2. Traped By The Charm Of The CEO

"Let's go, sir!" Nadine said, standing right in front of Brian's desk. Brian turned from his large chair and walked over to Nadine, adjusting his jacket as he gazed at her with an unreadable expression. For Brian's stature, Nadine was quite petite, with a height of only 155 cm compared to Brian's 185 cm, which meant she only reached his chest. Brian had to lower his head to look at the beautiful girl.

"You look even more beautiful!" Brian whispered into Nadine's ear, causing her heart to race instantly. Seeing Nadine's flustered expression, Brian quickly walked out of his office and headed for the elevator with his usual impassive demeanor. Brian was reminded of his high school days when he used to tease his favorite math teacher.

Flashback On...

"Brian, please bring this book to my office!" Nadine ordered the head of Class IPA-1 at Pelita Harapan High School. With enthusiasm, Brian stood up and approached the teacher's desk.

"Sure, Miss Nadine," Brian replied, then rose from his seat, picked up a book from a classmate's desk, and followed Nadine to her office, placing the book on her desk.

"Thank you, Brian!" Nadine said as usual, with her usual cold expression. Back then, Nadine was the most popular intern teacher due to her beauty and creative teaching methods. She managed to make math, a subject disliked by many students, enjoyable through various quizzes and games. However, Nadine's intimidating side would suddenly emerge if anyone disturbed her during a lesson. Her cold and distant expression would persist until the class was over.

"You're so pretty, Miss! Would you like to be my future wife?" Brian teased, causing Nadine's face to flush with anger.

"You're so childish, talking about wives at such a young age. Focus on your studies!" Nadine replied curtly, waving her hand to shoo Brian away.

"Who said I'm small, Miss?" Brian continued teasing Nadine, aligning his body in front of her. Naturally, Nadine grew even more frustrated, feeling physically bullied by her own student.

"Watch out now!" Nadine threatened, attempting to reach for Brian's ear. However, due to Nadine's petite stature, her hand couldn't reach him.

"See, Miss, you can't reach me! I promise, Nadine, you'll be my wife one day," Brian replied before quickly leaving, escaping Nadine's potential anger. As Brian ran away, Nadine smiled, watching his receding figure. She couldn't deny that Brian was indeed very handsome, with a face reminiscent of Korean oppas and a well-built body that added to his charm.

"Snap out of it, Nadine! He's your student!" Nadine scolded herself, dismissing the intrusive thoughts.

Flashback Off

Crash... Lost in her thoughts, Nadine accidentally bumped into Brian's back as he stopped in front of the elevator.

"I'm sorry, sir, it was unintentional!" Nadine stammered, fearing her new boss might get angry due to her clumsiness. Nadine herself was confused; she felt uncomfortable working for someone who had once held a place in her heart. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to maintain a professional relationship. In her previous workplace, she had been a stellar secretary, and her work had always been excellent.

Without responding, Brian entered the open elevator and was followed by Nadine from behind.

"Come here, don't stand behind me!" Without a word, Brian grabbed Nadine's hand, causing her to stumble. Slowly, Nadine released Brian's grip.

"I'm sorry, sir," Nadine said a bit sardonically. Since deciding to make a change in her life, Nadine had been keeping her distance from any non-relative men. She genuinely wanted to repent for the mistakes she had made with Brian in the past. It was due to those mistakes that Nadine couldn't bring herself to form any relationships with men.

Approaching her 27th birthday, it wasn't just once that men had wanted to court Nadine. Even her parents had tried to arrange matches for her, but Nadine always declined. For some reason, it was difficult for her to fall in love again.

As Brian sat in the driver's seat, Nadine was torn between sitting next to him or in the backseat. Finally, she decided to sit in the back.

"Why are you sitting in the back? Am I your driver?" Brian remarked without looking, observing Nadine's blushing face from the rearview mirror. Brian grinned broadly as he watched Nadine move to the front seat beside him. He was satisfied to have teased his infatuation. He had deliberately asked his driver, Ebrahim, to take a break, wanting to be alone with his new secretary, who seemed quite fun to tease. Right in front of an upscale restaurant, the car came to a stop. Just as Nadine was about to open the car door, Brian suddenly stopped her.

"Wait for me in the car," Brian ordered firmly.

"Alright, sir!" Nadine replied casually, smiling. Unconsciously, Brian moved his face closer to Nadine's.

"Don't ever smile like that in front of other men!" Brian whispered softly, then flicked his finger against Nadine's forehead as she remained frozen. After closing the car door, Brian approached a beautiful girl wearing a knee-length flowy pink patterned dress standing in front of the restaurant.

Seeing Brian kiss the girl's left and right cheeks, Nadine's heart grew uneasy. Especially when she saw Brian happily embracing the girl and the girl's arm wrapped affectionately around his waist. Nadine realized that Brian had probably forgotten about her; their love had only lasted a few days. They had spent three days together before Nadine left without a word.

While waiting for Brian to have lunch with his girlfriend, girlfriend in Nadine's perspective, she put on her earphones to comfort her heart, which suddenly felt heavy when recalling her tragic love story with Brian. Falling in love had only brought her pain.

Thirty minutes passed, and Brian still hadn't come out of the restaurant. Nadine was annoyed – instead of taking her to meet a client, Brian was now using her as his mosquito repellent while he enjoyed his date. Just as Nadine was about to step out of the car, Brian appeared, holding hands with the same girl and opening the car door for her. They shared a warm embrace right in front of Nadine.

"Remember, Nadine, he's not the same Brian from the past. He's your boss now," Nadine's inner voice scolded her to wake up.

"Here, this is for you. You probably haven't eaten yet," Brian said as he entered the car, handing Nadine a lunchbox along with a bottle of cold mineral water.

"Thank you, sir!" Nadine replied while accepting the food. In her mind, Nadine grumbled, "Sure, Mr. Brian, you're enjoying your date in there while I'm sweating in the car."

The atmosphere remained silent during the drive as neither of them initiated a conversation. Nadine felt restless, as her boss had been distant toward her since the morning.

Unconsciously, Nadine observed Brian. He was very different from the Brian of the past – the one who used to be tall and skinny, resembling a Korean oppa. Now, he had a very sexy, well-built body, and Nadine couldn't help but feel a bit melted by his appearance. His youthful executive aura radiated from his expensive suit.

***

Upon arriving at the office, Brian headed straight to his room without acknowledging Danisa, who stood there to greet him. Danisa was puzzled by the radiant expression on Brian's face after his lunch outing with Nadine. She turned to look at Nadine, who was walking behind Brian. Seeing Nadine's downcast expression, Danisa grew suspicious. Could it be that what she had been thinking had actually happened? Was Brian playing tricks on his new secretary?

Nadine made her way to her desk listlessly. She was truly hungry, as she had only had a piece of bread and a glass of milk since morning. She had arrived at the office promptly at 7 a.m., wanting to make a good impression on her new boss.

"Why do you look so down, Nid? You were out with the boss, but you seem a bit off," Danisa approached curiously.

"I'm really hungry, Danisa. I haven't eaten since morning, and then I was asked to wait around while the boss went on a date!" Nadine replied while opening the lunchbox that Brian had given her.

"Are you serious, Nadine? As far as I know, the boss has never had a girlfriend!" Danisa said, thinking hard. She knew that their young boss had never been in a relationship. Even Cakra and Amanda were puzzled by Brian's attitude of always rejecting potential matches their family proposed, despite not having a partner himself. Nadine just shrugged it off and began eating her meal eagerly.

"Turns out Brian still remembers my favorite food!" Nadine whispered to herself, paying no attention to Danisa's confusion.

"Never mind, Danisa, don't think too much about it. I'm hungry, would you like some?" Nadine offered to Danisa.

"No, thanks, Nadine. I already had lunch with the others," Danisa replied before returning her gaze to the computer screen in front of her, still puzzled. "Could it be true that Mr. Brian has a girlfriend?"

Nadine continued to eat, her mind wandering back to her interaction with Brian during lunch. She tried to shake off her conflicting emotions as she focused on her work.