2025-06-02 15:36:26"Miss Emmy?” the CEO snapped, impatience bleeding into his tone.
Emmy offered him a plastic smile, trying to look composed. But they both knew she had absolutely nothing under control.“Are you sure you’re the one who’s been writing these proposals?” the CEO asked, loosening his tie. He looked ready to explode, and Emmy had no power to stop the inevitable.“I’m sorry, sir. I think it’s just the stress—”“Stress?” he barked. “What damn stress? You used to submit ten proposals a week!”Ten? What kind of human coughs up ten ideas a week?“And this is your second week with nothing to show?”“I... I ran out of ideas.”“All of a sudden? After nearly two years of consistent performance? Shouldn’t you be getting better at this, not worse?” He leaned closer, his voice low and lethal. “You have two days to send me twenty viable proposals or I’ll terminate the collaboration. I don’t care what magic you used before.”
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“Yes, ma’am,” the chef replied cheerfully. “He personally asked me to come here. I owe him one. He helped me out in a… well, we shouldn’t talk about that here, should we, Charles?”Charles smirked faintly. “Well, I’m afraid my fiancée came here to get a nice meal, but this is apparently how people behave around here.” He gestured at the mess on the floor.The chef looked around, his expression darkening. “Ma’am, what on earth happened here?”Emmy’s sister jumped in quickly. “Good thing you asked. This idiot insulted our biggest sponsor. How do you expect us to pay your salary if—”“I didn’t come here for the salary,” the chef interrupted flatly. “I came because he asked me to. I don’t usually work for restaurants like this. I prefer humbler places that don’t treat people like garbage.”Before anyone could react, he ripped off his apron and dropped it on the nearest table. “I’ll wire back every cent you’ve paid me. And I’ll let my follower
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“It’s none of your business—” Sadie began.“You’re wrong,” the woman snapped. “It’s my right to make sure people like you don’t rub your poor mentality on me. You might be okay mixing with trash, but I’m not.”She turned to Charles with contempt. “If you leave this second, I won’t embarrass you. Stay another second, and you’ll be wiping this floor with that fancy white shirt of yours.”Sadie furiously pulled out her phone and scrolled for the founder’s number.“I’m only going to count to five,” the woman warned. “And by the end of it, you’ll wish you hadn’t stepped in here.”“If you’re having a bad day—” Charles began coolly.“You’re the one having a nightmare and calling it a life,” she spat at Sadie.Sadie stared at her, baffled. “Do… do I know you?”“Oh, you do,” the woman sneered. “My cousin asked you out and you turned him down like you were too good for him. And then you show up here with this classless ma
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It was 3 p.m. when Charles and Sadie finally stepped into the restaurant for their first proper meal of the day. Ironically, Charles had been the one to suggest the date, the manicure, and all those girly detours Sadie loved—but he was the one regretting it now.He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass door and winced.The makeup artist had almost turned him into a beauty-pageant contestant before he’d begged for mercy. Even now… yeah, this wasn’t his proudest look.“My favorite chef just started working here,” Sadie said as they walked through the reception.“He’s that good?” Charles asked, scanning the place. It was quiet—few diners, soft music, no chaos.“I love that he moved here,” Sadie said. “People here respect privacy. If this were his old place, I’d have been mobbed for autographs by now.”And true to her words, when they passed a couple, they simply smiled at her and moved on.Inside, there was only one ot
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Emmy was quiet the entire time at the tombstone of her grandfather. She had almost not called Roger, but at the last minute decided to—hoping he might be busy and wouldn’t come. To her surprise, he had.Her parents soon left for an important business meeting.“Goodbye, ma’am,” Roger bowed respectfully as they left.Once they were out of earshot, he turned to Emmy, his expression unreadable.“Shall we go now?” he asked. She hadn’t spoken once. The audacity of calling him at the last minute—does she think the world revolves around her? She’d pay for this.“Babe?” he called, stepping closer to see her face. Damn—she was crying.“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, trying to mask irritation, but failing.“He’s… my favorite person,” she choked out.“Been dead for, what, two years?” A scowl crept across his face.“Ten years,” she whispered.“You barely knew him. Let’s go. I have important things to do.
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Charles watched, amused, as Sadie hyped herself up. Of course, she couldn’t just be here without acting like a kid. Within minutes, the whole place was filled with her laughter.Secretly, when she wasn’t looking, Charles snapped a few pictures. He didn’t know why—he wasn’t usually the type—but he couldn’t let this moment slip by.Minutes later, they were driving away from the beach. Charles noticed her lips again and her face, and his chest tightened at the memory of what those men had done to her yesterday.“Do you have any plans for the rest of today?” he asked.“Umm… no. I was supposed to be back tomorrow evening.”“Can we go on a date, then? I don’t think we’ve done that since we met.”“We’re not kids, Charles. Dates are for high schoolers.”“Really? Babe?”“Yeah… I mean…” she laughed. “And I’m not a baby. Babe is like baby.”“You know, when a man calls you ‘babe,’ you’ve won a lottery to his heart.
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“Are you even listening to me at all?” she cut through his thoughts.“You’re beautiful, Sadie,” he muttered.“What?”“I mean…” He cleared his throat. “I had a lot to handle that day, and Natasha kind of heard about it. Then I found out her grandma was in Spain, and I had to use her help—it was the only sensible thing to do at the time.”“Why didn’t you tell me before you left?”“Because, hey…” Charles frowned. “Are you blaming me for what happened?”A frown creased her face. “What?”“Right from the day we met Natasha, you could’ve just told her I was your fiancé. None of this would’ve happened.”She grabbed his hands. “Please…don’t tell her that.”Charles swallowed hard, curious about her fear. Then he smirked, not wanting to complicate things.“You’re the only one who doesn’t know how charming and irresistible I am, Sadie,” he said. “That woman will ask me out soon if we don’t tell her I’m tak
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