Love Desire: No Quits, No Regrets

"Joyce, the company will be hosting a party after work tonight," Anna Yan said as she looked up at Joyce Xin with a smile. However, Joyce Xin, who was sitting opposite her, gave her a worried look. The two were childhood friends. They had been inseparable all their lives- from kindergarten, to primary school, to high school, and even up until they went to university. They had always gone down the same path. People who they had just met would often think that they were sisters. Now, they were even working at the same company.

"Oh, is that so? I cannot go to the party. I have to go to the Flying Dragon International after work tonight."

"Why do you even go to that kind of place? Could it be..." Anna Yan said in a teasing voice.

"Well... It's because of my troublesome younger sister," Joyce Xin explained.

"Did she run away from home again?" Anna Yan asked.

"Yes... My father's friend said that he saw a girl who looked just like her hanging around the new urban district. We will go there to look for her."

"Well, good luck to you. I'm heading out. I'm going to go to the restaurant first. Bye..." With that, Anna Yan stood up and picked up her handbag. She walked out of the office elegantly, not a hair out of place. She looked perfect from every angle.

Standing in front of the massive doors of the Flying Dragon International, Joyce saw many young, well-dressed women streaming into the building. Joyce Xin looked carefully at everyone who went in. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

"Emma..." Before Joyce Xin could stop the girl who looked like her sister, the girl had already disappeared through the side doors of the building. Joyce Xin hurried to catch up with her but a man with a stern face stood in front of her, blocking her way.

"Miss, you don't belong here."

"I...I..."

"What?" The man looked suspiciously at the strange girl in front of him, glowering at her. "Are you new here?"

"Oh... Yes. Yes... I am!" Joyce Xin stammered.

"Who introduced you this job?" the man asked gruffly.

"E-Emma... Emma is my..."

"Oh, you must be talking about the girl who went in just now. Well, then. Move along. Go straight to make up and change your clothes. The guests will be arriving soon." 'It turns out that Emma is really here. I must take her home tonight,' Joyce Xin thought to herself. Determined, she took a deep breath and walked through the doors. However, she couldn't find her sister in the dressing room. 'She must be out,' Joyce Xin thought. Then she tried to make her way to the dance floor.

'Oh my God, this is really a depraved place!' Joyce Xin was shocked. She let out a small gasp when she finally found herself on the dance floor. Dozens of men and women were carousing and laughing. They were caressing and making out with each other with abandon. The women were heavily made up and they seemed eager to let the men fondle their bodies. The men's eyes were filled with excitement and something else --- lust. Joyce Xin blushed. But there was no time for her to be embarrassed. She needed to find her sister and get the hell out of that place.

Joyce Xin walked out of the dance floor. She wandered for a bit and found herself in the area where the private rooms were located. Each room was occupied, and Joyce did not dare imagine what was happening inside the rooms. She knew the doors would only open if one of the people needed to use the restroom or they were done doing their business. Where on earth was Emma?

"Ouch!" Joyce suddenly felt like she had walked into a wall. When she was about to raise her head and lecture the person who was standing in her way, a nervous voice spoke from behind her, "Ah, Mr. Arvin, I'm sorry. Did she hurt you? Are you okay?"

'What?' Joyce thought to herself, 'It was him who bumped into me. How is he the victim? How is this my fault?' The voice belonged to a fat man, who seemed to be one of the building's workers. He was shaking his head apologetically and bowing in front of the man who had hit Joyce. 'Oh, this is so irritating...' At that moment, Joyce saw the man's face. Her jaw dropped open. She could not believe her eyes. He was both handsome and beautiful at the same time. The man was massive---about 1.85 meters in height! His features were sharp and his eyes shone like diamonds. His rosy cheeks gave him a boyish charm but he had a dark and mysterious aura. He was unbelievably gorgeous. Joyce raised an eyebrow. 'All right. You are good-looking. I'll forgive you.'

Then she turned to leave when the fat man stopped her. "Are you new here? Don't you know the rules? Why don't you apologize for bumping Mr. Arvin?"

The man called Arvin patted the front of his Armani suit. "Forget it," he said with contempt.

"Oh, Mr. Arvin, you are so generous!"

Joyce couldn't stand it anymore. She initially had not planned to say anything but this man was crossing the line. "It was you who bumped into me and now, you want me to apologize. Didn't your mother teach you how to be polite?"

Arvin Yi was silent for a moment. Then, he curled his lips with interest. "Huh?"

"Mr. Arvin, it's not like that. Sorry! She is new. Please don't be angry." The fat man shook his head apologetically once more. He faced Joyce and growled at her. "Go away!" Joyce felt insulted. 'Humph! Go away? Even if you beg me to stay, I will not!'

She rolled her eyes and began to walk away. Suddenly, Arvin Yi called after her. "You're new here, aren't you? Why don't you come in and have some drinks with me?"

"Okay, okay. Mr. Arvin, I will arrange it for you right away." The fat man narrowed his eyes at Joyce. "Well, what are you waiting for? Hurry up!"

Fearing that it might interfere with her search for Emma, Joyce had no choice but to follow the fat man into room VIP 888. There were only two people left in the large, luxurious private room: Arvin and Joyce. Then he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his suit. He addressed Joyce casually, "Didn't your boss teach you how to serve the guests?"

Joyce's eyes widened. First, he had been rude to her. Now, he really thought that she was a prostitute. As if! "Mr. Arvin, right? I'm not a hooker. You are misunderstanding me. If you want some sort of special service, I can call one of the hookers outside for you, okay?"

Arvin stood up and peered at the arrogant woman before him. Special service? He snickered. He could get any woman he wanted. Women threw themselves at him and pulled him into their beds. He was not here to find someone to sleep with. He didn't know what was wrong with him that day, but he really felt like teaching her a lesson for being so arrogant. How dare she talk to him like that? As Arvin stalked towards her like a lion preparing to pounce on its prey, Joyce felt uneasy all over. She had never had a man come up so close to her, let alone one as beautiful and dangerous as Arvin.

"Arvin...Mr. Arvin..." Arvin put one hand on the wall right next to Joyce and brought his body close to hers. With the other hand, he lifted up her chin. The woman suddenly went silent, her bottom lip quivering. She reminded Arvin of an injured rabbit. She was not exceptionally beautiful, but something drew him to her. Was it her natural appearance? Compared to all the other women in the building, this one was like a piece of unrefined jade---rough around the edges but beautiful, nonetheless.

"As a newcomer, you should know that one of your duties is to drink with the guests to relax them. Isn't that right?" Arvin's gentle and magnetic voice sent a chill down Joyce's spine. The lack of space between them made her body hot all over.

"But... I can't drink."

"Oh? But you were so arrogant just now. I thought you were really something. Yet, you can't even drink. Huh!" Arvin let go of her and walked back to the sofa. There was a hint of disdain on his face. Joyce was livid. The man's disdain irritated her so much that she walked to the table, snatched up a glass of wine and downed all of its contents with one gulp.

"You think you have everyone figured out, don't you? Well, here's a little piece of advice. Stop judging people unless you want them to do the same to you!" Joyce wanted to turn around and leave, but she was suddenly overcome with a wave of dizziness. She felt as if the floor was being pulled from underneath her. She felt very tired and wanted to find a place to lie down. Suddenly, she felt someone hug her tightly around the waist and lift her up.

"Manager Tom, I need to use the room V168 upstairs."

"Yes, Mr. Arvin." Arvin had never let any woman stay here with him overnight. However, the fat man called Tom did not say anything else. He busied himself with preparing the room.

Arvin tossed Joyce onto the bed. He bent over and whispered in her ear, "Wild kitten, rest well." The warmth of his breath on her skin made Joyce shiver.

"Water... I want to drink water." Arvin wanted to leave, but the woman grabbed his shirt and kept touching him all over. Her hands were so soft.

"Woman, you start this. Don't blame me later." Joyce opened her mouth. She was parched and in desperate need of some water, but something pressed against her lips. Arvin had kissed her! His kiss was overbearing, like it was a punishment for her.

Joyce felt that she could hardly breathe. His lips moved slowly from her mouth. They went up to her ear and they slowly made their way down to her neck. Joyce lay frozen. She wanted to escape, but she could not. She seemed to realize what would happen next, but she knew that she could not escape. Joyce let out a cry of pain. He frowned, but continued what he was doing.

The morning sun was shining through the floor to ceiling window. Joyce gently turned over and felt as if her whole body was about to break. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a man lying next to her. Sitting up with a startle, Joyce couldn't help but wince from the pain. She gazed at the handsome man sleeping next to her, covered by a soft, silk sheet. Her head began to throb as she tried to recall last night. Last night? What did they do last night? She was not fully conscious last night, but she could never forget the way that he made love to her.

He had ravaged her body over and over again, and had only stopped when she begged him to.

Joyce was frozen in shock. What should she do? What if he woke up and did the same thing to her again? She didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore. Getting out of bed quietly, she slowly put on her clothes. Then she took out a pen and a piece of paper and wrote him a note. She smirked, imagining the man's face when he woke up and read her little message.

"Sir, we have nothing to do with each other now. I wish you a happy life in the future!"

"Humph! You think you can get away like this?" A smile appeared on Arvin's face, but his dark and bottomless eyes had no warmth. "Assistant Jerry, help me check..." He took out his phone and began to give out instructions.

"What? Did you sleep with him?" Anna was surprised to hear that. Her curiosity immediately gained the upper hand. "Is he handsome? Was he good? How do you feel?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Joyce immediately covered Anna's mouth. She didn't want the whole world to know about the night she just had! "Stop talking about it. I'm so annoyed now. Fortunately, it's over. I don't know what came over me last night. No matter. As long as I don't go near that place ever for the rest of my life, I can put what happened behind me!"

"But I'm really curious..." However, Anna was cut off by the sudden ring of the phone on the table.

"Joyce, bring me the documents you prepared for the client."

"Okay, sir." After hanging up the phone, Joyce took the documents and left her seat. She walked into the office of the marketing manager, leaving Anna immersed in her work.

"Manager Jim, the documents you wanted me to bring out are ready."

"Well, go and bring in the documents of the last bidding."

"Okay."

Joyce turned to leave but the manager's booming voice halted her in her tracks. "Are those the documents you prepared? A pile of white paper? This is not what I wanted! Could this pile of white paper bring the company thirty million? What the heck? How can I explain this to the client?! Joyce, what have you done?" The manager's face was red with anger.

"No, that's impossible. I have already prepared..." Joyce was speechless. She scrambled to look at the documents and was in shock to see the blank pieces of paper.

"Joyce, you have never disappointed me before. Why did you have to start doing so now? Forget it! Don't even bother coming in tomorrow."

"Sir... Don't come in tomorrow? Am I fired? But I..."

"You just cost this company thirty million. Why, I think it's quite generous that I'm not making you pay for the money we lost. Just hand in your resignation and don't make a scene."

"But..."

"Get out!"

"Okay." Joyce turned around and left the office in disappointment, not noticing the bidding documents being clutched by the manager's other hand and the complacent smile behind the curtain next door.

"Resign? Why? I thought you were doing quite well in the company. What happened?"

"Well, nothing. I think I just need a change of pace."

"No, you must be hiding something from me." Anna stared at Joyce, trying to find out the truth. "You've been my best friend for so many years and you think I can't tell when you're lying?"

"Alright... I was fired." Joyce quickly filled Anna in on what had happened at the manager's office.

"Don't you think it's strange?"

"Yes, it is, but I don't have the time to figure out what happened. What I need to do now is find a new job. I need money to support myself."

"Oh, what a waste!"

"Damn you! You are still in the mood to joke."

"Joyce."

"What?"

"Do you remember Noah?"

Joyce was surprised. Her eyes widened slightly. "Why did you mention him all of a sudden?" she asked.

"It seems that he's working at a multinational company. I think it's called S Group. Maybe you can try your luck with him. He asked me about you the other day."

"Really? I don't think I would do well in a big company. I'm only fit for working at a small one." Joyce paused, deep in thought. After a few seconds, she shook her head and forced a small smile. "Well... It's time for me to tender my resignation. Dear friend, don't miss me too much when I'm gone." Joyce stood up and gingerly walked towards the personnel department.

"Noah... I..."

"Joyce, thank you for seeing me off. I will work hard abroad. Take care of yourself!"