Chapter 1

Beth awoke early the next morning with a beaming smile on her face, instantly alight with hope and excitement. She prayed, went into the small bathroom and dressed into her top and skirt. She slipped on her black flats, picked up her folder and slung her favourite black handbag over her shoulder. Taking a glance at herself in the mirror, she shook her head and began to wrestle her overly full head of curly honey coloured hair into a ponytail. Satisfied, she scanned her face. With her cat shaped and sharp brown eyes framed by long lashes looking as alive as ever, her small pointed nose without a dull shadow or grease, and her full cupid's bow lips stretched with a carefree smile, dipping into deep dimples at the middle of her cheeks, she nodded to herself, laughed and stepped out of her room. She walked hastily into her mother's.

"Buongiorno, mamma!" She greeted with a brilliant smile.

"Good morning, sweetie," Sarah responded, standing in the middle of her small room, right in her prayer spot.

"Since when did you start going to work with a folder?"

Beth couldn't help but laugh, "I'm not going to the coffee shop today, mamma. Your girl's going for a job interview."

Sarah's smile died on a sigh, "Darling.... Your hopes have been dashed too much than is good for you. I don't like seeing you look crushed over and over again."

Sarah could no longer bear to see the look of pain that her daughter's face wore everytime she got back from an interview with sad news. She knew that Beth was trying over and over again, putting herself in all kinds of situations because of her and her sickness. Her daughter was very innocent, yet strong willed and stubborn. She knew she blamed herself for the death of her father. After he died, poverty had clothed them roundabout. Their ray of hope had come when she'd landed a great job and one she was passionate about too but after the bankruptcy, it hurt Sarah to see Beth go from one place to the other without rest, to make sure her hospital bills were well sorted. What hurt the most was whenever Beth was insulted because people didn't think she was dressed properly enough or even had the right social standing. Now, Elizabeth Francesca West was a very beautiful girl and her innocence couldn't be more spoken of. She cared too much about her mother to spend a dime on herself and that was what caused them to butt heads at times. 

"Mom, it's going to be okay this time. I believe it." 

Sarah saw the hope in her eyes and prayed to God that it wasn't dashed again.

"Alright. Let God's will be done."

"It will be, mamma." Beth assured, stretching forth her hand to squeeze her mother's.

"I have to go now. Please, take care of yourself. Please mamma."

"I will." Sarah winked.

Beth smiled and pulled Sarah into a hug. As beth pulled away, Sarah reached for her purse and plucked out some change.

"Here,"

"No mom, I have some money here."

"No-"

"Mom-"

"Shut up and listen to me. You gave this to me. I want you to use it. It'll make me very happy." Sarah smiled cheekily.

Beth sighed and narrowed her eyes, "Blackmailer...." She took it grudgingly.

"I'm really fine. If I weren't, I'd tell you."

Sarah scoffed, "No you won't. Now go. When you return, whether you like it or not, we're going shopping."

Beth rolled her eyes and left, calling out a 

"Ciao, mamma."

45 minutes later, Beth alighted from the cab, staring at the massive building in front of her.

"Here goes." She mumbled to herself, readjusting her bag and going in. The buzz the busy people created greeted her along with the rich body scents the AC carried around. She went straight for the reception, smiling to cover her thundering heart.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, ms. How may I help you?" The receptionist responded with a smile, making Beth feel slightly comfortable.

"My name is Elizabeth West. I'm here to apply for the post of P.A. to the C.E.O."

"You have very pretty eyes. Are you wearing contacts?"

Beth shook her head, already used to the question, "No."

"Oh. Your eyes are so glassy. Very beautiful. Forgive me, you're here for the Job?"

Beth nodded, "Yes and thank you."

"No problem. Okay, Please wait over there." The receptionist said , pointing at a set of aligned chairs. Smiling at her once more, Beth made her way to the chairs and sat, battling with nerves. Soon enough, the receptionist recieved a call and Beth was ushered into another spacious room and was told to wait again. Turning round the corner to go seat, she realized that she was not alone in the room. There was a lady on a chair, literally balling her eyes out. 

In flew the tension. 

Had she also come for the exact same thing? Had she been turned down? Biting her lower lip, Beth sat away from the weeping woman, hoping she didn't notice her. That would be awkward. After a while, the connecting glass door in front of her glided open and she was being ushered into another room. A smaller room. There, she filled a form and watched as a man named Travis carried the form into another room. Travis was rather nice and easy to talk to. Definitely a reprieve from the tension of the previous room. After a while, Travis came back out,

"Beth, you may go in now. Good luck." He smiled. Her heart skipped a beat. She nervously smiled back and nodded, "Thank you." 

He nodded. She went in and found herself face to face with an elevator. Was she supposed to go on there? She pressed the button. The doors opened. She went in. The elevator had just one destination. The 12th floor. She pressed the button. The watched the screen above the door as it displayed numbers.

Dang, why was it suddenly so hot? A ding was heard mere seconds before the doors opened. So quick? She stepped into another properly furnished level. A very comfortable setting with properly placed brown leather chairs and small tables. But it was empty. She looked around and headed for the only door she saw. She knocked and heard a low, 

"Come in."

She pushed the door open. The first thing that caught her eyes was the set of huge floor to ceiling windows at the other end of the room. The view was amazing! She could see the cars racing by and the blue ocean sitting far away and she wasn't even standing close! Next thing she saw was the large flower vase on either side of the windows, creating a lovely frame. She then noticed the red carpet she was stood on and frowned slightly when she saw that it served as a walk way. Like a hall of fame carpet to introduce whomever walked into the room, or walked out. It was a great contrast to the dark oak floors. The office was one of spectacular opulence! The furnitures! It wasn't till she did a complete sweep of the room, that she noticed a man stood right next to another door, staring at her. A tall man. Her eyelids fluttered as she searched for what to say. That was him. Brandon Wade. How long had he been staring at her for? She groaned internally. Why did he have to interview his own personal assistants? Couldn't he have made someone else do it for him? An eager to please employee maybe? No? Okay.

 "Ms West?" 

 His voice was deep and rich. Definitely suited the man before her. He sounded soft, yet firm and cold.

 "Yes." She watched him take lazily confident strides to his desk. A man who knew his worth and wouldn't be told otherwise. He took his sweet time sitting down and getting comfortable, before looking at her again. She watched him study her face, before looking down at her clothes. Her fingers twitched.

 "Good day, Sir."

 His gaze flew back to her face. That intense look....

 "You have worked in an oil company as a business analyst and P.A."

 She praised God for his straightforwardness. That, she could handle.

 "Yes sir."

 "For two years."

 "Yes sir."

 "You were fired?" He asked.

 She paused. He'd read through her résumé. He knew she wasn't fired, not really. Why was he asking again? She had a letter of recommendation and everything. Maybe he just wanted to hear her talk, maybe?

 "No. I was let go of."

 "May I ask why." It was not a question. Rather, it was an aloof demand. Something was coming and she wasn't going to like it. Call it a gut feeling.

 "The company declared bankruptcy." She said simply. His expression gave out nothing. He just stared at her. 

 She stared right back. There was that feeling again. What's wrong? she wondered.

 "You're sure?"

 She frowned but nodded, "Yes."

 "Is this how you dressed to your former place of work?"

 She stood frozen.

 "Because if it is, I would also declare bankruptcy to get rid of you."

 She blinked. Hold the phone.... What the....

 "Excuse me?"

 "Look at you. You come for an interview looking like this?" He asked, directing his gaze to her clothes.

 "Better this than naked." She said, grimacing in irritation.

 He scoffed, "Women...."

 "Excuse me?"

 "You're excused." He bent, picked up her file and threw it at her. She blinked in surprise, looking from him to the file at her feet, then back at him, feeling a lot of things.

 "That's it?"

 He nodded once, "Yes. Get out."

 This man was downright rude in a suit! 

 "May I ask why?" She asked, feeling her temper bristle.

 "You are not Wade industries material."

 "Because of the way I look?" 

 He said nothing. Just stared at her.

 "Aren't you supposed to judge my qualifications? Why are you picking on what I'm wearing?"

 "I care about my company image, Ms West. If this is how I see you now, I can't imagine how you must have looked at your former place of work. I want an assistant, competent enough to represent me at local, national and international levels and you, Ms West, don't fit the description."

 "So you have to talk to me like this? Mr. Wade, I assure you that my dressing put my former job in no jeopardy, whatsoever. Situations that I'm sure you don't want to hear about, made things hard for me and for that, I look this way but please, if you'll take another look at my file, you'll see that I'm qualified. Please. Once I get the job, how I look will change-"

 "If you get the job." He corrected.

 "Yes, if. Please, look at my file-"

 "Get out."

 He spun around in his chair, done with her. Her teeth slammed shut, grinding against each other. His face was as beautiful as his manners were ugly!

 "You are downright rude!"

 "Rude?" He drawled out as he turned his seat half way, sounding like he was enjoying himself and that infuriated her more.

 "Yes! You were meant to access my qualities, not criticize me! Hear me out, not box me in-"

 "Are you trying to teach me how to do my job?" He turned, looking at her with slightly irritated eyes.

 "Yes! Yes, I am because you obviously need to be taught. What is this?! Break me down central? You pick a weak point and use that to judge everything else. Any other job interviewer would have thought about my brain work and God's willing, offered an allowance or something because a post needs to be filled and I'm qualified, but that's not you! You picked on my dressing and over emphasized on it! It's no wonder people don't like you!"

 Exhaling in amused annoyance, he started, "Miss West-"

 "I'm not done. I'm still talking."

His brows shot up. Job or no job, she wasn't letting him get away with talking to her like that. She saw him frown in confusion.

 "I really felt this job was right for me but I couldn't have been more wrong. You can give your Job to those with Fancy suits. Coming here for an interview might have been a waste of my time, but saying this to you definitely isn't. You need a reality check and serious attitude adjustment, so here's some advice-"

"Advice?" He asked, standing, staring at her in incredulity. "On what?"

"Your company."

"You little brat...." He laughed out. "How on earth.... It's people like you who go around destroying the image of a company, after creating trouble."

"And it's people like you who give people like me, something to talk about! Your egocentric head and wealth has made you see nothing past your proud circle-"

"Get out," he said very calmly. His voice was calm, yet his eyes were a stormy cloud. 

"Not until I'm done. Do you know why your former assistant quit?"

Brandon blinked, appalled by her guts.

"Excuse me?"

She suddenly frowned, looking at him like he was a very irritating piece of gum under her shoe.

"Compagno stupido." Stupid fellow.

His brows rose.

"You really don't care about anyone or anything. In fact, I bet you wouldn't know the names of your workers if they didn't wear the stupid nametags you make them wear. You barely ever have staff meetings and when you do, it's to sanction them. Why wouldn't everyone be tense around you? Why wouldn't they stumble or stutter? They stutter and you see them as time wasting," she scoffed, "I bet you don't listen, either. At this point, I can't imagine working with you. You might be rich monetarily, but at this moment, I have reasons to call you poor at heart. And also, I'm no more of a brat than you are."

"The fuck?! Excuse me?!"

"Sei scusato." You're excused.

With that, she picked up her file, and without looking at him, marched out of the room and out of the company, fuming and mumbling under her breath. She would be disappointed in herself later for talking to someone like that but that was later. Right now, she was mad and she needed something cold. How dare he? The guts of that guy! At least she had given him a piece of her mind. Let people like him be on the receiving end for once! After getting a cold can of coke, she went home. Brandon was left stunned. He was confused. He was lost. He was angry. He was filled with awe and admiration. That woman had come out of hell and spoken to him like he was a petulant little boy who knew nothing. No one had ever spoken to him like that. He found it..... Oddly interesting. Very interesting. The way her glassy eyes had lit up the minute she'd lost her temper... How her hair swung from side to side behind her like a raging army, and the way her arms flailed as she expressed herself.... How her dimples angrily peeked out to sneer at him just like it's daring and beautiful host did.... And when she spoke her language like that..... What the fuck though? She was wrong and to satisfy the part of him that loved a challenge, he decided that he would prove it. He pressed an intercom button on his desk.

"Carla?"

"Yes sir?" 

She sounded..... Tense. He frowned. He'd never noticed that before. He'd always brushed her tone off to professionalism. Ms. West had successfully got his head thinking and while it annoyed a part of him, he couldn't help but smile. He found it interesting. Challenging

"Cancel all interviews for today. Schedule a staff meeting for noon," he said and ended the communication, relaxing back in his seat.

Ms. West was a spit fire. Gutsy and flamingly daring. 

For the first time in a long time, he was excited to do something. 

Prove her wrong.