Chapter 2.

Ivy closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened. She looked down at the suitcase again, but the contents were still the same: someone else's belongings instead of her own clothes and underwear.

"How did this happen?" she wondered aloud. It was hard to believe that she had accidentally picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport. She was usually so careful about these things.

Cursing under her breath, she searched through the contents of the suitcase, hoping to find some clue as to who the suitcase belonged to. Then, with a sigh of relief, she spotted an ID card tucked into a side pocket. Maybe she could find a way to get in touch with the owner and sort this whole mess out.

But her relief was short-lived, as she saw that the ID was completely devoid of any contact information. Just a name and an address in a city she'd never heard of. She groaned in frustration, wondering what to do next.

She closed the box and kept it safe in her wardrobe and quickly arranged other stuff that needed her attention with the thought of hopefully getting back her luggage the next day if the airport intervenes.

In the evening, the airport authority reached out to her to return the suitcase that was exchanged with hers, they also sent her the owner's address too. She was happy that the owner of the luggage happened to work in the same company with her which made it easier.

The next day, as she hurriedly put on the new clothes she purchased, Ivy hoped that everything would go smoothly that day. She styled her hair and made sure that her shoes were on perfectly. She grabbed her bag and the exchanged luggage, and made her way out the door. 

She hailed a taxi and rode to the address that the airport had given her. As the taxi pulled up, she took a deep breath and prepared herself for what was to come. She hoped that she would be able to sort everything out quickly and efficiently since she suspected the owner of the luggage would be a co-worker like herself.

When she arrived, she found herself outside of a large office building. Someone came to get her who introduced himself as John and asked her to follow him.

John took her to the last floor and they stopped when they got to the office at the extreme of the large hall.

As they stood outside the office, John pressed on the doorbell and the sound of the doorbell echoed down the hall. A few moments later, a cold voice on the other side of the door said, "Come in."

John stepped through the door and asked Ivy to wait outside. Her heart beating in her chest. A few moments passed, and then John emerged from the office. "He wants to see you now," he said and left.

Ivy nodded, trying to prepare herself for what was to come. She took a deep breath and went into the office. As the door closed behind her, she started looking around the office.

The interior of the office looked richly decorated and expensive, it was as big as Ivy's new apartment's living room. She saw two large comfy couches in the office.

She also noticed a wine bar which had varieties of wine neatly arranged according to its price and they all looked expensive.

"Hey, what are you doing?" A voice filled with annoyance suddenly asked, startling her.

She looked toward the direction of the voice and her eyes landed on a tall, imposing handsome man seated behind a desk. The man had an air of authority about him, and Ivy felt herself shrinking under his gaze.

He was extremely good looking, and kinda charming even though he looked scary and unreachable at the same time.

His glistening hair didn't fail to catch Ivy's attention nor did his well chiseled jawline fail to get her admiration. He was gorgeous and at the same time attractive.

Ivy had to look away not to drool. Within her, she knew that they would never get along despite how good looking he was.

There was this unfriendly aura around him which she didn't find herself liking.

"I'm sorry Mr Tarquin, I was only admiring your office," Ivy replied calmly which brought back Tarquin's attention to her before he looked at the suitcase she was dragging along with her.

"Oh, you are the luggage thief, you thought you could get away with my suitcase right?" Tarquin suddenly chuckled with a mocking grin that made the beautiful features of his face stand out more.

Ivy couldn't stare at Tarquin because she felt intimidated by his expression.

"I can never do such a thing, Mr Tarquin, it was only a mistake which occurred on both sides. It's either you took my suitcase first or I took yours first..."

"Enough of the excuses, hand over the suitcase," He interrupted with a dark gaze which made Ivy swallow in fear.

She gave his luggage to him, and he quickly opened it and started checking if its contents were complete and intact.

After looking at everything, Ivy noticed he had a satisfied look on his face which made her sigh in relief.

He looked up at her and she looked away. His eyes were still very cold but at the same time, it was enchanting. Ivy felt like she was going to get strangled by him but at the same time, she felt attracted to him.

She was getting a mix-up feeling which she couldn't explain. She wished everything would end quickly so she could head out of his presence before she got intoxicated with the mixture of fear and pleasure she was getting.

"You are going to pay for trying to snatch my box, I never let my offenders go away with their crime," Tarquin said to her coldly.

There was an underlying evil smile on his lips when she looked up at him, Ivy had to summon up the courage to look past how he was making her feel at that moment. The smile he had on his face was giving her chills down her spine and it made her very scared but she refused to show it.

"It was a mistake Mr Tarquin which occurred unknowingly, I never stole your suitcase nor tried to get away with it," Ivy replied, trying to make him understand, unknown to her, she was wasting her time.

"I hate excuses, you have to pay for what you have done. I had to do everything in my power to keep my mental health in check while I was very worried about the suitcase and worrying so much was stressful, so you have to pay for the stress, and most especially for the stress you also made my assistant go through," Tarquin said in a determined voice.

Ivy proceeded to explain, "But Mr Tarquin_" .

"Shut up!" Tarquin yelled and hit his palm hard on the table which almost made Ivy's heart fly out of her chest. She shut her mouth immediately thinking that Tarquin was as scary as a devil.

"You should do well to ask your assistant if he isn't the one at fault," Ivy stubbornly replied, after building her courage, ready to face him in whatever way she could.

"I hate excuses, the only choice you have now is agreeing to pay for what you have done," Tarquin pointed out which made Ivy stare at him in disbelief but before she could say anything the door of his office opened and John showed up.

"Get my lawyer to prepare to sue her in court so she can pay for the damages she has caused since she isn't willing to do so while I'm still being nice and asking her to do it myself." Tarquin announced, addressing John, with both Ivy and John staring at him with surprise.

"Make sure the company she is working with also gets to fire her or I will make sure they go bankrupt," Tarquin added which left Ivy scared because there was seriousness in his voice.

"It hasn't gotten to that extent, I had apologized and secondly, I just moved into the country Mr Tarquin, I don't know how to go about a court case as you are already planning on starting one because of this." Ivy explained to him .

"And why do you think you can make the company I'm working for fire me?" She had to ask him because of the level of audacity and authority he was using when talking to her. This time, she made sure she sounded rude as that statement of his got her angry.

"She actually works here sir, she is supposed to be your new secretary," John interrupted and lvy looked at him in total confusion and disbelief. She couldn't and didn't want to think that this petty grown man here was her superior.

"She's my new secretary?" Tarquin said. A taunting smirk was already carved on his face before he chuckled darkly, a thing that sent shivers through Ivy's spine for the third time.

Tarquin looked at her with a triumphant smile on his lips, giving her the look of "You are finished!" through the expression on his face.

"Do well to leave right now, you thief because you are fired. I cannot allow a thief to work in my company, nor would I allow a thief to work as my secretary," Tarquin said.

"Who are you to fire me?" Ivy asked him, getting more enraged because she was yet to understand what was going on with Tarquin and his Assistant.

"He is your Boss, he is the CEO of this company, the one you are meant to work for," John uttered.

"My boss? What?" Ivy's jaw dropped in shock as she looked at them.