This story has been written as a partnership with my dear friend "Forever". Although its with the Candy Candy characters, its an original story so you wont find it follows the plot from Mizuki story. I hope you enjoy it as we have enjoyed writing it, and your reviews will be very much apreciated.
Chapter 1
Candy had to drag her feet to ascend the last two steps of the staircase of her apartment building. She truly enjoyed living in this place she had called home for the last two year, but at this moment, she wished she could have lived in a modern building equipped with elevator instead. Climbing all the way to the fourth floor wasn’t a fun thing to do when her body felt and weighed as if it were made entirely of lead.
Work had drained most of her energy. And Patty’s last minute cancellation to go to dinner was a great disappointment and only made things worse. She had looked forward to a quiet and relaxing night while enjoying the fabulous Mediterranean food at the Acacia. Alas, that wouldn’t happen since Patty had balked.
Trudging to the door, she shoved her hand into her jacket’s pocket. But instead of keys, her fingers grasped nothing but the soft lining material that made the pocket of her spring jacket. She was so sure she had dropped the keys inside the pocket. Where could they be? With impatience that gradually escalated into frustration, she searched every single pocket in her entire outfit before she recalled that she had slipped her keys in the inner compartment of her work bag just before she had left the office.
Quickly, she unzipped her bag and peeked inside. There they were, just as they should be. With a satisfied smile, she retrieved the set of keys and unlocked the door as fast as she could, opening it with a firm push. As the door swung to a close with a muted bam, she reached for the switches mounted on the wall next to the door. As soon as her fingers flicked on the light switches, streams of brightness flooded the area, and she moved toward the living room.
Home sweet home! She released a loud sigh and tossed her work bag carelessly onto the sofa and slumped into the sumptuous leatherette cushion, raising her feet and propping them against the coffee table. The oversize couch might not be aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but the comfort that it offered was more than enough to compensate for that.
Just when she could finally feel relaxed, the stern words from her boss echoed loudly in her ears, and she was reminded of the burden she had to carry. Her boss must have hated her with immense passion and wanted nothing but to destroy her career. Her boss, the indomitable Rita Wagner, had assigned her an impossible mission, a project that would go nowhere. She had to write an article about the mysterious magnate William Andrew, and it specifically had to be in the form of an interview piece. How could she even do that if the man had never revealed himself to the public? She even doubted this man’s existence – his pictures couldn’t be found anywhere. He could’ve been just a fabricated figure, a sham.
Whether this man was real or not wouldn’t change her fate though. Rita had stressed to her that this was her last chance, which meant she had to do this or she would have to search for another job soon. Why wouldn’t Rita be satisfied with what she had written so far? Surely, there were readers out there who would appreciate her articles about celebrity pets. But, no. Rita wanted something else, something preposterous, something utterly impossible. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, there was a ridiculous time limit firmly tacked to her new assignment. Her boss demanded that the article must be published in the upcoming anniversary edition of the Intrigue, which was only three months away from today.
Three months for this crazy assignment?!! Was Rita out of her mind? Unbelievable.
She didn’t care about a pompous rich man, especially when the man had no interest to ever show his face in public – the man must have been an old scrooge. But Rita had given her no choice. Oh well, if she wanted to be a good reporter she had to deliver a good job and she would prove to Rita she could do this assignment, even if it would cost her an arm and a leg. Okay – that would be too extreme. She wouldn’t want to lose her limbs for something so stupid like that – but she did want to keep her job because it might pave the way for her to meet her idol, Terrence Grandchester! He was one of the reasons why she had joined Intrigue Inc., an entertainment magazine publisher.
