Hello Mr. CEO

The hotel suite was dim. A single floor lamp in the corner cast a warm, sensual glow. The woman curled up beneath the man, her eyes brimming with tears. She trembled slightly, like a poor kitten soaked in the rain. “Mr. Sinclair, I’m sorry… I was wrong… Please, let me go…” Ester’s trembling voice carried a sob. The more she cried, the more it seemed to awaken the beast within the man, Victor Sinclair casually brushed the loose strands of hair from beside her ear. “Too late, baby doll.” He tore open her clothes roughly, pulled off his tie, and used it to bind her delicate wrists. His burning kisses rained down like a storm. Ester closed her eyes, hopeless. …… The next morning, she was awakened by sunlight streaming in through the cracks of the curtains. The sound of running water came from the bathroom. She struggled to get out of bed, but every movement sent aching pain through her entire body. The water stopped. Victor Sinclair stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. His short hair was still dripping, water sliding from his temples down his sharp jawline, finally trailing across his well-defined abs. His slender, long fingers worked expertly on his phone, and a second later, Ester received a bank notification. “One million. The choice is yours” “Thank you, Mr. Sinclair.” She put her phone away and threw on a coat, trying to cover her disheveled shirt. Her face looked calm, but inside, she was falling apart. Ester Leigh, what have you done? “What’s today’s schedule?” Victor’s voice was cold and unfeeling, leaving no trace of last night’s passion. “Mr. Sinclair, at 9:30AM you have a meeting with the CFO. At noon, a business lunch with Consul Joshua Green from the embassy. At 3:00PM, a video conference with the UK branch. In the evening, your parents invited you home for a family dinner, but Mr. Han and Mr. Luo also asked to meet—you haven’t decided yet.” Victor nodded indifferently. “Nine o’clock sharp. I want—” “I know. A hot Americano with dark roasted Colombian beans.” Ester replied with professional precision, already back in her role as the perfect secretary. “I’ll take my leave, Mr. Sinclair.” She nodded to the CEO, who was not listening at all, and walked out. Victor Sinclair’s gaze lingered on her slender waist and long, fair legs—and the faint trace of red left on the sheets. His eyes darkened in thought. …… Back in her apartment, Ester stripped off her clothes and rushed to the bathroom, letting the scathing hot water pour over her body. She scrubbed herself harshly, tears falling nonstop. Her entire face was soaked—tears running with water down the drain. After her shower, she glanced at the clock. It was nearly eight, almost time for work. No time for heartbreak. She dried her hair, sat at the vanity, and began applying her makeup. This apartment—Ester had just bought it last year. When she was eleven, her parents died in an accident and left her a considerable sum of money. But she never touched it. Instead, she used the savings she earned working at Sinclair Corporation to make the down payment on this apartment. After graduating from the top university in the country, Ester earned a place at Sinclair Corporation with her outstanding grades and resume. In just a year, she had gone from being a regular administrative employee to Victor Sinclair’s personal secretary. Victor Sinclair was a godlike figure in the business world. Handsome, cold, untouchable—and feared throughout the industry for his ruthlessness. Yet, at nearly thirty years old, he was famously uninterested in women. Countless women had tried to get into his bed, only to be thrown out. One even stripped naked in his hotel room, only to be kicked out and left crying in the hallway, completely exposed. Rumors were that he was actually an asexual robot. Ester’s promotion had nothing to do with her looks, she knew that for certain. Was it her boldness? Even she didn’t really know why. That day in the underground parking lot at work, she’d stumbled upon Victor waiting for his chauffeur. Without thinking, she approached him. “Good evening, Mr. Sinclair. I’m Ester Leigh from the Administration Department.” Victor Sinclair glanced at her and immediately turned his head away in disgust, as if she were trash. “I’d like to become your personal secretary.” He didn’t respond, but the anger on his face was unmistakable. “Please give me a chance, Mr. Sinclair.” “If you still want this job, then get lost.” Anyone else would have been terrified by the sheer hostility on his face, but not Ester. She had already made up her mind. She bit her lip determinedly, clenched her fists, and said, “Please give me a one month trial period. If I fail, I’ll resign immediately.” Just then, Victor Sinclair’s Rolls-Royce pulled up. The chauffeur got out to open the door for him. Without another word, he got in and left. Ester thought that was the end of it, but to her surprise, she was reassigned the next morning—she had become Victor Sinclair’s personal secretary. Over the course of that month, Ester gave it her all. She memorized his daily schedule down to the minute before every workday. She learned every single one of his habits. After he flew into a rage and smashed his office, she would quietly put everything back in perfect order. She knew when to block unwanted visitors. She smiled politely and kept her composure when his friends teased her. Maybe Victor decided she was competent enough—she was never reassigned again. Her chest tightened with pain when thinking about it, now. It was her own fault. Blinded by her desire for revenge, she slowly started to plan her seduction of Victor Sinclair… She knew Victor hated being touched, yet she boldly stayed close to him, brushing his hand “accidentally”, reaching out to adjust his tie, gently wiping coffee from the corner of his lips. “Leigh, do you no longer wish to have your hands?” He asked coldly. “No, Mr. Sinclair. You wouldn’t bear to hurt me.” She smiled sweetly. With absolutely no romantic experience, Ester worked hard to present herself as a master of seduction. “You seem very confident that I won’t do anything to you, Leigh.” “I’m not afraid, Mr. Sinclair.” The truth was, Ester never truly intended to bring down the untouchable Victor Sinclair. She knew she didn’t have that kind of power. She only wanted revenge. But she had been too naive. All for a sliver of petty revenge, she ended up provoking the most dangerous man in the entire nation. After quickly brushing on some light makeup, Ester looked at herself in the mirror. An angled face, soft pink lips, delicate nose, and large sparkling eyes—she knew she wasn’t unattractive. But in high school, when she was chubby and wore thick glasses, she had been mocked by the very boy she’d liked since childhood—the youngest son of the Ling family. “She’s so cringy and ugly. Who would ever like her?” Ester sighed. A new message lit up on her phone: “Ester, are you coming home for dinner tonight? I had Christy make your favorite dishes.” Home? She didn’t have a home anymore. Ester put down her phone, changed her clothes, grabbed her purse, and headed to the office. On her way, she stopped by a pharmacy—And bought a box of birth control pills.