Her Lost Paradise

Chapter 1

"Past Man"

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Flight 4B7, departing from New York to the Philippines. We are currently third in line for takeoff and expect to be airborne in approximately seven minutes.

Please fasten your seatbelts, secure all carry-on baggage, and return your seatbacks and tray tables to their upright positions for takeoff. Please turn off all personal electronic devices, including laptops and cell phones. Smoking is prohibited during the flight. Thank you for choosing Mountain Airlines. Enjoy your flight.

"Miss dela Sandoval, Mr. Chairman is waiting for you in his office," she said abruptly after I inquired about the financial situation.

Olivia and I are reviewing the company's weekly financial budget. The chairman has expressed concerns, so we're working to address them.

"Tsk, what a lazy, incompetent boss! All he's good at is f*****g," I muttered under my breath while reviewing the financial papers.

"You should go to his office now, Madam," Olivia whispered.

"Yes, thank you," I replied, nodding.

"My pleasure, Madam President," she responded, then quickly ran upstairs.

"Tsked! What a frightened and erratic secretary! I wonder what's so important the boss wants to discuss? Goodness, I'm still running errands, my schedule is so tight, I have more work afterward, and then my gigs.

Being a businesswoman/president and a model at night is incredibly demanding. But I'm a workaholic, and I'm proud of it. At 25, I'm focusing on my career and earning enough money to travel the world. That's my goal—to live life to the fullest.

Because I believe a woman like me should work her ass off to secure her future."

I have improved the grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure while retaining the informal and adult language you requested. The use of "f*****g" is kept within the context of the character's internal monologue.

I'm nervous and excited at the same time. As soon as I left the lobby, I was greeted by my cheerful employees, busy with their work and gossip.

"Good morning, Ma'am!"

"Good morning, Madam Pretty!"

"Good morning, Miss President!"

They greeted me cheerfully, their voices overlapping as they gossiped amongst themselves. I returned their greetings with an elegant smile. I'm not a stern boss with my coworkers and friends, but I maintain a professional demeanor with strangers.

I really feel like joining in on the gossip right now. They seem to be enjoying their little chit-chat. But darn it, if Mr. Chairman hadn't called me, I would have gotten some juicy new gossip.

My coworkers and I have a great relationship. I don't treat them just as workers, but as my second family. That's why we have the best work environment. And I'm not ashamed to say I'm their pretty boss, and they're my treasured coworkers and second family.

"Good day, Madam Prez, Mr. Chairman is waiting patiently in his office," Janine announced.

"Thank you, Janine. I'll head to his office now. Is he grumpy or not?" I asked Janine, suspecting my boss might be in a bad mood. What if Mr. Chairman's horns are reaching the heavens because he's waiting for me?

I overslept this morning because of our midnight party. I woke up with a massive headache. That's why I took longer than usual to leave my condo. And to be fair to him, he arrived early today.

Duh, like he didn't have a lot of drinks last night! I thought. Or rather, a lot of shots last night. Right, Hermione.

"Actually, Madam Prez, it seems that's the case," she said softly, avoiding my gaze as if Timothy/Mr. Chairman had done something bad to her.

"Oh god, it's okay, Janine. Don't worry, I can handle Mr. Chairman myself. And I don't care if his horns are reaching the heavens while he waits for me. I can cut them off with my bare hands," I assured her.

"Okay po, Madam Prez. I'll leave you now," Janine said, sounding amazed and happy despite struggling to carry the box, which I'm sure is full of papers.

"See you, and good luck with that, Janine," I replied. Janine met my gaze, smiled delightedly, and started walking towards the second floor.

Oh god, Timothy's going overboard again. Does he think Janine's his personal secretary robot? And hell, if I were in Janine's shoes, I wouldn't hesitate to dump all those papers on my boss to show him how heavy they are and then quit for good.

But thank god I'm not in her shoes. I know how hard it is to work with an immature and lazy boss like Timothy.

"Thank you, Mione!"

Janine called out again. I froze. My world, and even my mind, stopped for a moment. I stared at the elevator where Janine had entered, my brow furrowed.

Only my family and closest friends know my pen name. But how did she know it? It's private and confidential.

Confused, I still started walking towards the third floor, where his office is. As I passed the second floor, I silently noticed everyone was unusually quiet and well-behaved.

What happened to Timothy's wild and loud coworkers? This is weird. What's going on? Why are they acting mute? I walked past the second floor, feeling uneasy.

Thank god, I'm here, I sighed, seeing Mr. Chairman's nameplate on his door.

By the time I reached the third floor, I'd forgotten what I'd seen and heard earlier. Maybe they were just busy and didn't have time to be loud and happy. And about Janine calling my pen name a while ago—I think it was just an accident.

Welcome to Mr. Chairman's/Mr. Maniac Timothy's office. You'll quickly realize if a man is a quiet bachelor and a manwhore by his appearance and cool suit, according to my secretary, Olivia. Olivia knows a lot about boys, even the unromantic ones. She's really good at it.

I opened the door and entered Mr. Chairman's office. As soon as I looked up, I saw Timothy's unreadable face. He was lounging lazily on his desk, his expression dark as he stared at me.

"Hey there, baby," I greeted him cheerfully, but he only raised an eyebrow in response, his gaze still dark.

"What took you so long, Hermione?" he asked, his brows furrowed.

"Oh, well, my dear," I mumbled, but he remained poker-faced and in a bitchy mood.

"What the...?" I sighed, irritated. "Aren't you going to let me sit down? Mr. Chairman, my legs are aching from standing here while you glare at me," I said, annoyed, because my legs really were aching.

"Tsked, ache by yourself!" he chuckled sarcastically. "You fell asleep last night," he added quietly.

"Oh, that's so mean! You want more rounds, huh?" I retorted.

"Jesus, you're such a pain in the ass!" I said, and without a word, I sat down in his comfortable chair, acting like I was the badass boss and he was my lazy assistant.

"Get off my chair, Mione!" he said irritably.

I raised my eyebrow at him, just as he had done to me earlier. Casually and lazily, I leaned my head and shoulders against his chair, facing him.

I smirked. No one messes with a pretty woman like me, not even Lucifer himself.

"What the f**k, Timothy! Don't put your dirty feet on me!" I shouted, frustrated, trying to remove his foot from my lap.

"Oh, I can't put my feet on you, Mione? Only my body, then?" he teased.

"Hmph, why did you call me here instead of letting me come to your office?" I changed the subject, closing my eyes. For f**k's sake, I'm still sore and tired from last night.

And now I know why he's in a bad mood.

"Sorry I fell asleep early last night. I'm f*****g tired and sore, you know," I purred.

"Oh, I know?" he snorted.

I was about to pull him towards me because I was getting really pissed.

"Fine, I have great news!" he said, laughing at my expression.

"And?" I chuckled, my cheeks flushing with frustration and annoyance.

"And bad news, too," he added, and thankfully, he removed his foot from me.

"Spill the tea already!" I urged, opening my eyes and looking at him directly.

"Chill, you're so impatient, babe! Spank my lips first!" Timothy blurted out, slowly leaning towards me. I pushed him away to avoid his lips. He laughed at my defensive reaction.

"Gross! You're such a disgusting maniac, Timothy!" I exclaimed, my blood pressure spiking.

"Ouch, I know, right, baby. But little did you know, we did more than kiss last night, and now you're acting disgusted by just a kiss."

"Your reaction was much more satisfying than ever," he said sarcastically.

"f**k you!" I snapped.

"Yeah, f**k me hard," he retorted, winking.

"Oh god, faster, baby, please," he mimicked my voice from last night, "You pleaded like that when we were making love, and now you're like, 'Gross! You're such a disgusting maniac, Timothy!'"

"What an ungrateful woman," he added, grinning mischievously.

"Stop it, Timothy!"

I shouted like an irrational woman.

"Fine," he snapped back, his tone serious as he prepared to deliver the news. "I received an email about your proposal last night. And yes, it's been approved by the investors and the chairman—me," he said, smirking.

"Oh my god, Timothy! Are you sure you're not kidding?" I exclaimed.

"As if I would be!" he replied.

"I just want to clarify, baby! Making sure I heard correctly is more considerate than saying sorry," I countered, smirking widely and inwardly praising my intelligence and beauty.

"Don't get too enthusiastic, Mione!" he laughed.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I retorted.

"Because there's more. Your project location isn't in New York. And guess where, babe?" he ground out.

"What? Where is it then?" I demanded, my mood slowly souring.

"Too bad, baby. Your project is in Malibu, Philippines," he smirked.

Good afternoon, passengers. This is your captain speaking. First, I'd like to welcome everyone aboard Right Wing Flight 869. We are currently cruising at an altitude of 33,000 feet at an airspeed of 400 miles per hour.

The time is 1:25 PM. The weather is good, and with a tailwind, we expect to land in the Philippines approximately fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.

The weather in the Philippines is clear and sunny, with a high of 25 degrees Celsius this afternoon. Weather permitting, we should have a great view of the city as we descend.

The cabin crew will be offering light snacks and beverages in about twenty minutes, and the in-flight movie will begin shortly after. I'll speak to you again before we reach our destination. Until then, sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of your flight.