Taming the Playboy CEO

Meeting with the directors.

That same evening

At Mariana's

Mariana goes in and hears Cole drive off. She listens to his car go in distance till she couldn't hear it anymore. She is lost in thought as she reflects on everything that had happened throughout the dinner.

She knew Cole had a not too subtle crush on her, but was she ready to go back into the dating line? was something she did not know; in fact she was still confused.

She had been grieving for her fiance for more than a year now but was she ready to get over it and begin afresh. She still believed strongly inside her that he was alive.

She still remembers the look in her mother's eye anytime she usually came to her room to check on her throughout the past year, not only her mother's eye but her sister. She had stressed them beyond measure and was beginning to feel like a burden to them.

Mariana then makes you her mind to try to move on. As much as she knew it wouldn't be easy because she still loved Alex, but she was willing to begin the journey. And for her the first step, as she thought, was enjoying the world better.

Or at least going out more often as this evening was a pleasant relief to her, most especially the soothing view of the ocean. She made a mental note to be going to the beach more often as it actually helped calm her fraying nerves.

Mariana's thoughts then moved to the events of the evening and Cole. She wonders what his entire motive was. Recalling the fact that he had a crush on her, she begins to ponder it.

Wondering if he decides to ask her out, she wonders what her response would be.

Letting out a frustrated shriek, she decides to move away from the door she had been leaning on this whole time down to her room, promptly ending all thoughts by saying “when that bridge comes, I'll cross it. Right now, I have to sleep because of work tomorrow".

She lets out a groan before beginning her night routine before heading to bed.

Next morning

Mariana wakes up to the ringing of her alarm. After successfully turning it off, she gets off the bed and says her prayers. She then goes to brush her teeth before going on her routine before work.

She decides on grabbing a cup of coffee at a coffee shop she found during her stroll, that was close to her apartment and getting breakfast at her workplace's cafeteria as she wasn't sure she could whip up something edible at the moment. She locks up her apartment.

Mariana gets into the car the company gave her for her promotion. Driving through the morning traffic with workers and students alike preparing for their day, She appreciates the morning breeze and the hustle bustle around her as she drives. She grabs her cup of coffee and is soon on her way.

Not wanting to spend too much time standing in a line for it, she had called to place and order as soon as she left her apartment.

She continues her drive down to the office with little to no hassle on the road.

Mariana drives into a space in the parking lot. She steps down, carries her laptop and gets into the building. She walks in with poise and elegance with her head held high, chin up.

As she steps in, murmurs begin. She frowns wondering why they were talking and what they were saying. She looked at her dress as if she had maybe spilled her coffee on herself but she didn't.

Nothing was wrong with her outfit. She had on suede trouser pants and a white shirt with matching flats as she didn't want her leg to hurt. She prioritized her comfort and actually felt very comfortable in her outfit.

Actually,the people were not talking about her outfit, but instead how she didn't deserve the position she was in and probably her family bribed the boss for it.

She ignored them and continued strolling to the elevator. On opening it, a lady came out. The lady just hissed, sized her up, bumped shoulders with Mariana making her notes and bag fall off in the process including her cup of coffee as Mariana had to hold on to her laptop tightly.

Laughter erupts as her things scatter all over the ground. It is evident that she is not liked there.

The lady just looked at her with a look of contempt on her face, called her a b***h and passed.

Another man walked out of the and helped her with her stuff as she struggled to keep her temper in check.

He introduces himself to her as Gerald, the advertisement director. She proceeds to introduce herself but he stops her and tells her that he already knows the great ‘Mariana Beth' that was just promoted here.

They both share a short laughter as she wonders what she did wrong to deserve such hate by her fellow workers. She voices her thoughts out loud and he answers them by saying that her reputation as being a daughter of the Beth's had preceded her.

Gerald offers to escort her to her office and she agrees. They continue their conversation as she learns from Gerald that it wasn't easy to earn a seat in the San Diego branch of their company not to talk about being promoted to the seat of one of the directors there.

Most people work for literally all their lives to get there to no avail and here she was getting it without sweat. He confesses that when the news of her promotion reached his ears he was a bit envious but was also surprised that she got the position and as a woman too.

Mariana asks what he means by a woman. Gerald tells her that she is the first and only woman to have a seat among the directors on the branch.

Mariana is shocked at this discovery. Gerald explains that when he heard about her, was most definitely intrigued and wanted to see for himself. Mariana then jokes if she has gotten up to his expectations, to which he replies that she has topped it.

They laugh as they approach her office and she tells her PA to bring in breakfast with another cup of coffee and also the files and documents she would be needing for the day and her schedule too.

As Yolanda goes to follow the instructions, Mariana and Gerald step into Mariana's office. Gerald bids her farewell for her to get prepared for her day and asks if she would be down for lunch with him at the cafeteria. Mariana smiles warmly and agrees. Gerald leaves.

At Cole's penthouse

The same morning

Cole is up and is on his way to the office already. As he steps into the reception, the entire place goes as silent as a graveyard. Every movement is paused in respect to him.

There is a rule that as he steps in everything is to stop until he enters his private elevator. As soon as he steps in the elevator and moves up, everyone lets out a breath of relief they were holding. He continues up to the top floor where his office is situated.

The branch manager is already waiting for him as he does not want to get it to Cole's bad books. He tells him to wait as Cole decides to call to check up on his mother and Mariana.

He calls Mariana first and she picks up after the third ring. He was already getting worried when she picked up. She apologizes that she was eating and that her phone was inside her purse which was a bit far away from her.

He smiles and says it is okay. He inquired about her wellbeing and if she had eaten breakfast. She says yes and he proceeds to make lunch plans with her to which she politely declines saying that she didn't want to go far since she had a lot of work on her desk for the day.

She insists on just eating at the company cafeteria. He complies and tells her to have a splendid day.

After the call with Mariana, Cole calls his mother. They talk for a while, hang up and he gets up as Lucas walks in. Lucas tells him that it was almost time for the meeting he had already scheduled with the directors.

Cole gets prepared as Lucas carries his notepad and the essentials they would be needing for the meeting.

Getting to the conference room, the directors that were already seated get up as he enters the room. They remained standing until he had taken his seat after which they sat.

The first one steps out and begins his presentation carefully as the slightest mistake could cost him job.

The meeting continues in silence as Cole listens and Lucas takes notes.