“Bye Dad!” Belle waves frantically at her father before she checks in. She is on her way to Bree to find the perfect job opportunity for her to support her family.
Belle finished at the top of her class. She was a student of Computer Engineering at a small university in Dale.
As soon as she got into college, she also joined an organization of white hat hackers, White Jacks, and she is deemed as one of the best in the group.
However, for the past five years, she still hasn’t found the right job for her. She has applied to most of the companies in Dale and worked for two of them, but he only lasted for a year.
After two or three months at the company, she would lose all desire to work. She often ends up resigning, either out of boredom or lack of work growth.
In her past companies, she only ended up monitoring CCTVs inside the security office. It was very unchallenging for her and she always got into trouble with her supervisor, often caught dozing off on her desk.
His father felt sorry for her and knew that his daughter was good in her field. So when she found out that Bree was the best city for her to find an opportunity, he supported her.
Raymond helped Belle convince her mom, Lydia, to allow her to move to Bree and find a job there. It took months for them to finally convince her to let their daughter go.
Belle Roberts is the only daughter of the family. Her father is a fisherman and her mother owns a stall at the supermarket where they sell the fish her father catches. That is how the family gets by.
Although it was hard for them to send Belle to college, they managed to do so. Because of that, they can’t just let her pass on the opportunities available to her, especially Raymond.
“Beeeeeeelle!” an ear-piercing welcome can be heard from across the street. She turned around to see Nathalie running towards her.
Belle hugged her friend tightly as soon as she reached her. “You’re still very pretty!” she squealed, eyeing Belle from head to toe.
Nathalie is Belle’s childhood friend. When the woman’s parents died in a car accident, she moved with her Aunt to Bree and Belle hadn’t seen her for years.
“Of course! I took after you!” she laughed, letting go of her friend.
“Where are you staying?” Nathalie asks as she helps Belle with her luggage.
She looks around for a cab and hails the first one she saw. “I booked a hotel before leaving Dale. I’ll stay there while looking for a job. You help me find an apartment close to the company where I’ll be hired,” laying out her plans to her friend as they put her luggage in the trunk.
Nathalie nods enthusiastically. “How I wish you could just stay with me!” she pouts.
“Hmph! As if your scary Aunt would let me! You know she hates seeing pretty girls. What more if there’s two of us?” then they both laughed.
With Nathalie’s help, Belle didn’t have a hard time finding the hotel she booked. When they got inside her room, Nathalie helped her get settled while catching up.
“So, where do you plan to apply?”
“De Clarion Empire!” Belle answers with a smug. “Well, that’s my first choice, since the owner is my role model! But if I don’t get lucky, I’ll just check out the other companies.”
She is confident in her skills and, based on her research, De Clarion got the best IT department in Bree. That is exactly what she is looking for.
Nathalie's phone rings before she can ask Belle about her other plans. After the call, she bid Belle farewell. Nathalie had to leave because the club she was working for needed a reliever and she was the only one who could go.
“Call me when you’re free, okay? I’ll treat you to lunch!” she tells Belle, planting a kiss on her cheek before leaving.
As soon as the door closed, Belle plopped down on the bed. She pulled out her phone and double-checked the information she researched about the Empire.
Getting hired would be a dream come true for her and she is already feeling ecstatic at the thought of going for an interview. ‘I need to do well!’ she mutters.
As it was already past seven in the evening, Belle called for room service to have her dinner. Afterward, she called her parents to let them know that she had arrived safely.
It took her two more hours to review all the important information she needed to score the position. After that, she decided to head to bed.
---
“We’re hiring a new Executive Secretary for you today. We’re also getting a few new additions to our IT department,” Jacob reported while driving to the company.
“Hmm…” Tristan replied lazily.
If he was to decide, Jacob’s enough as his assistant and secretary. However, senior De Clarion insists on getting an executive secretary.
According to his grandfather, Jacob will end up being a grumpy, unmarried man if he continues to do everything for Tristan. He should have someone to help him out.
“Do you prefer a male or a female secretary?” he asked again of his President before eyeing him from the rearview mirror.
Tristan looked at him as well, taking his eyes off his phone. “We should get a female secretary this time, so you can finally get a girlfriend,” he chuckled. Jacob averted his eyes. He still can’t understand why Tristan is so worked up about finding a girl for her.
“I already told you, I don’t need one,” he answered casually.
Tristan couldn’t hold his laughter anymore. He tapped Jacob’s shoulder, “You should tell your father that. Besides, you can only say that because you haven’t found the right one yet,” he added, shaking his head.
Jacob could only roll his eyes. He was fully aware of the fact that his father had been asking Tristan for help in finding her a girlfriend, but he never thought Tristan would take that seriously. He thought his friend only agreed just so his father would stop bugging him.
Tristan and Jacob were more like brothers. As Jacob’s father started young with the De Clarions, he also helped Frederick raise Tristan together with Jacob. In some way, they are also indebted to this father-and-son duo.
“Let’s eat breakfast first,” Tristan told his assistant before stepping out of the car. They walked towards the entrance of the company and headed for the ground floor café in the building.
They were already a few steps in when Tristan stopped and bowed down. Although he looked disgusted, he still picked up the used tissue paper on the floor.
“Change the cleaning company,” he instructs, and Jacob nods, immediately pulling out his phone and calling the person in charge.
If there is one thing Jacob knows very well about Tristan, it’s that he wants everything done immediately, right there and then. He doesn’t want things stalled and Jacob understands that perfectly.
Walking again and only a few steps away from the café’s entrance, Tristan stopped again. He was looking at the entrance of the company building with a puzzled expression. When Jacob followed his line of sight, his jaw almost dropped.
From the building’s entrance, a gorgeous woman enters. As Jacob stares at her, he realizes that the woman is none other than Vernice, Tristan’s fiancé, the one who ran away on the day of their wedding.
He glances at his boss and notices that he is clenching his fist. He then turns around and enters the café, and Jacob follows.
They chose the table close to the café’s entrance. Tristan sat on the chair facing outside, still looking at the mysterious woman.
“That’s the line of applicants for the IT department,” Jacob informed him. “I’ll be handling the applicants for the executive secretary position.”
Tristan did not bother to respond, as he lost sight of the woman. He is now busy looking for her again.
Just as he was about to lose his patience, he found her. She’s standing right at the end of the line of applicants Jacob mentioned.
"Those are applicants, you say?" Jacob nods and looks in the direction Tristan is looking. "Then what is Vernice lining up there for? Is she applying to work for me?” he chuckles.
Jacob creases his brow. That was exactly what he'd been thinking since he saw her enter the building. ‘After running away, why would she even dare to come back? Worst, she is even applying for a position at the De Clarion Empire.’
“Maybe she’s out of her mind!” Jacob utters. It was supposed to be an inner thought, but he accidentally said it out loud. Tristan suddenly looks at him, brows knitted. “Sorry,” he quickly says.
“Well, I must admit she’s really brave but insane!” Tristan shook his head while adding sugar to his coffee. “Why don’t we hire her as my executive secretary?” a playful smile appeared on his lips.
Jacob feels the drop in temperature to a few degrees, it is bone-chilling. He glances at Tristan but remains quiet. He knows he’s serious about the suggestion.
Jacob again pulls his phone from his pocket to call the head of Human Resources. He informs them that Vernice Williams’ resumé should be sent to his desk before he gets to his office.
‘This girl is dead, so dead.’
Tristan goes straight to his office on the twentieth floor of the building. Jacob, on the other hand, takes some documents from his desk and brings them to the President's office.While waiting for Tristan to go through the documents, he goes back to the executive office to check on the applicants’ files. There were a total of thirty-two applicants but none of them says Vernice Williams.He tried looking again but he really couldn’t find it. He decided to call HR, but he was told that there was no one applying with the name Vernice Williams.Left without a choice, Jacob asked for the HR head to bring him all the applications for the IT position instead. A few minutes later, Sandra came with the files and Jacob looked into them right away.Trying to recall the face of the woman earlier, he checks the files one by one until he finds what he is looking for. Confused, he creases his forehead as he stares at the resumé.The picture on the file was indeed Vernice. However, the name written
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 e
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