"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." - William Shakespeare

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Silas's POV

"What did you say to her?" Sawyer questions when I stride back into the office.

"Nothing."

"Fucking liar," he mutters under his breath.

My eyes flare in anger. "Hey, I'm not the one who just hired a fucking stripper into this company!"

"Shut the fuck up about that, douchebag! She needed a job and we had an opening!" He eyes with me with a murderous look. "She'd be stupid to think she'd be able to steal a cent from us, and if she does, then we'll have her ass in jail faster than she could fucking cry about."

Cry.

I didn't mean to make her cry. I don't even know why I said that bullshit to her.

God, there's just something about her that just.. I don't even fucking know. She just has this thing about her that puts me off. Or turns me on. I don't fucking know, man!

And she just seems familiar. Like I've met her before but I know damn well I haven't, so what's with this girl?

God, Silas, stop thinking about her, she's not worth your thoughts.

You're right. You're right. Besides, I have more pressing matters to discuss and none of them revolve around a girl who doesn't even know what proper work attire entails.

I turn my face away from Sawyer and back to my computer where there are dozens of emails from news channels questioning me about the other night.

I ignore them all.

I turn to Sage and say, "Tell Ms. Wilson to set up an appointment with William Nguyen. He's looking to invest in our company."

Sanders Corporations owns a multitude of affairs, from products you'd find a in a grocery story, to a hotel chain in Miami.

William Nguyen, President of Nguyen Enterprises, had recently informed me that he would like to invest into ours. Nguyen Enterprises is one of the fastest-growing electronic companies in the world right now, so you could imagine my shock and excitement when I got the call from him.

What I am trying to say is that this meeting has to go well. And if anyone fucks it up, there will be hell to pay.

Oh, and you're probably wondering who Mathew is, right?

Just when our company first began gaining traction, he was just fresh out of business school and ambushed me outside of a Starbucks.

After months of him begging me to hire him, I finally agreed. As a janitor.

Blah, blah, blah, a year later, I saw real potential in the kid and wanted to give him a fair shot as a bigger role in our company.

I hired him as my PA, just mine, not Saywer's and Sage. I constantly bombarded him with tasks, sometimes giving him useless jobs to fulfill and other times, when I'm pissed off, a bit of my angry side. I expected him to break eventually.

But he didn't.

In fact, he was happy to be doing something other than cleaning the shit off of toilets.

He is one of the only people who can actually work with me and my brothers and eventually, he became the COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Sanders Corporation.

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Mathew Jacobs played by Grant Gustin

23 years old

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Yeah, I know. What a heartwarming story.

"When's the dinner?" Sage asks.

"Tomorrow, 6 pm. We're going to O' by Claude le Tohic."

"Damn, that place is expensive," Sage sighs. "And I don't even like French food."

"Too bad. It's one of the best restaurants in San Francisco. Wear something nice." I look at Sage, Sawyer, and Mathew and they all nod heir heads.

"We're bringing Caden."

My face drops.

We are not bringing her to this meeting that will quite literally determine the fate of our company.

"No."

"Silas, she has to take notes on what is being said and it'll be good for her to understand what goes on in our company," Sawyer reasons but I shake my head.

"We are not bringing her to the dinner. Sawyer, don't fucking fight me on this. This is an important meeting and I don't need some slut trying to ruin it. She is not coming."

He spots the seriousness in my tone and quickly drops the subject.

I relieve a sigh and go back to my work, anxious for tomorrow.

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Caden's POV

I quickly dried my tears after sobbing into my legs for a few minutes.

Just then, Sage comes into my office, again not knocking, and ordered me to set up a reservation at this really fancy restaurant downtown.

Mom and dad would sometimes take us to those types of restaurants. You know, the ones that gives us the serving the size of a toddler's and charge you fifty bucks for it.

Yeah, not a big fan of those types of restaurants.

It's not like I'd have the luxury of actually affording those types of restaurants anymore but that's beside the point.

The rest of the morning consisted of Sage and Sawyer popping by, giving me tasks to complete, which were relatively easy.

It's usually set up this meeting for this, or print these files, or go get me another coffee. Nothing I can't handle.

I have yet to see the face of the man that officially ruined my first day of work, which I am whole-heartedly grateful for.

I have just been cooped up in my office or going to the kitchen and making coffee.

Mathew gave me a thorough demonstration on how the brothers like their coffee.

I always thought that it was just like in TV and movies that mean bosses are very specific about how they like their coffee but I was dead wrong.

Like seriously, they have me making coffee for fifteen minutes every morning. And why do they have to be so picky about them. I mean, it's coffee.

Silas drinks black coffee.

Like his soul.

Don't say that about your boss!

You boil a cup of water. Then mix half a teaspoon of this fancy instant coffee that was imported from Spain or something with a teaspoon of brown sugar, ONLY from Costco, into a little bowl with a bit of hot water.

Then gradually add more hot water until it is exactly 200 degrees F. Yeah, you have to take out a thermometer and see if it's at exactly 200 degrees.

Mathew says he'll know if the coffee was prepared differently. And he won't be happy.

Sawyer drinks a Cafe Au Lait. Yeah, it's in a different language!

First, I take a fourth of a cup of milk, imported from Paris, and pour it into a mason jar. Then I have to shake it lot. Like A LOT, so that it can 'froth' up and double in size. I didn't even know milk could do that.

Then unscrew the mason jar lid and place it into a microwave for exactly 35 seconds or else the air you created in the milk will deflate, or something like that.

Then, I pour some fancy hot coffee (you already know where it's from) into a cup along with the steamed milk, reserving the foam and mix well. Then spoon the milk foam atop the coffee and throw in a bit of cinnamon on top.

Dang, I just give you a whole recipe on how to make coffee!

Sage's is quite easy. He just likes a tall Flat White from Starbucks.

Considering the complexity of his brothers' coffees, I am quite relieved that I would just have to go to Starbucks in the morning and purchase his coffee. Thank god.

By the time lunch is around, my stomach is growling like a madmen.

Unfortunately, I can't afford anything. Literally anything.

I can't even buy food from McDonald's one dollar menu.

I begin to pout as I hear my grumbling stomach as everyone begins to leave, going out for their lunch.

Then a woman enters my office, again not knocking. This company has a weird inability of knocking.

I recognize her as Izzie from yesterday. She has a bright smile on her face as she comes running toward me, her arms embracing my shoulders.

"OMG, I just heard you were hired here!" she squeals.

"Yeah, I got hired yesterday."

"You're welcome," she smiles, satisfyingly.

"What?"

"I mean, if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have had this job." I chuckle. Yeah, I guess she's right.

"Well, thank you." I give her full smile. She's really nice. And she's so full of energy, it's quite contagious.

Just talking to her right now makes me feel like we've known each other for 2 years rather than two days.

"Do you wanna got out for lunch?"

My face drops. "No it's okay. I have a lot of work to do." I really don't want to embarrass myself by saying I can't even afford to buy myself lunch.

"Nonsense! Come on, it's you first day. Let me introduce you to some your coworkers!" She bumps her shoulder with mine and lets out a little giggle.

Ugh, she's so nice!

"It's cause, I can't afford lunch," I mumble quietly, not meeting her gaze.

Her face falls for a second before quickly rising up. "Girl, that's not a problem. I'll cover you and you can pay me back whenever you can." Her smile quickly returns to her face.

Looking at her now, I can better analyze her facial features.

She has dirty blond hair that reaches the middle of her back. Her big, doll-like eyes are the shade of a turquoise blue and her high cheekbones accentuates her beautiful face.

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Isobel Turner played by Anna Selezneva

25 years old

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I reluctantly nod my head and she squeals grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the elevators.

"I love your outfit," she compliments, glancing at my dress.

I squirm a little, suddenly feeling self-conscience.

"You don't have to look so uncomfortable," she laughs, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"You look beautiful, you just need the confidence to show it." I nod, but I still tug at the hem of my dress, attempting to pull it down.

"Stop doing that." She slaps my hand away.

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We walk to a Taco Bell where she says the rest of her friends/co-workers are waiting. "We kind of have our little group," she explains. "So there's Marcus, he's the product manager. And then Leia, she works in finance. Obviously I work in marketing and you," she bumps my shoulder, "have the best job of all. Your the PA which means you can tell us all the juicy deets going on in the Sanders brothers' lives."

I laugh with her but my body goes rigid at the thought. I would never share personal information about them.

I can tell Izzie loves to gossip but I've never really been a part of it, nor have I ever liked it. I believe people should just mind their own business and stop picking their nose into other people's situations.

I don't know. Maybe that's just me.

We arrive at Taco Bell and I see Marcus and Leia sitting at a booth in the far end of the restaurant. Izzie waves her hand towards them and they wave back.

I can see Marcus's eyes widen and again, my confidence diminishes under his gaze.

We stride to their booth and Izzie introduces me. "Guys, this is Caden. She's the new PA. Caden, these ugly people are Marcus and Leia."

"Hi," I mumble.

"Now scooch." Izzie sits beside Marcus and I sit next to Leia.

"So, how did you get the PA position?" Leia inquires. She has a deep smirk on her face which confuses me.

She is drop dead gorgeous. She has beautifully tanned skin with tight coils framing her angelic face. Her almond shaped eyes pop on her face, with silky smooth skin.

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Leia Sanchez played by Jennifer Lopez

25 years old

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"I took down that article yesterday and Sawyer offered me the job," I explain.

"Hm." She raises one of her perfect shaped eyebrows and I can tell she doesn't believe me.

Why wouldn't she believe me?

"So, you have experience with technology?" Marcus asks, turning his attention to me.

"Kinda," I mumble.

When he finally looks away from me, I gaze at him, analyzing his features. He has a full head of caramel brown hair parted to the side, with sunken cheeks accenting his perfectly carved face. He's actually quite beautiful. And he seems kind.

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Marcus O'Conner played by Johnny Depp

27 years old

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Marcus and Leia had already ordered for us while we were walking so now we are sitting at the booth waiting.

Conversation goes on by the three friends but my mind is on the food. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday and I can practically feel my stomach rumbling like an earthquake.

"Damn, you must be hungry, girl," Izzie laugh. I giggle nervously, humiliated.

The food finally arrives and Leia had ordered me a Nachos Fried Box which consisted of a really big burrito, a crunchy taco, some fries, and this Mountain Dew drink.

When I sunk my teeth into the burrito, my mouth burst with delight. It was absolutely delicious.

I let out a moan.

I mean, can you blame me? After years of eating soggy noodles and seasoning packets, this is basically heaven for me.

Marcus, Izzie, and Leia all stare at me with confusion. "Sorry," I utter, my mouth still full of food. "I have never tried Taco Bell before."

They all bulge their eyes out on me in disbelief. "You have NEVER tried Taco Bell??!!" Izzie exclaims.

"Um, yeah."

Leia stares at me with shock and Marcus smirks.

"Can someone have my taco? I don't think I can finish it," I say out loud, breaking the weird silence that has clouded the table.

"Don't mind if I do," Leia says as she snatches the taco out of my tray. She smiles and I grin back, finally seeing some emotion from her.

When she catches me smiling at her, she quickly puts her guard up and looks away. Um okay.

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Silas's POV

"Hey, I can't come tomorrow," Mathew says through the phone, his voice sounding like he had just screamed his lungs out.

"What?? Mathew, I need you there. You're our COO!" I yell through the phone.

"Bro, I have strep throat. Just take Caden, please? Come on."

I grumble through the phone, clearly pissed.

It's currently 8 pm and I am bouncing in my room. I am never one to be anxious, but if this meeting goes right, we will have one of our biggest shareholders in the company.

I mean, this is BIG.

And I don't want to have a fucking criminal there fucking it up.

"I am not bringing her."

"Yes, you are." I turn around and see Sawyer standing beside the door frame.

"No, I'm not."

I'm starting to get pissed.

"Silas, she's coming. End of discussion." He stares at me with a finality and it clicks.

"You already informed her that she's going," I say dangerously calm.

He doesn't respond.

"Godammit, Sawyer!!" I throw the phone on the ground, shattering the screen, bits of my case ricocheting of my floor.

"Why the hell would you do that??"

He doesn't answer, just stares at me with calm, cool expression which just angers me more.

I stride toward him and grip him by his collar, my face inches away from his.

Now, I'm not the type to murder my own blood but right now, I am seriously considering strangling my brother.

Why the fuck would he invite that girl to the biggest dinner in company history?! I swear to god, sometimes, I just want to wring his throat.

"You are going to call her and tell her she's not fucking coming," I growl in his face.

He just raises his eyebrows and nods his face.

I push him away and slam the door on his face.

God, he pisses me off.

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