Episode 4: The Chosen Job

Everyone thinks that life is unfair. Everyone thinks that they're carrying problems that don't seem to have any solutions.

A life that's such a mess, with every day that feels hopeless. Waking up in the morning just to be stressed and sleeping in the night allow just to dream of the painful and tragic days in life.

This is how Francheskha lives her life.

And in this miserable life of hers, she asked for one thing. A charming prince who's willing to do whatever it takes just to pick her up from the garbage, clean her with love and replace all the horrible memories of hers with good memories.

Little did Francheskha know, she was about to have her wish granted.

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"A marriage!? How--how can he be so bold, asking a stranger for a marriage!?"

Francheskha's eyes went wide due to his audacity. She's lost for words.

"Please give me a second. I want to see what's in the contract." Francheskha said with her shaking voice.

Tristan raised his eyebrows, blinked his eyes, and nodded.

"Go ahead."

"Mister Zienso! You should see this!" Secretary Shem's booming voice entered the restaurant, echoed to every corner.

He quickly gave his tablet to Mister Zienso to show him another article.

"What is it?" Tristan asked. He put on his glasses and grabbed the tablet.

News headline: "CEO of Zienso Company, announces to marry Octavia Claveria, the heir of CNN entertainment."

"What bull$#it is this? Who published this article? Who's responsible for this?"

"A friend of mine from CNN entertainment told me that Miss Octavia asked her parents to talk to Reporter Kim and published this article. It seems like they certainly want to be part of the Zienso family." Secretary Shem explained.f

Francheskha was left out. She didn't want to bother them with their conversation, and so she opened her social media.

#ZiensoxClaveria is trending number one in the chirper app.

Francheskha looked into Tristan's eyes. She could tell how worried he was, how angry he was.

And she came to think of it, they're living quite the same kind of life. A sort of life that's full of unwanted things.

She pitied Tristan. As far from Francheskha's knowledge about the life of a rich person, they get everything they want and live. A decent life. But behind those, fame, money, golds, mansion, and expensive materials is a life of Tristan which he has no bounteous control.

"I'll... marry you, Mister Zienso."

Secretary Shem could never be more amazed at Francheskha's braveness.

Tristan's anger subsided, and he felt good after hearing her words. He knew it would be hard to convince her. He smirked and scoffed.

"Great. Pack your things, and Secretary Shem will help you move out of that tiny room of yours."

Tristan stood up to leave, but Francheskha needed him to clarify what he said.

"Mister Zienso! What are you trying to say now? You--you want me to move out of my room? And where am I supposed to go then?"

Francheskha was standing, waiting for Tristan to turn around and give her an answer. But he didn't face her and stayed in his position, standing, facing his back at Francheskha.

"As my soon-to-be wife, I do not want to see you in any kind of suffering.", Tristan answered.

Francheskha sighed out of anger and went to him. She stood in front of him.

"Mister Zienso, I agreed to marry you, but as much as possible, please do not control me and my life.

Tristan snickered, "I believe you will need to stay with me now that you are my fiancée."

"But, Mister Zienso--"

"Stop wasting my time and do as I told you." Tristan shushed her and went back on his tracks.

While walking his way out, he talked to Secretary Shem.

"Shem, please keep an eye on her. I'll be home at 8:00 pm. Make sure to tell her to wait for me. She and I have a lot to talk about."

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-- at Francheskha's room --

Secretary Shem couldn't believe what he saw soon as he entered the room.

A mini sink with lots of not-washed cutlery. Francheskha's messy bed with a thin blanket above and her closet opened wide.

"Wow. I didn't know you were this irresponsible." Secretary Shem said, looking around.

Francheskha was ashamed. Definitely. Everyone believes that your personality reflects on the way you act. She didn't want Secretary Shem to see her as a very irresponsible lady.

"I was in a rush earlier, that's why.

Secretary Shem opened her windows for some air and told her to start packing her things.

While Francheskha was preparing, Secretary Shem tried to talk to her as a guy who wanted to be friends with her, not because he's his boss' secretary.

"Can I call you France?" Secretary Shem sat above her study table.

Francheskha was good with any nickname. She just chuckled and nodded.

"Earlier, when I saw you at the mall, you seemed like a different Francheskha."

Francheskha sat on her bedside as she found it interesting to listen to Secretary Shem.

"What do you mean?" Francheskha asked.

"You're like a sensitive plant. You embraced yourself after that humiliation touched you."

Francheskha took his words as a compliment. But, she can't avoid feeling guilty that she needed to lie about her identity just to learn how to love herself.

"I don't know, Secretary Shem, but thank you for noticing the changes in me."

Francheskha continued packing her things. Her clothes, shoes, books, and essential files were all ready.

"Are we good to go, Miss Ruquiel?"

Secretary Shem holds the door open for her. She looked around her room and noticed her small music box above her closet.

"One second, Secretary Shem."

She walked with her baggage towards her closet. Francheskha tiptoed and tried to rich her music box.

"Miss Ruquiel, let me." Secretary Shem rushed to her and grabbed the music box for her.

"You shouldn't leave any of your things here. You've made a deal with Mister Zienso, and I'm sure that everyone will be talking about you. So, brace yourself, Miss Ruquiel." Secretary Shem said while putting the music box inside his bag.

"It's okay, give it back."

Secretary Shem has no idea why she would be leaving an exquisite music box. But still, he followed what she said. She's her second boss now, after all.

Francheskha decided to leave it inside the closet. After they got out of the room, she made sure that the door's locked and that no one could barge in.

Secretary Shem opened the car's door for her, and they were ready to go.

While on their way back to the mansion, Francheskha received a call.

Incoming Call

CNN entertainment

She immediately answered her phone as soon as she saw the name of the caller.

"Hello, is this Miss Keller?"

Francheskha looked at the mirror, checking Secretary Shem's eyes before she answered the caller. Thankfully, Secretary Shem was all focused on driving.

"Yes, it is I. May I know why you called me?"

"Hello, Miss Keller. The judges have already decided who to hire from the interviewee last time. I bet you're worried about the result, aren't you?"

Francheskha didn't want to make the call too obvious for Secretary Shem. She scoffed and just smiled a little.

"Anyway, Miss Keller. We have received a special request from one of the managers of our artists. They want you to be Caleb's private makeup artist. Please come to CNN right now for us to talk about this in much more detail. Thank you for the time, Miss Keller."

Francheskha asked Secretary Shem to drive her to CNN entertainment.

"Secretary Shem, I have some matters to sort out on CNN. Please drive me there."

"Of course, Miss Ruquiel." Secretary Shem answered politely, expecting that she was planning to go there, to cut ties with them now that she accepted his boss's offer.

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-- at CNN entertainment --

Secretary Shem escorted her inside the building. She wanted to go on her own, but Secretary Shem insisted.

The assistant acknowledged them and showed them the way to this small studio.

"Please go inside, Ma'am. Everyone's waiting for you." The assistant said.

Francheskha smiled and thanked her.

The assistant left. Secretary Shem opened the door for her.

And as soon as she stepped foot inside that small studio, three guys were waiting for her. They all rose to their feet right when they saw her glowing.

Caleb Warren, Manager Alex, and Mister Tomas, one of the judges, were inside. They welcomed her with their different expressions.

Mister Tomas was smiling. Proud to show off his new employee, a young lady with such beautiful background and image, to Manager Alex and Caleb.

Manager Alex was staring at her blankly, not having any idea of why that girl was there. He could clearly remember telling Tomas not to hire her.

Caleb was pressing his lips together, looking at her passionately as he tried to hold back his excitement and not make it visible that he intentionally requested her as his private makeup artist.

"Hi, Miss Keller! Please have a seat." Sir Tomas gave his seat to Francheskha.

"What!? K-Keller!?" Manager Alex said in his mind.

Caleb's eyes looked straight to Manager Alex, trying to ask him for any response through eye contact. But, Manager Alex was deeply shocked as well.

"She's not Francheskha Ruquiel? But her face really looks the same as that photo in the resumé I saw." Caleb was confused, trying to puzzle things together.

"Hi, I'm Arabella Keller. I presume you are my boss...?"

Francheskha introduced herself, looking at Caleb, waiting for him to shake hands with her.

Caleb immediately stepped forward and held her hand for a handshake.

"I'm Caleb Warren. I was the one who--"

"Hi, Miss Keller! I'm Caleb's manager, the one who asked for you as his private makeup artist. Let's work together with our best, hmm?" Manager Alex butted in their conversation. He didn't want Francheskha to know that Caleb was the one who asked for her.

Meanwhile, Caleb was disappointed after knowing that the lady in front of her isn't Francheskha but Arabella Keller.

He was trying to think that she was pretending. But he realized that she was facing a very different young lady from that lady he saw at the restaurant.

Poor Caleb, he doesn't have the slightest idea of Francheskha's doing. How would he react if he found out that Francheskha fabricated her identity? That Arabella Keller is actually Francheskha Ruquiel.

"Yes. I'm looking forward to working with you soon. Shall we talk about this now? I'm afraid I can't stay any longer."

"Of course, Miss Keller."

They all settled in their seats and started to talk about their work together.

Secretary Shem went out of the studio and called Tristan. He didn't expect that Francheskha would accept the job that CNN had for her. He thought that she came here to cut deals with them.

Secretary Shem was all worried that Tristan might get mad with Francheskha, accepting CNN's offer. He didn't even bother listening to them talking earlier. He didn't even know that Francheskha introduced herself as Arabella Keller in this entertainment.

"Hello, Mister Zienso?"

"Make sure that this is urgent. I'm in a meeting!"

"Actually, it's your fiancée...?"

"What about her?" Tristan sounded calm after knowing that it was about Francheskha.

"Mister Zienso, Miss Ruquiel is at CNN entertainment right now. She accepted the job! What should I do?"

"I'll handle that. Wait for me there."

Tristan didn't want her to cause any trouble for him as much as possible. But, he needed to reschedule the meeting just because of her.

"I'm sorry. I have to leave, it's urgent. I will reschedule this. My secretary will inform you about the next meeting."

All of the board of directors were shocked by the CEO's actions. To them, he seems odd, like a different person. Their boss would never let anything, anyone interrupt any meeting he attends. In fact, he never answers any calls during a gathering. But now, that all has changed.

Tristan rushed to the CNN and looked for Francheskha.

After having the details about Caleb Warren's studio, he runs towards the studio.

He saw Secretary Shem waiting for him.

"Sir, they're inside, talking about their agreement."

Tristan didn't give him any words. He was catching his breath and opened the door.

Everyone inside looked at him, even Francheskha.

Francheskha's eyes drooped and rushed to him.

"Why are you here!?" She whispered to him angrily.

Tristan looked down at her but didn't say anything.

He walked inside and sat with them.

"Hi, I'm Tristan Zienso."

Everyone was just staring at him.

"I would like to tell you that she won't be working with you."

"What!?" Sir Tomas answered.

"She's already working in my company. I'm afraid you have to give up on her."

"No. She's my private makeup artist." Caleb stood up bravely and talked, looking down at Tristan.

Tristan raised his head and stared at Caleb.

He stood up as well and unbuttoned his coat.

Francheskha was worried about the situation and went beside Tristan to drag him out of the studio.

But, instead, Tristan was the one who grabbed her.

He grabbed Francheskha's hands and held her tightly, not removing his eyes from Caleb.

"I suggest you should stop as early as now.", Tristan said, giving Caleb sharp looks.

"Mister Zienso, let's all sit down and talked about--"

"She's my private makeup artist. You don't order her around. I'm her boss." Caleb said, glaring at Tristan.

Tristan smirked and wrapped his arms in Francheskha's shoulders.

"She's my fiancée. You can't and will not hire her. I'm her fiance."