The CEO'S Endless Love

It was 6 am when Clara woke up to the sound of the alarm. Sitting on her bed and rubbing her eyes she looked around her messy apartment before standing up and heading to the shower.

After coming out of the shower, she wore her newly bought white blouse and black skirt with heels. She applied light makeup and looked in the mirror. "Ooo... ain't I the cutest," she said while pinching her cheeks and smiling widely showing her two cute dimples.

It was her first day of work. After graduating from college one year ago she had been working at a coffee shop until a week ago when she received an email from ' Cha Software Corporation ' one of the largest software companies in Country Z that she had been employed as a software engineer, her major in college. She had been so ecstatic and called her parents who were living in a small town near the city and informed them about her new job and also took her best friend Maya to the bar together with her coworkers from the coffee shop to celebrate.

'Now that I have achieved my dreams and landed a new job it's time to fall in love ' she thought happily " What am I thinking " she broke out of her reverie and realized that she had been standing in front of the mirror for an hour.

she rushed into the kitchen and made herself an omelet and coffee which she ate with bread and quickly ran out of her apartment realizing she was almost late.

When she reached the bus stop she saw that the bus was about to leave. She increased her speed and hurried inside the bus. " Phew so close. I can't believe I spent one hour standing in front of a mirror " she scolded herself and checked her wristwatch again.

She reached the company and gasped at the tall skyscraper in front of her " Wow... I can't believe I'm going to start working here from now on, " she muttered and admired the view without sensing that someone was standing behind her.

" Are you going in or not miss?" said the voice. She turned around and wanted to say ' is this how you talk to ladies' but her jaw dropped when she saw the person standing behind her.

With her eyes wide and mouth agape " Oh.... my god " she exclaimed, for she had never seen any man so beautiful, with exquisite facial features, beautiful eyes, skin as fair and smooth as a woman's, long lashes, straight nose and thin lips which were as pink as strawberries ' I think I'm dreaming ' she thought to herself.

Seeing the woman standing in front of him not responding and looking at him like she had seen a ghost, Carl frowned and looked at her closely. She was very beautiful with a cute face and round eyes, her skin was very fair and her dumbstruck look added more to her cuteness.

He normally got this kind of stare from women which irritated him but he was surprised that he was finding her cute ' what is wrong with me ' he thought to himself.

Before he could say another word his assistant ran in their direction and said to him

" Sir.. everything's been taken care of, miss is on her way back ". It was after he finished talking that he realized that someone was standing in front of his boss.

Hearing what his assistant said, Carl took his eyes off her and replied, "Mm." before he brushed past her and strode inside the company leaving his assistant behind.

The assistant waved his hand in front of the dumbstruck lady and chuckled. 'Another victim.. ha boss is such a heartless man, how can he be so handsome like that.'

Realizing that the woman was still absent-minded he said, "Miss, Are you alright? " he asked her while suppressing his laughter. It was fun to see these women's reactions when they saw his boss, there was a time that a lady even fainted.

Clara snapped back to reality and looked at the person standing in front of her 'where did he go, was I hallucinating?' she thought.

Without answering the assistant she took a look at her wristwatch and realized that she was five minutes late "Oh no...not on my first day of work.. I'm doomed," she said with a grim expression and hurried inside without turning back.

"What a weird woman." The assistant laughed before following his boss inside.

•••

When he reached his office, Carl sat down in the swivel chair and turned back to face the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city.

He thought back to what happened a while ago.

'This is not the first time I've received this kind of reaction from ladies. But why am I feeling strange?' he thought, feeling confused.

He placed one hand on his beating heart just then his assistant walked in and he quickly retained his stoic expression.

Turning around he faced him and said, "How is she...?"

David knew that he was asking about his over-pampered stepsister and remembered what happened in the morning when she ran out of home and followed her brother to the company throwing her tantrums, he had to drive her back to the Cha mansion which was why his boss was left at the company entrance instead of going through the private elevator that was in the parking lot.

"She was in a bad mood when I dropped her at the mansion," he answered

" Mm." Carl nodded and looked down at the documents that were piled on his desk.

•••

Clara rushed inside the company and headed to the programming department. On her way, she noticed the employees chatting among themselves.

"Isn't he charming? Ah, I think I'm going to faint," one employee said.

"I know right ... If I have him for myself I won't wish for anything more," said another employee

"Young, handsome and rich, what else could I wish for?"

"I only wish he would glance at me even once and I'll die without any worry."

"But I wonder why he didn't take the private elevator today," one of them pondered.

Clara knew immediately who they were talking about 'I think he also works here,' she thought.

She reached her department and headed to the manager's office. She knocked at the door.

"Come in."

A voice sounded from inside the office. She went inside and saw a middle-aged man sitting on a chair and busily typing on the computer at his desk. He looked up and asked with a smiling face, "How may I help you, Miss?"

"Sorry I'm late, Sir." she bowed and continued. "I'm Clara Yang. I received the email that I've passed the interview and should report to work today," she said, feeling nervous that she might be scolded for being late.

" Oh, right the new employee." The man smiled and stood up. "Welcome to the Programming department, come let me introduce you to your colleagues."

He shook her hand and directed her outside

"Oh right... You can call me Mr. Long. I'm too young to be called sir," he said humorously.

Clara laughed along with him and followed him outside ' phew. I thought I was going to get scolded for being late on my first day of work ' she thought.

After she was introduced to other employees she was shown her cubicle where everything she would need was already set for her "Wow... I think I might have saved a country in my past life to land a job in a big company like this." she smiled contentedly.

She switched on the computer and started working on the documents that were already prepared for her on her desk which were all about Application programming. While she was immersed in her work, she sensed someone standing beside her.

Clara lifted her head and saw a beautiful lady who was about her age looking at her work.

She put on a smile and said, "How may I help you?"

"Oh sorry to disturb you, my name is Mira Wang. You can call me Mira."

"Oh, Mira, nice to meet you again, we were introduced to each other a while ago... Sorry I didn't recognize you," Clara said apologetically.

Mira laughed and replied, "It's nothing. I'm also a newcomer, I started working here one week ago. It's lunchtime, care to grab a bite at the company's cafeteria?"

" Sure, let's go I'm starving already," Clara said while rubbing her stomach. They both laughed and headed to the cafeteria.

They got along easily and became friends in no time. They chatted about so many things and realized that they shared many interests.

After Clara returned from work, she found out that her best friend hadn't returned.

She had been living together with her Maya in this small apartment ever since they graduated from college and came to the city. they grew up together in the same province and attended the same schools from kindergarten to college. They were like real sisters and some people always thought that they were twins because of their similar physiques even though they didn't look alike.

Maya had informed her yesterday that she was going on a date with her boyfriend. She picked up her phone and decided to give her a call.

" Ring.. ring... Ring..."

The phone rang many times but there was no answer. Then she decided to send her a voicemail and just as she was about to hang up, the door opened and Maya entered with a sad expression. She dropped her bag on the floor and slouched down on the couch.

Clara frowned and wondered why she was gloomy. she sat down, placed her hand on her shoulder, and asked in a worried tone.

" Maya what is wrong..?? Why are you looking like this, did something happen between you and Ken?"

Maya sighed and looked up with tears streaming down her face. She sniffed and turned to Clara with bloodshot eyes and said, "Sorry to make you worry, Clara." she paused and wiped her tears then continued in a barely audible voice.

"It's not about Ken. He and I are doing fine... " She hesitated and went on. "Remember I told you that our company had opened a branch in City X."

" Yes. Is something wrong?" Clara frowned and said while handing her a handkerchief. She had a bad feeling about what her friend was going to say next.

"I'm one of the employees that will be transferred there." Maya held Clara's hands and continued.

" I don't want to leave you alone here but I don't have a choice... I spoke with the manager and he said there's nothing he could do."

She remembered how she begged the old man but he didn't even glance at her and told her that it was either she transferred or quit the job.

After hearing what her friend said Clara sighed and hugged her. "It's okay, don't cry. I'll be fine," she said and looked up and smiled at her, masking her sadness.

"Isn't it your dream to set up your own fashion company in the future? Besides this is a big opportunity for you.... "

she paused as if she remembered something and asked hurriedly.

" Have you told Ken already? Isn't his grandparents also living in City X?"

"Yes. He told me that he'll also move to City X next month to manage his grandfather's company."

"That's great. See? you won't be alone and Ken loves you so much I know he will take good care of you." Clara clapped her hands and said happily.

'How I wish I could find someone like Ken,' she thought dreamily.

Maya chuckled and pouted her lips. "I thought you were going to say you will miss me and beg me not to go. And here I am crying over you... Hmph."

" Of course, I'll miss you, Baby. Don't worry, whenever you're sad, think of me and I'll appear like a fairy godmother." Clara stood up and walked in front of her dramatically imitating a fairy. They both laughed and hugged each other.

Maya told her that she would be leaving the next morning as the company had already made every arrangement for them.

•••

Cha mansion.

Carl was sitting on a sofa in the large study room, which looked more like a library, facing his father who summoned him a while ago.

His father Henry Cha a middle age man who shared many similarities with his son is one of the richest men in the country, owning thirty percent of the companies in Country Z. He was a ruthless businessman who only believed in perfection.

He looked at his son who was facing him with a frown and said, "Mr. Lu's daughter will come back from abroad next week. I have set up a date for you two to meet." he paused and sighed. "Don't disappoint me this time. She's a very good girl from a reputable family and if you marry her it will be beneficial for both our families."

Carl's eyes narrowed at his father's words. He already saw this coming. He stood up to leave, and in a nonchalant tone, he replied, "Not interested."

" You..." his father was enraged.

"Why won't you go? You're not getting any younger. When I was your age I already had your brother."

He also stood up, pointing his finger at Carl. "Can't you learn from your brother? He already has a fiance and here you are without even a girlfriend." He patted his chest and sat back down.

When he heard his father mention his brother, Carl chuckled and left the study room without giving the man another glance.

When Carl came out of his father's study room, he saw his step-sister running towards him.

She held his arm and pouted. "Big bro, take me with you, please please please. I can't live here anymore. Father has been setting me up on blind dates since I came back and I don't like any of them. Huhuhuhu... I don't want to live here anymore I'm too young to marry pls take me with you," she said hysterically while making a pleading gesture.

Carl sighed and patted her hair. Seemed like his father was so desperate to have grandchildren that even his eighteen-year-old sister would not be spared.

If there was one thing he hated in this world, it was to see his cute little sister sad. He was about to open his mouth and talk when someone suddenly barged into the living room.

"Hahaha. With you acting like this who would want to marry you," Zach said and ruffled her hair.

"Don't mess my hair." Shaking off his hand and rearranging her hair, Lucy turned to her big brother and sadly said, "See? Everyone is bullying me in this house. Just because he puts a ring on some girl's finger, he's proud that he has a fiancee. Who doesn't know that he's a Casanova? I'm sure half the girls in the entertainment industry are wearing the same ring."

"You. Come here," said Zach and he tried to catch her. Then he saw the cold look his brother was giving him. This is not fair, Big Bro," he whined while glaring at his little sister

Lucy hid behind her big brother and made a funny face and mouthed "serves you right" at him before running to her bedroom after saying "Big bro, find me somewhere to live or I'll pack to your apartment tomorrow."

"What brings you here, Big bro, did father set up another blind date again? " Zach asked while trying to suppress his laughter.

Without looking at him Carl walked out of the mansion.

"Wait for me." Zach ran after him and rushed inside his car just as he was about to take off.

Without looking at his brother, Carl drove out of the mansion.

•••

After sending off her best friend, Clara stood in front of the airport facing the busy street and stopped a taxi.

Just as she was about to enter she noticed that she had lost her bag. She apologized to the taxi man and decided to walk to her apartment which was a thirty minutes walk from the airport.

"I guess today is not my lucky day." She let out a sigh while strolling down the street and thinking about how her life was going to be now that she was alone in this city without her best friend.

Clara was lost in her thoughts when rain suddenly started pouring.

"Oh no, what do I do." she looked around and saw a coffee shop nearby she quickly covered her head and ran to the shop's entrance to find shelter from the rain.

After standing there for some time with no sign of the rain stopping, she started to feel cold. She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt today which barely concealed her from the cold and with her clothes drenched it only got worse.

Inside the coffee shop, a guy was sitting on a stool sipping his coffee while facing the entrance. Then he saw a girl through the transparent glass doors running towards the coffee shop and stopped at the entrance.

He observed her for a while and when he saw her shivering, he stood up impulsively and walked out of the coffee shop.

"Miss, are you alright?" he approached her and asked.

Clara looked up and saw a strange guy standing in front of her. He was tall and handsome and wore a grey suit which added more to his charisma.

"Yes," she answered and stared at him with her round eyes that were milky white which made her small round face look more adorable.

When he saw her from afar he didn't know that she was so beautiful until now seeing her up close. He removed his suit jacket and wrapped it around her, smiling warmly. "You're shivering. Where do you live? Let me drop you off."

Clara felt uncomfortable. He was a stranger after all. However, she decided to follow him after contemplating for a while, instead of staying in the cold.

Clara followed him to his car and he drove her to her apartment. All the way there, she was feeling uneasy and none of them spoke a word to each other.

After reaching her apartment building, she got out of the car and turned around to thank him "I'm so grateful, thank you so much."

" No problem," he answered her with a smile and added, "Don't go out like this next time. The weather is unpredictable these days." he paused and fished out a business card from his suit jacket. "Here is my business card. It was nice meeting you," he said and then drove off.

Clara entered her apartment and changed her wet clothes into more comfortable ones. She sat down on the sofa and looked at the business card that the stranger gave her a while ago

"CEO of Ning Enterprise!?" she gasped and covered her mouth. Ning enterprise was one of the largest manufacturing companies in country Z which was owned by the famous Ning family, one of the richest families in the country.

"I can't believe I just met the CEO of Ning enterprise." she smiled dreamily and held the business card close to her heart. "I can't wait to brag this to Maya," she said.

She looked around the quiet apartment and suddenly missed her best friend.

She wondered if Maya had already reached city X. It had been three hours since her flight took off. She took out her phone and dialed her number.

The phone rang once before it was directed to voicemail. "I think her plane has not landed yet," she said and dropped her phone before focusing on the TV.

•••

When Jack got home, he summoned his assistant.

"Sir, you called for me," the assistant asked.

"Take this address and find out every information about the person living there. I want the report by tomorrow," he said and handed Clara's home address to his assistant.

The assistant was surprised that his boss gave him this kind of task. He wondered who got on his boss's wrong side.

"Okay." He carefully took the address from Jack's hand.

"Is there anything else you want me to do?" The assistant remained standing and asked.

Jack was about to say something but decided not to. And he replied, "No you can go."

After the assistant left, he started thinking about the girl he met a while ago. He remembered her lost expression when she was standing at the coffee shop's entrance and found it cute.

He had never seen such kind of beauty before, with smooth and fair skin, round eyes, and small pink lips that looked just like a baby's. "She's so beautiful," he muttered, smiling foolishly.

"Life's gonna be interesting from now." He added and closed his eyes then relaxed on the couch while smiling to himself.

•••

"Big bro, want me to hook you up with one of those beautiful babes from the entertainment industry?"

"Oh wait. How about one of those rich heiresses? You know, those that received proper training on manners and etiquette. I think the ones from the entertainment industry are all fake, they're a bunch of barbie dolls. With too many plastic surgeries, you can't differentiate them at all. They all look the same."

When Carl heard his brother mention beauty, his mind drifted back to the lady he saw at his company's entrance and her dumbstruck expression which he found cute. He chuckled and smiled to himself.

Zach was startled when he heard his brother chuckle. He turned to face him and saw him smiling. It was rare to see his brother who always had a stoic expression smile let alone chuckle.

With his mouth wide open he said, "Big bro, don't tell me you prefer those celebrities. Hehehe, I knew it." He clapped his hand and beat his chest proudly.

"Listen up bro, just leave it to me. I'll hook you up with one of those that have plastic surgery from head to toe. They're so beautiful, and besides, it is the trend nowadays."

When Carl heard his brother's words, he broke out of his reverie and his expression darkened in an instant. He ignored him and focused on the road.

"Get out." Carl stopped the car after some time and said.

Zach thought his brother was angry because he mentioned celebrities. He changed his tone and said hurriedly in a frightened manner "Oh. I didn't mean celebrities, I meant princesses, princesses- oh no no no no heiresses."

Carl felt helpless and regretted letting his brother into his car. He stopped the car in front of his European-styled home. " We're here... Get out," he said obviously tired of his brother's blabbering.

"Eh?" Amid his blabbering, Zach did not notice that they'd already arrived until his brother stopped the car. He got out of the car and turned to his brother. "Don't worry Bro. Leave it to me and I'll find you a very beautiful bride. Father's choices are too lame and..."

"Scram." Carl interrupted him before he finished talking and Zach quickly ran inside his house which was only separated by a fence from his brother's house.

Carl sighed and drove inside the parking lot. After parking his car, he took the elevator and entered his two-storeyed house.

•••

The next day, Clara went to work early. When she reached her cubicle, she saw Mira who waved at her with a wide smile.

"Hey, Clara you came early. I just arrived too."

Clara flashed her a smile, revealing her cute dimples "Hehehe, I'm a diligent worker you know."

She remembered what made her late on her first day and her face flushed. She wasn't the type to gawk at handsome men but his looks were beyond extraordinary.

"I heard that the CEO will come to our department today for an inspection," Mira said in a gossipy manner. "I also heard that he's so handsome," she added and place her hands on both cheeks, smiling dreamily.

"Ooh." Clara nodded absentmindedly while lost in her own thoughts.

When Mira saw that Clara did not really pay attention to what she said, she held her shoulders and shook her. "Clara, are you even listening to me? What are you thinking about?"

Clara broke out of her thoughts. "Heh? Nothing- What were you saying?" she asked sheepishly.

Mira shook her head sympathetically and said "Tsk tsk tsk. Clara, I wonder why you're always spacing out." And she happily added, " The CEO will come to our department for inspection. Tidy up your desk. I heard that he doesn't come to the company often, this is once in a lifetime opportunity I'm so excited."

She paused and checked her wristwatch. "I have some documents to work on, see you later." she left hurriedly.

Clara chuckled and sat down. She also noticed that she had been spacing out ever since she saw that mysterious handsome man and had been thinking about him. "Hmmmm." she sighed and switched on her computer to start her work.

•••

Some minutes ago at the CEO's office...

Carl was looking at some reports his assistant gave him while frowning.

David was waiting patiently for his boss when his phone suddenly rang. He looked at his boss apologetically who signaled him to answer the phone.

He went to a corner and answered the call. " Hello"

"What!? An accident?" he paused for a while and listened to the other person. "Okay."

When Carl heard David say accident, he looked up from his documents.

"What happened," he asked David.

"My Dad got into an accident," David told his boss, looking restless.

"Sorry to hear that. You can take the day off."

"Okay, Sir," the assistant said and left hurriedly.

Carl continued looking at the reports and found something wrong. He pressed the intercom and spoke to his secretary, "Inform all the department's heads that there is going to be an inspection."

"Yes, Sir," the secretary replied at the other end.

Although he doesn't frequent this company, as one of the many companies under his care, Carl made sure all the companies were monitored. He stood up and left his office which occupied the whole tenth floor of the company and took the elevator down.

Each department occupied each floor. He first stopped at the ninth floor where the marketing department was located.

It was lunchtime when he reached the second floor where the programming department was located. He checked the time and decided to hurry up since he had other matters to attend to at one of the other companies.

He went directly to the manager's office and gave him some instructions.

Clara was still working on her computer when Mira came.

"Okay, Miss workaholic, it's time for lunch. Let's go and grab some bite," she said while grabbing Clara's hand.

"Oh, I didn't know it's lunchtime already," Clara said and switched off her computer.

"Yeah yeah ..that's what you always say," Mira said jokingly. "Come on. It's your treat today, right?" she asked childishly blinking her eyes at Clara with expectation.

Clara sighed and smiled at her bubbly friend "Alright, alright. My treat," she said and they both laughed while heading to the cafeteria.

On their way, Clara suddenly stopped and held her stomach. She turned to Mira, looking restless. "You go first. I need to use the washroom," she said hurriedly and turned back, running in the direction of the washroom.

"Okay, hurry or I'll finish all the food," Mira shouted behind her and walked straight to the cafeteria.

While Clara was running to the washroom, her phone started ringing. She brought it out from her purse and saw Maya's name.

She didn't notice that someone was walking in her direction and just when she wanted to press the receive button, they suddenly bumped into each other and her phone fell on the tiled floor.

"Ouch." Clara winced and rubbed her forehead which collided with the man's broad chest. Then she looked down at her phone which was scattered on the floor and damaged beyond repair. "Oh no, my phone," she muttered shockingly and looked up angrily ready to lash out at the person.

But when she saw his face, she gasped and froze for a second. And her heart started thumping erratically.

...

Carl came out of the manager's office and strode through the corridor. Then he received a text from his little sister.

[Big bro, Thanks for the gift, you're the best. Muah"

Don't worry, I won't leave the house anymore. And next time father brings up that topic I'll just go and stay with my friend Gina for a few days.]

When he was about to reply *Okay* to his sister's text someone collided with him. He looked down and saw a slim figure that only reached his shoulders.

He saw her long black hair which was tied in a ponytail and her milky white shoulder.

She was dressed in a purple blouse that fitted her perfectly, accentuating her curves. And a black skirt that was two inches above her knees with heels that complimented her slender and long white legs.

She was looking down at the scattered phone on the floor and he heard her mutter something.

When she looked up and he saw her small round face, he was startled.