Chapter 1
“Haven’t you been told to not follow a guy into his room? He can do things to you,” he smirked.
“I trust you,” I said, looking at him. It was the first time I’d seen the color of his eyes properly. They were coffee brown and stunningly beautiful. He was so close to me I could hardly breathe.
“Gab,” I called him, “You are too close, please move.” I pressed against the wall to create some space, but he moved in closer. I started to breathe harder. “Gab, please!” My pleading came out as a whisper. Why was he affecting me like this?
“There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.
- Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever.
I decided to go to the office early that morning, at 7 am, because I had documents to finish up for my clients. The office usually resumed work at 8:30 am and that gave me an hour and a half to sort myself out.
I was surprised to see my boss as I walked into the office.
“Good morning, Mr. John,” I smiled, greeting him. “You’re early today.”
Mr. John is a nice man in his late fifties, evident from his graying hair. He’s handsome for his age and is something of a fatherly figure to me. He’s the Head Manager of my department, which is Project Management. I joined J. Smith Enterprise three years before as a project coordinator and at that time was the assistant project manager. I was promoted early because of my zeal for work and what I brought to the table. I’d become the ace of the department, mainly due to my hard work and mentoring from my boss.
“Good morning, Candy,” Mr. John replied. “I needed to sort myself out for today’s meetings.” He looked up from his computer.“Oh, and the CEO is inviting all of us to a get-together at his residence today. It’s at around 5 pm, in case you didn’t see the email this morning. I hope you’ll be able to go.”
I wondered which of the CEO’s had invited us: the old or new one. We had all heard that the new guy coming in was the adored grandson of the old CEO and the only child of the family. Nobody had seen him before, except for my boss, who mentioned seeing him when he was young because he had been at the company longer than anyone else.
“You mean the new CEO?” I asked while rearranging my desk and returning all the files to the cabinet storage.
“No, Mr. J. Smith himself,” he replied.
“I’ll be there. Could you send me the address, please?”
“I’ll write it down for you now.”
“Thanks.”
I saw the get-together as an opportunity for me to socialize and have fun after working on a project for 3 months without a break. I smiled faintly, excited by the prospect. “I might have to go back home to change before the party,” I thought. My boss passed me the address, written out on a sticky-note in his neat handwriting, and I tucked it away in my bag so I wouldn’t lose it.
I was 26 years old and loved my job, dedicating myself to being an independent woman so I wouldn’t be taken for granted. I had made this vow to myself after seeing the kind of life my mother had to live because she had given up everything for my dad and he ended up leaving her for a younger woman. Sometimes I hated him, but I still loved him. After all, he was my dad.
Mum cried every day after he left and she was still sad when she thought about him. Since then, the only things I could think about was how to make Mum happy and my work. I had only been in one relationship but ended it myself 6 years before, staying single ever since (Not that I didn’t have suitors; I just wasn’t interested).
After going home to change, I went to the party at the Smith’s. I stopped just in front of the mansion, shocked by what I saw. “Magnificent” I mumbled to myself.“Wow, it’s lovely.” I just couldn’t stop staring at the ornate architecture.
I didn’t realize that my mouth was open until I reached the door, snapping it shut as I rang the bell and waited. A beautiful older woman opened the door, a welcoming smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. I introduced myself and her eyes lit up as she hugged me. I hugged her back but felt awkward about the whole encounter.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said. ” I am Rebecca Smith, welcome to my humble home. Come on in, I’d like to introduce you to some of my friends. I have heard so much about you from my husband and his personal assistant, Jude.”
I thought, “She has the wrong person... but I need to be polite. She’s so nice!” Out loud, I said, “Thank you, ma’am.”
And then it clicked. “Oh my God, the wife of the CEO!” I’d never met her before, just the CEO a few times on some major projects I worked on. “She is so nice, just like Mr. Smith,” I thought. I loved her already, grinning from ear to ear as she dragged me along with her.
The party was already filling up with company employees and some people I had never seen before. The interior decor is astonishing and beautiful, just like a palace. Not that I’d been to one. I followed her to a group of people chatting and laughing in the living room.
“Hello, everyone,” Mrs. Smith said.
They all looked toward us and she introduced me to some of her friends.
“Hey Candy, you made it. I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show up,” Mr. John said smiling along with the group.
“Come on, Mr. John, you know I wouldn’t miss a party for anything” I replied with a big smile.
“Candy, welcome to my home. I hope you enjoy yourself tonight,” Mr. Smith said.
“Thank you, you have a beautiful house.”
Mr. Smith smiles and nods. “Thank you. My wife’s really wanted to meet you, ever since your name was mentioned in one of our discussions. I’m not sure why.”
“Come on, darling, the name is cute and I just knew she would be pretty. Look at her, she’s a beauty,” she said, giving me a quick wink.
“Oh, Mrs. Smith, I’m so flattered. Thank you!” I replied, embarrassed yet pleased with her compliments. Would I admit that I loved her already? Yes, I would.
I wouldn’t have said I was beautiful, but I was proud of my body. Well, that’s what I told myself. I tried to keep in shape. This was not the first time my beauty was mentioned.
I looked around for something to eat grabbing a glass of champagne, which I really needed at the moment. I tried a slice of cake. “Mmm, so delicious,” I said absentmindedly.
“I would like to introduce you to my grandson. We’d love to have you in the family,” Mrs. Smith said out of the blue.
I was so shocked that my drink spilled down the front of my blouse. I looked from my boss to Mr. Smith and then to Mrs. Smith.
“Excuse me? What?” I choked out.
I didn’t know what to say and hadn’t even noticed the champagne soaking my clothes. I thought I was the only one caught off guard, but Mr. John and Mr. Smith’s mouths were opened in shock.
“Oh, look at her face. So adorable!” Mrs. Smith said, laughing.
All I could think was, “Run, run, run...”
