CHAPTER 11

malia stood in front of the tall building that screamed 'DRAGON EMPIRE', unable to contain her surprise she exclaimed " wow .... Tristan , you are DRAGON EMPIRE ... the second best furniture company in the whole of Philippines... You?" she asked " yup ... this is my little cabin " he said nonchalantly " are you out of your freaking mind ? what the hell do you mean little cabin .... this is more than a mansion or a sky scraper " she said still surprised " yes , it's big, it's cool.. but I still try to stay humble about it " he replied " you are one of a kind Tristan. I admire you " she complimented " Do you want to keep making me blush or do you want to go inside " he asked light heartedly " heck yeah " she said walking ahead of him .

" Oh my goodness... I thought I had seen enough outside but this is breath taking " she exclaimed as she explored the inner part of the building, she was utterly amazed , she couldn't call this a company.. it was more or less like a paradise , her eyes beholded wondrous things , she saw his furniture and immediately wondered why her father is still number one , she saw pictures of the world famous furniture designers and their quotes hanged on different corners of the wall the roof lights shone on her so beautifully , it was really a sight to behold . she continued walking until she halted , she saw a portrait of Tristan boldly hung 'CEO AND FOUNDER OF DRAGON EMPIRE ' odd because his last name was not included " I'm impressed " she said hitting her shoulders with his " shall we ?" he asked . They were both walked through the hall way when she noticed a million eyes on her , they stared at her intently and surprisingly, feeling the greatest uncomfort she asked " tristan .. why are they looking at me like that " she asked " well ... from what I heard .. they find you very attractive.. they even gave you a name , its miss preety ... and most of all .. they think we look good together " he explained causing goosebumps appearing on her skin " are you serious? " she asked in more of a whisper " hm" he replied " here let's take the elevator because I feel like I'm going to die if they keep looking at me like that " she said " Am sorry , all the elevators are under construction " he replied as they continued walking .

seeing her all worked up made him want to continue teasing her ... For some reason , he wanted to make this situation more soothing " just ignore them. they are all talk " he said whispering to her ear " Tristan I thought you said that all the elevators are under construction " she said " yes.. I said that but it looks like they are done with that one , let's use it " he said as they both entered the elevator " welcome boss Tristan" The employees in the elevator greeted, Tristan looked around to see how many people were with them when suddenly, he wrapped his arms around malia's waists " careful , you might trip" he said in a less higher tone , she gazed at him with extreme surprise .

Malia waited impatiently for the elevator , after what Tristan did, she felt somewhat uncomfortable especially in front of those people , what was he trying to do? .. she asked her self , did she look like one of his girls that he just touched and harass any how he wants?. She honestly thought he was different but from what happened, she realized that they are all the same , Gold diggers , disgusting, users , worthless and most of all .... IDIOTS . The elevator door opened before her "finally" she screamed in her mind as she stepped out. Two people emerged from the large sized glass door , she recognized one of them and the other , she had never seen before "They are waiting " Ben said as he gave Malia a smile "Tristan , you didnt tell us you had company " A woman in black suit and knee lengthened skirt said as she scanned malia from top to bottom " This is malia .... my friend " he said with a hint of hesitation " I'm malia ... nice to meet you " malia said extending her arms " likewise ... I'm nataly Alvarez " she introduced giving her a sly smile that sent shivers through malia's spines " shall we ?" ben asked " um ... you guys go on, I'll follow " tristan said as they both entered "Malia , I'll need you to wait for me , I promise , this will be brief " He said "No problem, I'll wait " She replied nonchalantly and walked out leaving him confused .

Meanwhile, a young man who had been waiting for Tristan to walk out suddenly bumped into her " Are you okay ?" He asked "oh my gosh , you frightened the hell out of me " she complained " I'm sorry , I didn't mean to , I just couldn't help but notice you and sir Tristan " he paused " I'm sorry, I dont talk to strangers " she said as she continued walking " okay, my name is Javier and your name is malia , so ..... there , we aren't strangers anymore " he said with a big smile painted on his face " how do ..... how do you know my name " she asked " haaa ....malia , you are the talk of the town.. oh I mean company " javier said "what ?" she asked looking hungry for an explanation, " sit " he said and pulled a chair out for her before taking his sit , he pulled his phone out and showed her a picture , unable to comprehend what she had seen , she used her hand to cover her mouth to prevent her from screaming, she was fuming with hot anger , the rage she was feeling was unquenchable, she held the table cloth tight " dont worry ... this is not going out to any social media platform, only workers here can access it and they dare not share this to anyone one , so let's say you are safe " javier assured . With tears threatening to drop down her face , she quickly stood up and strode to the powder room , her face had already turned red , she couldn't believe in her widest dream that this will ever happen to her. she wiped her face and exited the room , javier who was just waiting outside for her asked "malia .. are you okay ?" he asked " I'm fine , thanks , but I'd like to be alone for a while " she said "excuse me " she added as she walked out .

CHAPTER 12

"Malia , oh my God , I have been looking for you all over , where did you go , you gave me a....." he was about to finish his sentence when she gave him a hot slap , he stared deeply into her eyes seeing how angry she was , he dragged her by her arms to the parking lot , they both entered the car and drove off . malia banged the door open and took off to her room , she gathered her stuffs attempting to leave "what are you doing ?" tristan asked "what does it look like ?" she asked "are you leaving ?" he asked but she didnt give a reply , he leaned on the door and watched her , seeing her zipping up her luggage he approached her slowly and held her tiny hands "if you ... if we have a problem you could just say it " He said " I'm sorry but I dont I appreciate you harassing in front of everyone " she said as rage ran through her spines "harassment?" he asked as confusion stained his face "dont pretend like you dont know what you did... you clearly knew what you were doing when you held me by my waist and pulled me to your self , do you know how embarrassing that was , I mean if you wanted someone to embarrass it seriously shouldn't be me , Tristan you....." she was about to finish her sentence when he placed his finger on her lips " you talk to much malia " he said as she slapped his fingers off her lips "it's not funny " she said giving him an unfriendly stare "you look funny ... anyway malia I was not trying to embarrass you , in that elevator someone was trying to touch you so I dodged his hand by holding your waist and pulling you to my self so I apparently saved you " He explained , utterly surprised she asked " which pervert attempted to abuse me ?" she said " just that idiot javier .. he is ...." he was about to finish his sentence when she cut him off "wait hold on .. did you say javier ?" she asked " yup why?" he asked " he told me that all of the employees saw that photo of you and I " she reasoned " he must have taken a photo because he knew that for sure I wouldn't allow him to touch you , he's up to another stupid scheme . he's an idiot that has been trying to bring me down but I'll take care of him don't worry " he said nonchalantly . malia breathed a sigh of relief and attempted to offload her stuffs when he dragged her by her arms making her head hit his broad chest "malia did you forget you owe me an apology?" he asked "well you couldn't blame me if I accused you of harassment " she said keeping a straight face" is that so . I might just harass you for real right here and right now " he said in more of a whisper "I'm sorry " she apologised when she had enough "for?" he asked "for accusing you blindly " she said when he finally let go of her , she returned to unpacking her things when "malia , do you remember, you hit me so hard and now my face is sore , I will surely need some kind of pampering dont you think ?" he asked "yes of course, I'll do that after unpacking " she replied "hmm I think I want it now " he said combing his hair to the back , she gritted and dragged him by his arms to the dining to attend to the wounds she herself created , Tristan smiled in satisfaction as he enjoyed the moment to the fullest .

A few minutes after , they settled for dinner , tristan knew for a fact that this woman sitting in front of him was very skillful and intelligent, he also hated that she would not be able to put her great skills to work , but he didnt know how to tell it to her , he didn't want to sound like he was taking advantage of her but he will really need such skill to run his business, he didn't want to be like her family who saw her potentials and yet took it for granted, he knew better than to do that , not only was she an epitome of beauty or a source of inspiration or an incredibly intelligent woman , she also had a big heart that was willing to sacrifice .Unable to withstand his thought staying inside of him he blurted " malia would you like to work in my company ?" he asked , due to surprise and shock malia coughed on her food , noticing this Tristan immediately handed her a glass of water "I'm sorry that went down the wrong pipe " she said as soon as she calmed down "nevermind I'm sorry I shouldnt have asked " he said "no no it's okay Tristan, I'll love to work for you , I wanted to talk to you about it because I really didn't like being idolised and cooked up in this house but I didn't want to sound too forward " she replied " forward, malia you have a lot of potential, it will go to waste if you dont put it to use ." he said "thank you Tristan, you dont know how much this means to me " she said placing her hands on his " no . thank you , you dont know how much this means to DRAGON EMPIRE.... and to me " he replied .