Chapter 2 The Bastard Boss
- Angel groaned loudly. She wanted to shove her heels into Finn's big mouth because she was sick of hearing his chatter.
- "What?" Angel asked fiercely.
- “I think my brother needs a wife to stop his bad habit. He is thirty-six. My mother will set his up with one of her socialite friends' children."
- "Do you think Xander would want to be matched with a stranger he's never met?"
- "No. Of course, not. Xander and my mother are in a cold war now. My mother will fly here from Milan this weekend to lecture my stubborn brother.”
- “Well, your mother has every right to be worried about Xander's future. What about you?” Angel changed the topic quickly.
- She didn't want to suddenly faint in front of Finn just because they were talking about a lucky woman who would be Xander's future wife. Angel wasn't ready to see her boss get married to someone. Seeing Xander dating some beautiful women broke her heart. She couldn't imagine herself coming to Xander's wedding. It would break her heart even more.
- “I have Lucretia. And our relationship got good approval from my family and her family. You know, I’m safe. I won't be matched with anyone."
- “Yeah, how lucky you are. Lucretia is so kind to date an ugly guy like you,” Angel stuck out her tongue mockingly.
- “I'm not blessed with good looks like my brother. He always makes me jealous,” Finn snorted as he folded his arms across his chest.
- Together they watched the couples dance on the dance floor. Men and women danced gracefully to the classical music from the orchestra. Angela had to be content with just being a spectator because she didn't have a partner to dance with. She didn't even have any friends other than Finn at the office.
- Working as Xander's secretary meant she didn't have many friends in the office. She always just followed Xander wherever he took her. She rarely went to the cafe with the staff during lunch time because sometimes Xander took her to have lunch with his clients. Angela only knew a few people at the party, including the reception staff, Clara, Celine, and Gloria. They danced with their respective partners and seemed to really enjoy the party. The men seemed to be from the marketing division. She had heard rumors that the men in the marketing division were quite attractive. Some of them were even quite handsome. Unfortunately, Angela was never attracted to the men in her office like she was attracted to Xander.
- "What are you doing here?"
- His hoarse and sexy voice startled Angela who was lost in thought. Her body stiffened. She looked down to hide the blush on her face. It was as if she had just been caught red-handed imagining her boss in all kinds of dirty fantasies.
- "Hey brother, what are you doing in this quiet and boring corner of the ballroom?"
- "What are you doing here? You already have Lucretia. Don't flirt with my secretary."
- Xander frowned at Angel.
- "Are you okay, Ms. Celeste?"
- "Y-yeah. I'm fine," Angela stuttered, tucking her hair behind her ear.
- "Don't worry bro, she's safe with me. I was just chatting with Angel. And just so you know I'm not flirting with Angel. I am loyal to Lucretia."
- Xander ignored Finn's sarcasm, and jumped to the next topic.
- “You should enjoy the party by dancing with the others.”
- “I'm not in the mood. I don't think Angel does either, so I accompanied her here.”
- “Don’t you want to dance with someone, Angel?”
- “Eee... I'm a little dizzy after drinking champagne. So I'd better stay here."
- “You only took a few sips. It won't give you a headache.”
- Damn! Angel cursed in her heart. Whether Xander was really paying attention to her all along or he was just guessing, but what he said was very true. She didn't drink much champagne tonight. Actually, she wasn't in the mood to attend this party because she knew that Xander would definitely be the center of the world for all those women.
- "Hey dude, don't push Angel too much. You know that men and women are different. For you, a few sips of champagne won't give you a headache. But women have very complicated hormones. Besides, it's her day.”
- “The day? It's Thursday, Friday night.”
- Finn rolled his eyes in annoyance. His brother might be a cassanova, but he was a complete fool when it came to women.
- “I know it's Friday night. But that's not it. Angel is having her period."
- Angel's eyes widened. How could Finn say something like that in front of her boss? Oh God, Angel wanted to hide behind a pillar now. She was embarrassed to face Xander.
- "Really Angel?"
- Finn looked at her sharply. Angel was forced to nod even though she wasn't in her period.
- "Are you okay? You can go home and rest if you are sick.”
- "That is a good idea. I'll go home and call a taxi.”
- "She is sick." Finn suddenly interrupted. “You should take her home.”
- “You don’t need to. I can call an Uber or a taxi myself.”
- “Let my brother take you home, Angel. You should not take a taxi home alone.”
- Angel shook her head firmly, trying to reject Finn's crazy idea.
- “Hey, are you deaf? Go take Angel home now."
- Before Xander could speak, a sexy woman with burgundy hair came from behind his back. The burgundy woman touched Xander's shoulder gently. The nude nail polish sprinkled with fake diamonds looked very contrasting with the dark suit Xander was wearing tonight.
- "Honey, what took you so long?"
- "I'm talking to my brother."
- “Oh. And who is this woman?”
- The burgundy woman looked at Angel with a scornful look. Her eyes moved openly to scan Angel's body from head to toe. That made Angel very angry and humiliated.
- “I'm Mr. Whithold—”
- “She's my secretary, Angela Celeste. And this is my little brother, Finn.”
- “Laudya Estelle,” The burgundy woman said briefly.
- “Xander, we need to get back on the dance floor. They are all waiting for us.”
- “Why don't you go yourself and let my brother stay here with us.”
- “Xander is my partner tonight.”
- Angel knew what the blonde woman said meant. Xander would not only be her dance partner, but he would also be her partner in bed.
- "Okay. Finn, please call a taxi or Uber for Angel. Make sure she gets home safely. I have to go back to my party.”
- Finn snorted. Angel gave him a sharp look to stop him from blabbering nonsense in front of Xander.
- “Don't worry, I'll be fine. Enjoy the party. See you at the office on Monday.”
- There was a part of Angel that didn't want to leave Xander tonight. Her legs felt very heavy as she turned to leave the ballroom. She always felt that feeling every time she had to go home first and leave Xander with his party. She was sure Xander wouldn't party without dragging one of the most beautiful women at the party into his bed. She was really stupid for hoping that she would be one of the women Xander took to his bed. Yeah, even it was just once, Angel really wanted to try it. But she knew things like that wouldn't be good for her career and their relationship at the office.
- “Angel, wait for me. Why are you walking so fast?”
- Finn caught up with her when she was standing in the lobby waiting for her Uber to come.
- "What are you doing here? You should stay inside to party with the others.”
- “Tsk, the party is boring. I miss Lucretia.”
- “You should follow her to Paris. She will definitely be delighted to find you in one of the bleachers to watch her walk down the catwalk.”
- “Actually, I really want to, but I can't leave the office. Xander threatened to cut my salary by fifty percent if I missed work too often."
- Angel laughed. The Whithold brothers were such contrasts. Xander was cold and a workaholic, while Finn was warm and not so workaholic. Finn enjoyed life more than Xander. Finn could laugh whenever he wanted to laugh, while Xander never laughed. Finn was a man who was loyal to one woman, while Xander had many women in his life. The differences in their characteristics were too contrasting. That was what made Angel sometimes doubt the sibling relationship between them.
- “You have to work harder. Like Xander.”
- “Tsk, that's boring. Xander can't enjoy life because he works too much.”
- “I admit that's true. He rarely smiles like you."
- “You're not the only one who wants to see him smile. By the way, are you sure you don't want me to take you home?"
- “Nope. I'm fine with Uber. I should have brought my own car instead of accepting Xander's offer to come here with him."
- “I told you that Xander is an asshole. He abandoned you after using you to pose in front of all the cameras tonight.”
- She admitted it was true. Xander used her to come to the party as his partner on the red carpet. And after all the red carpet ceremonies ended, Xander quickly forgot about her and went with the beautiful women who surrounded him.
- "It is my duty to accompany him on the red carpet because I’m his secretary."
- "That's right. But sometimes Xander goes too far with you. He asks too much of you.”
- “Never mind, Finn. No need to make a big deal out of it. I'm fine, okay. Look, my Uber has arrived.”
- She waved softly at Finn and hurriedly got into the car. She wanted to calm herself down. She had heard enough of Finn's words about Xander. Tonight would be like any other night. She would sleep with Xander's face in every erotic dream.