Dangerous Desire The CEO’s Hidden Woman

She had been surprised when John had presented her with the heels, but now it all made sense. After all, it was a wise choice. The low-key nude color and the suitable-length heel made it perfect for the office.

“I really like these shoes, and they’re perfectly suitable for work too. Thanks so much!”

Scarlett held the shoes in her arms. She was actually so moved by John’s gesture that she almost wanted to cry.

“Good luck, Scarlett,” John said and then left for class.

As a genuine straight-A student, Scarlett had already completed all the requirements for the Russian major. Not only that, but she had also completed all the required courses. She only needed to take a few more electives, and she would be ready to graduate. With that in mind, Scarlett decided to postpone taking the electives to next semester. The professors who knew Scarlett well were all supportive of her first formal internship when they heard that she would be working as a translator for T. B. S. Empire.

So, very smoothly, Scarlett was about to set sail towards her first job. Scarlett has not been so excited for a long time. She remembered that the last time she had felt so pleased was when Skyler had gotten into the MA-PhD program of his choice, and they drank a lot of wine together to celebrate. She had promised herself then that she would strive to achieve something great for herself too– she would show the naysayers that she was unstoppable.

Scarlett looked at herself in the mirror and could barely recognize herself. She saw how much she had matured in the past few years. Her face looked calm and confident. She seemed to have to let go of all the miseries of her past. She and Skyler had been suffering for ten sorrowful and angry years, victimized by society and the cruel words of people who did not wish them well.

Scarlett decided that from now on, she would live only for her and Skyler’s future. Maybe this was the first step– now, she was departing from campus and leaving the old darkness and shadows behind. Gazing into the mirror, she seemed to see Sophie’s face on hers, graceful and hopeful.

Scarlett sat on the toilet and thought carefully about the dilemma in front of her. Because of the online scandals she had featured in not long ago, she had become notorious. Then, her sudden departure to go work for none other than T. B. S. Empire inevitably aroused many speculations and doubts. During the 20 minutes she had spent in the cubicle, she had heard all kinds of assumptions about her identity and the way she had gotten recruited to work at the company. Had she just hopped into bed with the senior director? Was she the illegitimate daughter of someone named Steph Lewis? The ridiculous one was that she was Chuck Sandler’s fiancée, no less. Scarlett rolled her eyes at the ridiculous speculations of her colleagues.

If it were just these speculations, Scarlett would have been totally fine with it. But the truth was that nobody even paid any attention to her after she had sat in her spot for one hour. She took the initiative to ask them several questions, but it looked like they were all buried in their own business. She thought she would rather stay in the cubicle the entire day.

There was a sound again outside. Scarlett put down her phone and listened carefully to the door.

“Who’s that new intern?” A voice opened the talk.

“Scarlett Morris. I heard that she didn’t go through the conventional process to get in but that someone had already paved the way for her. I’m wondering who that powerful backer might have been. Life is always so unfair, isn’t it? We’ve passed almost five tests and interviews to get recruited, and what about her? A test in the boudoir?” A squeaky voice said.

“Isn’t it nice to have someone to help you out with your work? Our department is always busy as hell. After all, she’s just an intern.”

“I just can’t get used to that face. She looks like a mistress but still pretends to be virtuous!”

“I think that photo of her on the Internet is pretty cute, though…”

“Hey, I mean, maybe she got some surgery, you know? Went under the knife? Who knows…”

As the sound of high heels receded, Scarlett opened the door and walked out. She stood in front of the mirror and took a careful look at her face and her chest. It turned out that they were not ignoring her but just secretly scanning and assessing her.

Lost in thought, Scarlett suddenly saw a person come out of the cubicle. She was wearing a black suit and black-rimmed glasses, and her face looked angular and somewhat boyish.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Hey, I’m Leah Reed.” She reached out to shake Scarlett’s hand.

“Hello. Scarlett Morris.” Scarlett hesitated for a second but still shook her hand.

“I know. I just want to tell you…don’t get too stressed. It’s good to concentrate on your own business and not care about what other people around you might be saying. Just disregard the haters, you know?”

“Thanks, I appreciate that. But the truth is, I just don’t know what to do. You know, you are the first person to talk to me in three whole hours.”

“I was excluded for a while too. It was tough in the beginning, you know, trying to fit in and all that. But now everything is fine.” Leah’s words were comforting. The two then walked to the office together. Scarlett was surprised to find that Leah sat right behind her on the right. She had been too anxious to take in her surroundings when she first came into the office. Not long after, Leah came over and handed her a folder. Scarlett took it with suspicion and asked,

“What is this?”

When she opened it, Scarlett found a copy of Vogue magazine perfectly embedded in a bunch of company reports. Scarlett looked back and gave Leah a thumbs up. Within an hour, Scarlett has already doubled the number of items on her wishlist.