CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER THEME SONG:

Ocean Eyes By Billie Eillish ||

It was an alluring night. A crisp breeze passed through the half opened window of a darkened room making the sheer white curtains float aimlessly in the air. The breeze drifted toward the girl sleeping on a four poster bed. She was dressed in a simple nightgown and was covered with a fuzzy pink blanket. Her eyes were tightly closed and her sharp eyebrows furrowed together showing the exhaustion on her face. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she moved her head vigorously left and right. No doubt she was dreaming of the memories that were constantly haunting her.

[ IRIS'S POV ]

My loud and annoying ringtone pierced my eardrums waking me from my sleep. I panicked while sitting up in bed to answer the phone. Taking a long steady breath, I tried to stabilize my anxious state. With unsteady hands, I wiped off the sweat that was dripping from my forehead. I had nightmares again. But were they nightmares or memories? The medication that my psychiatrist had prescribed me didn’t seem to be helping much. I was still suffering from my night terrors. My thoughts snapped back to the present as my phone rang again. Reluctantly, I reached out for my phone and saw the number on the brightened screen. My heart skipped a beat and I tried to calm myself before tapping the answer button.

“What took you so long?” The cold voice resounded in my head. “I don’t have all night just to wait for you to pick up your damn phone.”

I gulped hard and replied in a low voice, “I… I'm sorry…I was sound asleep.”

He let out an agitated sigh and I braced myself for the string of curses that I knew he would throw at me because I made him wait. However, to my complete surprise, his voice softened a little. However, I could still detect the anger in his tone.

“Your new identity is Iris Young. Be ready for tomorrow.”

Nodding automatically, I parted my lips to ask for his whereabouts since I haven't seen him for months. However, before the words could leave my mouth, I heard the call disconnect. Staring at the screen, my lips twisted bitterly and my eyes began to water.

“No, Iris. You can't cry.” I lectured myself. “Your old life is over. No more shedding useless tears.”

I walked towards my half opened window and welcomed the cold breeze on my face while looking up at the night sky. The bright light of the full moon engulfed my small figure and a soft smile formed on my lips. Shifting my gaze down toward the capital, my hazel took in the glittering view of the cityscape.

"Hello, Sliverstone City.” I spoke softly, “It’s been awhile..."

…

The following morning, I woke up with a high pitched voice right beside my ear.

"Mom… Mom…Mommy… MOMMY! Wake up! You need to get up and get ready for work!"

Ignoring the voice, I rolled over and buried my head deep within my pillow shutting out any further noises that would threaten my peaceful sleep. Regardless, my barricade didn’t deter him one bit as he was already used to my antics. So, for good measure, he increased the volume of his voice and repeated his words over and over again. Sitting up quickly, I chucked my big fluffy pillow at his small metal head.

“Stressed Tomato! Can't you just leave me alone!? I was actually starting to sleep!” I yelled, glaring at the robot.

Honestly, he was about to drive me insane! I was accustomed to living by myself. Nevertheless, my dear best friend, Daisy Maxwell, wouldn’t hear of it. On my 21st birthday, she gave me this small robot that she had built to help take care of me. He was more like an annoying pet that hovered around me all day. There was one time that I had slightly coughed and he actually called the doctor saying that I was about to die! I was fairly certain that she had programmed him to be an absolute pest. Daisy even programmed him to call me “Mommy”! In return, I decided to name him “Stressed Tomato”. His face constantly held a strained expression, as if the whole world rested on his tiny shoulders, and his metal round body was painted tomato red. I thought the name was fitting for my little house robot.

Grumbling, I got out of bed and tried to run my fingers through my disheveled hair. Opening the door, I was greeted by a wonderful and intense aroma. It filled my nose and caused me to immediately salivate. I trudged down the hallway, following the delicious scent, toward my unannounced guest. Standing in the kitchen doorway, I saw Daisy Maxwell, my beloved bitchy best friend making breakfast sandwiches.

“What are you doing here so early in the morning?” I mumbled, as I was still only half awake.

Daisy turned and smiled widely at me. Her short boyish hairstyle accentuated her sharp cheekbones and brown intelligent eyes, which were currently sparkling with excitement. Daisy, being a damned brilliant engineer, was currently finishing up her degree in Robotic Science. She was extremely passionate about creating new and improved robots. She licked the ketchup off of her index finger, while walking over to hug me. Still somewhat asleep, I remained motionless and she continued to tighten her arms around me.

“Oh babe, I came to help you! This is your first day as President Gray’s secretary. Aren’t you excited?!” She asked, practically bouncing up and down.

Trying to get me to wake me up she pinched my cheeks tightly.

“I knew that you were not going to wake up early. So I thought to come and make sure you had an amazing breakfast to celebrate your first day of work.” She said, finally letting go of my face.

I smiled at her with gratitude and happily ate what she made me. After finishing breakfast, Daisy shoved me out of the kitchen with a push.

“Now, get your ass out of here! Jesus, you’re going to be late for your first day of work. Hurry up!” She nagged.

“Yes, Aunty…” I said with exasperation. “I'll be ready in ten minutes!”

Briskly walking into the bathroom, I switched on the shower. Feeling the refreshing cold water on my skin filled me with contentment. After scrubbing myself with the lavender scented soap, I took one last moment to relax under the frigid water. Stepping out of the bathroom, I lightly wrapped myself in a thick towel and walked over to the closet. I frowned at the excessive amount of branded clothes that lined the wall. Looking at my options, I realized that it was going to be difficult to choose something appropriate that was suited for a secretary–especially for the president. The current president of USK State, Xavier Gray, was also the CEO and founder of Eden International Limited, a billion dollar corporation. To top it all off, Xavier Gray was only twenty-nine!

“He really is an impressive person.” I thought as I rummaged through my closet.

All the clothes were expensive, flashy and made with the utmost quality–which was the very reason why I found most of them uncomfortable. In the end, I picked a sleeveless black dress and placed it on my bed. Turning towards the full length mirror, I observed my smooth skin and beautiful soft hair. However, when I tried to smile, it never reached my eyes and it looked very artificial. Sighing at my expressionless face, I wondered how in the hell I was going to pull this off when I couldn’t even smile properly.

“Your job is to seduce President Gray. I have the utmost faith in your appearance and skill set. You must complete this mission. However, do not even think about crossing me. I will constantly be watching you and monitoring your progress.”

I received that threat on the day that I arrived in the city. Fear began to rise in my chest and I quickly put on the knee length dress attempting to bring my thoughts back to the present. Applying some make up lightly on my face, except for the fair amount of concealer for the dark circles under my eyes, I let my hair down and painted my lips a shade of ruby red. Before leaving my room, I did a final overall check in the mirror and my mouth fell open.

“Holy shit! I look more like an escort than an employee,” I thought. “Oh whatever… I will be the only female employee there anyway so might as well dress to impress.”

As I continued to grumble to myself, I walked out of my room with my purse in one hand and some documents in the other. Striding towards the dining table, I found Daisy waiting for me grinning like a fool. She whistled at me.

“Well, well, well! You are looking hot Miss Young! I'm actually starting to feel a little worried for the president. Damn… all the poor girls who are flocking around him don’t stand a chance.”

Rolling my eyes, I plopped down in the chair opposite her.

“But you know…” Daisy continued in a lowered voice. “I heard, even though he’s gorgeous, that President Gray is actually asexual. But even if it is just a rumor, it’s a known fact that all of his employees are men.”

She paused and gave me a curious look.

“Speaking of which, how did you manage to get this job, Iris?"

Not answering her, I chuckled softly at her bewildered face and drank my orange juice. I practically saw the wheels turning inside my friend’s pretty little head.

“Are you hiding something from me?” She asked.

“Daisy, I don’t have time for this interrogation. I am already close to being late.” I said hoping she would drop the matter while quickly downing my juice.

“Oh… I get it. You had to do some “favors” for the president to get this job, right?” She asked, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

I immediately started to choke on my juice once I heard her ridiculous question. When I was finally able to talk again, I looked at her incredulously.

“I have never even seen the president up close. The only way I know anything about him is through the news. It was actually one of my friends that managed to get this job for me. He told me that they were looking for a female secretary and I applied.”

She sat there studying me with an expectant look.

“Alright… alright… So it also didn’t hurt that I have two degrees, not to mention excellent grades. It turns out that my qualifications were a perfect fit for this job.” I stated proudly, while I winked at her.

I graduated college with two different degrees: a Computer Science degree from DKL University, one of the top ten universities in the world, and an English Literature degree from the renowned university of UX State. So yeah… I was pretty smart.

Looking over at the clock, I suddenly jumped out of my chair just as Daisy was about to ask another question.

“Crap! It’s already 7:40?!” I squeaked out as I bolted out of the apartment.

Daisy shook her head in exasperation and defeat while watching me leave.

…

“Wait!” I shouted.

But, I was too late. As I saw the elevator doors close, I came to an abrupt halt and I stomped my foot in anger scolding myself for not leaving earlier. Just when I was about to take the stairs, the elevator reopened. I wasted no time getting inside and thanked the lady who heard my frantic request to wait. She smiled back at me sweetly saying it was no trouble. When the elevator reached the ground floor, I rushed out of the building. Luckily, I found a taxi as soon as I stepped outside.

“Eden International Limited, please.” I instructed the driver while getting in the car.

He was startled by my directions and gave me an odd look. However, he just shrugged his shoulders and pulled the taxi off the curb driving towards the freeway. The driver must have sensed my urgency because it normally took about twenty minutes to reach the city center, but he had us there in fifteen. Scooting out of the car, I paid the man and didn’t even bother to take my change. I turned to look up at the gigantic building in front of me and, to quell my rising anxiety, I took a deep breath. Inside the front door, one guard checked my belongings while the other swept a hand held metal detector over my body.

“This place sure has some tight security,” I thought to myself.

Directly in front of me, I saw a man sitting at a desk typing nonstop on his computer. My black heels clacked on the marble floor as I entered the reception area. I walked up to him while clearing my throat.

“Excuse me, sir. I'm new here and I was wondering if you could tell me which way I needed to go?” I gently asked.

The receptionist finished what he was typing and finally shifted his eyes to me. A look of surprise flickered across his face before returning to his former blank expression. Waiting for him to answer my question, I fought the urge to play with my fingers. As he kept looking at me, I started to worry that maybe I had picked the wrong outfit. Maybe I should have tied my hair up in a more professional manner. After a long awkward silence, he cleared his throat.

“Yes, Miss. Take the elevator over there and go up to the 15th floor. That is where you will find Mr. Scott's office. He is your assigned supervisor.”

I thanked him and quickly turned towards the elevators. Getting into the first available one, I heard the receptionist’s voice yelling from behind me. I ignored him and pressed the button for the 15th floor. I was in a hurry! I had to reach Mr. Scott's office before 8 o’clock this morning and I was already running late. My thoughts were interrupted as my phone vibrated with a text from Daisy. I laughed at her lewd message and started to send her a reply when the elevator stopped. Looking up, I saw that I had arrived at the 18th floor.

“Why didn’t it stop on my floor?” I wondered.

Not paying much attention to it, I pushed the button again for the 15th floor. Hopefully, the elevator wouldn’t make any more weird stops. I went back to messaging Daisy when the elevator doors opened. Unexpectedly, I heard a man's voice having a conversation on his phone as he got inside. For some reason, his deep and rich tone made a chill run down my spine. Before I could look up at the stranger, I received another text from Daisy.

“Remember, I told you that your boss is damn handsome so don’t start banging him from the get go. Okay?”

Chuckling at Daisy's shameless message, I put my phone back in my purse. Suddenly, I felt a piercing gaze on me. Curious to see the person who I was sharing the elevator with, I lifted my head. My whole body froze as I saw a pair of arctic blue eyes staring at me.

“M-Mr. President.” I stuttered in shock.