Hailey's POV;
I had a late night, a late wake-up, a late departure from home, a late arrival at college, and now I'm running late to my class. Such a day! As I was rushing to my lesson, the first bell rang, sh*t! I have to get there before the third bell or I'll get held up once more. I unexpectedly ran into someone in the corridor. Saying "I'm sorry." Without even turning to look at them, I apologised and hurried to my class. Thank goodness, the third bell didn't ring when I entered the classroom. I was mocked by Riley, who said, "I thought you wouldn't make it." When I sat beside her. Since I was racing to get my breath, I was unable to react to her."I bet you didn't look at the notice board," she said. "Am I correct?" "This weekend, we're going to Big Bend National Park," she remarked. "Let's have some fun--" she halted and questioned, "Hey, are you listening to me? What exactly are you looking for?" I looked up at her and said, "I think I lost my necklace somewhere." And went through my pockets and backpack."Wasn't that with Dean?" "I took it away from him last night." I stated that I was checking my bag."Last night?" "I think I dropped it when I bumped into that person.""Bumped into who?""Inform Mr Grey that I went to the toilet if he asks," I added as I rose from my seat. "I'll be right back.""What exactly are you-" I walked out of the classroom and came to the hallway. There was nothing on the floor that resembled a necklace. 'Shouldn't it be here? What happened to it?'"Are you looking for this?" When I turned to look, a tall, hunky guy in a black leather jacket was holding my necklace. Wow. He appears to be in good physique, but I don't have time for this right now."Yes, that's mine," I said as I took it from him. "Thank you very much." "Aren't you going to repay me for finding your necklace?" he questioned when I tried to leave."Huh?" "That necklace does appear to be expensive, and your demeanour suggests that it is important to you, so don't I deserve something in return?" "What do you want?" He approached me and said, "I'll ask when we meet again." And gave me a friendly smile. "Aren't you in a hurry to get somewhere?" he questioned while I was still staring at him. After coming so close to him, I completely forgot about it. I nodded my head and went to class.I showed Riley the necklace in class and said, "I found it!" with a big smile on my face. She frowned and asked, "What do you mean you got it from him last night? Did you go to the boy's dorm last night? Don't you know you'll get detention for this?""How dare he keep my necklace even after he cheated on me with another bitch?" I tapped on her shoulder. "And how could he refuse to return it to me? That's why I took it without his permission." And then laughed."I'm getting more and more curious when you do things like this," she murmured, taking the necklace from my grasp. "I'm curious who owns this jewellery. To the point when you jump into a boy's dorm while knowing it may result in detention." And fixed her gaze on mine.I took it from her and questioned, looking down at the necklace in my fingers, "Why are you asking me if you already know that?" "All you said was someone you care about. You didn't even address them by name. How will I recognise them if you don't tell me their name? Furthermore, you didn't date just one guy to find it." And shrugged her shoulders. "By the way, why must you know the name? Wasn't it enough to know why I'm clutching at straws?""I don't want to know anymore," she remarked as she opened her notebook. "You'll rant the same thing over and again no matter how many times I ask. Allow me to finish my homework in solitude.""Then why do you keep asking me?" I jabbed her in the cheek and chuckled. "What happened?" I inquired after noticing her discomfort. "Headache.""Did you get wasted last night?" "I've been doing my assignment all night and didn't get much sleep," she said with a scowl. "So my head has been hurting since this morning.""Do you want me to get you some tablets from the infirmary?""It's okay," she responded, shaking her head. "It will be OK soon." "All right, let me know if you need anything."She nodded and returned to her homework. When I looked over at Austin's desk, it was empty. Was it empty from the start? I noticed that the individuals around his desk didn't seem to care. Why didn't he come to college if he asked me to give him the money today? I sighed and returned my attention to the class. At the cafeteria, While I was enjoying my lunch, I heard something lovely in the air. "Who's playing music in the middle of the cafeteria?" Riley inquires. "Don't they know how..."I looked around to see where the music was coming from and noticed the same person I saw this morning. He was strumming a few strings on his guitar, generating beautiful music. I thought he's from a sports club when I saw his physique. He surprised me with the guitar. Riley stepped up and said, "Hey, the guy with the guitar!" "Riley, what are you doing?" When she called out to him, I asked her. "Let me teach him some manners." And turned to face him, saying, "Hey! Do you believe you're the only one here? If you want to play that little piece of your toy, go to your club or somewhere where no one else has to listen to it..." She charged at him without pausing. Is this a headache side effect? I finally drew her arm and forced her to sit beside me, telling her to remain calm. The guy stopped playing his guitar, and everyone looked at us as though we had done something wrong to them. With his food plate in hand, he took a seat at our table. "What are you doing here?" Riley inquired about him."I'm eating my lunch," he said."Can't you see that this table is already occupied?""Aren't I not allowed to eat here?" he questioned, turning to face me. "Why are you questioning her? I'm speaking to you.""Come find me at the swimming club at 2 p.m.," he said into my ear. "I'll tell you what I expect in exchange." He smiled at me, took his food platter, and walked away from us.Riley, "Do you know who he is?""He's the one who helped me find my necklace," I groaned. "So he wants me to reimburse him." "What exactly did he ask you to do?"I shrugged and answered, "He hasn't said anything yet. He only told me to come to the pool.""All right, be careful with him. He appears to be sus."I nodded and went back to eating.As I came inside the swimming club, I noticed guys in swimming trunks and several girls in the audience cheering, making the scene more vibrant. Why did he invite me here? Is he a part of the swimming club? Is he a swimmer? I recognised him as one of the swimmers. He waved his hand at me, which drew the attention of the girls in the audience. Did he invite me to embarrass me? He stepped down from the platform, put a towel around his waist, and approached me with water dripping all over him. "What exactly do you want me to do?" I asked."I'll be done with my practice in a few minutes. Could you please wait here if you don't mind?" "Be quick."He smiled as he returned to the swimmers' stand. I sat in the audience and watched the swimmers. So, he's a swimmer. The swimmers dove into the water like cannonballs when the trainer whistled. Wow! They swam aggressively, splashing water on each other. Who is this guy? He strums strings so precisely while he plays music, yet when he swims, he appears like a completely different person. "Are you two friends?" a female said as she knocked on my shoulder. I don't even know what his name is. So how am I going to be friends with him? Her friend contacted her before I could respond, and the two spoke. When the swimmers finished their practice, the audience began to leave. He came in with clean clothes and sat near me. "What exactly do you-" "I'm Alex," he said, reaching out his hand to cut me off. "What is your name?" "Hailey." "Hailey," he responded with a nod. "What a sweet name." "What exactly do you want me to do?" "I'm an exchange student. I was transferred here a week ago and have yet to learn anything about the area. Would you mind showing me around the campus?" "Why don't you ask someone from your department?""I didn't get to know them because I was so busy with the swimming club. Furthermore, I find it difficult to strike up a conversation with someone I don't know."Because of his responses, I nodded and looked at him with scepticism. Sudden transfer, introvert, and attractive man. That brings me back to Austin. Nowadays, it's frightening to approach strangers after learning that vampires exist in this world. What if the person in front of me is also a vampire? What does he want from me? "But you're the one who's doing the talking here with me.""Because we've gotten to know each other now."'Why is he acting as though we're friends? He does look and sound like Riley said. Let's show him around campus and then break ties.'I sprang up and said, "Come, let's go see the campus.""Can we do this the next day? I'm exhausted from practising." "Okay, then, let's go tomorrow."When I attempted to leave, he remarked, "Aren't you interested in getting to know me?" "No.""How heartbreaking. Una mujer, you just broke my heart.""What?" "I said you had just broken my heart.""No. You then said something like una...""Oh, it's a lady. In Spanish, it means "woman." My father is Mexican, and my mother is American. I'm mixed." And he laughed at himself. I nodded and began to walk away. He approached me and inquired, "Where are you going now?""Home.""Do you have some time to spare?" "Why?""Because I'm new here, I don't know much about the diners. Because it's tough to find with a map, I'm relying on take-out these days. Could you perhaps show me around if you don't mind?""Okay. Come with me." And lead the way. "You don't have any plans, right?""No." "Thank you." Alex and I ate our meal in a diner after showing him around. "Where are you staying?" I asked him once we finished. "I haven't started looking for houses yet, so I'm currently staying at the dorm." "You appear to have been transported here without prior notification. You have no knowledge about the college, or its surroundings. Did you not realise you were being transferred here?" "Yes, it was sudden," he responded, his visage changing from sunny to flat lips. "I had great food," he remarked, changing his face. "Thank you for the suggestion." "I'll get going then," he remarked, looking at his watch. "How will you get to your place?""I'll get a taxi." "I'll accompany you then.""It's alright. I can go by myself.""Let me accompany you, please."I nodded and waited for the taxi. He stopped me as I was ready to get into the taxi and said, "I saw those pictures that were circulating among many departments." So he saw those photographs as well. So why didn't he question me about it like everyone else? What was he waiting for? "So?"He commented, "You looked pretty cute in those pictures." And then he smiled and said, "Have a good night. We'll get together again tomorrow." And went away as I watched him vanish at the corner of the street. I grinned to myself and got into the taxi back home.Hailey's pov:I drove away from the house as soon as I saw those images from the old diary. I dialled Mr Perez's number, and he answered, "Yeah?" "I'd like to see you. Where are you? Are you at your place? Please send me the address.""It's 3 am.""What's the big deal? I need to see you straight away. Please send me the address.""Is something wrong?" I hung up with him and dialled Jane's number to get his address from her. I went immediately to Mr Perez's house after having the address from her. I knocked on his door and stood in front of it, expecting him to open it. I walked in when the door opened. "Did you fight with your parents?" he inquired. I handed him the diary and asked him to open it. He was clearly astonished to see those photographs. "What is our relationship?" I questioned as I approached him."We're friends.""Do friends kiss like this?" I inquired, pulling up the kissing image. "Hailey… I'm sorry I didn't mean…" "Why didn't you come back to me, Alex? What took
Hailey's pov:When i came to the company, I saw Mr Perez talking with my employees. I ignored him and walked to my cabin. While i was working, Jane, my personal assistant, came in and informed me, "Mr Perez is here to talk with you about the production, mam. Shall I let him in?"When I nodded, Mr Perez walked in with a big smile on his face. After he sat down, I asked while looking at my laptop, "Jane told me you have something to talk about the production. What is it?" "Since we're going to take the scenes today, I thought you might be interested to join us…"I cut him off saying, "I'm sorry about that, Mr Perez. I have other work to look at.""Alright." When he was about to leave, I asked, "Send me the clips once the scenes are done, Mr Perez." He gave me a nod and walked out of my cabin. Shit! Why do I feel like I was rude to him? I really want to be there and look at the production process but I don't want to see him. Why is it so hard to ignore someone? I have never ignored s
Alex's pov:After getting the residential address from Hailey's personal assistant, I took Hailey to her house. When I knocked on the door, the door was opened by Mrs Walton. When I walked in holding Hailey, Mrs Walton asked, "Do I know you? You look familiar to me.""I'm Alexander Perez, I'm working with Ms Walton for an advertisement." When she showed me the room, I made her lay on the bed and walked out of the room. When I tried to leave the house, Mr Walton walked in asking, "What are you doing here?" Mrs Walton, "He's working with Hailey. I think she got a little drunk so he came to drop her."Mr Walton, "He's not working with Hailey." And turned to me asking, "What are you doing here? How did you find her?" I sighed and said, "We met at a success party which was held in Dallas. Hailey's the one who asked me to do an advertisement for her new product. If you don't believe me, you can ask her personal assistant."He made a call to Hailey's personal assistant and talked to her.
Alex's pov:Back in Kansas in Hailey's meeting room, Hailey introduced the production team members along with their designations, "That's Jeremy, he's the director. Elisabeth, she's assistant director and cinematographer, Mason, Location manager. Patrick, costume designer and Cyrus from the accounting department. I picked out the best ones from each department, Mr Perez." I got up from the seat and said, "Don't want to beat around the bush, so I'll jump right into the story I made." I showed the storyboard I prepared for the brand and explained it to everyone in the meeting room and asked for their suggestions. They were more responsive than I expected. I felt relaxed after hearing about their ideas and the enthusiasm they showed for the project. After everyone left the meeting room, Hailey asked me, "Why didn't you say anything about the team? I thought you'd pick whoever you want and discard the others. Or did you take them because you're feeling that I'm forcing it on you?" "I'
Alex's pov:When I talked about the proposal from RJ industries for making an advertisement for their new product to Mr Torrez, he immediately talked with Hailey and made a deal with her in an online meeting. When Mr Torrez ended his speech with closing words to Hailey, "We're glad to work with you, Ms Walton." Hailey thanked him back and said, "Thanks for collaborating with us, Mr Torrez and Mr Perez." And ended the call with hailey. Mr Torrez said to the employees, "I'll check the list and update who will be going to Kansas for the project in the group. Now, you may disperse."After everyone left, I stayed and asked Mr Torrez, "Can I go to Kansas and take care of it in person?""Let's send someone from the production team." He said as he was looking into his laptop. I sighed and said, "Antonio, let me go to Kansas."He leaned back on the chair asking, "Why are you so persistent? Is it because you're the one who brought up this proposal?""No.""Then what's the deal? Why do you wan
~ EIGHT YEARS LATER ~Alex's pov:"Good morning, Perez!" When Ms Sanchez greeted me, I greeted her back by saying, "Good morning Ms Sanchez." "The President asked you to meet him when you're here, Sir.""Okay, I'll go ahead. Thank you for informing me." And headed to the president's cabin. When I entered the cabin, the president said, "I heard the campaign went pretty well. As expected, you gave your best even though it's not your position. Thank you for your hard work, Mr Perez." And placed a letter on the table saying, "And, I want you to do me a favour. While I was thinking about a person to send for our latest advertisement success party, you came to my mind, Mr Perez. I hope you're free this weekend to attend this party on behalf of me." He pointed to the invitation saying, "I attached the flight tickets, hotel room details and the place of the party with the invitation for your reference." "I have an important meeting to go to. Otherwise I would have gone by myself."He didn'