I.

The maids were working non-stop as they prepared for the engagement party of the only child of their boss, David Hernandez. The chefs were not left out in the preparation. They had to make a lot of food, desserts, and snacks for the invited guests.

Meanwhile, Zoe Hernandez, sat in her office, which was on the first floor of her father's penthouse. She was going through a movie script whilst snacking on a chocolate cake.

As the movie director in her deceased grandfather's entertainment industry, she had a lot of work on her plate. She had to go through all the scripts submitted to the company for consideration.

"Terry, are you there?" Zoe asked. She was a phone call with one of the staffs.

"Yeah"

"Contact Wisconsin, we're buying her work"

"Copied"

"Alright then, I'll see you in the office tomorrow" without waiting for his response, she hanged up.

Running her fingers through her hair, she exhaled deeply. She was exhausted from staring at the screen for long hours.

"After Wisconsin's script, I'll consider Brian. These dudes are good. Viewers will be held spell bound" she mumbled.

After fifteen minutes of break, she woke her idle screen to resume work. She was reading some scripts when her phone beeped, indicating she had a message.

"The board has decided to give Alvin Carter the role of Liam in UNDERDOG" the message read. The message was from Mr. Rogers, the current chairman of the company.

"Alvin Carter? Hell no, that dude is cocky, stupid and… gosh, this is a big disaster Mr. Rogers" she yelled in her head.

Alvin Carter was recruited by Zoe entertainment company a week ago. He was a model and the face of K-men, a man clothing brand.

Zoe was right when she called him cocky, but wrong calling him stupid.

FLASHBACK…

A week ago…

"Are you going to attend to me, or you want to keep staring?" Alvin smirked.

"Hold on Sir, I'm busy" Zoe retorted. What happened next was unexpected. Alvin emptied his bottle of water on her body.

"What was that for?" She yelled, staring at her drenched clothes and notepad.

"For talking to me without regards" he smirked. He returned to his seat with a smile playing on the corner of his lips.

BACK TO PRESENT…

After that incident, Zoe had sworn to deal with him, although she had no idea on how to go about it. She kept praying for an opportunity to present itself, so she could have her pound of flesh.

Still basking in anger, the door flung opened, and her dad walked in with a frown on his face. Wondering what was wrong, she raised her brow, urging her father to speak.

"For goodness' sake you ought to be dressed and seated. It's past four pm already. If not for the delay at the airport, Carter Kingston entourage would have arrived" he yelled. His facial expression was not friendly, a bit not to mention the veins on his neck which were threatening to spill out.

"I'm sorry dad, but I don't know what you're talking about"

"Fuck! Zoe Hernandez" he yelled.

"Come on dad, just clarify me and quit yelling"

David exhaled, for the next five minutes or there about, he was having a staring contest with his daughter who wore a confused look.

"Zoe" he called after a while

"Dad"

"It's your engagement party, okay"

"But… It's not today. The last time I checked, the calendar read March 16 not 20"

"Your calendar is outdated" he snapped then bounced out of her office with rage.

After his departure, Zoe slumped on the fluffy couch. She was drained from working long hours. Being a lady who was focused on building her career, nothing matters to her. That explains why she forgot her engagement party.

That wasn't the issue now. She was going to be engaged to someone she didn't know. She had pleaded with her parents several times to give her a clue, but they refused.

According to her father, she was betrothed to the son of his best friend when she was five years old. He refused to disclose the identity of the mysterious best friend, which pissed her the more.

She was still staring into space when her mom barged into her office. She wore an unpleasant look, just like her husband.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Clara yelled.

"Dressing up won't take 15 minutes"

"Your groom is here, Zoe" she cringed. Zoe's eyes popped out at the revelation. A few minutes before, her dad said their flight was delayed.

"Dad said their flight was delayed" she retorted wearing a confused look

"So they decided to use their private jet"

"Oh… Whoa, that's impressive. They must be wealthy to have a private jet" she said with sarcasm

"Cut it Zoe. Get your butt off that couch and go prepare. You have thirty minutes to do that" Clara snapped then waded out of the office.

"To be honest, I feel like breaking someone's head open" Zoe scoffed. After shutting her laptop and arranging her work area, she strode out of the office.

Her room was on the third floor, so she had to make use of the elevator to get there on time, but she decided against it. Again, she refused to use the escalator, instead, she used the stairs.

Her action was intentional. She was not interested in the engagement whatsoever. She wished it were a bad dream.

"What took you so long?" Clara yelled the moment her feet touched the floor of her room. No doubt Zoe was shocked. She didn't expect her mom to be in her room.

"You scared me, mom. In between, what are you doing here?" Clara ignored her, instead she nodded at the clothes on her bed.

"Alright, you can leave now, I've to get dressed" Zoe said with her hands across her chest.

"If you can't undress before me, that means you have become a hermaphrodite"

"What's up with you today? You're frustrating me"

"Get dressed and stop making a fuse"

Sensing her mother was not leaving until she gets dressed, she shrugged then began to take off her clothes.