Chloe Baker woke in the middle of the night, her body aching all over.
It was hard to believe, but last night, she had slept with the CEO, Donovan Blake.
It had been her first time, and she didn't feel much except pain.
What left a lasting impression was the way Donovan's stubble grazed her cheek, the ambiguity of it all, how he breathed against her neck, kissed her ears, and, with his deep, husky voice, made her skin burn with every touch. Throughout, Donovan murmured a name close to her ear. Chloe never caught the name, but the omission did nothing to lessen the tremors of her first encounter.
In the dead of night, Chloe lay awake. Donovan was still sleeping, and she found herself looking at his stern face, feeling a strange sense of closeness to him. She coveted the warmth of his embrace and, in her wild imaginings, wanted to stay wrapped in his arms. But she knew better than to not leave at that moment. It would only cause court trouble.
As president of New East International, being associated with an intern like her, Chloe knew too well what the consequences would be: at best she'd lose her job, at worst she'd be branded as "temptress of the president" smeared with notoriety, possibly ruining her chances in Maple Valley.
The previous evening had been the first day of team-building activities, and a drunken Donovan had grabbed Chloe's hand, the one who had helped him to his room, and kissed her face without a word. Chloe's mind went blank at first, wanting to resist, but looking into Donovan's handsome face, she found herself in a daze, unable to push him away.
Before this unexpected encounter, Chloe, the intern, hadn't even had a proper face-to-face with Donovan.
With her legs shaking, Chloe returned to her own room, acting as if nothing had transpired, until six in the evening when several buses arrived. They parked outside the hotel to take everyone back to the office.
Chloe's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She and Sofia had arrived late and had no choice but to take the seats right behind Donovan Blake.
"Didn't Mr. Blake drive himself here? Why is he taking the bus back with us this time?" Sofia whispered in Chloe's ear. Sofia had a voice that carried, and even her whispers were clearly audible to others around them.
"I don't know," Chloe mumbled, her head bowed. As she'd boarded the bus, she had consciously used her hand to shield her face, fearful that Donovan would recognize her. Yet, there was a part of her that hoped against hope that he wouldn't remember last night's events. Or even if he did, he wouldn't know it was her. After all, he hadn't interacted with Chloe before, and he had been drunk, with the lights off most of the evening.
With a long, uneventful journey ahead, Sofia began playing games on her phone, and Chloe became desperate to find her own. She rummaged through her things but it was nowhere to be found.
Chloe nudged Sofia, "Can you call my phone? I can't seem to find it."
"Where'd you put it?" Sofia asked nonchalantly as she dialed Chloe's number.
The melodious ringtone sounded, but it didn't emanate from Chloe's bag or her suitcase. The sound was coming from the seat in front, to be more precise, from Donovan's hands. A chill ran down Chloe's spine.