THE DAY I WOKE UP

BUSY BUSY BUSY

~NEXT DAY~

I woke up early and rushed to my office, leaving a note for Julian to let him know I'd left early. My car wouldn't start, so I took a cab and asked Julian to call the mechanic for me. He gladly agreed.

I was supposed to pick Cassy up in the afternoon from school after her trip, as we'd already decided. Once at work, I barely sat down at my desk when Director Chen called me into her office. She seemed a little tense.

"What's the matter, Director Chen?" I asked.

"Our company is being acquired," she said.

"What?!" I exclaimed. "Will the employees—"

"No, no, don't worry. No one will lose their jobs," she reassured me. "The CEO was in a lot of debt, so he had to accept the offer from a larger company."

"And what about the APhone Promax 13 project?"

"The new company has decided to proceed with it since we've already advertised. Good news: you now have a bit more time—an extra two weeks, making it a total of three months—to complete the recoding."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Phew! I thought I'd lose my best colleagues. Okay, so which company is acquiring us?"

"It's DELUX Industries."

"Wh-what?! DELUX Industries? Why them?"

"I don't know what you mean, but the new CEO is very interested in the project—even more than our former CEO. He has high expectations from your team. He's asked the team leader to report directly to him, so I don't have to be the middleman anymore."

"Wait—Victor said that?"

"Oh, you already know him? That's better. He seems like an angry bull all the time. It'll be easier for you to handle him if you know him," she said.

I was already imagining the worst-case scenarios.

"Huh... yeah," I muttered.

"How do you know him, Georgina?"

"Me? Oh, well, I... uh... read about him once. Plus, he might be my bestie's fiancé," I whispered, but she still heard me.

"He's Lisa's fiancé? Great! Then you two should get along well," she said with a smile.

I internally groaned. "Get along well? This is the most complicated situation ever! I have to work under my ex, who's now my bestie's fiancé, and who also happens to be a sworn enemy of my husband? This isn't lucky, Sister Chen!"

But out loud, I simply said, "Oh, great. Fine. I'll get back to work now." Then I practically ran out of her office like a scared cat.

"What the hell? Whatever happens, I'm not giving up on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Fine, if he wants to supervise me, I'll show him my skills. If he thinks he can torture me with work, he's got another thing coming. I love my work—I'm practically a workaholic!"

An hour later, Director Chen called me back to meet the new CEO, Victor Addams.

"Why should I be afraid of him? He's not a monster. If he fires me, there are other companies dying to have me. Don't be afraid, Georgina," I told myself.

I walked into the director's office with my team, all of whom were buzzing about the acquisition. Victor was sitting on the sofa, looking cold and businesslike. As soon as I entered, we both seemed equally surprised to see each other.

"I asked for the team leader," he said curtly.

Director Chen gestured to me. "Well, she's the team leader—Georgina—and these are her team members."