III

“Rosalia I need to speak with you. Natalie can you please give us a minute?”

Natalie looked at them intensely before plastering a smile “sure” and then she turned to Rosalia “Please consider my offer” and she strolled out of the office.

Rosalia felt a surge of conflicting emotions as she realized that in her bid for a high tech job, she had stumbled upon Ivon’s company. Grey Enterprises, number one firm in the world with different branches globally.

Ivon's words hung in the air. The man who had once held her heart so completely was now her potential boss, and the weight of that realization was almost too much to bear.

Ivon's gaze was steady, his expression unreadable as he studied her face. "I know this must be a shock," he said, his voice low and measured. "I never imagined we'd find ourselves in this position." and then he snickered.

Rosalia swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. "Neither did I," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's been so long, Ivon. I... I don't even know what to say."

Ivon nodded, a hint of sadness flickering in his eyes before it was hidden with a malicious smile "I understand. This is a lot to take in." He paused, his brow furrowing slightly. "But I think it's important that we talk, Rosalia. There's so much that's been left unsaid between us."

Rosalia felt a flutter of apprehension in her chest. The thought of revisiting their tumultuous past was both terrifying and intriguing. "We have nothing to talk about, Ivon, the past is in the past”she said, her voice barely steady.

Ivon took a deep breath. "Well, for starters, I'd like to understand what happened between us all those years ago.” he raked his hand through his hair and walked towards her “we were the perfect couple. Come on, tell me what went wrong”

Rosalia felt her heart skip a beat. What went wrong? Rosalia scoffed internally "I... I don't know, Ivon," she stammered, her mind racing. "This is all so sudden, and I don't know but you won't have to see me again. I won't accept the offer”

Ivon nodded and smiled "Oh you will. In fact you'll be working as my personal assistant”

Rosalia studied his face, searching for any hint of deceit. But all she saw was sincerity and a glimmer of wickedness. "No,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry Ivon but I won't be working in your company”

Ivon's lips curved into a smirk. "I wasn't asking”.

Rosalia looked at him in shock “What do you mean? You can't force me into working for you”

Ivon walked close to her and lifted her chin with his pointer finger, his eyes drinking in her small face hungrily.

“Oh but I can. The second you step out of here without accepting my offer, you'll be blacklisted. No company would want to hire anyone shunned by Grey Enterprises. So go on, leave. Your career would end faster than it started”

Rosalia pushed him away and watched as he lightly stumbled backwards with a sinister grin on his face. It was her turn to rake her hand through her hair in frustration. “Why?” she asked with tears glistening in her eyes.

“You broke up with me for no reason and embarrassed me in front of everyone. Consider this my revenge and retribution cause I would make sure you regret the day you ever thought of breaking with me. You start tomorrow and don't be tardy” he answered quietly, eyes filled with hatred before he pushed past her and out of the office.

As Rosalia stood alone in the office, she couldn't help but wonder what the future held. Would this offer be the start of a new chapter, or would it only serve to reopen old wounds? One thing was certain – her life was about to get a lot more complicated.

Meanwhile, Natalie,had been hoping to ask Ivon out for dinner, but she hesitated, knowing that the age gap between them might be a concern. She didn't want to jeopardize her professional relationship with the CEO, so she decided to hold off on making any personal advances, at least for now.

The next day arrived too soon, and Rosalia found herself feeling a mix of anticipation and trepidation as she made her way to the company. As she stepped inside, she spotted him immediately, his tall, imposing figure commanding the room.

Rosalia felt her heart thud as she admired him from afar.

As faith would have it, Ivon turned to her with a smirk, and Rosalia felt a familiar flutter in her chest. "Still checking me out from afar, I see, old habits die slow," he said, his voice low and mocking.

“Good morning Mr Grey” Rosalia greeted and made to walk past Ivon but he grabbed her hand.

Rosalia looked around the lobby in alarm praying no one was paying attention to them. She struggled to free her hand but he held on tight.

“Please let go”

“And where do you think you are going?” Ivon furrowed his brows and squinted his eyes accusingly

“To the PR department. You forced me to work here, remember?” Rosalia whispered with a gritted teeth, look at Ivon heatedly at the thought yesterday's threatening.

Ivon scoffed loudly before dragging her to the opposite direct towards the elevator.

Not wanting to make a scene, Rosalia followed quietly until they were in the elevator and Ivon slammed her on the elevator door while pressing 50.

Rosalia stared up at him with her doe eyes, the blues in them lightening and reminding Ivon of their past.

He groaned and grabbed her wrists before slamming them above her head. Rosalia yelped.

“I remember telling you you'll be working as my,” he paused after enunciating the my “PA and that's Personal Assistant. Meaning you'll cater to my needs” then he took on a low deep tone “both at work and after work”

Rosalie widened her eyes in surprise at the absurdity of his words and then proceeded to struggle while cussing him.

“Let me go! What do you mean by after work Ivon?” she asked “this is not professional. Let me go!” she shrieked and Ivon forcefully placed a kiss on her lips.

“Strawberries, I like”

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