CHAPTER 3

HAZEL

DAY 2.

I marked it boldly on the calendar before stepping back to look at it. My eyes burned badly from staying awake all night.

I had spent the entire night doing what I knew best.

Betty pushed my bedroom door open while yawning dramatically.

Her eyes immediately landed on the overflowing ashtray beside my laptop.

Right on cue.

“Hazel!” she snapped. “Do you plan on smoking your lungs out completely?”

I almost smiled, predictable.

She walked over and snatched the cigarette from my fingers before I could take another drag.

“Seriously?” she complained. “Did you even sleep at all? Your eyes look terrible.”

“I’m alive.”

“Barely.”

I leaned back against the chair while she studied my face carefully.

Then her attention shifted toward the laptop screen glowing in front of me.

“Wait,” she said slowly. “What exactly have you been doing since we got back yesterday?”

I turned the laptop toward her with a small grin.

“The universe loves me.”

Her eyes narrowed immediately.

“That expression never leads to anything good.”

“The position of executive assistant at Laurent Group just became available.”

Her jaw dropped slightly.

“You want to become his assistant?”

“Temporary assistant,” I corrected. “There’s a difference.”

Betty stared at me like I had completely lost my sanity again.

“You’re a full-stack developer, Hazel. Why would you apply for an assistant position?”

“Because assistants stay close to powerful men.”

She folded her arms.

“And what makes you think they’ll even call you? That company probably has hundreds of applicants already.”

My smile widened slowly.

“Oh, there were applicants.”

Betty blinked.

The silence lasted exactly three seconds before realisation hit her face.

“No.”

“Oh yes.”

“Hazel.”

“What?”

“Did you hack their recruitment system?”

I gasped dramatically.

“You say that like it’s illegal.”

“It is illegal!”

I laughed softly while closing the laptop halfway.

“Relax. I only helped Destiny a little.”

“Helped destiny?”

More than twenty people applied. Now only three applications remain visible.”

Betty looked horrified.

“You’re insane.”

“One candidate will arrive five minutes late tomorrow. Another will arrive ten minutes late.”

Her mouth fell open.

“You sabotaged them?”

“Not badly,” I replied calmly. “Just enough.”

Betty dragged both hands down her face.

“I can’t believe I’m friends with a criminal.”

“Ex-convict,” I corrected politely.

“That is not better!”

I finally stood up from the chair and walked toward the window.

The morning sunlight slipped through the curtains softly, but the heaviness inside my chest remained.

Nothing about this revenge would bring back the two years I lost.

Nothing would erase the image of my mother in Jarvis’s bed. But I still wanted them to suffer.

“Jarvis and I weren’t even drunk that night,” I said quietly.

Betty looked at me.

“We had drinks at the club, yes, but I was sober enough to drive. I told him we should order a ride instead.”

“And he refused.”

I nodded slowly.

“He always needed control. He insisted on driving; he was the one behind the wheel, not me.”

Betty’s face darkened immediately.

“That bastard,” she muttered. “He let you destroy your life for him.”

I gave a bitter laugh.

“No. I destroyed my life myself.”

Because I loved him, that was the embarrassing part.

I loved Jarvis with every single piece of me.

I still remember the day I introduced him to my mother. The smile on his face, the way he looked at her.

‘Wow, your mum is beautiful and hot.’

At the time, I thought it was harmless.

“The interview is tomorrow,” I announced, pushing the thoughts away. “Wish me luck.”

Betty sighed dramatically before raising an imaginary wine glass.

“To seducing rich old men.”

I burst out laughing.

“To Elvis.”

“To Elvis.”

We both laughed so hard afterwards that my chest hurt.

++++++

DAY 3.

The official beginning of Operation Elvis Laurent.

I arrived at the Laurent Group exactly at 9 a.m. I adjusted my blazer uncomfortably while staring around the building lobby.

God, I hated corporate clothes.

I liked clothes that breathed. Clothes that showed skin. If somebody spent years in the gym building a body like mine, hiding it should honestly be considered a crime.

Still, appearances mattered, and right now, I needed to look respectable.

The company itself was exactly what I expected from a billionaire empire.

I honestly didn’t understand why Jarvis lived like an average rich kid when his father owned all this.

Then again, Jarvis lacked ambition and intelligence, too.

“Are you the only applicant here?”

I looked up at the woman standing behind the reception desk.

She wore heavy makeup and an expression that immediately told me she disliked my very existence.

“Yes,” I answered simply.

Before she could respond, the lobby atmosphere shifted instantly. People straightened, conversations stopped. Even the receptionist sat properly.

I turned. Elvis Laurent had just walked in.

Two other applicants hurried in behind him, looking breathless and stressed. Late, perfect, today really was my lucky day.

Mr Elvis barely glanced around as he removed his sunglasses.

“Any applicant arriving after me is automatically disqualified,” he said coldly. “I have zero tolerance for lateness.”

His voice thundered through the lobby.

The two candidates immediately started apologising nervously, but he ignored them completely.

“Interview starts in ten minutes,” he continued while walking past us. “Send the remaining applicant to my office.”

Then he disappeared toward the elevators. A few minutes later, she escorted me upstairs with visible reluctance.

I stepped into Elvis Laurent’s office calmly. The office was breathtaking.

Mr Elvis stood near his desk, removing his suit jacket when he suddenly paused.

His eyes settled on my face properly this time.

“I know you,” he said slowly.

Of course you do. I’m the woman who saved your dramatic life yesterday.

“The girl from the jogging incident.”

I smiled politely.

“Yes, sir.”

He studied me for a long moment before sitting down.

A cup of coffee rested near his hand.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” he said calmly. “So tell me something honestly.”

“Did you stage that robbery yesterday so I would feel indebted enough to hire you?”