Belle’s eyes widen in shock and her jaw drops open as soon as Jacob broke the news to her. She immediately falls into a state of confusion.
“That’s weird… I was sure I applied as IT personnel,” she mutters, pouting her lips.
Amused, Jacob let out a chuckle. "Our boss, Mr. De Clarion, thinks you're more suitable for the position of executive secretary, so you'll be working with me," he tells her, pointing to himself. “This will be our office.” he starts explaining before sitting on his chair. “The white phone is your direct line to the President’s office, while the black phone is for the front desk.”
He glances at Belle, who looks like she is listening to him, but that is not the case. Without Jacob's knowledge, the girl was still going through the news in her mind.
‘How do I qualify as a secretary? I don’t even know anything about its work scope.’
Jacob cleared his throat to get her attention. Belle then smiles awkwardly, clearly caught that she isn’t paying attention and something else is on her mind.
“May I continue?” Jacob asked, waiting for Belle’s response.
Belle heaves a sigh before nodding. As it seemed like there was nothing she could do about her situation, for now, she decided to just listen to the man.
"When the receptionist calls you about a visitor, you can check the list on your wall and see if the name is written there. Now, there are three types of people that will look for the CEO. On that list, the people in the blue column can go straight to the executive lounge to wait for me or you to take them to the CEO’s office. The ones in the yellow column are the people who should be sent to the visitor's lounge. There, they'll wait for me or you to take them to which department they should go to. We don't need to do that all the time though. We can just call reception and have them assist whoever the visitor is. Now for the red column and everyone else who's not on the list, they should just be sent out. It means they're not welcome at the company… at all."
The girl in front of her nods as she runs her eyes on the list, pointing her finger at the red column and reading the names one by one. "Ha! So these are the bad guys!" she states with a chuckle.
Jacob snorts but what he finds incredulous is the fact that Vernice’s name is on the red column, but Belle acted like she doesn’t care at all. 'Could it be that she's not Vernice?’ he asks himself, perturbed.
After teaching Belle everything she needs to know about her job, he starts asking personal questions, subtly. He is very curious as to who this woman is.
“I’m actually from Dale,” Belle tells her. “But it lacks opportunity there for IT graduates, so I decided to move here.” She explains when Jacob asked her why she chose to apply at De Clarion Empire.
Jacob nods, in his mind, he thinks, 'She seems to have thought things through.'
Their discussion went on, but they were both surprised when the door of the office suddenly flew open. Jacob stands up immediately and so does Belle.
"Yes, Boss?” Jacob asked the man who had just come in. Belle, on the other hand, was stupefied, her mouth slightly open.
‘How can a man be this beautiful?’ she thought to herself. She can't believe that he is their boss, the CEO of De Clarion Empire. He looks more like a Greek God that's gracing them with his presence.
Tristan’s eyes fell on Belle as soon as he stepped in. He is eyeing her from head to toe, a little amused at the girl’s reaction to his presence.
But aside from her reaction, her beauty caught Tristan’s interest as well. ‘I didn’t know my ex-fiance was a goddess.’
He had never seen Vernice up close, they had never met personally. Whenever he needed to deal with Vernice or her family, he would send his assistant.
He was pretty sure Vernice had already seen a picture of him. If she’s bewitched by his looks, 'Why would she run away from our wedding?'
In the meantime, at Williams Villa, Lawrence was furious, “Where are you right now?”
He had been waiting for Vernice to come home for weeks but she never showed up. Esme told him that their daughter had left with Hans, but she claimed she didn’t know where they were going.
Vernice moves the phone away from her ear when she hears her father shouting. "What do you need?" she asks in a flat tone.
She doesn't want to have anything to do with him. Besides, he is all about Rose and Yssabelle. Why does she have to care about him then?
Lawrence let out a harsh sigh after hearing his daughter’s question. He can’t believe she is talking to him like that.
“I need you here, there are things we still need to settle with the De Clarions. Besides, I can’t even make use of the villa, they want it back!”
“Listen to me Father,” Vernice let out a sigh before continuing, “No matter what you do, I won’t marry Tristan De Clarion. Even if it’s a deal between our grandfathers, we’re the only ones who can decide on that. I have Hans and there’s no way you can force me to marry someone else!” she said with conviction before ending the call.
She sits down on the couch and leans on Hans’ shoulder. The man glances at her and smiles faintly, “Was that your father?” he asks. Vernice nods at him then reaches out for the slice of cake on the table and starts eating it.
"Your father has a point,” he then put down the documents he was reading before leaning on the couch. “We’ve been together for 7 years. We’re practically husband and wife. It won’t be an issue for me if you marry the man,” he states.
Vernice creases her forehead at him. “Are you saying you can just let me be someone else’s wife?” she sneers.
“You won’t be his wife forever, what’s the problem with that?” he tells her, reaching out for her hand and squeezing it lightly. “You can easily get a divorce, after one or two years. The point here is that you should have taken advantage of the opportunity. We could have benefitted more from it,” he explains.
Listening to her boyfriend, Vernice thought of the wasted opportunity. “What can I do now? I doubt he’d be willing to take me back,” she pouts, stomping her foot.
“That’s what your father was saying. You just wasted a huge chance! You could have easily become a millionaire from alimony alone. Imagine, it’s Tristan De Clarion we’re talking about, the sole heir of the De Clarion Empire. Get the picture?”
Vernice nods. It’s only now that she realizes how stupid she was for deciding rashly. She should have discussed this with Hans before running away, and now that she has thought of it, she can’t help but feel frustrated.
Back at the villa, Lawrence was exasperated after talking to his daughter. He sits down on the couch and tosses his phone to the side. “What did she say?” Esme asks.
"She said she's not going back and that we can't force her to marry Tristan," he tells his wife. Esme smiles inside. She knows Vernice is smart enough to decide for her good.
Money is less appealing than love. Money is easier to earn than love. With that in mind, she cannot compel her daughter to make the same mistake she did years ago.
Back then, she always thought that as long as she had money, she'd be happy. That was why she agreed with her friends when they dared her to sleep with a married man. Knowing that Lawrence was rich, she didn’t even give it any second thoughts.
After something happened between the two of them and she got pregnant, she told Lawrence about it. Unfortunately, the man told him it was a mistake and that he could only give her money to raise the child.
She was so angry when he said that and the only thing she could think of was to get back at him. Make him pay for what he did. When she succeeded in avenging herself, she thought she could finally be happy with Lawrence.
But even if they have been together for so many years, his heart still belongs to Rose and Yssabelle. Although both of them are now in hell, she still can’t take him from them. He only belongs to his wife and child.
Esme’s reminiscing was interrupted when Lawrence’s phone rang. He then stands up, grabs his phone, and goes to his study. Esme is left in the living room, thinking of how else she can help her daughter escape this arranged marriage.
After several minutes, Lawrence came out of his study. He asks a maid to prepare coffee for him before going back to the living room. Esme is still there, reading a magazine. She can’t be bothered when it comes to company issues.
“Who called?” she asks, though she is not interested.
Lawrence clears his throat and faces her, "It was Francis," referring to his secretary. "He told me Jacob informed him that we're having a meeting with Tristan in two days. He's finally agreed to invest in the company." He can't stop himself from smiling while telling her wife the good news.
“What does he want in return?” thinking it still had something to do with the deal between Vernice and him. Fortunately, she was told that Tristan didn't ask for anything in exchange for the deal. It was said that, according to Tristan, business should be separated from personal issues.
Back at De Clarion Empire, Belle receives a text message from Nathalie. Her friend is asking her to drop by the club tonight. Belle automatically smiled after reading the message, putting her phone back inside her bag. Jacob does not have any tasks for her at the moment, and she is starting to feel bored. She is about to stand up and go to the restroom when the white phone rings, "Get me coffee downstairs," Tristan orders. Belle was about to answer when the call ended. She sticks her tongue out before rolling her eyes. "Make sure he doesn't see you doing that…" Jacob warned her. Belle's face turns tomato red. She feels embarrassed after Jacob saw what she did. She can only go out of the office with her head bowed down. Jacob, on the other hand, couldn't help but laugh as soon as their office door closed. He can't believe that this is the same girl who ran away from her marriage with Tristan. His laugh grows louder when he starts imagining Tristan's reaction if he sees Belle doing
The door opens and her savior-slash-childhood friend-slash-ex-girlfriend, Joyce, comes in. She is smiling sweetly as she walks toward the man seated, like a king, on his chair. “Why are you in a bad mood?” she asks, still smiling, before giving him a peck on the cheek. Tristan just shakes his head, letting out a sigh to calm his nerves. "Nothing," he replies in a flat tone while rearranging the documents on his table. "Why are you here?" “I’ve no one to go with for lunch. Could you join me?” Tristan looks at Joyce and smiles. He nods in agreement, then he suddenly remembers Belle and what she did earlier. This woman, who looks exactly like Vernice, is already giving him a headache during her first month at the company. He can’t help but grit his teeth. He feels like he has to teach her a lesson, but he can’t think of a way to do it. Of course, this lesson should be one that will not make him petty in any way. Before he can go on thinking of an evil punishment for his secretary,
After eating lunch, Jacob cleans his area right away. He then picks up a folder from his table, gets out of their office, and goes straight for the CEO. He enters Tristan’s office as soon as he hears him respond to his knocks. “What happened to you? You almost broke the door!” Jacob tries to be funny but Tristan just glares at him. His boss let out a sigh before leaning on his chair. “Belle didn’t tell you anything?” he asked. Jacob shook his head, clueless. “He kissed Eric! Right in front of me and everyone else at the restaurant!” he narrates through gritted teeth. Jacob’s forehead creases, “What’s the matter then?” he asks Tristan, unsure what is making him angry. ‘So what if Belle kissed a man in front of him? It doesn’t have anything to do with him anyway.’ “I don’t know…” Tristan mumbles. He stands up to face the window and slips his hands into his pockets. “To be honest, I don’t know why I’m mad…” he confesses. "Her constant displays of guts annoy me, I don't understand why…
"Are the foods ready?" Tristan asked his assistant on their way to the conference room.Jacob glanced towards their office to see if Belle was already there. "Not yet, maybe there's a long line at the café," trying to make an excuse for the secretary."She's so slow!" the CEO clicks his tongue, irritated.Jacob let out a sigh before scratching the back of his head. "You know how most people eat their breakfast here. Maybe that's why she's taking a while."Tristan didn't respond to him. He just quickened his pace to reach the conference room immediately. As soon as they get there, Jacob opens the door for him and he immediately sits down after greeting the visitors. He opens the folder in front of him to get them started.They are already in the middle of a discussion when someone knocks. Jacob stands up to open the door, only to see Belle struggling with the food packs.He quickly put down the folder in his hand to help the secretary. Jacob takes some of the food packs from her.Both
Vernice keeps phasing back and forth in their living room. She is actually worried about their current situation.Earlier, she checked their joint bank account and saw that there were only a few dollars left. She can't help but think about how they will survive.She and Hans rented an apartment in Lys where they can stay in the meantime. It was their temporary solution, while they were waiting for the company to take off.However, she can't help but think about when they will be able to buy their own house. When can they afford it? Renting will cost them a lot and it's a waste of money.Hans just opened his company and it's only been a month. Although he managed to convince two people to invest, they did not have enough clients yet for their finance company to get going.No client means no income, and of course, they cannot use their capital on unnecessary spending. They have to save it for future business use.Vernice, on the other hand, is a huge spender. She is used to having a lav
Later that day, Jacob was called to the CEO's office again. This time, Tristan gave him a black card and was instructed to give it to Belle.Tristan's exact words were, "Give this to Belle, she can use it to purchase everything she needs for her job. Clothes, shoes, bags, or whatever it is she needs to function properly at work."Although he was confused, he could only follow his boss' instructions. 'Why was I not given a black card? I've been working for him for years!'He wanted to feel jealous of Belle, but thinking about it, he knows fairly well why he is doing this. He couldn’t help but smile at his friends.In the office, Belle's been staring at the card on her table for several minutes now. She still can't believe what she's seeing before her eyes.'Is this really a black card? And can I use it?' Her mind is in deep thought but she can't stop herself from smiling."I take back what I said before. He isn't stingy, sorry," she tells Jacob, chuckling. Jacob wants to respond to her
Belle smiled immediately at the man in front of her. “Hi!” she exclaimed.“I’ll walk you back,” Eric smiled. “Who are you with?” he asked, walking alongside Belle.“I’m with my friend!” Belle introduced Nathalie to him as soon as they reached their spot and her friend couldn’t take her eyes off of the gorgeous lad.Eric sat with them. They were talking about random things when a woman in a skimpy outfit, looking wasted, approached Eric and snaked her arm around his neck.“Hi babe, who are these bitches?” she asked, her words slurred.Belle’s brow immediately flicked after hearing what she said. She suppressed the urge to talk back though she wanted to do more than that.Eric saw her reaction. Scratching the back of his head, he smiled apologetically at Belle before removing the woman’s arm from his neck.“Behave, Lea, they are my friends,” lightly pushing the vulgar woman away from him.The woman called Lea snickers, “I’ve been waiting for you for hours. It was a different woman earli
Tristan entered the venue right after he stepped out of the car. He went in alone as Jacob still needed to pick up Belle and Agnes.He headed to the lounge and found his grandfather, sitting there with a wineglass in his hand. “You’re late,” the old man told him, Tristan chuckled.“No one’s even here yet,” he retorted.“The Williams called me yesterday, they told me they’re visiting next week,” he informed his grandson of the upcoming problem.Tristan’s forehead creased. He called a waiter to ask for a drink, “What do they want?”Frederick shrugged, “No idea, they just said they were visiting,” he chuckled. Implying he knows there is something else behind the visit.Tristan was about to say something when another waiter called for them. They were informed that the visitors were already arriving.The grandfather and grandson duo had no choice but to walk out of the lounge and welcome their guests. They were standing side by side facing the entrance, both looking like royalty.The first