Chapter 1

• He placed the money on top of the table right in front of her. Her eyes were quick enough to land at the bills.
• "That's $3,000." He says.
• He kept staring at her eagerly while his hands holding onto each other.
• "What's your name?" He asks.
• "Well... You can call me anything you want to, babe." She flirts, trying to hide her real identity.
• She smiles at him as the music blares loudly through the walls of the club.
• "Why are you doing this?" He asks.
• She grins at him while she twirls her glass of champagne in little circles.
• "Why not?" She asks back.
• She slightly pulled her head up to him and just smirked at the man who was wearing a charcoaled black suit and tie with a white dress shirt under it. He sits right across her with his leg over the other as he tries to study this kind of woman that he hasn't met before.
• "You don't have to do this you know? You don't have to be this.... kind of woman that you're not." He adds.
• "You don't know me." She says.
• "But you don't have to be like this. You're young. You're suppose to be in a university." He debates.
• "Well you're the one who isn't suppose to be here as well." She smirks.
• "You fascinate me. But I have a huge feeling you're forced."
• She snorts. "It's who I am." She answers.
• "This isn't you." He snaps back.
• "I have reasons. I have no choice." She answers softly.
• He sighs inwardly. "Everybody has choices to make."
• "Well mine's this." She's wittily answers.
• He takes a long pause as he drink his glass of champagne while his eyes were still glued at her. He knows that there's something more about this woman that was before him. She intrigues him. They went quiet for a long while as she kept her eyes on the pile of money in front of her. She knows she needs it.
• "What's your name?" He asks her again.
• "I already told you. Anything you wanna call me." She answers the same thing.
• He pulled out another cash and placed it on top of the other bills. "Another $3,000 just tell your name."
• She smirks. "You play with money."
• "Not this often." He answers, resting his back as he held his lower lip.
• "How about cheri?" He asks.
• "Like a fruit?" She asks back.
• He chuckles.
• ~~~
• T H E A
• I walk my way to Mrs. Victoria's office with my heart thumping hard against my chest. To be honest, I don't like walking inside her office all alone. It's like walking inside a lion's den.
• Everyone knows that she's very strict and very moody. Bipolar, at some point actually. When she wants you inside her office, it's either she's going to scold you for doing something wrong at work or either she fires you. Either way, it's always negative when she calls an employee inside her den.
• I'm not saying that she's always moody or angry, but there would be times that she's nice but that's very very seldom to happen. Then there are most times when she's maddening and bossy as hell which happens almost always in everyday of the week.
• Sometimes I questioned myself why did I ever wanted to be an intern here. Maybe because she deceived me. She was nice when she interviewed me, I guess it was all for show just so she can lure employees in to work for her. Hence the magazine name, Lure Magazine.
• People said that she have already scolded every single employee around in this building. Even the janitors. There are days where she smiles and there are also dark days where she's frowning and yelling and bossy. Very annoyingly bossy.
• I knock on the door nervously and heard her saying that I can already come in. I swing the door open and saw her sitting on her chair, waiting for me.
• She smiles.
• I'm shocked that she smiled.
• "Come in Thea." She instructs.
• I scooted my way inside her office and carefully closed the door behind me. I slowly, shyly and nervously walked closer to her desk with my hands holding onto each other as if my life's on it.
• "Have a seat." She instructs again.
• I sit down and I take a deep breath in then exhaled before taking a look at her.
• "Do you know why I asked you to be here?" She asks.
• I shake my head sideways. "I actually don't have any idea why."
• "Well, since you've been here for a week, I've read your writings lately which seemed pretty good." She commented.
• I smile at her. "Thank you."
• "You're welcome. But good isn't enough, Miss Thibault." She snaps at me.
• I frowned.
• "You shouldn't be happy about being just good. Good is never ever enough for me. Good is something a little more higher than bad. I want the best. The most excellent. The prime of them all. NOT. JUST. GOOD." She says so slangy while she fixes her glasses with her heavy sounding voice.
• My smile fades and I quickly bent my head down low. Embarrassed. I was already very happy that she read my works and she complimented about it.
• "That's why I want you to have a personal one on one interview with the worst of them all, none other than..." She pushes a Time Magazine before me.
• It was a photo of a very very goodlooking man who was the full cover of the magazine. He had a perfectly structured face, beautiful plump lips and eyes greener than a leafy forest. His smile is all devilry. He looks like he likes to cause trouble and most of all he looked like he loves getting away with it. But there's something more about it. Something very closed off and somehow very icy in his eyes. Those green eyes of him are made up of green ice, yes.
• "Benedict Saintclare." She finishes.
• I admit that I'm starting to get really nervous about this. I don't know much about him but he's a ruthless manwhore as what I've read and heard lately.
• "I know you're too young and inexperienced to take on such a risqué project but I want to challenge you." She says with her chin up.
• "I like challenges." I speak with no confidence. I don't know if I can do it.
• "Very well then. Because Mr. Benedict Saintclare doesn't really want to have a one on one interview." She smirks.
• Shit.
• "He doesn't allow himself to access to any press. We have been asking for his permission for years now but he's always declining every single one." She continued.
• I slightly gaped. "Then I guess it'll be impossible for me to do it too."
• She laughs. "You're already giving up? You haven't even started anything yet."
• I pause.
• "Miss Thibault, your works fascinated me and you're only an intern. That happens very seldom around here, that's why I want to challenge you. I can see your potential. You're really great." She smiles again and that's the second time.
• I smile. "Thank you Mrs. Victoria."
• "Maybe you could charm your way with Mr. Saintclare. We all know that he loves women, hence being a manwhore. You might get lucky." She encourages me.
• I shake my head sideways. "I think he won't. I mean look at him. He looks like he wouldn't notice a girl like me."
• "You wouldn't know if you wouldn't try. I will be giving you three weeks."
• "Three?" I sounded pitifully sad.
• She nods firmly. She already made up she mind. "And if I don't have anything to give you after three weeks?" I worried.
• "I guess you have to find another publishing company to work as an intern. I don't need slacky and useless people."
• I froze.