Clarissa was anxious as her mother’s operation fees and hospital bills were not paid yet. Doctor Fisher mentioned that today was the last day. The finance director, Howard Brooks, had yet to return from a meeting. Clarissa guessed that Damien was probably involved as well. In other words, now was not a good time to send him a message. She might even lose everything if he got angry. Hence, Clarissa could only wait patiently. It was past ten o’clock at night. Clarissa walked into the elevator wearily after working overtime. Coincidentally, Damien was inside that particular elevator. She immediately became energized upon seeing him and stood at a corner. Clarissa had kept the deposit question to herself for a long time. Since there was nobody around, she mustered her courage and said, “President Lawrence?”“Yes?” Damien replied casually while standing in front of Clarissa. They did not sound like a married couple who already had sex before at all. “If I remember correctly
New East Corporation was far from Clarissa’s university. Thus, she rented a two-bedroom apartment near the company with someone for convenience. Luke was living in their mother’s house. On Saturday at ten o’clock in the morning, Damien picked Clarissa up. Clarissa had dressed decently according to Damien’s request. She wore a white shirt, a red skirt, and a pair of white sneakers. Overall, she looked very youthful. Young people tended to look good no matter what they wore. Damien was not driving. He sat in the backseat beside Clarissa. When she got into the car, he only glanced at her without saying a word. Clarissa suddenly remembered something when they were on the highway. Did her marriage arrangement with Damien include sex?She signed the contract in a blur without even asking for further clarifications. The lack of money had probably driven her insane. They almost arrived at Damien’s grandfather’s house. Since the two of them had to put up an act, they would have t
They arrived at Florin at around four o’clock in the evening.Before getting out of the car, Damien said to Clarissa, “Change the way you address me.”“What?” Clarissa did not understand. “Don’t call me President Lawrence anymore.”Clarissa gave it some thought. Then, she said without a hint of embarrassment, “Okay, hubby.”The speed of her reaction and adaptation surprised Damien. She must have called her boyfriend that way as well.Damien thought, ‘Girls these days are so bold.’ He felt a strange discomfort in his heart. On the other hand, since Damien had given her so much money, Clarissa intended to act as convincing as possible. After all, she was a skilled and committed employee. When they reached Damien’s grandfather’s house, Clarissa became solemn because she had to comfort an elderly who was terminally ill. She was afraid that even the most minor action could agitate Damien’s grandfather. Regardless, she could only remind herself to be more careful. Damien’s g
Clarissa was not as fortunate as Damien. When she was in primary school, her father and mother were both occupied with work. She had to cook for herself and her disappointing brother. Back then, she could not even reach the stove and had to step on a bench. Clarissa learned how to make ravioli by the time she was in sixth grade. The steps were not foreign to her. Shortly after, she came out of the kitchen with a bowl of piping hot ravioli in tomato soup. It was placed on the table. Damien’s grandfather was delighted. He felt like he had traveled back to the times when his wife was still alive and ate happily. Damien looked indifferent. Clarissa kept sneaking glances at him. She wanted to see if her performance was sufficient for twenty thousand dollars. After eating, they watched the television for a while. As time passed, Clarissa felt more and more nervous. Around ten o’clock, Damien’s grandfather returned to his bedroom so he could rest. “Let’s go to sleep,” Damien s
Damien replied coldly, “No.”Clarissa was slightly disappointed to hear that answer, but she dared not ask further. After all, she was a mere intern. Damien would not concern himself with her status. Suddenly, a sound came from her phone. She picked it up and took a look. Someone was requesting to follow her on Instagram. That person’s username was “josephmoore”.Clarissa was not acquainted with that person, so she ignored it. There were too many online scammers. “I’m going to sleep first.” After speaking, she turned off the bedside lamp while feeling flustered and ducked under the blanket. The room was quite cold because of the air conditioner. Laying under the silk blanket was very comfortable. Damien did not even turn his head and just replied softly, “Okay.”He seemed to be occupied with work. Clarissa buried her face in the blanket, only showing her deer-like eyes. She secretly observed Damien. Her gaze unintentionally swept across his face. His outline was
Clarissa did not know why Damien suddenly asked that question. Nevertheless, continued with her lie. “My ex-boyfriend or my current one?”Damien sneered. He did not expect her to attract so many men. “How many boyfriends did you have?”“Just two.”Two? “Just”?“Your current boyfriend. What’s his name?” Damien asked with a hoarse voice. Coming up with a person’s name was hard. It was then Clarissa remembered “Joseph Moore”, who had requested to follow her earlier. Hence, she answered without any hesitation, “Joseph Moore.”The world was huge. It was unlikely Damien would be acquainted with a random person named Joseph Moore, right?“His last name is Moore?” Damien frowned. “Yes. Do you have any business with him, President Lawrence?” Clarissa asked confidently. Damien ordered, “You’re not allowed to have sex with him during the period of our contract! I find it dirty.” The word “dirty” immediately made Clarissa’s face red. She was like an unwanted second-hand item. T
Monday arrived. Not long after Clarrisa showed up at the company, she received an email from the company’s human resource department. It was a mass email. “After observing and consolidating various departments, we have made our decisions. The employees who have passed their internship will be promoted to permanent positions. Here’s a list of their names: …”Clarissa was extremely nervous. It was as if her heart was going to leap out. She only calmed down after seeing the name “Clarissa Johnson” on the list of people being promoted. At that moment, she was happy but also surprised. There was another intern from Pioneer University named Nicole Brown in the finance department. Many people thought she was promising. However, she did not pass her internship. Howard had mentioned the finance department only needed one extra employee. The spot was filled up by Clarissa. After seeing the results, Howard gazed at Clarissa with a strange expression. Clarissa and Nicole were the two
Clarissa moved into the company’s dormitory. It was just opposite her workplace. She could save on transportation fees and rent. Lily and two girls from the customer service department were assigned to the same apartment as Clarissa. The rooms that had sunlight were already occupied by the two girls because Lily and Clarissa moved in late. Initially, Lily wanted to argue with the two girls, but Clarissa said, “It’s not like we booked the rooms. Let them have it.”Only then did Lily leave them alone. Clarissa let Lily have the bigger room while she occupied the smallest room. There were no windows, so the ventilation was not good. Although it was not summer, the room was stuffy and humid. The room that faced away from the sunlight was obviously not very good. It was an apartment-based dormitory. There were many other units along the corridor. Clarissa’s unit was already in a bad section and her room had it worse. After washing her clothes, she would dry her laundry in the bathroo