't bite" she says with a puppy face.

"Not a chance!". I say as I take the flight of stairs leading to my bedroom ignoring her pleas and curses. Once in my bed room, I check my cell phone and I'm surprised to see ten missed calls from an unknown contact. I curiously dial the number and the person answers on the third ring.

"Where on Earth have you been?" The person demands and I recognize the voice instantly. I can never forget that calm but confident voice.

It's Klaus Arthur, my new boss.