Billionaire Enemy wants me

Stela Gomes Exactly fourteen years ago, I lost my parents in a car accident. What was supposed to be our long-awaited vacation to Paris turned into a nightmare. My father, Arthur Gomes, worked non-stop, and my mother, Sophia, always complained about him not having time for his family. After so much complaining, he decided to make our dream of visiting Paris come true. But the unexpected happened: a runaway car ran a red light and hit our taxi. The worst happened. My father, who was in the passenger seat, died instantly from the impact, and my mother passed away on the way to the hospital. Only I survived. I didn't even have time to say goodbye to her, as she was unconscious in the ambulance. To this day, I wonder why I survived that accident because I felt I was supposed to die with them. After the car accident, I went to live with my maternal grandparents in California. They raised me with all the love and care I needed, and despite everything, I am happy. We are not rich, but we live well and comfortably. I attended a good school, and today I am studying journalism. I have a best friend named Andreza Smith. I honestly don't know how we became friends, as we are entirely different. She loves clubs and keeps trying to drag me with her, but I prefer to stay on my own. I dislike drawing attention, while she loves being seen by everyone wherever she goes. However, I know that today I can't escape it since it's her birthday, and we agreed to go to a bar near the university after class with some friends. While everyone is dancing and drinking, I'm in a corner, sitting at one of the tables, watching my friends have a good time. Suddenly, Carlos appears, pulling me to dance. He is Andreza's older brother. He works as an operations manager in one of his father's companies but loves to party and hang out with several women. He's the typical naughty playboy. "Let's dance, Stela!" he said, dragging me to the dance floor without giving me a chance to refuse. I realize he's already beyond drunk because he is trying to grab me and hug me inappropriately. "Carlos, don't try to play smart with me," I warned him. Then he suddenly tried to kiss me, but I slapped him in the face and ran out of the bar. Indeed, everyone is at a loss to understand what happened. Carlos ran after me, probably to apologize, but he couldn't catch up with me. As he approached, I got into a cab that was stopping at the time. I asked the driver to take me home directly. When I got home, I ran straight to my room. Thank God my grandparents are already asleep. I threw myself on the bed, thinking about what Carlos tried to do. I'm sure that tomorrow, at school, Andreza will ask me a lot of questions, wanting to know why I ran away like that. I’m right. The moment I set foot in the university, she ran towards me. "What happened to you last night? Why did you run away like crazy?" God, she asked without even taking a breath. How does she do it? "Can you wait until I properly arrive before bombarding me with questions?" I growled at her. "Okay, you're here. Now, tell me what happened." How am I going to come up with an excuse? I don't want to tell the truth because I'm sure she'll talk to Carlos, and I don't want them to argue because of me. "Calm down, my friend. Nothing serious happened. I just didn't feel well after having a drink. You know I'm not used to drinking." Andreza looked at me with a face that showed she didn't believe my story, but she didn’t insist any further. Thank God, the bell rang, and we went to our class. It's Professor Alfredo Martinez's class, and he's already giving us a journalistic assignment. The task is to interview essential people in the city. Wow, this job is going to be difficult for me. I don't know anyone who is that important, and getting an appointment with such people is undoubtedly very complicated. For Andreza, it will be easy since her family is influential and well-connected. "I already know who you can interview," Andreza said excitedly. "My cousin, Ivan." I froze when she said his name because I'd heard a lot about him. They say he's cold and emotionless, never tolerates his employees' mistakes, and is the typical stern businessman. Everyone is afraid and envious of him for being the CEO of the Smith Enterprise group, one of the largest companies in California. It is a family business owned by Andreza and Ivan's parents. "I don't know, Andreza. I've heard about your cousin, and he doesn't seem like someone who would spend his time helping a journalism student with a simple interview," I said, not quite believing her cousin would help me. "Relax," she said in the most tranquil way possible. "My cousin has a reputation for being tough, but he's a good person. We'll go to the company together and talk to him." We went to the company, but we were not seen as I expected. Her cousin claimed to be very busy and didn't have time to see us at that moment, which, to me, was no surprise. We returned to the group's headquarters the next day, but Ivan had left for a meeting with the shareholders. We scheduled to come back another day since we still have time to complete the assignment. I don't know him personally, but I already have a very bad impression of him. We left the group's headquarters and headed straight to the university since we had a full day ahead of us. "I'm exhausted!" Andreza murmured as soon as we left our last class. "I'm going straight home. I'm dying for a shower and my bed." I laughed at her when she said the last part. We said goodbye. She left using her car, and I headed home by taxi. As I neared the bus stop, my grandmother called me. "Hello, Grandma," I greeted her, excited by her call. "Stela, we're in the hospital. Your grandfather just had a heart attack." My heart skips a beat. I can't believe my grandfather is in such a condition. I left in a hurry and ended up bumping into a very handsome man who appeared to be just over six feet tall, with blue eyes, blond hair, and a very rude demeanor. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't see you," I apologized quickly. "Are you blind, or are you just an i***t who doesn't look where they're walking?" I looked at him in disbelief at what I was hearing. I just apologized, and I didn't need to be treated so rudely, but I didn't have time to argue. If I ever see him again, I won't let it go. "I'm sorry again. I didn't mean to bump into you," I said, looking directly into his eyes. The man looks me up and down with a disgusted face as if I were nothing and then goes on his way. How are there still people like that? But I don't have time to argue with anyone. When I arrived at the hospital, I got the news that my grandfather was not doing well at all. I hugged my grandmother and started crying, asking God to help my grandfather recover. *** I've been missing my classes for a few days, taking care of my grandfather. Andreza must indeed be surprised by my absence. I've been so busy at the hospital that I haven't even remembered to tell her what's going on. To make matters worse, my cell phone has died, and I have no way to charge it at the hospital. So if she tries to call me, she can't reach me. On Saturday, I went home while my grandmother was in the hospital. She insisted that I get some rest, or else I would end up getting sick, too. I'm devastated. I hate seeing my grandfather in such a state. As soon as I got home, I took a shower and collapsed on the couch, crying with sadness and fear. The doorbell rang, startling me. When I opened the door, I saw Andreza, who got scared when she saw me crying. Not understanding what was going on, my friend hugged me without saying anything. After a while, once I was calmer, I told Andreza what happened to my grandfather, who was still in the hospital. My friend consoled me. After a week in the hospital, my grandfather was finally discharged, and the next day, I went back to my classes at the university. I already saw that I had a lot of work to catch up on. Andreza helped me as much as she could, but there were many things that only I could do. To make matters worse, the deadline for Professor Alfredo Martinez's assignment is almost here, and I couldn't afford to miss it, as it accounted for half of the final grade. Andreza was supposed to see if she could talk to her cousin and get an answer about his availability for the interview. I hoped she could do it, or else I would fail.