3. THE CEO AND HIS SECRETARY.

Olivia realized what love was growing up with her parents.

Sara and Gerald were madly in love with each other. Be the stares they made with each other from the front seat, to how affectionately they held each other. Growing up, Liv wanted that.

Wanted someone to give her half the attention her dad gave her mum. She wanted that happy ending, until she didn't.

"I'm saying crabs are overwhelmingly overrated"

"Sea food, in general" Sara rolled her eyes before looking to the foggy windshield in front of her. Rain splattered against the glass, inaudible to both their chuckles while Liv just watched from the backseat. "What's so funny?" Liv was so much similar to her.

"Why didn't you say this before we ever got married?" Gerald hummed, turning to look to his wife with his hands still against the steering wheel. "Are you saying something as trivial as my opinion on seafood would have stopped us from getting married, Mr Sanders?" Sara dramatically turned to him and he scoffed.

For the moment that he stared at her, it seemed like everything had suspended, time and all of its entities. "It could never" Gerald whispered. "Nothing could change the way i feel about you"

Now, Liv was the only person that saw the approaching headlights in front of them and she numbly pointed while Sara reached for her husband's hands. "I love you" She whispered. "Forever"

"Mum"

"Forever" Gerald whispered before turning to face the roads. But alas it was already too late. The blinding lights shone in his eyes as he gripped his steerings to swerve to the right. It was late.

And he watched his whole life flash before his eyes, because forever was no longer forever. Especially to Liv who'd watched both her parents die that night. And the moment the car tumbled down the hill with her in the backseat, she shot her eyes open.

It was a dream.

One of the persevering nightmares she had of that night. She sat up on her bed, rubbing her sweaty temples with her fingers as her eyes narrowed at the clock. That was a dream—

—but meeting Damien Archer the previous day wasn't. Her chest rose and fell at the singular thought of him as she brought her feet to the cold floors. She remembered every single word, every touch, the sound of his breath. His scent that was so strong it was irritable. And she detested him with everything she had in her for that one thing he did eleven years ago.

He had changed, at least on the outside. He was now the public's best person Damien Archer, heir to the Archer Corporations. Powerful, perfect but he hadn't always been that way. He was a boy, a ruthless one and the one that shattered Liv's heart. So much that it was irreparable. Alex was the first reason Liv never believed in love and happy endings.

And after that summer, she never went back to Camp Kiwi. Meaning she hadn't seen him until the previous day where he was inches away from her, hands holding her chin to face him.

"You were my father's secretary" His voice went low in a coarse whisper as he held her chin to face him. "You're mine now" He added and Liv tried her best to back away from him, but there was a desk right behind her. "Mr Archer—" She muttered shakily.

"You can call me Alex."

With that, he pulled away, failing to recognize the girl right before him as the ten year old who he'd taken advantage of years ago. "I have the rest of the day covered with media preparations but i'd love to meet with you tomorrow morning. Seven am, prompt"

His hands reached for the metal knob. "Don't be late. Or you'll lose your job" He snarkily said before walking out. And the moment the door closed behind him, Liv's shoulders collapsed with a deep exhale. And she turned away, cussing the day she was born under her breath because what were the odds?

What were the fucking odds she'd meet Alex in the future, and he'd be the same arrogant self he was years ago. Except now, he was the CEO she worked for.

Her toes grazed the cold floor as her eyes fell on the clock.

6:30AM

"Shit"She cussed, jolting forward to the bathroom. She had thirty minutes to get dressed and also to have gotten on the bus. And with that thought that her job was on the line, Liv was jittery.

She grabbed her toothbrush, cupping her chin into the sink. She didn't have much except for failing fashion career. But then again, she hadn't designed in like forever because there wasn't really much time between working the jobs that actually paid her. She straightened her hair with her fingers and rinsed across her face with her palms—now, her hair was really a messy bun.

Slipping out of her lavender silk nightgown, Liv raced to her closet, picking out one of the same designed skirts she'd had but a plain white shirt this time. She wasn't that tall, maybe about average and often these dresses complimented her height. She tossed it on, making her way down the stairs with a growling stomach. Before walking out of the front door, she threw one last look at the fridge but then she shook her head.

"Fuck"

The sun beamed against her frames as she walked amidst the porch shrubs. She began to race towards the bus-stop, one eye on her wristwatch to see she was already late. "Hey" She yelled, trying to make it in time. She waved in the air, signaling to Hamilton and then he halted, giving her just a few seconds to catch up to him. And the moment she did, she leaned against the bus frames, letting out a deep breath from her lips.

"Liv" He looked to her as she held up a finger, trying to catch her breath. "Just hold on Ham" She stuttered. The day hadn't even begun and she was already a mess. Uber was an option—

—but to be honest, they didn't really pay her that much. But now, bus it was. She climbed into it, sitting at the forefront and already dreading Damien's first words.

"Twenty three minutes late, Olivia"

He called her name in an old english accent but somehow still stern with it. She dumped her bags in the little cubicle she had before making her way into his office. "I'm sorry, the bus was l—"

"I really don't care, Olivia" He backed her, pouring coffee into his mug and she halted, rolling her eyes. "Of course" She muttered under her breath. "Try me again, and you might be driving the bus as your next bus as your next job" He nudged to the door before she closed it, and before he sat into his chair. Barely making any eye contact, he smirked as she stumbled on his table with all the pending paperwork. "What?"

"You look terrible" He flatly remarked, receiving a vicious glare from her eyes. "I know" She sat opposite him, and this time, he looked up at her for a second before pushing a lump down his throat. Maybe it struck him, that familiar voice but he shook it out of his thoughts. "We should get to this" He hefted the documents in his hands and she sat forward. "Yeah we should"

"I sent out emails to our affiliate teams across the country, regarding your takeover as interim CEO and—" Olivia sat forward, opening up the papers in her hands just before he stopped her.

"Interim?" He echoed.

Her eyes fell. "Since you have a business of your own?" She said in a questioning tone, turning his eyes back to the clipboard. "It's none of your business." He flatly replied.

"But i intend to stay here for quite sometime" Liv pushed a lump down her throat before he sat back into his chair. "I can handle finance and affiliate marketing, as well as the distributors. But that's not why i called this meeting" The chill swirled her stomach as she remained restive in the chair opposite him.

"Hank's funeral. I want everything sorted by the next week and since you're my personal secretary, i want you overseeing everything—"

"I dont really do personal matters, Mr Arch— Alex" That name felt odd her lips as she looked to him. "Hank doesn't let me" She added and he scoffed. "Well you don't work for Hank anymore, do you?" He shot a question back at her.

"I would assign days that you would have to accompany me regarding preparations but i would tell you hours prior" He stood from his chair, looking into his wristwatch as if he had yet another meeting to attend to. Liv jolted up to match his pace.

"Will that be all?"

He downed his coffee, holding the empty cup in his hands. Walking towards her, he halted to hand it over. And she stared down arrogantly at the saucer before collecting it. Liv had never been this insulted— having a bachelor's degree reduce to taking a man's empty coffee cup. This wasn't the life she'd envisioned for herself in college but alas, she pushed down that thought in her mind. "And next time, put an effort in how you show up to work"

His eyes narrowed at her misplaced buttons across her chest and she uncomfortably turned away. He walked out, leaving her alone in his large office where she had all the room to curse out loud. Tossing his cup to his center table, she crept to the dark mirror that hung from the ceiling. She couldn't utter a word as she unbuttoned the entire thing—because deep down she knew he was right. And knowing he had defeated whatever esteem she had that morning, Damien's lips morphed into his signature smirk.

He knew she hated him, so he wasn't about to make things easy for her as well.

It was then her phone rang in her pockets. She hefted it out, and it was on seeing that it was Agatha that she sighed deeply. After what was already a long, hectic tumultuous day, she could always rely on her aunt to make her feel better.

"Olivia" The door suddenly barged open and Damien hung by its hinges, refusing to care that she was in front of his mirror. "Come with me" He urged, and Liv rolled her eyes to the back of her head. "I'll call you later ma" She whispered into her room just before his voice raved the entire corridors. "Now!" He exclaimed.

And Liv scrambled behind him, unsure how long she could bear this. She paced in her wedged pumps, holding unto the walls for dear life—something Damien found embarrassingly hilarious. But in no world would he let her see him chuckle. Instead, his eyes went down on her the moment he halted and she froze.

"This way." He kicked the door open. "I have a meeting—" And in the moment, her repugnance for him had peaked to an entirely new level. And she began to question now, whatever she had seen in him in the first place. He was terrible, arrogant, cocky—

—and the truth was, she was attracted to those qualities. But not him, never him. Never again.

To be continued...