DANISE PARKER (TEN)

Two days after that melancholic night, everything returned to the way it was. Dad seemed to forget all the things that had been said to me. And now, he has returned to being my very annoying dad.

"Fix all these files, you embarrass me in front of Mr. Xander."

"I'll fix it, I'm sorry," I replied lazily.

I sighed loudly and left my dad's office exhausted. What a crazy day today! This is even worse than the day Alscot Silas almost raped me because everyone suddenly turned against me.

Axel? Hmm, that guy disappeared like a ghost. I haven't heard from him since last week. Maybe he got lost in the Sahara desert or stranded at the North Pole. And besides about Axel disappearing, today dad turned into a very grumpy old man. None of my work has escaped his scorn. All of them were rejected for various ridiculous reasons which in my opinion were not due to my fault, but due to the mistakes of the admins who could not input the data correctly.

And Jayde.... ahh, he's just as annoying as everyone else. This morning he annoyed me because he kept clinging to Rachel, and I was late for work. I even had to drag him from the gazebo while he was kissing Rachel's hand. He really sucks man!

Huh, this is my unlucky day it seems, or maybe the worst day of my entire life. I dunno, I'm annoyed! I really want to get angry and explode to vent all my frustration today!

Gosh!!

My goodness, this is so embarrassing. I just hit a guy and all his documents fell on the floor. The man immediately picked up the papers scattered on the floor when I crouched next to him to help him. My dad's annoying secretary even just stared at me flatly and went back to working on her computer. Tsk, you annoying woman!

"Sorry, really really sorry. Are you okay?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm fine."

"Really forgive me. This is not my day, I daydream too much." I grinned softly. I hope that reason is enough to make this man understand my stupidity just now.

"Oh is that a job application file? Are you new here?"

I saw the man slip the biodata paper into a yellow folder and a job application letter. If I read correctly, this man submitted a cover letter to my dad.

"Yeah, actually I wanted to do an interview with Mr. Milano, do you know where the room is?"

Oh so this handsome man is looking for daddy. Hmm, what's his name? Wait, is this man the new HR candidate that people have been talking about lately? Ahh.. I wouldn't be surprised if this man became the talk of almost all the women in this office. He was indeed a handsome and polite man. He had slightly curly dark brown hair and a sweet smile that was very alluring. Oh and those dazzling brilliant green eyes. He would definitely be the target of all the women in this office. That includes me. It seems like.

"Excuse me, do you know where Mr.Milano's room is?"

"Wh-what? Oh, over there," I answered absentmindedly.

God, this is really the worst day of my life. How could I turn into such a sucker in such a short amount of time. All these pressures of life have shaken my soul.

"Okay, thanks for the information. See you later."

"Good luck." I stood up and straightened my slightly creased blazer.

I smiled while looking at his back which was slowly moving away to dad's room. He seems like a nice guy. At the start of our meeting he didn't give off the air of a jerk like Alscot Silas. And it seems that the man is also not a typical workaholic like Axel. I can't just let such a good man go. I have to know what his name is.

"Wait."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Sorry, what's your name?"

"My name?" asked the man with a strange face.

Well, he must be wondering why I suddenly asked what his name was. Besides, he doesn't know who I really am, so this must be weird for him.

"I need to know your name in case you pass in the next stage. You will be contacted when you are accepted into Star Corp. And I don't want to contact the wrong people."

Oh Lord! What kind of reason is that? You really fool Ivy! Now I have turned into a crazy woman because I was too depressed by the arranged marriage. I became often lying, manipulating things and being a rude woman. I'm increasingly not sure to continue the matchmaking. How could I possibly play the role of a good wife if in fact I wasn't ready to be a wife at all. Even I still suck at love.

"Oh okay. I'm Danise Parker. I'm applying for a job as HR."

"Danise Parker, okay I'll write it down. You can go directly to Mr. Milano to do the interview. Good luck.."

"You're welcome."

Danise Parker really is a very polite gentleman. He just gave me a small nod and turned to go to my dad's room. There was no air of arrogance in him at all.

God, he's a very handsome and polite man. I want to know him more when he has officially become HR at this company. I guess I'll have to find Jayde now to tell him about this. The stupid man should know that I just found a very handsome man with a near perfect personality.

Kyaaa! I can't wait to meet this handsome man again. Maybe that man could fill Axel's vacant position because I was abandoned by that man. I don't think my match with him will be canceled just because Axel continues to be indifferent to me.

I think the longer Axel shows his true nature. He thought I had walked into his trap, so he was free to ignore me. Axel has almost the same character as my dad, he is strict, he is very workaholic, and always company oriented. If I were his wife, I think I would only be a second wife because I'm sure he would care more about his company than my happiness as his wife.

"Jayde, I finally found you."

I smiled at him in relief and pushed him into the elevator to my room on the fifteenth floor. Sometimes I feel Jayde is like a ghost that can appear anywhere, and anytime. Like now, when I wanted to look for him and needed him, he was suddenly standing in front of the elevator, on the tenth floor, with his usual stupid style. Isn't this guy really terrible?

"Why are you suddenly looking for me? Do you want to go somewhere?"

"No, there's something I want to tell you. Oh yeah, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the lobby or in the parking lot as usual?"

"By coincidence, I just delivered a file that was left at your house. Your secretary asked for it."

Well, this is one of Jayde's traits that I like, he always knows what I want. Sometimes he does things for me spontaneously without asking anything first. And when I asked why he did it, he would say that everything was written on my face. In other words he can read my facial expressions well. great!

"You know me—"

"I don't know Ivy, you haven't told me anything."

"Aww, why did you hit me?" he shouted angrily.

What an annoying guy. I haven't even finished speaking, but he cuts me off with a very annoying answer. Luckily he was my friend, otherwise I would have fired him a long time ago.

"I'm not finished. Listen to my words before cutting them off."

Jayde was still gently stroking his arm as we walked out of the lift to my room. Maybe I should talk about this in my room so no nosy people eavesdrop on our conversation. If one of my dad's employees found out that I was admiring someone, my reputation could be ruined. An Ivy Milano has to look elegant and classy wherever I am because daddy definitely doesn't like it when people find out my bad side.

"So what do you want to say?"

"I just met a man!"

"Then?"

"Then? You should know that this man is very different. He is sweet and very kind. I accidentally bumped into him as I was walking out of my dad's room. I made all his files fall scattered on the floor. But he wasn't mad at me at all. He still looked polite and thanked me for helping him."

"Are you that depressed after being abused by that jerk and ignored by Axel Krueger? Ivy, I'm sorry about your condition."

What's with this man? That's not what I expected from him! Does my face look so pitiful that he thinks I'm crazy just because of those two annoying useless men? Even I had forgotten about them. I don't care about Axel Krueger and Alscot Silas. I only live once, so I don't want to burden myself with trivial things about those jerks. I'd better live my days with positive energy before I marry Axel. Oh, God! Just thinking about it makes my stomach churn.

"I'm not crazy, Jayde. I'm still very normal. I met Danise Parker earlier. He is the new HR who will replace Samuel who will retire next month. Jayde, I think I like Danise Parker."

"What? What's this ridiculous thing again? You've only met him once and you immediately think you're in love? I think you've gone mad, Ivy."

I threw his face with a pen that I managed to get from my desk, but unfortunately it was not right on his face. My golden pen landed smoothly on the floor and was stepped on by its big feet.

"I'm serious Jayde. Why are you laughing. I feel fluttered when I'm near him. Isn't that a sign that I like him? I also can't forget his sweet smile that melts my heart."

God, I literally couldn't get Danise Parker's handsome face out of my head since I bumped into him in front of my dad's room. The smile that man has is really sweet and makes my heart flutter since earlier. I was sure that this time my beating heart didn't indicate any danger around me. But because I'm totally fascinated by Danise. Even just by imagining his face I feel as if all my anger evaporates into the air.

"You can't infer how you're feeling just because you're pounding, Ivy. That's not the real reason why you love someone. Human emotions are very complicated."

"You can blame my dad who never allowed me to get close to any man other than you so that I end up like this. My knowledge of men and love is absolutely zero. That's why I'm looking for you. I wanted to ask you about it, and not hear you taunt me like this."

I snorted indignantly at him and dropped my tired body on the maroon sofa in the corner of my room. I had to ignore the pile of documents that I was supposed to finish today because I wanted to hear the love lesson that Jayde would teach today. Hopefully he doesn't give me misleading information because I don't know who to go to when it comes to feelings.

"As I told you. You can't categorize that feeling as love just because you're fluttering and mesmerized by his smile. Love isn't that simple, Ivy. Love is an emotion that appears after you go through all kinds of complicated things.

"Is that true? What is it like?"

"Erm... that's too long to explain, but fights and tears can also be a factor in the formation of love. Like Rachel and me. We've had fights, and I've made her cry, but those are the things that make our relationship stronger. Rachel is an extraordinary woman because she is very steadfast and patient in facing any situation between us."

"So you made her cry? Hard to believe! I thought you were always the one being bullied by Rachel."

I laughed out loud at his sullen face. This guy is really funny. It must be nice to be his friend forever. I will never be lonely because Jayde can always entertain me with his weird jokes. Ahh... Jayde, please don't leave my side forever.

"Tsk, stop laughing, you hurt my pride."

"So you have it? Hard to believe." I stuck out my tongue mocking him and laughing even harder to see him snort.

For a moment I could forget the feeling of annoyance or anger that was churning in my heart because of Jayde. Thank you so much for always being by my side, Jayde. I don't know what if I have to part with him after marrying Axel. I can't. Just imagining it makes me so scared. Hopefully I will never lose Jayde forever.