*Liam's point of view of the previous chapter*

Liam's POV

"Did you kiss Amber thinking that you were some frog, that if you kissed a pretty girl like her, you would magically turn into some prince?" Annette teased.

She let out her wicked laugh.

"The truth is that you are a frog, ugly and disgusting. You'll always remain that. The only reason girls like me would suck it up to be with a guy like you would be for you to do their homework. Even then, most of us would rather fail." Annette continued.

The crowd laughed along with her.

I pushed back the memory.

After all this time trying to suppress all these memories, she came back to haunt me.

I hate her with every fibre of my being. She hurt me and then disappeared, opening a window of opportunity for others to hunt me.

That is something I will never forgive her for. I hope she suffers and rots.

How dare she come back after so long?

I might have been a defenceless fool back then but it's time they felt my wrath.

I pressed the button to call the secretary. Since I haven't managed to find an assistant, she has been doing both jobs including the job of my assistant.

Belinda came running into my office like a mad hurricane.

"Isn't there anyone competent that you could find to hire?" I yelled. I slammed my fist against the table.

I ran my hands through my hair in frustration.

"If you wa-want sir, we still have another list of candidates. They can only come in tomorrow," Belinda answered.

"You know what, just forget the whole thing," I answered.

I waved her off out of my office.

I had wasted a lot of time on these interviews, but I still had a company to run.

I pulled a folder from a pile waiting for me on the side. We had a couple of pending projects that needed my approval.

I wasn't halfway through reading a page of the document when Amber suddenly came to mind.

Thank you for your time. Who even says such a thing?

She was a thing of the past and that is where she will always be.

I couldn't forget the look she had, how she seemed unaffected and completely in control. I expected her to cry and beg me, but instead all she said was 'Thank you for your time', I thought I had pushed hard enough, but it was clear that my words had no effect on her.

I pushed the folder aside, I couldn't concentrate.

Why couldn't I forget about her? My mind was clouded with thoughts of her. She had bewitched me like the devil I knew she was.

I tried pushing away all thoughts of her but the harder I pushed, the more I saw her face.

I needed a drink since I couldn't work. A distraction would be a really good idea right now.

I pulled my phone out and texted my friend, Mason. If there was one person who couldn't say no to a drink it was him. His sad life always somehow made me feel better about myself.

I walked out of my office and into my Lamborghini Veneno Roadster.

Mason and I often meet at a bar twenty minutes away from my office which was where I was headed.

I arrived at the bar and handed my car keys to a valet. At this time, the bar wouldn't be so packed which means I could drink without anyone disturbing me.

I walked into the bar hearing soft music playing in the background. I took a seat among the stools all lining the counter.

"A Scotch please," I ordered.

The bartender was done with my order within minutes which he then handed to me.

"Daytime drinking," Mason patted me on the back. "I thought you were the responsible one." Mason teased.

"What happened to you for you to end up here? Did you lose a major contract?" He asked.

He took a seat beside me.

"Why must anything bad happen for me to want to celebrate?" I asked.

"Because I know you," he answered.

Mason lifted his hand, signalling for the bartender to take his order.

Mason received his order and then talked about the new project he was currently working on at his construction company. Of all the days I needed him to be miserable, he just had to be in a cheerful mood today.

"I saw Amber today," I finally admitted.

Mason nearly choked on his drink, spitting it back into his glass.

"I'm sorry what?" Mason spoke.

I sighed audibly.

"I saw her today. She came to my office for an interview. I tried to compose myself, to prove that I wasn't affected by her presence at all and that she was nothing but a thing of the past, but then I just lashed out." I explained.

"Why don't you join us?" A girl asked, grabbing our attention.

She leaned on the counter beside me as she jerked her head to the side. She pointed at her group of friends who were smiling at us from their table.

"My friend and I were just..."

"That would be great," I interrupted Mason. "Come on, don't be such a grump," I patted Mason on the back.

He stared at me with an indecisive look.

I jumped off the stool and followed the blonde girl. I took my drink along with me. She took me to a table close to her friends.

Mason followed behind me as he quickly blended in with the group of friends.

"By the way, I'm Amber." She introduced herself.

My jaw dropped. Was I hearing things now? "What??" I whispered.

"Annie," she repeated.

I let out a breath of relief.

What was wrong with me? It's bad enough that I couldn't get her out of my mind.

I wasn't in the mood to give any introductions; we would never see each other again after today.

"So, what brings you here?" She whispered.

"I just thought I could have an unforgettable night with a pretty girl like you," I answered.

I took a sip of my drink as I watched her giggle.

"So, tell me a little about yourself," I replied.

"Well, I have a cat named Jerry. He...."

'Just great,' I wanted to whisper. I last girl I dated who had a cat ended up being a psychopath. She tried to stab me while I was asleep after our breakup.

She continued to talk about her job as a high school teacher. I didn't listen to most of what she said as I watched her blabber. I tried to maintain an interested look throughout.

I didn't care and I was bored.

She was only here as my distraction.

I leaned in, staring at her pink palm lips. She did the same as she stared at me seductively.

Our lips met; I got the strong taste of vodka from her lips. Her lips were soft and possessive. I closed my eyes deepening the kiss as our lips moved together even faster.

That's when it happened. Amber's face popped up in my mind, with the same shade of blue eyes that stared at me earlier in my office. This time it was too hard to ignore as I tried to ignore her memory.

I quickly pulled away breathing heavily. It felt like I had just seen the devil's face and was awakening from a nightmare.

Her eyes stared at me confused.

"Please excuse me," I said, still breathing unevenly.

I got up from my stool, moving past her and through the crowd to the bathroom.

I needed to breathe.

I opened the tap in the bathroom, rinsing my face with cold water.

"What is wrong with me?" I whispered staring at my reflection in the mirror.

I rinsed my face once again, hoping that this time it would do the trick and finally erase Amber from my memories.

I finally took the chance to even out my breathing.

The bathroom door swung open.

Mason walked in, laughing to himself.

"I see what you did there," Mason spoke. He was walking in zick-zacks and drunk out of his mind. He knew he couldn't hold his liquor, yet he always did this to himself. "You just had to go for the blonde girl. You like them just like Amber, don't you?" he teased. He leaned on the bathroom counter for support.

"Stop talking nonsense," I answered.

I walked past him and out of the bathroom. This time I walked to the lounge area of the bar to sit alone for a bit. Mason followed behind me and threw himself onto the couch.

I asked the waiter to bring us a full bottle of whiskey.

"I think it's pretty safe to say that you need therapy. You can afford it," Mason teased.

He probably already knew what was wrong with me. There was only one person who could rile me up this badly.

"I don't know why I keep seeing her face over and over again," I replied.

The waiter returned with my order.

I took the whiskey bottle off the table and filled a glass to the brim.

I drank from the glass, not stopping for a second.

"You should slow down," Mason warned. Even in his drunken state, he was still a lot more logical than I was.

But I didn't listen. I just kept drinking hoping that her face would fade away from my memories.

I slammed the now-empty glass against the table, finally taking a chance to breathe.

"If you can't forget about her, I think that it's time that you finally face your fears and confront her." He spoke. "That's what my therapist always says." He added.

"Seeing her again is the last thing I need," I said.

I was on my way to fill another glass when Mason stopped me.

"Look, she clearly has a hold on you." He stated.

"So what? I see her again and she'll just magically stop popping up in my head?" I replied.

"I'm saying the more you confront her, the better and more you will finally be able to move on with your life." He spoke.

That makes sense. I've tried forgetting her through all those years, but it only made me think of her even more. It was time I finally ended this insanity and got her out of my mind.

"I should hire her as my assistant," I concluded.

"No, that is not what I said at all. What I was suggesting is that you finally confront your memories of her instead of simply just trying to push them away and pretend they are not there." Mason clarified.

"No," I muttered. "She broke my heart ten years ago; I think it's time that I finally paid her back so she can experience what I went through," I replied.

"Not at all what I said." Mason continued.

"It's a brilliant plan, I'll finally be able to get my revenge on her. Why leave things to Karma when I can do it myself?" I continued.

"Do you even listen to anything I say?"

"What if she doesn't agree? Normal self-respecting people wouldn't." He argued.

"Then I will use whatever means possible to make sure that she does."

I pulled my phone out and dialled Belinda's number.

"You really need to think this through. You might end up regretting it.

"Then I'll just have to make sure that she regrets it more."

Belinda answered on the first ring.

"Yes sir," she answered anxiously. I could hear children yelling in the background.

"Belinda, can you give Ms Amber Addison a call and tell her she is hired as my new assistant?" I asked.

"Okay sir," she answered.

This was going to be so much fun.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading. Please comment down your thoughts and vote.

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