Chapter 2: Meeting the CEO

"Take these papers. Hurry, Mr. Hudson might be here!" Ms. Maries instructed me. I quickly grabbed the papers from the table and followed her.  

He probably wouldn't be here... I've been working here for a few days and haven't seen him—no, it's impossible that I would see him again! But he's our CEO... It's been two days since what happened at the club. 

My mother is in a coma, but the doctor said she'll be fine after surgery. "I hope Mr. Hudson isn't here yet! Diandra, I'm telling you, if he gets mad at me again!" Ms. Maries complained.

The elevator dinged, and I was shocked to see Mr. Hudson inside with two other men. They were talking, but their conversation stopped when we entered. Ms. Maries froze, covering her mouth, probably because of what she said earlier. 

I stayed silent and looked down. My goodness! I just told myself that I don't want to see him again, but why?! And guess what, he's our boss?! Gosh, Diandra!

From my side, I could see Mr. Hudson staring at me. "Do you have any idea where we can find her, Hades?" I heard one of the men ask. 

Oh, right. Hades is his name. 

Find her? What were they talking about? We didn't hear his response. A few moments later, the man spoke again. 

"Miss, are you a new employee here?" he asked, looking at me. Ms. Maries nudged me, making me look at her. She winked at me. Then, she turned to the man. "Ah, yes sir. She's my intern-assistant for now," Ms. Maries said calmly, then nudged me again.

"Oh, what's your name, Miss? How old are you?" the man asked.

Is he talking to me?

I looked down and turned to the man. Gosh! "I-I'm Diandra Fuego, I'm twenty-one..." I said softly. Before anyone else could speak, the elevator dinged. Ms. Maries exited first, so I followed.

"Sir, we'll head to your office now," Ms. Maries said to Mr. Hudson. I glanced at him, and when our eyes met, I'm shocked because he was already staring at me. I immediately looked away. It felt like something was stuck in my chest, and I couldn't breathe. He was probably thinking about what happened at the club, that I'm a prostitute.

When we reached Mr. Hudson's office, Ms. Maries went straight to the sofa in front of Mr. Hudson's desk. She opened her laptop and started typing, while I organized the documents I brought.

"Oh my God!"

"What's wrong, ma'am?" I asked Ms. Maries, startled by her sudden outburst.

"Gosh, Diandra! Stay here, I forgot some files! He'll kill me!" she said, rushing out of the office. What? She can't leave me here! I can't!

I stood up to chase her, but the door opened, and Mr. Hudson entered. My breath hitched. I remembered his touch—gosh! My face flushed. I was rooted to the spot. I couldn't move. He was looking at me intently. I felt like I might faint. Can I just leave now? Can I just leave now? Ghad!

I swallowed hard as he started walking towards his swivel chair. Now I was standing directly in front of him. I couldn't look at him straight, while he could definitely look at me in the eyes!

"Take a seat." I swallowed. The baritone chill of his voice gave me chills. That expression in his eyes told me he was dangerous. I couldn't speak. I sat back down on the sofa.

"What's your relation to the Fuegos?" he asked coldly.

I looked up at him. Why was he asking me that? "George Fuego." he said, mentioning my father's name. Why? Does he know my father? Well, Dad is a tycoon... I swallowed and shook my head slightly. "I-I don't know him," I said softly.  

My father did everything to hide everything about me and my mother. So, when anyone asked who my father was or where he was, I refused to answer. He simply took the documents from me and then sent me away. It was good, because I couldn't breathe when he was around. What happened between us was just for my mother's sake. I got the money I needed, and he got what he wanted. 

I wanted to forget about it, but I don't have any regrets because my mom was now in a stable condition.

Now, I was in Ms. Maries' office, organizing the files she had forgotten earlier. They were in the conference room with Mr. Hudson. 

I finished my work quickly, so I decided to get some food in the cafeteria.

Were Shane and Kira finished yet? It was good that we, all my friends, were in the same company for our internship. 

"Did you see Mr. Hudson? Girl, he's so hot!" Kira exclaimed, hitting our arms excitedly. I just forced a smile. 

"For real! He's so handsome!" Shane chimed in. This was kind of awkward for me. I just continued eating and let them talk. I had more important things to worry about than our boss. I sighed. I hoped Mom would wake up as soon as possible. I missed her so much. Her surgery was next week, I hoped she would be fine.

After lunch, I went back to work. 

"Ms. Fuego, take this to Mr. Hudson's office," Ms. Maries said, holding the files while still facing her laptop. Oh, gosh! I can't face him anymore. I closed my eyes and unconsciously took the papers.

When I got to the 40th floor, I prepared myself. I needed to be professional. Gosh, huhu. I knocked before opening the door. He was sitting back in his swivel chair.

"Did you have lunch already?" Mr. Hudson asked as soon as I entered.

I blinked. I looked at his desk; it was covered in food.

"Uhm… Yes, Mr. Hudson." I said softly.

His jaw tightened as he glanced coldly at the food on the table, then nodded slightly. "S-sir, these are the files that Ms. Maries sent." I said, showing him the files I was holding. 

He stared seriously at the papers in my hand. "Take a seat, I'll check those later." he said firmly.

What? Why wouldn't he just take them so I could leave? Huhu, I want to leave now. I sat on the sofa, as he told me. I looked around the office, trying to avoid his gaze. Just let me leave, please.

I thought he would eat since the food was already laid out in front of him, but he just moved it to the side of his desk, then opened his laptop and started typing.  

Hmm? Okay, so what do I do here? Gosh!

Since he hadn't given me any instructions, I took out my phone to ease my anxiety. As soon as I opened it, a message popped up. I saw Dad's text right after Jake's unread text message. My heart hitched.  

After a month, he decided to message me.

Daddy: I'm sorry, Diandra. Can we meet for dinner later, anak? My assistant will pick you up.

What does he want from me now? I thought he had already abandoned me. Even though I wanted to say no, I was lying to myself; I wanted to see him.  

My father might not have been a good partner to my mother, but he had been a good father to me at least.

Diandra: Okay. I'm working today, at Hudson Corp.

Daddy: I'll see you later.

I put my phone down and realized Mr. Hudson was staring at me, his brow furrowed. I swallowed. I had almost forgotten that he was here. "Sir, is t-there a problem?"

He looked away. "Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked coldly while facing the computer.

Why was he asking that? I shook my head. "No, sir…" I said softly.

Did he really think so lowly of me? Did he think I couldn't do my job if I had a boyfriend? My chest tightened at the thought.  

I looked down at my hands.

Actually, anyone would think that… I had given my body for money. I was a paid escort, but I didn’t want it. I had to do it because I had no other choice. I had no one else to turn to, I needed the money as soon as possible because even if I worked for a year, I wouldn’t be able to save that much money.

“Don’t do that again." I looked up; his serious deep voice gave me goosebumps.

"W-what?" I asked stammering.

“I don’t want to see you there again.” he said coldly.

I looked down, nodding slightly. If only he knew, that was the first time I had been there. He was also my first…

He stood up from his swivel chair and walked towards me. “I need you.” he said seriously.

I swallowed. He was so close. And what?

He lifted my chin so I could face him. His face was too close. I swallowed hard. Gosh, I’ve never met someone this handsome before.

"Marry me."

My jaw dropped at his words. What did he say? He took his hand away from my face and then looked away. Marry you? I'm too young for that, and we're not even in a relationship, why was he asking me to marry him? Oh my God!

"Pretend to be my wife, I'll give you everything." he said seriously, looking directly into my eyes.

Is he serious? Everything?

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"I'm serious." he said coldly.

I swallowed again. Diandra, this is your chance to get Mom treated abroad!

"I'm just going to pretend?" I asked.

"Yes, but you will sign a contract and live with me while we are married." he said. He turned away from me and walked back to his swivel chair.

He opened a drawer in his desk and took out an envelope containing documents. He took a paper and placed it on the table. "Sign this."

I read what was written on the paper.  

Certificate of marriage. 

He was staring at me while I'm reading the papers.