Widowed Billionaire Looking for Love

"So, what's your position at Coskun Company?" Claire looked lazily at the man sitting across from her. His name was Erick, the son of one of her mother's social circle friends.

At first glance, Erick was quite handsome. He had a tall stature, fair and clean skin. His face was free of acne or any scars, which Claire suspected was the result of regular visits to a beauty salon. His clothing also hinted at affluence.

Of course, Claire's mother mentioned that Erick's father was a diamond entrepreneur, making him undeniably wealthy. On a scale of one to ten, Claire rated him a nine based on appearances alone.

However, that was just the external assessment. For the past half hour, Erick hadn't stopped talking about himself and his family, boasting but consistently belittling others. He commented on every person who entered his field of vision, offering unnecessary judgments and excessive self-praise. Now, it seemed he was evaluating Claire.

If it weren't for the need to uphold her mother's reputation, Claire would have loved to splash the cold drink in front of her on Erick. If not for her mother's request, she would have wanted to leave this place within the first five minutes of her arrival.

"I'm just a regular staff," Claire replied truthfully.

"Staff?" The man asked with a condescending tone that was evident to Claire. "Isn't your late father the owner of a cement factory?"

"Yes," Claire replied briefly.

"Then why aren't you working in your father's company?"

"Isn't your father also a diamond entrepreneur?" Claire retorted. A sweet smile played on her lips. The man answered Claire's question with an enthusiastic nod and a visibly proud expression. "So why are you unemployed and not working as hard as your father?" Claire continued, her smile freezing the man.

"W-who said I don't work hard?" The man stammered.

"Well then, if we were to get married, how much monthly allowance would you provide me?" Claire asked challengingly. She leaned back, resting her back against the chair and folded her hands in front of her stomach. "I need funds for the salon, for facial and body treatments. Looking beautiful like this isn't cheap. The cost of facials, whitening injections, botox, and even a medi-pedi is not cheap either."

"Plus, there's clothing and handbags. You must know that the price of a set of branded outfits is not cheap. How much was your watch, a hundred thousand dollars? Shoes? Especially for us women, our outfits are obviously more expensive than that.

"And yes, I like changing phones. I always have to have the latest release. I won't use a phone under fifteen million. For household chores, I have a housekeeper and a gardener of my own.

"I might just be a staff at Coskun, but my income as an investor in several companies and my inheritance in the bank are not small. So, I want a husband whose bank balance is more than mine.

"It's okay if he looks like an unemployed person, but he must bear my living expenses. Because I won't spend a penny of my money to support my life with my future husband.

"Yes, at least, my future husband should have a balance twice as big as mine. But it's even better if it's multiple times," Claire said, leaving Erick speechless with a pale face.

Claire straightened up again, leaning her shoulders forward over the table. She rested her elbows on the table and extended her right hand towards Erick.

"Let me see your balance. You have mobile banking, right? I want to see how much is in your ATM." Claire asked with an interested expression, raising an eyebrow and demanding Erick to show his phone silently, but he seemed flustered by the request.

"My balance is significant; you don't need to doubt that," the man said nervously.

"Yeah, I know your balance is big. You're the son of a diamond entrepreneur after all. So, show it to me," she said with a sweet smile on her face. "If it's bigger than mine, I'll tell Mom that I want to be your future spouse," she continued, still with a seductive and teasing tone, making Erick swallow hard.

"I-I'll go to the restroom first," he said as he stood up from his seat. Claire continued to smile and nodded. Her eyes kept watching him, occasionally turning his head to look at her. After Erick disappeared from view, Claire sighed. She knew that after this, she would receive a barrage of angry phone calls from her mother.

Sure enough, two hours later, just as Claire had stepped out of the bathroom, she saw her phone screen light up with her mother's name displayed.

"What on earth are you doing?" Claire responded to her mother's anger with a nonchalant tone.

"Where are you?" The loud shout made Claire wince. She wanted to move the phone away from her ear, but upon seeing the flat square object on the bathroom sink, Claire realized she had a Bluetooth headset in her ear.

"Why? Missing me?" Claire retorted, waving her hand gently to reduce the water on her hands before placing it under the hand dryer.

"Missing your fleas! Damn it!" The girl on the other end snorted. "Where are you now? Don't tell me you're in the restroom!"

"Do you have a GPS on me, or are you monitoring me from your favorite basin?" Claire chuckled. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, adjusting her hair before grabbing her phone and leaving the restroom.

"Say whatever you want. Just tell me where you are. It's Monday, Claire. Are you heartless enough not to go to work and add to my workload? Just last weekend, I praised you, and now you're burdening me with all this?" Her friend complained again. Whether she liked it or not, Claire couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry, I have too much money, so I want a tiny holiday." Claire replied casually, confident that it would only annoy her friend even more.

"You?"

"I'm currently a personal driver, impromptu duty." Claire finally answered truthfully, not wanting to be the cause of her friend's rising blood pressure.

"Answer from the start, why do you always enjoy messing with me?" Her friend said with a sweeter tone. "Flirting with the boss there?" She asked, and Claire was sure her friend was grinning broadly.

Bella had a Cinderella syndrome in her mind. She always fantasized about a workplace romance between a subordinate and a boss. Claire couldn't blame her, but she didn't like it when Bella expected the same from her. She already had a mother who always meddled in her future and romantic life; she didn't want her friend to do the same.

"What do you think I am? Cinderella?"

"Yeah, right. Even if I don't get a boss there, I can still see some well-groomed guys, Na. Not like here, where the guys are all gloomy," her friend complained. Once again, Claire chuckled at her friend's response.

"Alright, I'll do my work until it's done. Mrs. Shelly is calling me." Without waiting for a response from the other end, Claire answered the call from her boss. "Yes, Mrs. Shelly."

"Na, I left my files in the car. Please get them for me. Bring them directly to the fifteenth floor." Her boss's command. Claire agreed and immediately walked towards the elevator that would take her to the basement where her car was parked.

The map her boss was referring to was indeed on the back seat of her car. Claire quickly grabbed the map and headed back to the elevator. She glanced at the indicator lights for each floor above the three elevators lined up in front of her and turned when she heard footsteps approaching. She saw a man and a woman walking closely together like a couple intoxicated with love. While the woman affectionately clung to the man's arm, the man, on the other hand, openly observed Claire.

'Ugh, shameless!' Claire muttered to herself.

Clearly, the man was not faithful. Just look at how he looked at Claire even though his girlfriend was right beside him. Seeing the man eyeing another woman, the man's girlfriend glared at Claire with hostility and clung even more intimately to the man.

Claire tried not to snort. Right when the elevator doors opened, she quickly stepped in, hoping the couple wouldn't follow her. Unfortunately, Claire's prayer wasn't answered as the couple entered and stood behind her.

"Please, nineteenth floor," the man said in his low voice, sending shivers down Claire's spine.

Well, at least the man in the expensive suit knew how to be polite, even if his actions suggested otherwise.

Claire pressed the nineteenth floor button and then pressed the fifteenth floor button, and the elevator began to ascend.

Claire stared at the dim wall in front of her. Earlier, when the couple entered the elevator behind her, Claire briefly observed what they were wearing. And honestly, she had her own questions for the woman.

Claire knew this was Manhattan, and a woman dressed provocatively wasn't uncommon to see. However, the appearance of the woman now standing behind her-doing who knows what because Claire heard the rustling of fabric-wearing an outfit clearly unsuitable for an office was a different story. Especially in a prestigious company like Coskun Company, which she knew had an international standard.

The woman's attire seemed more fitting for a nightclub. Bright red, low-cut at the chest, and a skirt cut halfway up her thigh. Not to mention, it was too tightly wrapped around her body, making Claire uncomfortable with the woman's curves on full display. It was evident that the outfit was designed to tempt men.

Claire shivered again. Didn't the woman know how to dress appropriately? She wondered to herself. But looking at the floor they were headed to, Claire guessed that the couple was probably a guest in the company-perhaps one of the investors.

Claire tried to keep her mouth shut and refrain from making sarcastic comments as the noises behind her grew more audible. She tapped the tips of her shoes on the floor and hummed softly to drown out the sounds, preventing her mind from wandering into scenes reminiscent of Fifty Shades, a series she had once watched.

Images of Mr. Grey touching Anastasia in the Fifty Shades movie flashed in her mind. Oh God, it's still morning. Don't let her thoughts be contaminated by dirty ideas.

Claire chose to look up instead of observing the couple behind her who seemed to be getting closer. She watched as the numbers continued to increase in seconds. And ding! The elevator doors finally opened, and Claire quickly stepped out of that metal box, taking deep breaths.

"Can I help you with something?" greeted a woman whom Claire was sure was the receptionist for that floor.

"Where's the meeting room?" Claire asked after shaking her head a few times to clear her mind of inappropriate thoughts.

"Are you from the branch office?" the receptionist asked again. Claire nodded affirmatively. "Please go straight ahead, pass through two doors. The meeting for all branches is in the third door." Claire nodded in understanding and followed the instructions from the receptionist named Selin.

The first room she passed had thick transparent glass walls. Inside, people were engaged in serious discussions-clearly an internal division meeting. She continued walking while observing. The second room also had thick transparent glass walls with an oval-shaped table inside, but this one appeared empty.

While the third door had black-tinted glass, probably the type that allows one to see outside but remains opaque from the outside. Claire forgot what it's called.

She knocked on the thick glass door. Someone from inside opened it for her. "I'm looking for Mrs. Shelly," she whispered. The middle-aged woman in a light blue uniform with red accents opened the door wider.

Claire entered and noticed that the size of the room was a combination of the first and second rooms she had passed before. A rectangular table was arranged to form a frame that reached every corner of the room. The two long sides were in front of Claire, with the center intentionally left empty. The names of the branch office cities of Coskun Company were already placed there. Her boss was sitting right at the table labeled "Kansas."

Meanwhile, the shorter sides were on the left and right walls where Abigail stood. One side already had three high chairs labeled "Director," while the other side remained empty because a large screen was mounted on the wall.

Claire saw her boss engaged in a serious conversation with a middle-aged man. She approached her boss and greeted softly.

"Oh, yes. Mr. Roland, let me introduce my assistant, Claire. Claire, this is our Finance Director, Mr. Roland," Mrs. Shelly said warmly.

"This is apparently your trusted person. Beautiful, huh," Mr. Roland said without a hint of flirtation. "Is Shelly intimidating?" he asked, still in a friendly tone.

"A little, sir," Claire replied, answered with a gentle pinch on her waist.

"Don't start complaining just because you meet someone with a higher position than mine," Mrs. Shelly reprimanded with a mockingly stern look.

"Yes, Ma'am, just this once." Claire answered with a wry smile. She knew that her two bosses were just joking, so she responded in kind. "Next time, if I meet again, I might complain a bit more." She continued flatly, receiving a slight nod from Mr. Roland.

"Sure, sure. Next time, I'll be a good listener." His promise was sincere.

"So, what's my role now, Ma'am?" she asked confusedly. Claire came here to accompany her boss, but not to join the meeting. Because she wasn't a high-ranking executive like the others in the room.

"Wait for me in the lobby or at the cafeteria. Just don't wander off to the mall," Mrs. Shelly said, making Claire pout. "It's still working hours, Claire," the woman continued with a smile, and Claire just nodded. Both of them were just joking around.

Claire excused herself and then left the meeting room. She headed back to the receptionist and asked where the cafeteria was. Her intention was to wait for her manager there while eating and reading the novel she had just downloaded through a paid app on her phone.

Just as she was about to head to the elevator, she saw the man who had been in the elevator with the sexy woman standing in front of her, along with another man Claire knew.

"Are you accompanying Mrs. Shelly?" Altezza asked straightforwardly. Claire responded with a slight nod.

"Yes, Sir. Just being a chauffeur as usual," Claire replied, raising the corner of her mouth, her expression showing as if she didn't like that job. It made Altezza laugh.

"The position of being my personal driver is still open, Claire," Altezza replied with a teasing tone.

Claire looked at her boss with a raised eyebrow. "Do you want me to be mobbed by the masses?" she pretended to be afraid. "I work to earn money, not to find enemies. If I become your driver, your car's tires might go flat every time we want to go somewhere," she continued, making Altezza laugh again.

"You're exaggerating," Altezza replied, causing Claire to shrug. "You're like that, huh? Even though I really hoped you would become my personal driver." He teased playfully. Claire just responded with a smile.

The two of them seemed oblivious to the presence of another towering figure standing beside them, with a sharp gaze and a tightly closed jaw, until the man coughed softly.

Altezza turned to the man next to him and smiled. "We're having a meeting. You'll stay until it's finished, right?" Claire simply nodded. "In that case, see you later," he said, and Claire responded with another nod.

Claire entered the elevator and observed the backs of the two men. She knew who Altezza was; he held one of the highest positions in Coskun. However, she had never seen the other man before. But clearly, his position must be just as high as Altezza's. Claire just shrugged and pressed the elevator button to the floor where the cafeteria was located.