Chapter 2

When Shaina got home from the interview, she almost dropped her body on the sofa of their rented boarding house. She was sweaty, tired, and full of bad feelings about her day. To make it worse, she could still smell the mud on her body. She had not even started to rest when RJ, her ever-loyal and ever-loud best friend, showed up.

RJ was already waiting in the living room, sitting cross-legged on the center table like a queen. He was wearing colorful shorts and a neon green sleeveless top while waving a fan like it was a prop in a drag show. When he saw her, he almost screamed.

“Oh, here comes the queen of the job interview!” RJ shouted, almost jumping toward the sofa. But when he saw her face, which looked like she had been attacked by two angry gays, he stopped and raised an eyebrow. “What happened to you, girl?”

She did not answer him and just went inside the bathroom to take a bath, hoping the smell of mud would finally go away. She could still see Lukas in her mind—the arrogant way he left her on the street, and even worse, how he looked so powerful while sitting on his throne-like chair in his office.

Fate really knows how to play games!

Without thinking, she pulled her hair and quickly put on shampoo, wanting to finish fast. If she stayed longer in the bathroom, she might lose control.

When she came out, RJ was already waiting by the bathroom door, sipping milk tea like a talk-show host hungry for gossip.

“Can I change my clothes first?” she asked, annoyed. But RJ would always be RJ. He would never wait for gossip.

“Spill the tea, girl! Did you fall in love at first sight with your boss? Did he ask you out for lunch? Oh my gaaad, tell me everything!” RJ squealed, sipping his milk tea again.

That’s milk tea, not soup, girl! Don’t slurp it like that!

Shaina sighed, grabbed her clothes from the room, and went back to the bathroom. “RJ, you won’t believe this. My whole day was a disaster.”

“Disaster?!” RJ gasped and almost pushed the bathroom door open to hear her better. “Girl, what did they do to you? Don’t tell me you walked out right away, ha?!”

“Not really…” Shaina rolled her eyes as she changed clothes quickly. “But before I even reached the office, a car passed by and splashed mud all over me. Like, a full-on mud shower, girl!” she told him angrily. When she was done, she came out and continued brushing her hair in the living room.

“Oh my god, girl!” RJ shouted, jumping on the sofa like it was a stage. “And let me guess, it wasn’t just any car—it was a luxury car?”

She nodded. RJ’s eyes lit up with excitement. He even screamed and smacked her leg with his fan. Shaina stopped brushing her hair and glared at him.

“Girl, I can feel it! This is straight from a romance novel!” he squealed, still smacking her with the fan. “Rich guy alert! This is it!” He stood up, walked on the sofa like a model on a catwalk, then did a slow twirl.

“Romance novel, my foot,” she said, irritated. “You don’t even know the whole story yet.”

RJ slid back beside her, pressing his face close to hers. “Okay fine, continue! But first—was he handsome? Tell me. Handsome ba?!”

Shaina closed her eyes and let out a deep exhale. “Handsome.”

And before she could regret saying it, RJ let out a scream so loud it felt like an earthquake.

“Girl, I knew it!” RJ shrieked again. “Was he handsome with abs? Admit it! You saw abs even if he was wearing a suit, right? Don’t lie to me!”

“I didn’t see any abs! He was wearing a suit!” Shaina yelled, hitting RJ with a throw pillow.

But RJ screamed again and almost fainted with excitement. “Handsome, rich, cold, and he’s your boss, right?”

Her eyes widened. “Wait! How did you—”

“Don’t fool me, girl!” RJ smacked her arm like a detective exposing the truth.

Shaina hid her face in the pillow, but her muffled voice gave her away. “Fine. It’s him…”

RJ screamed again, grabbed the pillow from her, and used it to cover his own face.

“You’re now the secretary of a handsome, cold boss. Do you know what that means?”

“What?” Shaina frowned.

“Welcome to your own soap opera, baks.”

“RJ!” she yelled, hitting him again with the pillow. “If you don’t stop, I’ll throw you in the mud myself!”

But instead of stopping, RJ just screamed again and kept smacking her. Later, he calmed down and looked at her seriously, like he was staring at Rapunzel’s long hair.

“Girl! You’re so lucky!”

“RJ!” She glared and grabbed another pillow. “You call that lucky? That arrogant guy didn’t even say sorry after soaking me in mud! He just left like it was nothing. He’s so shameless! I’m getting angry again just thinking about him!”

RJ posed like a talk-show host. “But handsome, right?”

Shaina rolled her eyes. “If bad attitude is the measure, then yes, he’s the most handsome of all. I wanted to slap him with my ID—so hard he wouldn’t look human anymore!”

Instead of agreeing, RJ laughed hard, making Shaina doubt if he was really her friend.

“And do you know, during the interview, I felt so out of place? He didn’t even ask me proper questions. He just sat there like a king while I stood awkwardly, waiting for him to speak. So annoying!”

“Girl, wait…” RJ held her hand and looked her in the eye. “Are you saying he’s not Prince Charming?”

She frowned. “Prince Charming? Please. He looks more like a rich villain in a soap opera—the kind who makes you feel like you don’t belong in his office.”

“But still, he’s a handsome, rich villain, and you’re the secretary. You know what that means?”

“What now?” she asked, frowning again. “Why do you keep putting meaning in everything, you crazy gay?”

“Enemies-to-lovers arc, girl. Hashtag romance novel.”

“RJ!” she screamed, hitting him again with the pillow. “I have no plans of starring in a story with that jerk!”

After all the teasing, RJ left her alone. Shaina lay on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. Slowly, her chest grew heavy as she remembered what her boss said earlier.

“Secretary-slash-babysitter.”

She wasn’t sure if he was joking, but the thought scared her. What if he really planned to treat her like a servant, giving her orders like a nanny?

She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. If only she wasn’t so desperate, if only she didn’t need this job, she would have never accepted it. She would rather wash dishes at a small eatery than babysit an arrogant man who acted like a king. But what could she do? She couldn’t afford to be picky.

She needed the job.

Her parents in Cebu needed money. Even if her father worked hard in their small car shop, and her mother managed their little store, the money was never enough. It wasn’t enough to pay for her father’s medicine and to keep their small business running.

And her younger sister Regine? Spoiled brat. In college but had no idea how hard life was. She kept spending money on parties, gadgets, bags, makeup, and clothes. At least she was doing well in school—that was one thing to be thankful for. But who was the one working hard to help pay? Shaina, always Shaina.

So even if her pride hurt, even if Lukas was the most arrogant man alive, she had to swallow it all.

Secretary-slash-babysitter. That’s what she was now.

“If only I wasn’t desperate,” she whispered to herself, biting her lip hard. “I would never let any rich man look down on me.”

But she was desperate. And her family had no one else to depend on but her. At this point, that mattered more than her pride.