Chapter 1

Present Day

Emily lived by one rule: look good, work harder. A rule she had set for herself four years ago.

Dressed in black pants and a tucked-in pink shirt, accompanied by a pink leather handbag—she stood in the lobby of City Pulse Press.

Looking at her, one would think she feared nothing—but deep down, she panicked at the thought of what awaited her behind the doors of Carol's office.

Carol was the only person in the building who could see through Emily's composure.

“Emily, you're next,” Carol called out across the room.

Emily inhaled sharply and walked with her head up high to Carol's office.

“Sit, and shut the door behind you,” Carol said immediately as Emily walked in.

She had barely sat down when Carol growled, “You're late,” her eyes were fixated on her laptop.

“Um, I—” Emily stopped herself immediately. There was no way she was going to tell Carol she had overslept as a result of staying up all night trying to finish up an article.

Specifically, because Carol disliked excuses. “Excuses won't do the job,” she'd always say.

“I'm sorry,” Emily finally spoke reverently after Carol gave her a sideways glance.

Carol ignored Emily and pulled out a file with a picture on it, dumping it in front of her, “Rex Hale. Billionaire tech mogul. I need an interview from him.”

Huh?

Emily frowned slightly as she flipped through the pages. Clearly, this wasn't what she had expected.

What about the promotion? Wasn't that why she was called in?

Emily had applied for a promotion two weeks ago. She had been dreading when Carol would summon her, and now that she finally had, it's about a job?

“Not what you were expecting, huh?” Carol demanded.

“Honestly, yes,” Emily ventured, as she shut the book a little harder than she intended to. “I wasn't expecting to be assigned a job, especially not one that has anything to do with Rex Hale.”

Carol bobbed her head, “I see you've heard of him, which makes it easier, don't you think?,” she said, giving Emily a provocative glance.

Easier?

Nothing about Rex Hale was easy. The man doesn't talk to the media, let alone agree to sit for an interview.

Rex had become New York’s most cherished mogul after his company, R-Tech, had evolved greatly, overshadowing other old companies.

And he was just thirty.

He never appeared at any events or award shows. Lived a strictly private life. Had over a million followers on T*****r with zero posts.

Technically, his life was somewhat boring.

“An interview with him is impossible, you know this.” Emily said, her voice tinged with annoyance.

“No, I don't,” Carol said, gently pushing aside her laptop and resting her chin on her hands. “But what I do know is, nothing's impossible with you.”

Emily didn't know how to react to that, she just sat there, staring at Carol.

“Listen, Emily… you're one of the best staff we have so far. You’re dedicated, passionate, you always get the job done.”

So why wasn't Carol talking about her promotion? Everything she just said obviously screamed ‘qualified’.

At this point, Emily felt infuriated instead of happy.

“This is a high profile job we're dealing with, that is why I chose you. You do know what it means for us if our outlet becomes the first to get Rex Hale to sit for an interview, right?”

Carol paused, noticing Emily's expression. She looked totally uninterested.

With a quiet sigh, Carol sat back with her fingers slowly tapping on the table as she focused her gaze on Emily.

“It's about the promotion, isn't it?” Carol said.

Emily looked up at her, unsure if to nod or speak.

“I went through your article, it was the best among others. You have great potential I must say.”

A smile almost appeared on Emily's face—not before she heard what Carol said next.

“But you need to understand one thing, Emily—I don't promote just that; I promote results.”

Emily had worked with Carol long enough to know what she was driving at, and it definitely wasn't good.

Carol moved forward now, placing her arms on the table. “This isn't just a job; it's a test.”

“So I'll ask this one last time,” Carol said the words carefully, “Are you in or out?”

If Emily were to understand this better, it meant Rex Hale was literally the key to getting her promotion.

Emily clenched her jaw and closed her eyes tightly. Why did Carol have to put her in this situation?

After a short self-deliberation, Emily regretfully agreed, “I'm in.”

A smile was visible on Carol's face. “I knew I could count on you.”

_

Emily walked into R-Tech company, she had gotten the address earlier from the file at Carol's office.

The main entrance was filled with serious minded people, you could tell from the way they moved with urgency.

Emily couldn't help but notice the amount of cameras within the building, plus the number of security personnel.

The security guards weren't the usual guards who wore uniforms; they wore suits instead, with an ear piece attached to their ears.

“Difficult, huh? We'll see about that,” she muttered, then headed for the receptionist.

“Hello, welcome to R-Tech. How may I be of help to you?” a professionally dressed lady spoke. Her smile was as calm as her voice.

“I'm here to see Rex Hale, is he available?” Emily said, placing an arm on the counter.

“Do you have an appointment?” inquired the receptionist.

Right, an appointment. Foolish of her to think she would be given access to him that easily.

“No, I don't,” Emily said “But it's important I speak with him.”

The receptionist’s expression still remained the same. Composed. Polite. “I’m sorry, but Mr Hale only meets with people by appointment.”

“Ok. I see,” Emily nodded her head.

Getting turned down wasn't why she came. There had to be another way.

Just then, Emily recalled a rumor about Rex Hale. Instantly, an idea came to her.

Perhaps, she could still get information without meeting Rex directly—for the time being.

“Um…” Emily scratched her head, “I know this isn't part of your job… but since you work here, maybe you would know if the rumors were true.”

“What rumors?” The receptionist blinked.

Leaning forward, Emily lowered her voice, “Is Rex Hale a father?”

Emily wasn't sure the receptionist understood this was supposed to be between them, as she pulled out a telephone and quickly dialled.

In the next few seconds, she heard her speaking into the phone.

“Camilla, there's someone here inquiring about Mr Hale. What should I do?”

Emily’s face flushed with embarrassment.

She wished she could take back her question, unfortunately it was too late as the receptionist’s voice was so loud, it drew the attention of a few nearby staff.

She hoped those not-so-nice looking security guards wouldn't throw her out.

The receptionist hung up, then gave her a quick smile. “Someone will attend to you shortly.”

Yeah, right.

She was supposed to be as smart as she looked, why did she call whoever that was?

There was something unsettling about the receptionist’s smile this time. It made Emily think about a lot of things in a few seconds.

What if the ‘someone’ was a PR handler? Those manipulators, they'd treat her like she was a threat.

Or what if it was security? They'd have her thrown out mercilessly.

Just then, the elevator dinged—drawing Emily's attention to the parting doors. She could barely process who it was, when a voice came through.

“Is there a reason you're interested in things that don't concern you?”.