Beneath The Contract

The atmosphere in the studio turned suffocating the moment the announcement was made. Jake Marquez wasn’t just a guest; he was the new face of the campaign. They were co-stars. Partners.

"I didn't know, Xielle. I swear, management kept this completely under wraps," Maxine whispered, his voice trembling with genuine worry.

Xielle felt as if she had been splashed with ice water, but her face remained a masterpiece of composure. She took a deep breath, letting the scent of expensive perfume and studio dust fill her lungs. "No worries, Ma. I’m fine," she said, flashing a practiced smile that didn't reach her eyes.

But inside? Inside, she was screaming.

The shoot was a blur of forced proximity. Xielle’s skin crawled every time the photographer ordered them to lean closer, to look intimate. The second the director yelled, "Pack up!" Xielle didn't wait. She bolted for the exit, her heels clicking a rapid, angry rhythm against the polished floor.

She was almost at the glass doors when the one voice she absolutely despised echoed through the hall.

"Xielle."

She froze. Letting out a long, dramatic eye-roll to the empty air, she centered herself, pasted on a sweet, artificial smile, and turned around. "Oh. Hi," she said, her tone light and airy.

"It's nice seeing you again," Jake said, intentionally stepping into her personal space.

Nice? There is absolutely nothing nice about your face, you traitor, Xielle’s inner voice snarled.

Outwardly, her lips only curved deeper into a sugary grin. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. I had no idea we’d be working together today," he remarked, tilting his head with a look that felt entirely too calculated.

Xielle’s mind raced. How could you not know? Did you not read the contract, or are you just playing dumb? Instead of giving him the satisfaction of an argument, she simply tilted her chin up. "I didn't know either. Small world."

"I'm happy to work with you, Xielle. Truly."

She gave him a curt, robotic nod. "Well, work is work."

She turned to leave, desperate to escape the suffocating air around him, but felt a sudden, firm grip on her arm. His fingers felt like fire through her silk sleeve.

"You’ve changed a lot," Jake whispered, his voice laced with a nostalgic undertone that made her stomach turn.

Xielle didn't hesitate. She ripped her arm away, her eyes flashing with a coldness that could start an ice age. "People change, Jake. Especially when they learn who they shouldn't trust."

She didn't wait for his reaction. She walked away, her head held high, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the corridor.

Xielle slammed the door of the dressing room, her chest heaving. "Unbelievable! What does he mean, I changed? The nerve of that guy!"

"Calm down, darling! Watch the wrinkles, they’ll break through the foundation!" Maxine hovered over her, quickly handing her a chilled bottle of water.

"Ma, can you believe him? After everything he did back in college, he acts like we’re old friends catching up over coffee! 'Nice seeing you again' my foot!" Xielle began shoving her belongings into her bag, her hands shaking with suppressed rage.

Grabbing her phone, her thumb hovered over

Tania’s name for the fifth time. No answer. "Ugh, she’s completely swamped," Xielle muttered, tossing the phone onto her lap.

As their van crawled through the notorious Manila traffic, the neon city lights blurred against the rainy window. Tomorrow, the real nightmare would begin: a multi-day photoshoot with the one man she wished she could erase from her memory.

"Look, honey, but if we're being completely honest..." Maxine started, a playful, manager-mind glint in his eyes. "Jake really is handsome, isn't he? He aged like fine wine."

Xielle’s head snapped toward him. "Ma? Handsome? He has the face of an angel and the soul of a snake," she hissed, her eyebrows knitting tightly together.

Maxine let out a loud, dramatic cackle. "You really hate him that much, huh?"

"I do," Xielle said shortly, turning her attention back to her screen.

She shouldn't have checked social media. The internet was already on fire.

#XiJakeCollaboration was trending worldwide, and fans were losing their minds over the "visual power couple." They had no idea that behind the glamorous frame lay a history of wreckage.

By the time Xielle's final live-stream schedule ended, the clock struck midnight. She was running on empty, her eyes feeling like they were filled with sand.

As the van passed the towering, glass-fronted monolith of the Z Luxury & Fragrance headquarters, Xielle checked her GPS. Tania was still pinned inside the building, likely buried under high-stakes marketing strategies.

"Ma, just drop me off here," Xielle commanded.

Maxine looked at the looming skyscraper, his jaw practically dropping. "Wow... do you actually know someone who works in there?"

"Yeah, my best friend," Xielle said, already pulling her coat together.

"Anak, that’s a premier global empire! If you manage to bag an endorsement with them, it’s a total game-changer—we're talking international level!" Maxine’s manager-brain was already calculating numbers.

Xielle groaned. "Ma, I’m about to faint from my current schedule. Let's not add to it."

"But the prestige of Z Luxury is entirely different—"

"Ma, not now... I have to go. Bye!" Xielle escaped into the humid night before Maxine could pitch a five-year global expansion plan.

The lobby was dead silent, smelling of expensive mahogany and a crisp, signature citrus fragrance.

Normally, outsiders weren't permitted at this hour, but the guards immediately recognized the face gracing every third luxury billboard in Makati.

Xielle stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the 15th floor.

The doors slid open to a sleek, minimalist reception area. Most of the lights were dimmed, casting the floor in soft, cinematic blue shadows. She walked toward the marketing wing, but the glass partition doors were locked. Tania was trapped in a late-night meeting with the executive board.

Xielle sighed, her body finally surrendering to exhaustion. Spotting a plush velvet couch in the waiting area, she collapsed onto it. "Five minutes," she whispered to herself. "I'll just close my eyes for five minutes."

She leaned her head against the cool fabric. The absolute silence of the 15th floor felt like a luxury of its own. Here, without the cameras, the fans, or Jake’s haunting presence, Xielle Khione Lee finally let her guard down. Within seconds, she was fast asleep.

A sleeping beauty in a fortress of glass and steel.

A few minutes later, the heavy oak doors of the executive boardroom swung open, spilling a sliver of warm, golden light into the dim hallway.

Xielle was in that heavy, deep state of sleep where the world feels like cotton, but a voice pulled her toward consciousness. It was deep, resonant, and remarkably cold.

"The Q3 numbers for the launch are acceptable, Tania, but the face of the campaign is still missing," the voice said. It sounded like velvet dragged over gravel. "I don't want just a pretty face. I want someone who carries the actual weight of the brand. Not another empty-headed celebrity."

Xielle stirred, the "empty-headed" comment piercing through her exhaustion like a needle.

"Sir, she's... she's my friend. That's Xielle Khione Lee," Tania’s voice whispered, sounding utterly terrified. "She’s just waiting for me. I’m so sorry, I’ll take her home immediately—"

"I don't care who she is," the man replied coldly.

Xielle felt a looming presence shadow over her. She caught the distinct scent of rich sandalwood and cold rain—a fragrance so expensive it made her dizzy.

She struggled to force her eyelids open, but the hallway was too dark, and the blinding backlight from the boardroom reduced him to nothing more than a tall, imposing silhouette. She couldn't register his features—only the sharp, perfect cut of a bespoke suit and a hand carelessly tucked into his trouser pocket.

"Wake her up," the shadow commanded smoothly. "This is a place of business, not a dormitory for tired models."

He turned and walked away before Xielle could even blink the fog from her vision. All she saw was the back of a long black wool coat disappearing into the private elevator.

"Xielle! Wake up!" Tania was shaking her shoulder, her face entirely pale.

Xielle sat up abruptly, her heart hammering against her ribs. She stared at the empty hallway, the lingering scent of sandalwood mockingly present. "Who was that? Why is he so incredibly arrogant?"

"That was the CEO, Xielle. That was Zeke Yuan Zhao," Tania whispered, helping her gather her things. "Honestly, you're lucky he didn't have security throw you out."

Xielle stood up, her pride stinging far worse than her tired eyes. She glared at the closed elevator doors. She didn't know what he looked like, but she knew exactly how he made her feel: completely insignificant.

"He called me an empty-headed celebrity?" Xielle’s voice dropped into a dangerous, low register.

"Well, you did pass out on his executive floor," Tania teased nervously, trying to lighten the mood.

Xielle brushed her hair back, her flawless "It-Girl" persona instantly locking into a sharp, calculated ambition. She didn't need to see his face to know she hated him.

"I missed your message, Khione. The boss was absolutely roasting us in there—it was a bloodbath," Tania sighed, leaning against her desk as they walked down to the main lobby.

Xielle crossed her arms, her eyes flashing with a mix of fatigue and lingering irritation. "Tsk. Forget about him. Do you know who I’m paired with for the Beauty Glam campaign? It’s Jake. Jake Marquez is the co-headliner."

"What?!" Tania’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Exactly! My thoughts precisely. And the worst part is, I can't even back out. The moment I say no, the media will label me as bitter or unprofessional. I refuse to give him the satisfaction of knowing he still affects me," Xielle snapped.

"That’s a nightmare," Tania muttered sympathetically. "The internet is already shipping you two based on a single press release. Imagine what happens when you’re actually in the same frame."

"It's corporate bullshit," Xielle groaned, rubbing her temples. "Tomorrow is our first official shoot. I feel like I'm walking straight into a trap."

Tania stopped, placing a firm, grounding hand on Xielle’s shoulder. "Then treat him like he's nothing. A ghost. Instead of resting, you're wasting valuable energy on him. You need to sleep, Khione. You're starting to look like a ghost yourself."

"Fine. Aren't you leaving yet?"

"Can't. I still have to finalize these reports before the sun comes up." Tania gestured back toward the mountain of paperwork waiting on her desk.

"That's brutal. Fine, I'm heading out." Xielle wrapped her arms around her best friend in a tight squeeze. "Don't die over a spreadsheet."

Xielle stepped into the ground-floor elevator, pulling her face mask up to shield her identity.

When she reached the lobby, she pulled out her phone, her thumb repeatedly tapping her ride-hailing app.

"Great. Absolutely perfect," she hissed. The map was completely blank. The midnight rush combined with a sudden storm had left the streets of Makati entirely deserted of available drivers.

Too exhausted to keep standing, she sank into a sleek designer couch in the grand lobby.

As she sat there, she realized how profoundly quiet the building was. No flashing cameras, no paparazzi hiding behind the landscaping, no managers breathing down her neck. The security protocol at Z Luxury headquarters was so airtight it felt like a sanctuary. Here, for the first time all day, she could actually breathe.

"Ma'am, you can't loiter here," a strict voice interrupted her thoughts.

Xielle looked up to see a security guard approaching. "I'm sorry, Kuya. Just a minute. I'm just having trouble booking a cab," she said, her voice soft and polite.

"Understood, Ma'am. But management is very strict about lingering in the lobby after midnight," the guard replied, though his tone softened slightly at her politeness.

A few meters away, the heavy doors of a private elevator slid open. Zeke Yuan Zhao stepped out.

He didn't say a word. He just stood in the shadows of the marble pillars, his overcoat draped elegantly over his arm, his cold gaze fixing on the girl sitting alone on the lobby couch. She looked remarkably small against the vast, towering architecture of his lobby, her head bowed over the glow of her phone.

"Who is that?" Zeke asked, his voice a low, commanding rumble that made the nearby guard jump.

"She's an actress, Sir. I was just about to ask her to leave, but she's waiting for a cab. She's a friend of Ms. Tania from Marketing," the guard explained rapidly, eager to please.

Zeke’s eyes narrowed, never leaving Xielle’s slumped figure. "You talk too much. I didn't ask for her life story," he said cuttingly.

The guard flinched, immediately reaching for his radio. "Should I have her escorted out, Sir?"

Zeke continued to watch her. He saw the exact moment her shoulders dropped as the app failed yet again. She didn't look like a pampered, vain celebrity right now. She looked like someone who was just... incredibly tired.

"I didn't say that," Zeke remarked, his tone entirely unreadable.

He didn't move. He simply stood there in the shadows, watching the reigning icon of the entertainment industry struggle with something as mundane as finding a ride home—his cold curiosity finally overriding his disdain.

Outside, the rain didn't just fall; it collapsed. The sky over the city turned into a heavy, violent sheet of gray, the sound of the downpour against the massive glass facade echoing loudly through the lobby.

"Unbelievable," Xielle muttered, staring at her phone. The screen now flashed a mocking, bright red text: 'No Drivers Available'. The streets outside were already beginning to flood.

"Ma'am, you've been here a while," the guard noted, returning with a look of genuine pity. "The roads are flooding. It's going to be impossible to get a car now."

Xielle was about to ask if there was a nearby hotel when the distinct click of heels on marble echoed from the elevator bank.

"Xielle!"

She turned around, her eyes instantly brightening.

"Tania!"

Tania was rushing toward her, clutching her car keys and a raincoat. "You're still here? Come on, you're riding with me. Management just ordered a total evacuation."

Xielle blinked, confused. "What? I thought you said you had a mountain of reports due before sunrise?"

"I did," Tania said, leaning in with a bewildered whisper. "But the CEO just walked out of his office and ordered the entire building to clear out. He told HR to send everyone home before the flash floods trap the staff. He said we can just make up the hours tomorrow. It's bizarre... he never lets us off early."

Xielle’s gaze instinctively drifted back toward the private executive elevators. Her mind flashed back to the tall, cold silhouette from the 15th floor.

Was he... being considerate?

No. A ruthless tycoon like Zeke Yuan Zhao didn't do things out of the kindness of his heart. He probably just didn't want the legal liability of stranded employees ruining his corporate timeline.

"I see," Xielle murmured, a small, cynical smile playing on her lips. "Well, I couldn't get a ride anyway. My driver is already asleep."

"Then it's a good thing the universe intervened," Tania said, hooking her arm through Xielle’s and pulling her toward the parking exit. "Let’s go before his highness changes his mind and re-opens the offices."