Elevator Hitch Protag

The day I finally secured an investment worth over 20 million dollars, I walked into the office and immediately caught sight of that calculating assistant wearing a smug look as she spread gossip around. According to her, my husband, the CEO, was planning to strip me of my position and exile me to some forgotten branch in Northreach. Contract in hand, I headed straight for the CEO's office. I stood behind my husband and rubbed his temples while joking casually, "You won't believe what I just heard. Apparently, you're sending me off to a branch office. If only they knew we've been married in secret for seven years and are about to make it public." He didn't look surprised at all. He gently pushed my hand away and smiled. "It's not a rumor. Andrea messed up the last project, and the board is breathing down my neck. They want someone sent to Northreach, and they picked her. That place is brutal. She wouldn't survive it. She's not like you. She doesn't have the luxury of failure. If she goes there, her career is finished. She was my junior back in school. I can't let her life fall apart." He paused, then added softly, "Once you come back, I'll announce our marriage. And I'll make sure you get what you've always wanted. A child." I smiled, but it held no warmth. I turned around and walked out without another word. Before I reached the elevator, I made a call to his biggest competitor. "Looking for a vice president? I'm bringing 20 million dollars of funding with me. I only ask for one thing: Don't send me to Northreach."

After I join a new company, I keep running into problems—not from people, but from the company's equipment. The fingerprint scanner fails to recognize me every single time, and I have to submit a manual attendance appeal almost daily. When I ask the admin to change the device, they respond with thinly veiled sarcasm. "Everyone else clocks in just fine. Why are you the only one with so many issues?" The air vent above my desk blasts cold air directly at me. My hands and feet are freezing every day. I ask to switch seats. My manager looks at me like I am making things up. "Everyone else sits there without a problem. How come the AC only blows cold air when you sit there?" One strange incident after another makes it impossible for me to function at work. When I get home, I complain to my boyfriend and say I want to quit. He shuts down the thought immediately. "You're making almost 60 thousand dollars a year before benefits, with weekends off and paid leave. Where are you going to find a job like that?" I think about it and realize he isn't wrong. Just as I decide to stick it out, the company elevator malfunctions. I fall from the 33rd floor and die. In my final moments, I can't understand it—why does every piece of equipment in the company seem to target me alone? All the devices are newly installed. All my coworkers are people I have just met. I have no grudges with anyone. There's no reason for someone to sabotage me from behind the scenes. When I open my eyes again, I am back at the company. It's my very first day on the job.

Irene Ang is doing everything she can just to survive. Mag-isa sa buhay, walang masasandalan na pamilya, at halos magkanda kuba na sa kakatrabaho para lang hindi siya masigawan o mapagalitan ng boss niyang perfectionist. Pero hindi lang trabaho ang nagpapahirap sa kanya. Pagkatapos ng ilang taong pagpapakatanga at pagtitiis, nahuli niya ang kasintahan na may ibang babae. Sa mismong party na siya pa ang nag-organize. Ngunit sa gitna ng gulo ng buhay niya, nariyan ang boss niyang si Tirso Gotiangco, a CEO, billionaire, cold, calculated, and intimidating. A man who doesn’t care about feelings, only results. Basta productive ka, may silbi ka. Kung pumalpak ka, maririnig mo talaga sa kanya ang masasakit na salita. At para sa kanya, si Irene ay isang liability. Mahina. Hindi bagay sa mundong ginagalawan nila. They don’t get along. They never have. Pero sa bawat gabing magkasama sila dahil sa overtime, sa presentations, sa mga elevator na bigla na lang sisikip kapag magkasama sila… may unti-unting nagbabago. Irene learns to stand up for herself. And Tirso? Maybe he isn’t as heartless as everyone thinks. He’s powerful and untouchable. She’s hurting and trying to rebuild herself. Until one mistake changes everything—one night, one almost-kiss, one decision that could destroy both their careers. Nangako si Irene sa sarili niya na hindi na siya muling iibig. Pero paano kung ang lalaking kinaiinisan niya… ang siya ring lalaban nang patâyan para protektahan siya? “She’s under my wing now. If you want her gone, you’ll have to go through me first.”