Chapter 10 Enemies

Consuela's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

In the far end of the meeting room, sitting at the head of the conference table, was Richie, reading a document silently. Everyone in the room was silent and tense, and all their attention was on him.

It didn't take long for Richie to realize that Consuela had already arrived. He looked up from what he was reading and stared directly at her. "Consuela Xia?" he said robotically.

The first thing he noticed was how Consuela's eyes dimmed. 'Probably from seeing me?' he thought, feeling amused. Things were starting to get interesting fast.

Upon hearing Richie's voice, Consuela was forced back to her senses. "Yes!" she cried out, surprising herself and everyone else. Now, their eyes were on her.

As embarrassment began to swallow her up, she just started cackling. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she'd see Richie again! Worse, she had never expected they'd meet in this type of situation!

She swore under her breath as she clenched her fists. A plethora of emotion had started rumbling inside her chest.

When she sent her application to the Sruthan Group, she had never expected to receive a response. She just did so that she could say she did. That was why she was over the moon when the text came-she had never thought she stood a chance! But apparently, someone sinister was toying with her emotions.

'He must be here to humiliate me again,' she thought.

Her eyes zeroed in on her tormentor. From where Richie was sitting, she could only guess what his position was in the company.

"You're the secretary I'm in need of," Richie declared nonchalantly, ignoring the surprised looks on everyone around him.

A tiny, almost mocking smile graced his lips. "That's if you want to be my secretary. It's your choice," he added.

Despite his laid-back demeanor, his staff seemed scared and on edge.

It was becoming clear: he wasn't a friendly CEO.

As Richie continued to stare into Consuela's eyes, his gaze started becoming icier and icier. It was as if he would push her from the ninth floor mercilessly if she ever refused.

Consuela, however, tried her best not to look shaken up by the intensity in Richie's eyes. She, too, smiled and sad modestly, "How could I refuse? It's my honor to work for you."

'A fucking honor...'

Suddenly, Richie stood up from his seat and walked towards her. He stopped right in front of her and leaned down, so that his face was right next to hers. "Are you mad?" he whispered.

Their faces were so close together that Consuela was able to perceive the strong mint smell and light tobacco smell on Richie's breath.

Deep inside, Consuela was shaking. She, however, fought hard to mask it.

"Of course not!" she replied, her smile widening. "I'm just-"

Before she could finish what she was about to say, however, Richie rested one of his long, slender fingers on his mouth, as if to shut her up. Consuela winced and immediately looked the man in the eye.

"Then stop talking," he said, his tone vicious. Without waiting for Consuela to respond, he brushed past her and walked towards the door of the meeting room.

As soon as he closed the door behind him, the meeting room erupted with the buzzing of hushed whispers. Everyone's eyes were on Consuela, as if sizing her up.

Consuela finally let go of her strong façade. 'Should I stay, or should I go?' she asked herself, feeling like she was about to weep.

All of a sudden, the door opened once again. This time, it wasn't Richie, but a woman with an aura of authority. Just her presence was enough to silence everyone shamelessly gossiping about what had just happened.

"The CEO said that Sruthan Group didn't hire idle, unproductive people. If the Design Department doesn't hand in their outputs by the end of the day, everyone will be fired."

The crowd whined in unison. "You," she said, pointing at Consuela. "Come with me." Consuela, though taken aback, nodded and followed the woman.

She was taken to the Office of Secretary. As they were on their way, however, she noticed how every employee seemed to be female, all with long legs and thin waist. "I thought the CEO hated women?" she asked quietly. The woman lifted her glasses and glanced at her sharply. Her lips curved in a faint smile but she didn't answer.

"Your desk is over there. You'll start working tomorrow."

And with that, the woman left without saying any goodbyes. Consuela now was in the midst of numerous young and beautiful secretaries, whose eyes were on her.

She really didn't know what to say, so she just flashed them all a smile and then left.

In the elevator, two employees were talking about her loudly.

One curly-haired female said, "Oh, have you heard that? The CEO was seduced by a coquette."

"Tsk, tsk. She must be very good in bed. There was no way she would be able to sleep with a man like the CEO with that face," the other one replied.

They were really acting like Consuela wasn't there with them.

Consuela didn't want any trouble, so she just lowered her head to find her face that was already becoming pale due to fear, anger, and embarrassment.

Her breath was becoming labored, and so she rested her hand on her belly. She was thinking about her baby.

She should be patient for the sake of her baby.

Finally, the elevator arrived at the ground floor. She stumbled out and took a deep breath, trying to contain her emotions. A sudden influx of people informed her that another elevator had arrived at the ground floor.

Richie was buttoning up his shirt with a cuff link deftly. The grim atmosphere around him made people dare not look at him.

Because Consuela was so focused on catching her breath, she didn't notice Richie walk by.

In his office, Richie dialed a number. "Send someone to keep watch on her," he said into the phone. "If anything bad happened to the baby, you will be doomed."

Richie hung up the phone without waiting for a response. He then rummaged through his drawer for a smoke and lit it up. Soon, the whole office was filled with white smoke.

Consuela arrived at her apartment early that day. Immediately, she headed to bed to sleep. After taking a nap, she felt well-rested and refreshed.

Her parents once again asked her to come home for dinner. They really didn't take her no for an answer.

As she looked at the pure white ceiling, a bitter smile graced her lips.

"Consuela, you are indeed a loser."

There was bitterness, disappointment, and anger in her voice. The love of her life had suddenly become her brother-in-law, and now, she was pregnant with the child of a dangerous man.

Life was tough. She couldn't do anything about it, unfortunately.

After a while, she went home. She didn't see Sheryl or Harry, but honestly, she didn't want to ask about their whereabouts.

She felt better not seeing them around.

Standing outside the villa was Linda waiting for her. Upon seeing her, she pulled her into her arms and scolded her with a smile, "You are so heartless! You have to be forced to go home!"

Consuela felt embarrassed and stuck out her tongue. Hearing her mother's sweet voice made her emotional.

She then noticed a woman with heavy make-up walking towards them, her arm linked to a man's. "Consuela! You're finally here! I bought you a suit. Try it on!"

Looking at the petite figure, Sheryl suddenly stiffened. Her tone immediately became fervent.

'I'm better than this woman in every aspect. If I was able to snatch her man away from her, I can outdo her in every way!'

Consuela, oblivious of her sister's anger, smiled upon seeing her. "Sheryl! Thank you so much!" she said.

She, however, didn't dare look at the man beside her.

No matter what happened, she felt like her heart couldn't stop feeling what it felt towards Harry. She wanted to just ball up and escape everything. It was the only way she could think of to stop feeling hurt.

However, her wounds had been uncovered again and again.