Rose is on a happy high and so she completely misses the shift in Alec’s body language when she says the name ‘Derek Muller’. But Alec is burning up inside. Realizing that she had been keeping him at a distance all this while and cozying up to a leech. And that too his competitor! Not wanting to show his emotions, Alec asks her slowly, “Did you know he is our competitor?” Rose puts her wine glass down and looks at him. Of course, she knew he was a competitor. Everyone knew. It wasn’t a secret. Not realizing where this is going, she waits for him to complete his thought. Wanting to hurt her, Alec looks at her mockingly and tells her, “He has cozied up to you only because you work for me.” And he succeeds when he sees her eyes widening at his statement and a look of hurt flashed across her face. But then he had been hurt too and thus he pushes further. “Do not flatter yourself into thinking he is genuinely interested in you or, worse still, in love with you.” This statement
By the time Rose gets home it is already 3 pm. Feeling exhausted, both mentally and physically, she decides to forgo cooking and orders some food for herself before stepping in to take a bath. She had refused all meals onboard the flight. By the time the food arrives, Rose is already feeling a little relaxed. Her home brings her a lot of comfort and a sense of pride. From each piece of furniture in the house to the paint on the walls and the dishes in the cupboard, each and everything has been picked and paid for by her. Being here she doesn’t feel as worthless as Alec was insinuating. Despite being an orphan, growing up in different foster houses, she has made something of herself. Thinking of her tough times, Rose starts searching for suitable job openings online, while eating her lunch on the side. She has given herself a month to find a job. Once she has signed on the dotted lines with her next employer, then handing in her two-week notice wouldn’t be as difficult. And if Ale
The next morning, dreading going to work, Rose decides to give a little boost to herself by a little power dressing. Picking out her perfectly tailored white blazer with the matching skirt, she contemplates the choice of an appropriate top. It isn’t that she wanted to impress others. She just wanted to feel a little extra confident in clothing that she knew she would look good in. Flipping through the tops in her cupboard, she makes her selection the moment her eyes rest on the silky royal green top. Getting ready, Rose reminds herself that she now has to spend a little under two months at Xander. Not wanting to pick fights during this time, she decides she will remain firm but a little extra polite. Clipping on her rose gold earrings and watch, Rose takes one look at herself in the mirror, and pleased with the overall look, heads out towards the subway on a cheerful note. Riding the subway, Rose decides to add a selfie to the chat that she is having with Maya. Seeing her c
With everyone else finally leaving the conference room after the conclusion of the event meeting, the last two people left happen to be Sarah and Eric. Seeing Sarah furiously typing away on her laptop, finishing the document with the roles and responsibilities that they discussed in the meeting, Eric has an idea pop up in his head. Seemingly muttering to himself he says, “I wonder if Xander Empire is not doing as well as it used to when senior Mr. Xander was the CEO.” Saying this he leaves the question open-ended and starts putting things together in his bag before finally getting up. As expected, Sarah hears him alright and in a more business-like manner asks him, “I am sorry, is there anything that you find missing? Is there something I can help you with?” Shrugging his shoulders, he simply responds, “Well, aren’t these meetings supposed to start on a congratulatory note? We won a new business. A prestigious one at that. A meal or a dessert would have been a nice way to s
The next few weeks pass by quickly in preparation for the big event. Eric and Sarah work very closely together with their teams and Rose supports them fully from the sidelines since Alec keeps reminding her that her primary role in the organization is being his secretary. Since that day of their lunch at the yacht, Alec and Rose had somehow gotten rid of the coldness between them but it is still a delicate professional relationship. Alec knows if he pushes even a bit, the cold walls would be drawn up between them once again. So he tries to stay reasonable around her. However, he is unable to stop feeling threatened by Eric’s growing closeness to Rose. It is one of the reasons he keeps a close eye on them and barges into meetings unannounced on the pretext of supervision and updates, just to keep a check on them Alec, with his eyes only trained on Rose, doesn’t realize that his brother is interested in Sarah and what he feels for Rose is a protective brotherly love, more so sinc
As the much-awaited hour of the event arrives, Sarah, Eric, and Rose do a team debrief and everyone takes their respective positions. The Xander mega yacht looks truly magnificent with the additional lighting and classy, minimalistic decorations. With the entire event being super exclusive, the paparazzi are not allowed to step onto the yacht. However, as the guests start arriving at the scene, the company’s professional team ensures all key moments are captured on tape and shared with media tomorrow while the social media team keeps doing a live stream. The celebrities, entrepreneurs, the contenders for the award tonite, all start appearing one by one with their respective plus one. And then suddenly Rose spots the one she had been waiting for. Walking up to her, Derek pulls her in for a kiss. “Wow! You are looking gorgeous, babe.” Looking around to check his surroundings, Derek notices the interiors of the supremely luxurious yacht. “Everything is looking really good. Loo
Finding herself naked and stuck inside a strange room with an equally naked Alec was a scenario beyond comprehension for Rose. With a million thoughts running through her head, she looks at Alec to get some answers only to find him looking at her from head to toe with a dazed look in his eyes and a massive tent forming inside his towel. Seeing this really triggers the temper in Rose, but right now she needs to find out what really happened. However, as she is met with complete silence from this arrogant man, she concludes what might have taken place last night. Looking at him in pure fury she asks him, “This is what you had always wanted all along, isn’t it? To catch me at a vulnerable moment so you could finally add me to your endless list of one-night stands.” Seeing him take a step towards her, she puts a hand to stop him, “Do not try to come close to me. Stay where you are.” Seeing her expressions and hearing her angry words, Alec’s face holds a confused look. He had
At the insistence of Sarah, Rose had spent the weekend at Sarah’s place. Getting away from her own apartment had been a great idea. Spending time together, watching some old movies on Netflix, and Sarah’s excellent cooking had brought about some semblance of peace to Rose’s mind space. By the time Monday arrived, she was feeling a lot better, and getting to the office with Sarah had felt breezy. But now, as she stood outside Alec’s office, she felt a little nervous. Getting in, thankfully Alec seems busy with the papers on his desk and doesn’t look up till she reaches the desk. However, once she does, Alec looks up and greets her warmly, “Good morning, Rose. How are you today?” Feeling a little hesitant, she softly responds, “I am good Alec. Hope your coffee is fine today. May I read out your today’s schedule for today?” Inspecting her from top to bottom, Alec takes a sip of the coffee and smiles politely at her. “Perfect.” After she is done reading out his day’s schedu