Chapter 3

It's been three days since Emily started working under the CEO, Richard Beaufort Cooper.

That fact alone was astonishing for Richard. Not just because it has been three days, but because Emily really stood her ground when she said she's a hardworking, passionate, creative, and flexible individual. 

'What a nut job,' Richard thought, reflecting on his actions and beating himself inwardly.

The woman he's blaming for this is confidently smiling in front of him once again – she looks like she's glowing while handing him all the piles of paper. That was a total of five piles!

'Did she do all of this on her own?' Compared to his last secretary, he really gave her a hard time and a mountain of work to do, but he never saw her slack off, complain, or even throw him a bad look. She's just always smiling, just like how she presented herself on the very first day.

Richard has always been a person that's hard to please. He didn't give respect to people who don't deserve it in his eyes, and he's not the type to even give compliments. But if he were to be honest – he's impressed. 

He bit his lower lip secretly and looked up to her after staring at those piles of documents in front of him for a whole minute. Those papers are not really meant for her to do alone – they have to be distributed to other staff, such as the sales manager, accountant, and so on. Some of those were works he supposedly had to do, but he gave it all to her to test her and, well, to break her – but she didn't.

He pressed his lips together. "Very well, I'll check all of this, and if I see anything that needs correction, I'll ask you." 

"Alright then, thank you," she immediately turned her back and was about to walk out of the room, but Richard spoke again. 

"Come with me this weekend."

She turned a hundred eighty degrees upon hearing that. She's really looking forward to resting for the whole weekend! She really wanted to smack the man in front of her, but he's just way too handsome to be smacked and smashed like that. 

"Where to, sir?" she asked politely, still all smiles.

"To the Philippines, we have to attend a charity work," Richard thought his new secretary would say no to that because no sane person would agree to work on weekends after working too much on weekdays. That was given, but he still asked her to see how long that smiley face would last. 

But all his thoughts were cut off when he saw how excitement slowly entered Emily's blue eyes, as if she's been waiting for this moment her whole life. She looks that happy, and he can only part his lips and do his best not to jaw drop seeing her close to happy dancing.

"I would love to," she genuinely said, her eyes twinkling, and she wants to giggle. 

Richard wanted to scoff seeing that, but he didn't; he could only chuckle and can't help but laugh lightly. "Well then, see you on weekends." 

After he said that, he let her off the office, and since all the paper works were done, he can't give her any task but to bring him a cup of coffee.

Emily complied, and moments after, she went back to her office. No documents and no pending tasks, she's free! 

She really wanted to sleep, but what happened to the last secretary was really etched into her memory, so she forced her eyes open every now and then, whenever she felt her eyelids getting heavy. She has nothing to do, but she knew better than to ask Richard because she doesn't want a dozen papers stuck on her desk again.

She was sighing profusely and distracting herself by thinking of random things, just not to fall asleep, when the telephone started to ring. She immediately answered it with a calm tone.

"Hi, this is Emily from the secretary desk. How can I help?" 

She was waiting for someone to answer, but no one was speaking, so she glanced at the screen next to the telephone to see which department was calling. Her eyes widened when she saw where the call came from– the CEO office!

She feels like she came back to life after seeing that. 

"Yes, sir Richard, need any help?" There's a minute of silence, and she was thinking of just going to the next room when she heard a voice of an old man. 

"How many times did I tell you, Richard? Be nice to our employees. I heard you recently humiliated a staff again; good thing your secretary stopped you. Where is he, anyway? I'll give him a raise myself."

She mentally gasped, hearing that. She's not sure who that person is, but the way he's talking seems like he's someone Richard listens to. 

Emily worked for three days only, but one thing she noticed is that no one dared to defy Richard. Every staff member was secretly calling him "the devil" – except for her. She didn't want to think of him that way, believing that no one is perfect. In Richard's case, he was just a naturally hot-headed guy, but that didn't make him the devil in her eyes. Despite the headache he gave her with all the documents and work, she thought maybe he was just testing her, so she didn't give up.

"You're talking about my ex-secretary, aren't you?" Richard said. "He's no longer my secretary; I fired him a long time ago." 

Emily heard a loud sigh and a frustrated groan on the other end of the line. "Oh my... Mi ijo, I don't know what to do with you," the old man said.

"Don't do anything to me," Richard replied sarcastically, raising Emily's eyebrows. 

"Just get yourself a girlfriend or something if you don't want to get married yet. Maybe you'll soften up after being in a relationship," the old man suggested. 

Emily was taken aback by the loud laughter that followed. She enjoyed seeing Richard laugh, but this time it sounded mocking, leaving her grimacing.

"I'm serious, Richard. You're my only grandson, and I want you to be happy," the old man said, frustration evident in his voice. There was a brief silence, and Emily was about to hang up, feeling guilty for eavesdropping. Perhaps Richard or his grandfather had dialed her number by accidentally tapping the first registered number on telephone's screen. 

"I already have someone," Richard said, piquing Emily's curiosity. 

She couldn't bring herself to end the call hearing that. Richard's grandfather seemed just as surprised, gasping in response. 

"Who is she? When will you introduce her to me?" he asked excitedly.

"She's in the next room," Richard replied in full confidence. 

"Next room?" his grandfather asked, clearly perplexed. 

Emily was equally confused. There were only a few rooms on the top floor, and the CEO's office was located at the edge. The only room next to it was... "Yeah, my new secretary," Richard said nonchalantly.

Emily was left speechless, her mind reeling from the conversation. 

She quickly ended the call and took a deep breath. She was confused and shocked by what she had heard. 

She was certain they were not a thing!

Composing herself, she pretended nothing had happened. As she heard footsteps approaching, she focused on a piece of paper–a blank piece of paper. 

When the footsteps stopped, she glanced up to see a dignified-looking old man with a keen sense of fashion leaning behind glass door. He was staring at her intently, and she smiled innocently. The old man blinked, seemingly stunned, before returning a delighted smile and walking past her office.

Emily thought that was the end of it, but then she saw Richard standing behind the glass door as well. A hint of a smirk was plastered on his face. He mimed holding a phone, and Emily understood what he meant.

Richard had deliberately called her earlier, knowing she would overhear the conversation. It was all a setup!

"Oh sweet Emily, what have you gotten yourself into?" she thought.

As Richard returned to his office, Emily couldn't help but steal a glance at his silhouette walking by. 

'What's on your mind, Richard?' she thought to herself. It didn't really make any sense. Three days was a short period of time, and their interactions had always been strictly professional. 

Although she wouldn't really mind being Richard's girlfriend, considering his gorgeous face and luxurious demeanor, he was a good catch. But Emily knew better - something wasn't right, and one day, that short lie Richard made would backfire on her.

She was still deep in thought when the telephone rang again. 

"Come here, I need you to sign a contract," Richard said, and he immediately hung up.

 Emily shook her head in confusion, and her heart began pounding loudly. 'Is this another pile of work?' she wondered. 

'I hope this isn't what they call a contract with the devil.' 

With a sense of trepidation, Emily got up from her desk and made her way to Richard's office, unsure of what awaited her.