ASTER.

I swiftly sat up in bed, switched on the bedside lamp and fixed up my messy bed hair. I took several calming breaths, put on some lipgloss then answered the call.

"Good evening, Aster." His devilishly handsome face flooded my screen and his voice that I had grown to adore so much graced my ears.

"Good evening---"the words got stuck in my throat as soon as my eyes landed on his chest which was very naked and wet by the way. He was from showering, judging by the dripping wet torso. He had placed his phone on a raised surface.

"Have you had dinner?" He inquired while wiping the wetness off his face and chest. His biceps bulged in response to his actions. The things I could do to this man! I wouldn't mind having him for dinner, breakfast and lunch. He's a whole fucking banquet.

"Aster you still with me?" His question reminded me just how lost in thoughts I was.

"Yes sir.. I'm very much with you. You asked if I had taken dinner and the answer is yes. Infact as we speak, I'm in bed." I did not need to say all, but my diarrhoea mouth just won't quit talking.

"In bed, this early? It's only 9.30." He stated with a surprised look on his face.

"I like going to bed early so that I can wake up early the next day." I explained.

"And yet today you got to work pretty late."

"In my defence, It wasn't intentional." I blurted.

"Explain." He urged. I watched as he moved about in the room, shirtless, applying some cream on his torso. The only thing keeping me from witnessing his glorious nakedness was the towel which was loosely strapped around his masculine waist. The only prayer in my head was for the towel to drop so I could take a peek at his sexy man buns which are obviously toned; just the right amount of hard and soft. I couldn't stop imagining my tongue teasing his sexy buns, biting and spanking 'em. I bet they taste like strawberries.

"Earth to Aster" His voice rescued me from my not-so-professional thoughts.

'Umm.. yes sir. I'm here." I cleared my throat, along with the lingering thoughts.

"Good because I don't want you distracted. I want you prepared for what you are about to do. This is so important to me Aster. Can I rely on you fully?" He inquired, slipping on a white cotton shirt on, an action which prompted his biceps to bulge.

"Yes sir, you can fully rely on me. I will not let you down, I promise." I vowed, meaning every word. I will literally take a bullet for him, without a second thought. That's how much I love this man.

"That's what I like to hear. Tomorrow, I will send a driver to pick you up at 7am and drop you off at Rodriguez Co-orp. Melanie Rodriguez doesn't know that you worked for me. All the records tying you to my company have been erased. As far as she's concerned, you are a new assistant sent by the agency. Do you have any questions?" He explained.

"Not at the moment, sir."

"Good. I wish you the best on your new job. Have a goodnight Aster."

"Goodnight to you too sir." I retorted before he hung up.

***

The next morning, a noir SUV fetched me. The chauffer was a guy who was probably in his mid thirties. He was dressed in black from head to toe. His face was expressionless which left me wondering if he was an android. "So, what's your name?" I managed to break the silence. He didn't reply, instead he focused on the road ahead. A guy who doesn't do small talk, I see.

My head rested against the window, I watched as cars sped past us. Lanes of trees danced eerily in the morning breeze, creating a calming visual. In a few minutes I will be in the devil's cradle and that kinda scares me. On the outside she appears angelic but in reality she is the devil's reincarnate.

I took out my phone and continued reading the articles just to make sure I had everything I needed to know. I came across an article which was accusing her of violently beating up her assistant and dragging her by the hair across the boardroom as the other employees watched. A lump of fear formed in my throat and painfully I swallowed it. Beads of sweat moistened my forehead and armpits. Was I really ready to work for her?

Bitch, you're not even close to being ready. You are going to shit yourself the moment you walk into her office.

Way to boost my confidence you stupid voice. I am fed up with your negativity. Can't you at least say something good?

The only good advice I'll give you for free is to run while you can. Don't involve yourself in this mess. This powerplay is between him and her, not you. Are you too blind to see that you are a little pawn in his big game? You think that he'll suddenly fall for you because you helped him spy on his fiancee-to-be? Bitch please, wake the hell up!

I am not his pawn. He's clearly interested in me. I mean he would have asked anyone else to do this for him but he chose me. Because he trusts and cares for me. I am going to help him and I won't back down.

You are so dick whipped that you can't think clearly. What if this plan fails? Then what? Will he have use for you anymore? The answer is NO. Because your prince charming will get engaged to her as initially planned. Wanna know why? Because despite her betrayal, she is way hotter than you and he would go for a woman like her any day.

The voice reminded me the obvious. She was more gorgeous and sucessful than me. She was the ideal woman that every man would die to be with. But I wasn't gong to let her win. I was gong to do everything fror this plan to work so that he won't have to get engaged to her. I am sure he doesn't love her anymore, not after what she did to him because, there's no coming back from that. I know that after all this is done, he will choose me. He will fall in love with me. I know it.

You really have no shred of dignity. You disgust me, with your delusion. The man you are so obsessed with is interested only in himself. He cares about his needs and once he's done with you, he'll toss you aside like the pathetic whore you are. Haven't I always reminded you that, you are destined to be alone . The sooner you accept that, the better.

"Just shut the hell up and get out of my head!" I mumbled.

Truth hurts but it's the only thing that will set you free. By the way, I ain't going anywhere because I am here to stay and remind you each and every day of the disappointment you are.

"GO AWAY!" I yelled out, heavy breaths absconding my lips as hot tears cascaded my cheeks. My chest was constricting, limiting the supply of air into my lungs. It felt like I would pass out any minute. It was too much. The voices were too much. I wanted the world to stop, just so I could breathe. I started chanting a mantra while taking deep breaths in an attempt to soothe the anxiety, "I am okay...this will go away. I am okay...this will go away."

The chauffer who had been watching me silently handed me his handkerchief. Concern was etched on his visage. I took the cloth from him and wiped the moisture off my face. "Are you okay, ma'am?" He finally spoke.

"Yeah. I'm good. Thanks." I retorted then proceeded to take a gulp of cold water which I had stored away in my hand bag. I rested my head on the passanger seat, closing my eyes and allowing tranquility to sink in.

"We're here." He broke the silence, and then walked out to open the door for me. "My name's Ricardo, by the way." He added as soon as I stepped out of the car.

"Nice to meet you Ricardo. My name's Aster." I retorted and he flashed me the warmest smile, exposing his milk white set of dentals. The guy was handsome, even more so when he smiled.

"You too, Ma'am Aster. " He reached out for my hand and left a gentle peck on my knuckles.

"Have a wonderful day, Ma'am " He added then got in the car and drove off. I strolled into the blue sky scraper with the words 'Rodriguez Beauty' engraved at the top. The morning sun didn't hesitate to kiss the building, augmenting its magnificence. Commando-like men were rooted at the entrance of the building, doing a security check. They looked intimidating in their black tuxedos, ear pieces, black sunglasses and expensive wrist watches.

"State your identity." One of the guys addressed me as soon as I got to the entrance. I didn't have an employee card like the people who had initially walked through the entrance.

"Aster Ramona." I retorted shakily for some reason.

"State your purpose." He interrogated.

"A new assistant for Miss Rodriguez. I was sent by the agency." I replied. The guy signalled his friend who took out a phone and typed something. A few seconds later he nodded and the guy turned to me.

"Come with me." He commanded while opening the door for me. He took long strides as my chubby self tried to catch up causing my feet to thump noisily against the polished white tiles. It felt like a hippopotamus chasing after a cheetah.

"Try to keep up, new girl." He mocked while increasing the pace of his strides. He was doing this on purpose. Son of bitch!

By the time we got to the elevator, I was a panting mess. My chest was burning up. I leaned on the elevator wall to catch my breath and hopefully steady the rapid beats of my heart.

"Damn. You are already this exhausted on the first day." He teased.

"And whose fault is it? Yours." I shot back, not caring that I was a newbie.

"Free advice, you should try going to the gym to cut off excess body fat so that next time you won't be panting like a dog." He added.

"Jerk." I muttered. I wanna jump on his neck and wring it then dig my nails in his eyeballs.

"You're welcome." He arrogantly replied.

"Since you freely gave me advice allow me to return the favour. You should watch how you address people and stop making hurtful comments." I fired.

"Noted, Mona." He replied with a playful grin. What did he just call me?

"My name is Ramona. Aster Ramona. Want me to spell it out for you?"

"I prefer the shorter version of your name. So I'm fine with Mona." An annoying grin was painted across his face. This guy really is asking for a beating.

"Fine. Call me whatever you want and I'll call you whichever name I feel suits you. At the moment a name that suits you perfectly is...douche bag. Mr Douche bag. " A victorious smile embraced my lips.

"Ouch. So mean." A pout which surprisingly was adorable graced his lips.

I was about to reply to his remark when suddenly my phone commenced ringing. My ringtone which was that of singing chipmunks echoed in the elevator, triggering a chuckle from Mr Douche bag.

"What's so funny?" I fired a question at him.

"That ridiculous ringtone. " He retorted.

"I love this ringtone. It's from my favourite cartoon, Alvin and the chipmunks." I shot back defensively.

"What are you? Five?" He mocked laughingly. I was losing my patience with this guy.

"Twenty five." I stated.

"25 and you still watch ridiculous cartoons? You should be watching meaningful things." Said Mr Douche.

"Since you are the expert in matters of entertainment, care to name some of the meaningful things that I should be watching?"

"How about Football?"

"You want me to watch a bunch of sweaty guys chasing a ball for 90 minutes straight? Yeah, not gonna happen. I'd rather watch a romantic telenovela." I retorted.

"So you are into hopeless romantic bullshit too?" He remarked.

"Yes, because I'm a hopeless romantic." I explained to him.

He scoffed, "How many telenovelas have you watched? Because I feel like they have brainwashed you completely."

"Why are you against romance, anyway?" I shot the question at him.

"Aren't you supposed to be checking your phone? I have a feeling whoever called is important." He cleverly dodged my question but in the process reminded me of the call which I had completely forgotten about. I dug my hand in my purse, fished out my phone. My eyes widened when I saw two missed calls from him.

Shit!

I swiftly called him back and placed the phone against my ear.

"Finally! Where were you? Why weren't you answering your phone?" His voice which was laced with worry echoed on other end of the line.

"Sir, I was held up a bit."

"You scared me. I thought something bad happened to you." The fact that he was scared for my safety made me fall deeper in love with him.

"Sir, I'm fine. I promise." I smilingly retorted.

"I'm glad. Ricardo informed me that he dropped you off a while ago. "

"Yes he did. As we speak I'm at the elevator, heading to her office."

"Good. Keep me updated on everything that goes on over there. Be careful, Aster."

"I will, sir. " I retorted.

"I wish you all the best on your first day. "

"Thank you, sir." I smiled.

No sooner had he hung up than the elevator doors slid open, revealing my destination.