The billionaire's reluctant mistress

Chapter 1: A familiar face

After quitting her job, Rachel walked home with frustration and resentment. It was a cold day, and Rachel could see the white smoke coming out of her full lips as she breathed. She looked up at the dimmed yellow street lights, the feeling of disappointment surging through her heart. What happened tonight had crossed a line. Tonight, she finally quit. All the years working as an assistant, she had always tried her best to please her boss. Not only was she doing administrative tasks, she was also accompanying him to social events. God only knew how much she hated those events.

As a young, attractive woman, she had learned that men are not trustworthy. She was fed up with the way they looked at her as if she was a delicious dessert. But there was nothing she could do about it if she wanted to keep earning money. Living in a city like London was not cheap, and she had other responsibilities.

The company's real estate project was behind schedule. And her boss was desperately trying all he could to fix the problem. They had arranged a dinner with the shareholders. The dinner took place at one of the most luxurious restaurants in the city center. Rachel put on a little makeup and wore a light blue dress that was just past her knees. She didn’t want to look too sexy. But the simplicity couldn’t conceal her beauty; big round emerald eyes and waist-length wavy black hair. Like any other business dinners, Rachel tried her best to make the atmosphere as comfortable as possible. She raised her glasses to the shareholders and pretended to laugh at their bland jokes.

Her boss had specially arranged for her to sit next to the 56-year-old Russian investor, Mikhail Oleg. She had met him several times in the office. The man's hungry, lecherous gaze always made her uncomfortable.

Expensive Hibiki bottles were opened one after another and things gradually lost control. After the sushi had been served, Mikhail Oleg leaned toward her and whispered: "Do you know that you are very beautiful?"

In shock, she looked around the room. But no one seemed to notice his apparent flirting. She inched away from the man, trying to smile politely: "Thank you, Mr. Oleg."

But that flirty question was just the start of what was to follow. The Russian millionaire continued to lean toward her.

"Mr. Oleg, have you been drinking a bit too much?"

“Not at all. I haven’t had that much. How can I get drunk sitting next to a beautiful woman like you?"

As he was talking, he put his arm around Rachel's waist. Her whole body was trembling in disgust. She caught her boss's eyes from across the dining table. He must have known what was going on, but he didn't try to help her. He just looked away, continuing to talk to the other shareholders. Bitterly, she realized that this was her boss's intent. He wanted her to help him please the damn investors. For her superiors, she was simply an employee, a tool which helped them to get what they wanted. But she still felt like she was being sold out. The work pressure, the scolding, the 11-hour work-days, all became too much to bear.

Though Rachel tried her best to keep a distance, Oleg still moved close to her. She could smell liquor on his breath. Nausea swelled in Rachel's stomach.

But she could not believe it when, under the tablecloth, Oleg’s hand touched her thigh as he whispered: "Let’s meet sometime, just you and me."

Panicked and angry, Rachel stood up: “Mr. Oleg, just don’t.”

Her actions caught everyone's attention. She had to pretend to go to the toilet.

She couldn't help the tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked at her own reflection in the mirror and the thought of going back to the dining table scared her. When Rachel came out of the bathroom, she saw her boss standing outside, an angry expression on his face.

"What did you do to upset Oleg?"

Rachel just stared at her boss, speechless. After a while, she said, "You know what happened! He was trying to f**k me right there!"

“You better watch your mouth. He is an important shareholder and it is your job to keep him happy. I’m not paying you to sit there doing nothing for the company!”

This was not the first time her boss tried to use her like this. She was too tired of working with a man who always blamed his subordinates for their failure and never frankly admitted his own incompetence. She decided she could not endure this anymore. They fought, and 5 minutes later, she quit the job.

There were two kinds of secretaries. The first one had years of intense experience, rich skills and artfulness in dealing with others. They were too good at their jobs to be replaced. The other type were young, beautiful women. All they needed to know was how to make the boss happy, no matter which way. Unfortunately, Rachel was neither of these. Having only been a secretary for four years, her experience couldn’t compare to the others. Also, she didn’t want to be anybody’s mistress. She was only twenty-six, maybe it was not too late for her to start another career.

After 15 minutes walking from the station, Rachel could finally see grey apartment blocks. She quickened her pace, straightened her shoulders, and swept the tears from her eyes. She opened the door, falling wearily onto the sofa.

What else could she do? Interpreting? Besides English, she spoke fluent Italian and had quite a decent command of Swedish. But there were too many people who could do the same thing. How about being an accountant? Sales? None of them sounded appealing to her.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear the door open. Lisa was back. She was Rachel’s housemate and best friend. Seeing Rachel comfortably sitting there, Lisa was surprised: “Rachel, you’re home! I thought you wouldn’t come back until way later!”

“Yeah, I thought so too. But I quit.” She calmly said.

“What happened?” Taking off her coat, Lisa went to the sofa to sit next to Rachel.

Lisa and Rachel had been friends for many years. They understood each other well and even looked similar, both with slim figures and healthy tanned skin. Rachel told her what had happened. Lisa quietly listened. She didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t want to keep doing this anymore, but there is nothing else I can do.”

Lisa stood up, walked toward the kitchen and got Rachel a big glass of orange juice. They put on a movie and enjoyed a peaceful night together. They hadn’t had it for a long time. Suddenly, Lisa’s face lit up, she seemed to remember something. Putting the glass on the table, she said: “Oh! Katy told me that her office is looking for an HR position the other day. Why don’t you try it out?"

“Yeah? Her place sounds really cool." Rachel sat up.

Lisa added: "I think it’s a good idea. Remember how she couldn’t stop talking about her new company?"

Katy was Lisa's former colleague. She had just moved into a new job a few months ago, but she always said good things about her new work environment and boss. Rachel took a sip of the juice, slowly recalling Katy's comments from a few days ago. It was a real estate company, the same as Rachel's old one. Their CEO was a British-Italian, who had a masters in economics from Yale. Like many other girls at work, Katy was infatuated by the CEO. But it was understandable, her boss was not only rich but also very good looking, and according to her, he was extremely decent. Katy had never heard any rumors about him having any affairs with female employees in the company. He already had a fiancé.

The following morning, Rachel sent her CV to Katy so she could help her hand it to the HR department. Rachel thought that she would have to wait a few more days to get a reply but, by 3 PM the same day, she received a call from the HR department of L&R Real Estate. They had formally invited her to an interview. Her heart was filled with excitement. People in this company really worked effectively.

L&R Real Estate was located in the most prosperous part of the city, next to the large square. Adjacent to it were several high-end five-star hotels. The building was luxuriously designed. Up to the 20th floor, the office was painted a cool light-blue, the air lingering with the scent of lavender. A beautiful receptionist greeted her, then quickly dialed the phone number of the HR department.

"Ms. Evans, please go to the 21th floor and turn right to the first room, which is the Human Resources department."

"Thank you!" She smiled politely. She liked to smile gracefully, not only because it was an easy way to gain the good will of others, but also because it had always made her feel better. Even though her life was nothing to laugh about. The Human Resources department’s workspace was quietly separated by blue glass panels. Everyone was busy with their own tasks. She was a little hesitant to speak up. Luckily, a solemn woman in her forties came close to her and smiled politely: "Are you Ms. Evans?"

"Yes. Are you Mrs. Amaral?” Rachel could feel sharp gazes burning into her, making her spine shiver . She subconsciously looked down to check her brown dress and the socks that fully covered her legs. Surely her appearance wouldn’t be a problem? Was it because her long dark hair was a little messy? Or maybe something about her appearance just made people doubt her abilities? She comforted herself with the fact that she was maybe just too sensitive.

"Come with me, our CEO wants to see you." The woman’s voice was very cold.

She looked around in wonder, it seemed like there were no other applicants. It was a big company, so Rachel had guessed that there would be a lot of people applying. Not only that, it was also weird that the CEO would directly join the interview. Based on her previous experience, this was absolutely not a sign of luck. Following Mrs. Amaral into the hallway, she couldn't help but ask, "Am I the only applicant here today?"

"After looking through the files, the CEO told me to contact you. He didn't mention the others." She eyed her judgmentally. She had no idea why Rachel was the only interviewee either. Rachel tried to maintain the calm smile on her face, but inside, she started to get really nervous. This was out of the ordinary.

She carefully recalled her CV. Nothing special. She had put down her experience as a secretary and chose the photo which was taken years ago - when she had just graduated from university. She looked young and naïve in the picture, but not too different from her current appearance. She began to doubt Katy’s words.

After passing through the hallway which was newly painted ivory-white, Mrs. Amaral stopped in front of an elegant door. She could see a girl in her mid-twenties sitting at the reception area. She had a full oval face, red lipstick, and twinkling eyes, complimenting her feminine charm. Her ultra-short, crimson dress proudly flaunted her fiery body.

As soon as the young woman saw Rachel, she dialed an internal phone. Even her voice was as sweet as honey: "Mr. Albanese, Miss Evans is here. Will you see her now?"

The woman nodded and hung up.

"Miss Evans, you can come in." Her disdainful gaze didn't match her polite voice.

Rachel secretly thought that if she had to work as her assistant in the future, she would be a challenge. But she had to pass this interview first! Rachel told herself to stop overthinking.

Putting aside the endless thoughts, she lightly knocked on the door. A manly voice curtly called out, "Come in!"

Rachel entered.

The room was large and painted ivory-white, just like the outside. White walls, white sofa, white bookcase. Yet, the leather chairs and desks were black. The owner clearly had some taste.

Next to the bookshelves was a small door, Rachel guessed it was the lounge. Her last boss also had a lounge and it usually became his and his mistresses’ meeting spot.

On the desk, was a neat stack of documents as well as two laptops.

The well-dressed man seated in the black leather swivel chair was staring at the blue sky outside the window. Rachel could only see his back, but she sensed his noble temperament.

"Mr. Albanese", Rachel said softly.

The moment the chair turned, she saw his face… His face was very similar to Flynn!