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Martin Lopez appeared to have it all. Anyone who saw him would think he had everything he ever wanted and was a happy and satisfied man but what they didn't know is that behind the wealth and the success, lies an unhappy man whose only wish was to find love and know what it feels like to truly be loved. Eliza Wilson is a shy and clumsy twenty three year old who becomes Martin's personal assistant with the objective of simply making enough money for her family and doing her best not to disappoint her boss, who she slowly found herself getting very emotional attached to. As much as Martin loved to spend time around Eliza, he could not look past the fact that he was twice her age and for this reason, he promised himself that he would not let his desire for her cloud his reasoning. What happens when a personal assistant slowly becomes the only ray of light in her lonely boss's life?
Eliza
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5...,"
"Can you stop counting Eliza? It's distracting," Susan hisses harshly, interrupting my thoughts and ruining my therapeutic counting.
"Apologies Susan but I can't help it. I'm just so nervous right now," I say to her, squeezing the stress balls in my hands even more aggressively.
"Well, keep your nervousness to yourself and don't bother those of us that are trying to work," she hisses and I mentally roll my eyes at her childishness.
Susan has always been mean and problematic towards me so her reaction didn't exactly surprise me. I'm pretty sure she's just mad that I got selected for the same job she applied for and now she's taking out her frustrations on me.
"Miss Wilson, the director has arrived and he'd like to speak with you," Daniela Smith, a soon to be junior, informs me and I could hear Susan hiss loudly as soon as she heard Daniela speak.
"Thanks, Daniela," I replied to her before making my way to the director's office.
The fact that I was selected to be the CEO's assistant when I haven't even worked in the company for up to three months is still something I find very difficult to believe. According to rumours, his former assistant was caught meeting with the rival company's director and because of this reason, the director and the CEO themselves had personally handpicked the next assistant that they could trust and for some reason, they ended up choosing me.
This is why Susan and a few other girls that applied for the position can't seem to let go of their anger. Susan has worked here for about two years now and she feels like it's unfair that a newbie like me was selected over someone as experienced as she is.
"Good afternoon," I greeted the director's secretary who looked up at me quickly with a blank expression on her face before switching to a small smile.
"You must be Eliza Wilson?" she asked.
"Yes I am," I reply and she lets out a small sigh before instructing that I follow her.
I follow her around as she instructs and we walk into the short corridor leading to the director's office.
"Wait here," she says before knocking on the director's office and walking in first.
I let out a deep breath as soon as she went in, mentally preparing myself for whatever conversation I would end up having with the director. I still wasn't sure why I had to speak with the director first before meeting the CEO and for some reason, no one is willing to tell me anything or give me a heads up on what to expect. It's like everyone in the company that got here before me isn't very happy about the sudden promotion that puts me in a position above them and although I don't blame them for wishing to be in my shoes, I still wished they weren't being so mean and obvious about it.
It's not like it's my fault that the higher-ups chose to pick me instead and I can't exactly pretend to be unhappy about getting promoted.
"Miss Wilson? You can go in now, the director is ready to speak to you," the director's secretary said as soon as she walked out and I let out quick breaths before stepping into his office.
As soon as my eyes met with the interior of the director's office, every courage I had managed to gather before walking in here went out the window and I'm immediately intimidated even before coming face to face with him.
"You must be Eliza," a deep male voice greets me from behind the table and I nervously walk towards his table with my head bowed slightly.
"Yes, I am Sir. Good afternoon," I greet calmly, masking my nervousness as best as I can. I still haven't met his eyes yet cause I couldn't be sure if he'd be one of those bosses who found such eye contact disrespectful.
"It's nice meeting you Miss Wilson. I know you're wondering why I asked to speak with you but you can rest assured that it's nothing too serious. I just wanted to meet the girl who will be in charge of taking care of the CEO's affairs and I just wanted to be sure that you'd be trustworthy enough. Do you think I can trust you to do a good job Eliza?" he asks suddenly and I couldn't help but look at him.
"S...sir? I mean, y...yes, of course, you can sir. I can assure you of my utmost diligence and loyalty, sir," I assure him, trying my best to sound confident but failing woefully.
"Diligence? Loyalty? Are those the only qualities you think you'll need to keep your job?" he asks and I'm confused.
"Pardon my question Sir but is there something else that is required of me?" I reply with a question, wondering what he could be going on about.
"Well, I'm not saying that being diligent and loyal isn't good enough but the thing is, being a personal assistant gives you complete access to and every information confirming your boss and for this reason alone, your diligence and loyalty aren't the only things we want to hear. Every person can claim to be diligent and loyal and we would have no choice but to believe at first so that isn't what I want to hear before giving you a chance," he replies, making me even more nervous than j already was.
"Anyways, I'll give you a few minutes to think about what you think it is that I want to hear and trust me when I say, it's not hard. Don't think too much of it and try to just think of what you believe would be most suitable to fit this job," he added and I let out a deep breath, staring back at his cold, yet friendly eyes.
When I first started working here, I had heard about the director, Mr Hendricks's very funny and confusing personality. Some say he could appear as the nicest person this minute and in the next, he suddenly becomes a completely different person. Others call him a psychopath because he appears to be normal and all of a sudden, he starts to talk like he lost his mind.
Since I only just met him a few minutes ago, I can't exactly call him a psychopath or point out any change in his attitude but if there's one thing I'm pretty sure of, it's that this man is a scary person. The fact that he's threatening to take the job away from me with a smile on his face just shows that he isn't a very normal person.
"I hope you have an answer prepared for me, Miss Wilson, 'cause your time is up!" he says suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"A...already?" I wonder out loud, hating the fact that he couldn't even give me enough time to think clearly and yet he still had a smile on his face like he wasn't about to fire me without even giving me a chance.
"What? Aren't you confident or do you not have anything to say to me?" he replies and I mentally curse at him.
"I'm not exactly sure of what you're expecting to say sir but here's what I think is important when working as a personal assistant. As you said sir, being an assistant gives me full access into my boss's life which means that I'll most likely know almost everything that goes on with him, if not everything and for this reason, I could be a target since nobody knows more than I do and anyone looking for any information of any kind would probably want to get through me first and get me to disclose whatever they wished to know,"
"In such circumstances, to prove my diligence and my loyalty, I should be able to ignore or endure anything and everything to protect my boss's information. A personal assistant should never disclose her boss's information under any circumstance without his permission and I suppose this is maybe what you want to hear from me, sir. You're reminding me that aside from my diligence and loyalty, my silence is also an important aspect of my job," I said to him clearly and boldly with my eyes looking back at him as he stared back at me with an unreadable expression.
"Do you know why you were picked amidst all of the experienced candidates that applied as well?" he asks out of nowhere.
"I'd like to believe that I was simply given a chance to prove my worth and my credibility," I answer plainly, not exactly sure of the best reply to give.
"You couldn't be more wrong dear," he says with a chuckle that seemed like he was mocking me.
"May I know why I was chosen?" I ask.
"Hmm, there was no special reason asides from the fact that you are young and inexperienced and it was simply common sense to pick a young mind that would be more enthusiastic to work and less problematic but now that I think about it, I think there was another reason behind our choice but of course, I won't be divulging such information to you miss Wilson," he responds and I struggle to keep my eyes from rolling.
"Anyways Eliza, it's been wonderful talking to you and you can rest assured that your job is secured for the time being. I can only hope that you stay true to your word and that you do not disappoint me. If you make one mistake, there will be no second chances. Do you understand?" he instructs.
"I perfectly understand you Sir and I'll do my best not to let you down," I assure him and he nods a little with a small smile tugging on his lips.
"You may take your leave now dear and by the way, it was lovely meeting you in person Eliza. Do take care," he replies and I bow slightly before walking out of the room.
I let out a sigh of relief as soon as I walked out, mentally thanking God that I didn't mess up my words or say things he didn't want to hear.
"Miss Wilson?" a voice calls out my name and I turn to see Mr Hendricks's secretary.
"The director says to inform you that the CEO will not be available today which means that you officially start working tomorrow. You're allowed to take the rest of the day off and prepare for tomorrow," she informs me and I honestly couldn't help the mini squeal that escaped my lips.
"Thank you very much," I said to her before walking back to my old office with a great feeling of fulfilment.
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.
June Rivera was divorced by her husband after three years of marriage because he wanted to be with her sister who was pregnant for him. Kicked to the curb with a divorce and rejected by her parents,she struggles to make ends meet and get a job until she saves Luis Ambrose from an accident - the only child of Rafael Ambrose, a widowed man and the CEO of Ambrose Corporation. When little Luis asks to have her as a nanny, and Rafael's mother pressures him to get married, they draw a contract. To be Luis's nanny and his fake wife for one year in exchange for 50 million dollars!
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."
Katie was forced to marry Dillan, a notorious ruffian. Her younger sister mocked her, "You're just an adopted daughter. Count your blessings for marrying him!" The world anticipated Katie's tribulations, but her married life unfurled with unexpected serenity. She even snagged a lavish mansion in a raffle! Katie jumped into Dillan's arms, credited him as her lucky charm. "No, Katie, it's you who brings me all this luck," Dillan replied. Then, one fateful day, Dillan's childhood friend came to her. "You're not worthy of him. Take this 50 million and leave him!" Katie finally grasped Dillan's true stature—the wealthiest man on the planet. That night, trembling with trepidation, she broached the subject of divorce with Dillan. However, with a domineering embrace, he told her, "I'd give you everything I have. Divorce is off the table!"
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
Three years ago, Cecilia was left battered and alone by the man she loved most, Alston, yet she bravely completed the wedding ceremony while pregnant. Three years later, although they were married, they grew apart over time. Cecilia focused on her career, no longer foolishly believing in love. But her transformation instantly threw Alston into a panic... And what is the secret from 11 years ago that Cecilia has always been reluctant to reveal? *** "She went to a law firm, met with a lawyer..." A lawyer? Is Cecilia suing someone? Who? Is there any recent litigation against the company? Alston suddenly chuckled coldly, "Who could she sue? I'm the CEO of this company. How come such a matter doesn't come to me first?" The assistant swallowed nervously, speaking softly, "Sir, there's no litigation against the company. She met with... a divorce lawyer."