BOUND BY SECRETS

《2》

Coraline's POV

The towering skyscraper looms before me, its pristine midnight blue and silver facade gleaming under the morning sun—a fresh coat of paint, courtesy of Mr. President’s obsession with perfection. Its glass windows reflect the world below, a silent reminder of the power housed within these walls. I glare at the sleek luxury cars parked out front, knowing that if life had been fair, I’d be stepping out of one too.

If I wasn't living my life paying debts for my family and sending money to them almost every week, I'd be a billionaire, and I'd have a car of my own. Too bad life just had to hit me this way.

I sigh and step through the towering glass doors, instantly engulfed by the sheer opulence of the lobby. The marble floors gleam under the soft glow of a grand crystal chandelier, reflecting the towering walls lined with sleek, dark panels and strategically placed lighting that casts an air of quiet sophistication. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the space with natural light, offering a stunning view of the city skyline beyond.

A few employees linger on the plush leather couches, sipping their morning espressos, their hushed conversations echoing faintly in the cavernous space. Others stride across the polished floor with purpose, designer heels clicking rhythmically against the marble.

I weave through the crowd, heading straight for the receptionist’s desk—a massive, sculpted structure of black granite with gold accents. According to Mr. President’s ever-stringent rules, every employee must sign in upon arrival and again before leaving at noon. No exceptions. Everything must be accounted for, every movement documented.

As I approach, the receptionist barely glances up, her manicured fingers tapping away at her sleek touch-screen monitor. I swallow the irritation bubbling within me. Just another morning in the kingdom of Jace Myers.

"Mrs Michaels, hi," I say, flashing her my best smile. The old woman's eyes open widely, and she glares at me weirdly. Don't mind me, I like to call any woman who is married an old woman. It's just a habit. She isn't even up to 40, probably in her early 30s, judging from her looks.

"Hi?" I repeat with a raised brow.

"Did you and President Myers get into a fight?" She suddenly asks.

"What do you mean?" I replied to her with a question. My heart is already racing fast. My legs shake in my fear and my mind is already imagining the worst. I'm sure he has told the entire company that I'll be getting fired today.

Yes, that is the worst that can happen at the moment and, to be frankly honest, Mr President is more than capable of publicly embarrassing me and then firing me probably as a way of payback. He can be childish sometimes.

She looks around to see if anyone is watching us. No one is. She leans closely and whispers into my ears. "He had a huge frown on his face when he walked in." My heart goes back to beating at a normal rate, I release a heavy sigh and clutch my chest tight. That was so close.

I scoff "Mr President always has a frown on." Truth be told, he never smiles, and it is not because he hates being the president of his father's company. I guess he just isn't happy sometimes, most of the time, and I'm always the one to suffer for it, since I'm his secretary. Now that I think about it, my pay should be way higher than the current having to work with Mr President side by side is exhausting.

"This one was different. I could feel it. After that, he asked about you and when everyone said you weren't around yet, he asked me to give you this."

She takes out a brown envelope from her desk and hands it to me. I scrunch my brows in confusion and my heart begins to race fast again, even faster this time. Envelopes like this don't ever have anything good in them. All they bring is anxiety and bad news.

I rip the envelope open and take out the piece of paper.

"YOU'RE FIRED!"

The words blur before my eyes. Fired? Just like that? Without even asking why I was late?

The injustice burns. Five years of sacrificed weekends, sleepless nights, and missed family gatherings—wiped away in a single envelope

"YOU CAN'T GO IN WITHOUT SIGNING MISS CAROLINE!" Mrs Michaels yells, but I turn a deaf ear. She had better shut up if she does not want me to transfer aggression to her.

Mr President is going to explain this nonchalant attitude. After all, since I'm fired, what is the worst he can do to me now? I even bought his favorite latte. I scoff, glaring at the latte and feel this sudden irritation and urge to toss the latte outside the window.

As I push past colleagues, their whispers follow me like a swarm of gnats, they've never liked me anyway.

"Guess she’s finally out," someone mutters.

"About time," another chimes in.

At least They can rejoice now, since they won't be seeing my face.

I push the glass doors open, and immediately I do that, I regret it. Where did all my confidence go? My heart races fast, at this point my heart will probably explode in fear, my lips tremble as I glare at the tall figure standing in front of me with both his brows raised, his arms crossed and a frown on his lips.

I get why I just lost my confidence. It's his looks. They intimidate me. I notice his jet-black hair is a mess like someone has been ruffling it, he has probably ruffled it in frustration. He looks extremely hot though, his hazel eyes are burning right through my innocent blue eyes, his eyes have this darker shade beneath, and I can see sleeping bags under his lazy eyes.

His nose is scrunched up in irritation and his pink lips are curled into a scowl.

How can someone have such a perfect face and have a rude attitude?

"How could you?" I snap. I expect my voice to come out bold and firm, but it is actually the opposite. My voice is shaky, and I just sounded like a frog.

"Excuse me?" He mumbles. His deep and hoarse voice sends shivers down my spine every single time he utters a word. His confident demeanor is what turns me on when I'm around him, to be honest.

I cleared my throat, I realized I was being rude.

"Good morning Mr President. Good morning Miss Lyla." I bow my head realizing his younger sister is leaning close to him with a confused look on her face.

"What's going on big brother?" She asks, glaring at her brother, who equally has a confused look on his face. He had better stop the pretense. As if he did not just fire me in the worst way. I mean a brown envelope? Am I that bad of an employee?

"I don't know. We both saw her barge in rudely." He says. I raise my eyes and our eyes meet again, sending this sort of weird tingling in my stomach. When I'm around Mr President, I get this weird tingling whenever our eyes meet.

I gulp. "I'm sorry Sir."

"Go out and knock again like a normal human being would." He says in the harshest tone I've ever heard him speak in. I nod my head and attempt to walk out of the office but Miss Lyla grabs me by the wrist.

"Don't be like that, Caroline. What's up? Why are you looking upset?" She asks with a bright smile.

"I-I..." I stutter. I can't seem to make a sentence well because Mr President won't stop shooting daggers at me.

"I should leave," I mumble. I have already embarrassed myself more than enough.

"She’s upset because I expect punctuality from my staff. That’s not a crime, Lyla." Jace says nonchalantly.

"It is when you don’t even bother to hear me out!" I snap, the tears finally spilling over.

"Wait, what's that paper?" She asks, jacking the paper from my hand, her eyes open widely as she reads every word.

"Jace, why would you fire her?" She says heatedly to her brother.

"It's big brother to you and mind your business, Lyla." He snaps.

"You didn’t even ask why I was late! I’ve given you everything these last five years. My time, my energy, my family—I put all of it on hold for you! And this is how you treat me?" I finally snap after keeping mute.

Jace scoffs, unbuttoning the top of his shirt and tossing his suit jacket onto the couch. He looks every bit as composed as I feel disheveled.

"You don’t know what I’ve sacrificed to keep this job," I continue, my voice rising. "The nights I’ve worked late, the family events I’ve missed because you needed something done urgently. Hell, I didn’t even take Christmas off last year because you needed that report finalized! And today—on the one day I overslept, you fire me without a second thought?"

Jace’s frown deepens, but he doesn’t interrupt.

Lyla frowns. "Jace, seriously? You fired her?"

"She was late," he says, his tone flat.

"So? Everyone’s late sometimes!" Lyla argues.

I clutch the latte tightly, my knuckles whitening. "I thought I was more than just another employee to you. I thought—" My voice catches, and I quickly stop myself.

Jace’s eyes narrow. "Thought what?"

For a brief moment, I see something flicker in his gaze—guilt, maybe? But it’s gone as quickly as it appeared.

"I thought you respected me enough to at least hear my side," I say quietly, setting the latte down on the desk. My voice is steadier now, though my heart is still racing.

He doesn’t respond, and the silence hangs heavy between us.

I set the latte on the desk with trembling fingers. My chest feels tight, and my breath comes in shallow gasps. The silence between us stretches, heavy and suffocating, as Jace’s hazel eyes hold mine in place. I feel like I’m teetering on the edge of a cliff, waiting for him to push me over.

“Fine,” I finally whisper, my voice cracking. “If I’m such a disappointment, I’ll leave. But you—” I pause, my voice shaking with suppressed anger, “You wouldn’t recognize loyalty if it stood right in front of you.”