Chapter 3

"You're late" Lenor's voice sounded as soon as Ohana entered the venue.

She was indeed late, but it wasn't her fault at all, Pablo never made it easy for her to get in and always locked her up downstairs when he had the chance, all to make her job more difficult and to show his displeasure at the fact that Ohana wouldn't even give him a smile.

"I..." she began, thinking of a plausible excuse that didn't sound like a bullshit excuse.

But before she could continue, Lenor raised her intense eyes and stared at her in a clear signal to shut up. Anyone would tremble in front of the owner of that great empire, she emanated strength and the intensity of her being was terrifying for the young and inexperienced journalist who just wanted to hide in a corner like a scared little mouse.

Her boss stood up and walked towards the center of the room, where Ohana stood paralyzed. Lenor walked around her like a lion circling its prey, while patiently analyzing her. Her heels made a rhythmic noise against the floor as she walked and, as her eyes moved up and down, the brunette in front of her remained static.

She had never imagined herself in a situation like that, she hadn't even thought that Lenor would spend ten minutes or so analyzing her in detail, not even in her wildest dreams had that happened, and her imagination was quite fertile during her nights of sleep. Although annoyed, Ohana didn't dare move or take a step before Lenor had finished his observation.

"If you carry on with this ridiculously passive, curved posture, you'll just be another one," she pointed out, patting Ohana on the back, who hastily straightened her posture. "Today is Thursday, we have until Saturday to make you seductive enough to attract his attention, so I think you should make an effort."

" Seductive?" she asked, raising her eyebrows with an offended look. "I'm…"

"Girl, a half"empty glass of wine can be sexier than you," Lenor scolded, clearly annoyed. "It's no use having a pretty face and a gym body if you don't know how to use your attractions. Being pretty doesn't make you any different from the millions of pretty girls who will be at that concert on Saturday."

Her tone was sharp, intense, but Lenor knew what she was talking about. It wasn't as if she hated Ohana, she didn't even know she existed until the day she opened her mouth in her office for the first time, but she knew that if she was going to bet on the intern, she had to be more than what she was seeing.

In the eyes of the CEO of the biggest gossip magazine in New York, Ohana was just one of the crowd, sure, she was pretty, but that wasn't enough. By Saturday, Ohana had to become a woman that people would want to look at, and only then would she catch the eye of her target.

"Start by walking, stop shrugging your shoulders, put your chest forward," Lenor said, his voice impatient. "If you shrug, you'll look like a shy little mouse and he'll walk straight past you."

"Sorry!" was the only thing she managed to say as she put her shoulders back and her chest forward.

"I've sent Pablo to make an appointment for the two of us at my hairdresser's tomorrow, and later we're going to a store to buy something for you" she said, sitting back down and looking at her laptop screen. "In the meantime, I want you to research him and gather all the information you can on the internet, even if it's just rumors. Do it from here, you can sit over there."

Lenor pointed to the sofa and, practically running, Ohana settled into the soft upholstery, not even believing that this was happening. She was working in her boss's office, on the sofa where Lenor spent her "free time". Ohana was on the verge of a nervous breakdown from all the excitement, but she tried her best not to show it.

"Yes..." she muttered, sitting down and opening her notebook to begin her research.

As her eyes scrolled down the lines of various gossip blogs, she tried to understand why he was so famous. As far as she could tell, Apollo came out of nowhere, and one day his fame and his music were born.

But when she saw his photos, she realized that part of it was his beauty, which, even with his face hidden under a mask, was still remarkable. Apart from that, Apollo had charisma, a lot of charisma. His performance was impeccable and his seductive air was his trademark. As far as I could tell, nothing was known about him apart from the fact that he was a rich man with a voice that made 90% of the panties in New York wet. So all he did this morning was read thousands of rumors about the mysterious singer and look for interviews he had given, which was very rare.

When the first part of her workday was over and Ohana headed for the building's food court, it wasn't long before she bumped into Helena, one of her few friends from work.

Helena was a young woman who, even though she had only been a trainee for a short time, had already become effective after falling for Pablo's charms. She was a kind and funny girl, but anyone who thought she was naive was mistaken; she was ambitious and intelligent. She had beautiful, voluminous hair with little definition, her eyes were brown and her skin was caramel-colored. Her beautiful smile was charming and her face had extremely beautiful features.

"I thought she wasn't going to let you go today!" Helena said, laughing slightly and pointing to the chair next to her. "I was surprised when they told me Lenor was going to send you, Pablo looked very angry."

Ohana rolled her eyes as she sat down in the chair, sighing heavily as she heard the comment, she knew that Pablo was certainly not happy with Ohana's ascension without his help. She had already noticed that he didn't cope well with rejection, let alone loss, but she was happy to be able to rub it in his face that she didn't have to sit on his cock to get anything in the company.

"You know he's an idiot, but everything is so much easier with an idiot like him around," Helena commented, shaking her head.

"I didn't need him," Ohana retorted, rolling her eyes once again as she looked at the menu of the only restaurant in the building. "I'll get this interview, Helena, you'll see, I'll go up alone and Pablo will have to swallow it."

"You're very proud," the other muttered, shaking her head negatively as she laughed.

After that, they spent the next hour chatting about the gossip going around the building and leisurely eating the lunch they had ordered.

While chatting, Ohana tried to contain the nervousness that imagining the interview caused her, but she was determined to get useful information, after all, this was the opportunity she needed.

After lunch, the day passed with more research and little conversation. Unlike Ohana, Lenor seemed very little concerned about Saturday's important event, but she could sense the journalist's insecurity, as she seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown, even though it was still Thursday.

Lenor certainly didn't need a frightened mouse at that show on Saturday, he needed a seductive woman who looked interesting, very interesting. That's why, when she looked at the big clock on her wall and saw that the time for the show was approaching, she suddenly stood up, startling Ohana, who was sitting on the sofa. Staring at her with little patience, Lenor tilted her head to the side and then headed for the door, passing through it without much explanation.

Ohana closed her laptop and followed as quickly as she could.

The walk down the corridor was awkward. Everyone stared at the boss and, consequently, at the intern behind her. In the eyes of the other employees, it was very strange to see the imposing owner of the magazine walking alongside an intern who most of them didn't even know by name.

However, this didn't displease them as much as it did Pablo, who felt his stomach turn over in irritation whenever he remembered Lenor's plans for Ohana. Of course, his implication was nothing more than wounded pride and a bruised ego, and he hated the fact that Ohana despised him so openly.

He had lusted after her ever since she set foot in that company and, when he saw her, he thought it wouldn't be difficult to have her for himself. But he was completely wrong and, as the months went by, he noticed it. Ohana rarely reciprocated his friendliness, she barely greeted him and, when he tried his hand at her, all he got was a clear and resounding no. No soft words, no decorum, just a loud and clearly offended no.

From that day on, he made it his particular hobby to harass her until she decided to accept his "help" and, with it, his invitation to dinner, which would certainly end up in her apartment, between her sheets.

Pablo tried this for months, no matter how much he sabotaged her, Ohana always seemed very willing to ignore his existence. He made her serve coffee, organize all the files, catalogue the editions since 1980 and even clean his office, but nothing seemed to shake her spirit, as she continued to do everything and more without so much as a grumble.

Pablo was sure, however, that he'd beaten her to the punch, at least before. Now Lenor had her as her favorite, and so he would never be able to complete his plan.

There, at that moment, as he watched her go, he tried to find a way to get her out of the boss's spotlight, but nothing came to mind. He followed Ohana's gait, observing her shapely legs in the pencil skirt she was wearing that day, her thick thighs and the sensual sway of her hips. He imagined himself holding the black strands tightly as he kissed her and tasted her lips, which he was sure were sweet.

But his thoughts were interrupted by the image of Peter, suddenly entering his field of vision with a mischievous smile on his lips. They were identical as twins should be, the same red hair, the same eyes, but Pedro was visibly more humorous than his brother.

"If you keep looking at me like that, the rest of your dignity will go to waste, brother," he teased, with his usual sarcasm.

"Fuck you, Pedro," Pablo replied, rolling his eyes. "You don't have anyone to supervise today, do you? Did you find time to fill my shoes in your busy schedule?"

"I came to bring you a tissue before everyone noticed you drooling over the intern," said Pedro once again. "But since you don't need me, I'm going to leave. I suggest you go back to your office too, if Lenor comes back and you haven't finished your work, your head will roll."

Having said that, he headed for the administrative department, leaving the editorial department, where Pablo worked. It didn't take him long to go to his own office, too. In parts, his brother was right; after all, Lenor would certainly be furious if he messed up once again.

Although he was very good at managing the editorial department, he was always late with deadlines and rarely managed to get stories approved in time. Because of him, many scoops and exclusive stories were lost to competitors and, if it hadn't been for Lenor's respect and affection for Pedro, he would have already been dismissed.

With this thought and a little irritation, he went back to his office and locked himself in, where he spent the rest of the afternoon.