CHAPTER 1

Jasmine's POV:

"This can't be the proposition she has been going on and on about for weeks in her annoying-ass voice—which always makes my damn ears ring! Miss Rhino can't be serious! There are absolutely no benefits or profits to be gained here; as a matter of fact, if we invest, we will be at a loss! 

"I'm not interested in this at all. Why the hell did I hire her?"

He looked at the documents in the folder on his desk, which I had brought in for him from his Chief Operating Officer, Miss Rhino.

"Get Ms. Rhino on the line and instruct her to get herself into my office immediately!"

"Yes sir," I answered sharply.

"And, Miss Blackman, reorganize my schedule for the upcoming week. Cancel that nonsensical meeting with Mr. Hoggers. I'm not interested in investing one billion dollars in his shitty business. Also, fax those documents to the sixth floor, and proofread these for me before 1:00 pm. And can you send Julia a bouquet of white roses with a note attached to them that reads ′Thank you′—and get my father on the line," he ordered, even though he phrased it as a question.

I nodded and took two stacks of paper from his hands, exiting his office immediately.

I called Miss Rhino and informed her that she was needed in Mr. Hollen's office.

***

"Sir, your father is on line one," I said to him through the phone once I had gotten through to his father.

"Mmmh," he answered and took the other line.

I ordered the bouquet of white roses, had it delivered to Julia's apartment, and began faxing the documents to the sixth floor as he had said.

Afterward, I began to proofread the other stack of papers he had given me. I would call Mr. Hoggers last because I knew he would request to speak to Mr. Hollen directly, and since he was on the phone with his father and Miss Rhino was on the way to see him, he wouldn't appreciate being distracted by Mr. Hoggers' call.

***

Evan Hollen was my boss and a very successful, rich, and powerful one. I had been working for the company for one whole year. After finishing college, it was a drag trying to find a decent job that paid well in my city, but luckily, I applied to Hollen Tower when I saw an ad in a newspaper for a personal assistant role.

Hollen Tower had been established and operated by Evan's father before him. The company was one of the most successful and well-developed organizations around the globe. Great cooperation, solid partnerships, and a body of well-educated, experienced, and trained staff had taken the company to its highest peak. And Evan Hollen stood at the very top, holding his father's relinquished crown and well-earned titles. He would be damned if someone tried to damage what his father had started and worked so hard for. He had the temper of a shark, the personality of a dragon, and the untimely patience of a baby.

But let's not forget about his best feature. His dark silver-grey eyes were everything.

His sexy, lean body was always sharply outlined in his expensive Armani suits.

Okay, you got me. I had the biggest and most unstoppable crush on my boss. I couldn't help myself. 

Evan Hollen was too fine not to have a crush on.

It's okay to have a secret crush on a very attractive man, right? 

Even if he is your boss?

***

"Miss Blackman! Can I be buzzed in please?" 

A voice snapped me right out of my lustful thoughts.

Miss Rhino was at my desk, pencils and folders in hand, tapping her left foot impatiently on the tiled floor.

"Yes, one moment please," I responded, shoving the images of my boss to the far back of my mind.

I called Mr. Hollen's line and informed him that she was here. After he told me to let her in, I hit the buzzer and she strolled into his office with her head held high. She always thought she was above everyone else working at Hollen Tower.

I hated every single bone in that woman's body. She was a tall, slim woman with pale, creamy skin. She was thirty years of age, but she liked younger men, like Mr. Hollen. There was once a rumor circulating about the two of them, but I found it very hard to believe. She still had the body of a model, but she was completely and utterly not his type. The woman had the personality of a beast; she thought she was better than everyone in the company—except Mr. Hollen of course. She held a high position, she was the COO after all, but she still had to answer to Mr. Hollen.

I continued to proofread the documents in front of me, making the necessary changes and corrections. I enjoyed my job because it made life easier for Mr. Hollen. He used to have a personal assistant, but he fired her on the spot when she developed feelings for him and began flirting with him in his office, and since then, he hadn't hired another one. I was the one doing the duties a personal assistant ought to be doing—on top of my secretarial duties—but I didn't mind or complain one bit, especially because I was being paid double my monthly salary until he hired another personal assistant.

He should get a male assistant who won't have a thing for the handsome boss.

The ladies always lusted and drooled over him, always wanted his attention and time, always talked about him. He was indeed handsome, one of the most handsome men I'd ever laid my eyes on. His skin tone was perfectly tanned, and I always wondered why.

Is his mom a black woman...or does he have black people in his family?

He didn't talk about his parents much, and he didn't like the beach or the outdoors much either, so why the naturally tanned skin?

***

Half an hour later, I was already finished. I was a quick but assertive employee. I had to be because the boss hated it when his employees were goofing off on the job and not meeting his deadlines.

My deadline was 1:00 pm.

I looked up at the wall clock; it showed fifteen minutes to one.

Then Miss Rhino barged out of his office and stormed past me with a frown and an unpleasant look on her face.

I peeled myself off the chair and knocked on his office door.

"Come in, Miss Blackman," he spoke.

His voice was a Shawn Mendes single to my ears. I put on a smile and walked into his office.

"Here are the papers you asked me to proofread. I've made the necessary changes and corrections for you. Before I leave for lunch, I will get Mr. Hoggers on the phone because I strongly believe he will request to speak to you."

"Mmmh. I've been thinking about something," he began, leaning back in his big leather chair and staring at me with those beautiful, grey, luminous orbs.

I gulped my fear down, but his eyes were easy to read. One thing I had quickly learnt when I began working here was that his eyes were a tell.

I avoided trouble, getting mixed up with gossips and falling in with the wrong crowd. I couldn't afford to lose my job anytime soon. It paid very well, and my mom and my younger sister were depending on me.

Mom had a lung condition. 

My younger sister was still in college and depended on me financially to put her through. It was just us living together in my apartment in the city.

Recently, my mother's condition had gotten worse, but with the medication and treatment I managed to pay for, she always pulled through and felt better again. 

***

"How would you like to be my personal assistant? I'll hire someone to take your place."

I was dumbfounded for a moment.

Me? His personal assistant?

I would be honored.

PA's had a higher salary than a basic secretary, and I couldn't do both jobs forever, so obviously I was going to pick the one with the higher income behind it.

It wasn't just about the money though, I had the knowledge, skills, and experience to be his Personal Assistant. That was what I had applied for at the very beginning. The position had already been filled at that time, but since my resume was so impressive and captivating, Mr. Hollen didn't want me to work anywhere else but Hollen Tower. So he hired me as his secretary.

I worked my tail off in high school and all throughout college. I hardly had time for boyfriends or dates or fun. My mom had been dealing with the lung condition since the beginning of my freshman year of high school, but it wasn't as bad back then as it was now. She managed to work, and she supported me in every way a child needed support from their parent. I never knew my dad, and mom never talked about him. She would only mention him when I asked about him, but as I grew older, I saw the pain in her eyes every time, so I stopped when I understood what he had done.

Bottom line was she was there for me, so now it was my turn to be there for her. If I could make enough money, we could afford to cure her condition permanently.

"Thank you, Mr. Hollen. I accept," I said to him as I beamed a bright smile.

He nodded and gestured for me to leave his presence. He was a man of very few words, only speaking to me when he was commanding me, and he hated repeating himself, even to his father and the women he dated.

Don't get me started on those women he usually dated. He was always being spotted with famous celebrities, and they were frequently throwing themselves at him like prostitutes. 

The last one he dated he dumped because she was annoying and nagging and always popped up at his office without notice. He hated those things in a woman, and whenever he was done with one, he would send her white roses.

I don't get why he does it. Roses are nice flowers, so wouldn't it just lead her on even more?

I took my purse, changed into my flats, and went to lunch. I always changed out of my heels when I left the office. I hated heels, they hurt my feet so much, but Hollen Tower had a dress code requirement that each employee had to abide by or else they would be thrown out on their asses and searching for another job without recommendations or references from the company.

As I walked out, Julia Starlet, a famous movie actress and the woman Mr. Hollen had already dumped this morning, walked in.