20 Juliette (Extra)My name was Matilda.I liked Benjamin for a long time.It had been fourteen years, seven months, and twenty-one days.That was right. I was sure I had a crush on Benjamin, fourteen years, seven months, and twenty-one days ago, on the first day of September.We were only 12 years old then.We were both Grade 7 students at Lusterg Middle School, a famous century-old private school.I carried my new flask with hot water on the first day of school.My mother, Linda Larouche, reminded me before I went out that when I got to school, I could mix some cold water in before drinking. Or I could drink after the water had cooled down.I was going to do that.But after PE class, I poured the hot water out to cool it down, and at the same time, I found a super handsome boy walking into our class.Accidentally, I met his eyes and suddenly became very nervous.Again accidentally, I casually picked up the cup and took a sip.Then.I sprayed it all out.It was a mess.
Author: Xin Shang Ren 1"Since you want to live off someone, why didn't you come to me?"Gilbert leaned on the sofa, lifting his head. From this angle, I could only see his exquisite chin and his open collar.His collarbone was a sight for sore eyes.I swallowed hard. Before I could speak, a debit card was thrown at my face."The password is my birthday."I held the card in my hand apprehensively. "So, what's your birthday date?"Gilbert was silent for a long time before he sighed."If you can't remember, just wait and starve to death!"I quickly got up from the ground and opened my yearbook. I had solemnly put Gilbert's information on the first page.He, too, left a message for me before graduation, like all my other classmates. His handwriting was beautiful, but the message wasn't very pleasant.[I hope that you would become smarter after graduation. If that won't happen, I hope you'd at least become prettier.]Every single word in that message revealed his arrogan
3I would not have minded."Then, let's start working from today onward."I need to be conscious as I was someone who pulled strings to get this job. I could not slack off, and the work from the boss had to be done well.Gilbert's car was not luxurious. He was not a person who kept a high profile, and he did not like the feeling of being coveted by others. Rather than showing off, he pursued comfort even more. However, despite that, when I was in the passenger seat, I still had the fantasy of being just like Cinderella, who was sitting in a pumpkin carriage.The sensation of sitting on a leather seat was so good. Moreover, its curves perfectly matched the lines of a person's back. I could not help but admire the originality of the design.As expected, it was a car that I would not have been able to afford even if I had worked hard all my life. When I thought that my hard work would only result in my boss changing to a new car the next year, I immediately wanted to break the wheel
4I fell asleep in a daze, and it was a good sleep. When I got up with messy hair, Gilbert was already dressed in his suit and ready to go out.He looked indifferent—nothing like his weird self who came into my room last night.He threw me a piece of bread. "You got up too late. Eat some bread first."The bread had jam on it. It was my favorite watermelon flavor.Yvonne arrived at the company earlier than us. She had dark circles underneath her eyes. It seemed that she didn't sleep well last night.When she saw Gilbert, she immediately ran over to him with a pile of documents in her arms."I have some questions about the upcoming project proposal."After saying that, Yvonne glanced at me."Ms. Olsen, would you like to go back to your workstation first?"Under her gaze, I could only open Gilbert's office door and get out swiftly.Yvonne was probably in despair, but she looked calm. After Gilbert sat down, she questioned some unreasonable aspects of the business proposal and p
5If a company wanted to bid for a piece of land, it had to get in some officials' good graces. Gilbert especially spent a lot of money on obtaining a piece of jade to give to a certain someone's wife. I was also attending the banquet with him.I did not get close to Gilbert at the company. I wanted to avoid gossip. I also could not tolerate the attention of everyone else in the company. There was also a lot of discussion in the office about we were not compatible with each other, which likely came from contempt.Only Xenia knew something since Gilbert did request a favor from her. Therefore, she would occasionally look at me with a meaningful gaze. However, she was sly. Most of the time, Xenia would give me an extra slice of cake or snacks, and defend me subtly. Then, she would hint at me to tell Gilbert good things about her through her expression.Meanwhile, Yvonne seemed to be absorbed in her work, so she merely nodded when she saw me. Occasionally, she would talk to Gilbert ab
Author: Xia Xiao Qi One day, I drank too much, and I regarded my serious and abstinent boss, Joaquin Salvatore, as my first crush.When I woke up, I asked nervously, "Yesterday... We..."Joaquin replied, "What? Ms. Jobling, are you not going to be responsible for it?"I thought I was doomed and would be fired, but Joaquin said that he would give me a week's leave to rest.A week later, he circled me in a corner and asked, "I gave you a week. Have you figured out how to be responsible for me?"I was confused.1I had been Joaquin's secretary for six years. Many people said that I went through a back door. Otherwise, I would not have been promoted from an ordinary secretary to a personal secretary.I had always ignored the gossip because I felt that the truth would prove one's innocence. I could stay with Joaquin for so many years mainly because of my ability.Nonetheless, I did not expect that I would really sleep with him one day.I really did not want to sleep with h
6I could not remember how many years it had been since I last had a break to relax. Throughout the years of being Joaquin's personal secretary, I worked overtime during every holiday. I was even on standby during long holiday weekends.Since a few months ago, I had been asking Joaquin to give me a few days off and let me have a good rest. He had never approved my leave. Now, he finally had a conscience.It seemed that it was worth sleeping with him.It was good timing for a rest. I did not know how to face him after what had happened. I could use the leave to think about things.The first thing I wanted to do during my leave was to lie down and sleep at home.Since I suffered so much last night, the first thing I did after reaching home and delegating my work was mute my phone, lie on the bed, and fall asleep.After falling asleep, I had a dream. In the dream, I was in a dreamy church. There was a man kneeling in front of me, proposing to me, but I could not see his face clearl
11The restaurant where Joaquin and the others were eating was a little far away from here. It took me half an hour to drive there.When Yuri saw me arrive, it was as if he saw his savior. He immediately came forward to greet me. "Yulissa, you're finally here.""Where is Mr. Salvatore?" I asked."In the private room. He drank too much and is now sitting there, refusing to leave." Yuri led me to the private room where they were eating.Everyone had left, and Joaquin was the only one remaining.I realized why Yuri was so helpless after seeing Joaquin sit on the sofa in a trance, like a lost child with an innocent face and hazy eyes."Mr. Salvatore." Yuri walked over and patted Joaquin on the shoulder as Yuri called Joaquin softly.Joaquin shoved Yuri's hand off outright. "Where is Yulissa? I want Yulissa to pick me up."I had never seen Joaquin like this in all my years of working alongside him. I really wanted to take a picture of him with my phone.However, at the thought of