CHAPTER 3 – Signing Bonus

When she reached her flat, she received an unexpected call.

“This is Oscar Sands. Congratulations for being the latest member of 5Cattleya” she recognized the voice as the old man from the interview.

She wanted to scream, but she waited for the rest of the news.

There’s always a catch.

“I’m sending you the formal job offer, if you agree with the terms, you can e-sign the contract and send it back to me” Oscar Sands said in a formal tone.

Celine checked her email excitedly but her excitement was immediately replaced with contempt.

‘Is this a joke?’ she thought.

She immediately called back the number.

“You’re hiring me for a double role but the basic pay is the same?” she started her query in a not so friendly manner.

“Yes, but-“ Oscar was not able to finish his explanation when Celine cut him off.

“If you’re asking so much, I want a $5M signing bonus” Oscar could not believe what he’s hearing.

Who would demand a signing bonus just like that?

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow” Oscar just agreed.

Anyway, he has specific instruction to hire her no matter what.

“What do you mean okay?” now Celine was confused.

“You wanted a signing bonus; the company will give it. As long as you agree to be the CEO’s temporary secretary” Oscar said.

“Miss Yates, we need your reply within the day whether you accept it or not” Oscar reminded her before ending their call.

She sat in front of her laptop contemplating whether to accept it or not.

Need a job? Check.

Need a lot of money? Check.

Need a husband? That’s it.

If she accepted the offer, she could find out who the ‘mystery Daniel’ is.

Maybe he’s just one of the secretaries of the big bosses that’s why he’s there.

That explains why he wasn’t talking at all.

If she can pull her rank on him, he would have no choice but to pretend to be her husband on the engagement party.

Perrrrfeccct!!!

She wanted to scream.

With renewed determination, she gladly signed the job offer and chose a nice dress to wear for the next day.

That night, she slept with a smile on her face.

***

The next morning, she was busy with the whole on-boarding process: laptops, ID cards, locker keys, the usual works.

Oscar explained that CEO Stevenson just flew in yesterday and needs a secretary urgently that’s why it was a priority for the whole company.

If the CEO could not settle asap, she would not get her own project to manage.

Now Celine understood why the double-role.

“The CEO will come in later. He will also hand you the signing bonus” Oscar said before leaving her with reading materials about the company.

The more she reads about the company the more impressed she became.

But she could not find any article about CEO Stevenson, nor any photos of him.

When Oscar picked her up for lunch, she started her questions.

“I didn’t see the CEO’s profile in the company website, why is that?” she asked curiously.

“He’s very low-profile. But he is well-known in the business world for his achievements overseas” Oscar explained.

“I hope you can get along with him. He’s not a people person” he added.

“I’ve been told the same. I guess we can relate” she gave a dry smile.

As soon as she sat back on her seat, her intercom buzzed.

“Coffee, please” she heard a deep, commanding voice.

She instantly froze.

That’s Daniel’s voice.

She rushed inside the CEO’s room to confirm but the desk was empty.

When she turned around, her head bumped into something hard that caused her to lose her balance.

She tried to grab onto anything she could to stabilize herself when she felt two strong arms around her waist.

“Are you looking for me?” she heard the voice as she regains her balance.

When she looked at the person in front of her, she didn’t know how to react.

“D, it is you” she said excitedly then started pinching his cheeks.

Then she started squeezing his arms.

Imagine the man’s shock when she started unbuttoning his shirt.

“I love the enthusiasm, Miss Yates. But this is borderline harassment” the man said.

“Wait, I need to see something” she kept on unbuttoning his shirt until she found what she was looking for.

“It really is you” her eyes turned misty.

“CEO Stevenson, the Smith family wanted to arrange for a meeting” Oscar walked in the room unannounced.

Imagine his shock when he saw the almost shirtless CEO in front of a teary-eyed secretary.

What happened?

“Leave us” the CEO ordered and started fixing his clothes.

Both Oscar and Celine headed for the door.

“He meant me” Oscar said to her.

She slowly turned around still could not believe Daniel is in front of her.

“Don’t you think you have a lot of explaining to do?” she asked as soon as she caught her breath.

“Don’t you have a coffee to make?” he asked back.

She walked towards his pantry and made two cups of coffee.

She sat in front of the man looking intently without saying anything.

“Ask away, Ms. Yates. You’re wasting my time” Daniel said.

“I need your help” she was desperate.

“Is the $5M bonus not enough?” Daniel asked.

“It’s not like that. I just need to attend a dinner. I’m sure you can do that for an old friend right?” she chuckled.

“Well, I have a lot of questions but it’s work time. Let’s catch up later. We’ll leave at 5pm” she said domineeringly.

Before she could reach the door, she heard the man’s voice.

“I’m not available”

“What? Since when?” she asked in shock.

Daniel would always say ‘yes’ to her.

No matter what she asks.

“I need to sleep” Daniel said.

“Your sleep can wait. Sleep after dinner” she widened her eyes in disbelief.

Her future depends on that dinner and this man had the nerve to sleep???

Unbelievable.

“No” the man objected.

“Daniel Grant. This is important” she called out.

“I thought it’s just dinner. Why is it so important?” he immediately caught on with her lies.