MAGGIE's POV

"Hey, Maggie, wake up!" I groaned inwardly when I heard that voice. I still wanted to sleep more. I slept late last night because I went clubbing with my friends. It has been a week since the beauty pageant and today's my first day at work.

Before the pageant, I already had my training to be the general manager of one of our supermarkets. Our family owns a multinational chain of supermarkets; the 'Super L'. It has many branches around the USA, Europe and Asia.

Managing our family business is important so I had to take a business management course in University. Well, it's not like I had a choice.

My parents are very supportive to everything that I want to do in life and the least thing for me to do in return is to help managing our business, because someday, Christine and I will eventually be the ones to manage it.

"I'm still sleepy, nana. I'll just go to work this afternoon." I said sleepily as I pulled the blanket over my head. I heard Nancy huff and then pulled the blanket off me.

"You know that you can't do that. Your parents already left and they entrusted you and Tin to me." She answered. She's been our nanny since we were children and she served as our second mom.

My mom finally decided to go live with our dad in Texas and we're okay with it. Me and Christine were already adults. Besides, they would come home at least thrice a month or more to visit us so it's okay.

"C'mon, get up now!" My nanny hissed.

I groaned and closed my eyes. "My head hurts, nana." I complained.

She tsked. "And who's fault do you think it is? Who told you to go to the club last night and drink? Be thankful that your parents didn't call last night or else, I would've really told them everything that you've been doing! It has only been a couple of days since they left but you're beginning to go out f control." I could hint the anger in her voice.

I slowly got up and then sat upright against the oversized headboard. I looked at my nanny amusedly.

"Nana, you're so beautiful today." I praised her instead of commenting of what she just said. She put her hands on her waist and looked at me in disbelief.

"Don't give me that! C'mon, get up. Even if you're still sleepy and have headache, you don't have a choice but to go to work. I already prepared the bathtub for you so that you could relax before going out."

A smile broke across my face. "Thank you, nana. You're the best." I got out of bed and then went directly to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and then took a quick shower before soaking into the bathtub. While in the bathtub, I closed my eyes and relaxed my senses.

The temperature of the bubble bath was so relaxing that I suddenly felt sleepy. I was planning on taking a nap when a picture suddenly appeared in my head. It was Marco's!

I automatically opened my eyes as my breath went hitch. I bit my lower lip. Ever since the last time I saw him, I couldn't get his face out of my mind for some reason.

I couldn't forget what happened at the restaurant that day. He acted so weird. What did he do to Marlon anyway? I asked myself.

I still could remember how pale Marlon's face that time. The fear was evident in his eyes while staring at Marco. Did he intentionally intimidate Marlon? But why would he do that? He's such a weird guy!

Then, I suddenly realized what was going on inside my head.

"What the—stop thinking about him!" I hissed to myself like a fool and then shook my head as if I could erase him out of my mind by doing so. I couldn't believe how he'd been occupying my mind these past few days.

I heaved a sigh and decided to just finish my bath.

After my bath and got dressed, I did my hair and make-up. When I was finally happy with the way I look, I went downstairs to eat breakfast. I was about to start eating when my sister came and joined me.

"Good morning, sis. I'm glad that you still have the energy to get out of bed after all the alcohol you had last night." Her voice held sarcasm. I rolled my eyes.

"It's not like I drank a lot of alcohol last night. I just had a few shots and that's all. I just wanted to relax so I went to the club with my friends." I reasoned out and then began eating.

"Really? You wanted to relax but you left me behind and didn't even let me come with you." She whined.

I chuckled. "Don't be mad, Tin. You're still young for these kinds of things. Don't worry, by next year, you will definitely be free to go whenever you want to."

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "I'm already 20 years old in case you forgot, like, duh!" I couldn't help but to laugh because of her reaction. I ruffled her fair and that made her more irritated.

"Hey, my hair!" She complained irritably.

"So, how's school?" I asked, intending to shift the topic to another subject to lighten up her mood. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine. Boring. I want to graduate already."

"Don't rush. For sure, you would want to go back to school the moment you experience the hardships of working." I said amusedly.

Her eyebrows knitted together. "Really? Well, I heard that once from Reg too. He said that being a student was better than working. Well, I understand his situation though. After Uncle Alexandre passed away, Reg had to assume all the responsibilities. He became the CEO of their company at the age of 23. That kind of responsibility is not something to be taken lightly. I can't imagine myself being in his shoes."

"See? He's right, you know so it's better for you to not think about it yet for now and just enjoy your life being a student. This is your last year in University so you should make the most out of it. Anyway, how's Carina? It's been a while since she came over."

She heaved a sigh. "Well, she's fine but not that fine. You know her situation. It's not easy." My sister answered with a saddened face. I suddenly felt bad. Even though my family wanted to help Carina, we couldn't just meddle in their family's problems especially that her mother was still hoping that her husband would change one day.

"I really don't understand why they still stay with her stepfather even though he's a monster. Sometimes, some women can't stand on their own." I couldn't help but to comment.

"Mags, don't say it like that! Carina's mom is a nice woman and you know that!" Christine defended. I heaved a sigh.

"I know that. Aunt Ana Marie is undoubtedly a nice person but she should do something for herself and Carina before it's too late. That Jack is a very bad news and I don't trust him one bit." I answered while shaking my head.

"Yeah, you're right. He doesn't deserve Carina and Aunt Ana Marie." I could see the sadness on my sister's face so I decided to change the topic. The conversation became happier after that.

When we finally finished eating, we went out. She drove to school with her car and I drove mine. When I arrived at work, the previous GM oriented me and helped me settle in. After that, she introduced me to the employees.

"Everyone, this is Ms. Margaret Lenard. She will be the one to replace me as the General Manager." Mrs. Denver informed them. Everyone greeted me but I quickly noticed those look of distate from a couple of them but I let it slide.

I didn't want to create a scene on my first day at work. After that, I went to my office while Mrs. Denver did everything that he needed to do before leaving.

When her last responsibilities finished, she left. Mrs. Denver gave up her job because she and her family needed to move overseas. My father offered me the position and I accepted it without a second thought.

He told me that it would be better for me to start from being a general manager before assuming a higher position in the company.

Is at on my swivel chair and then began doing my work. The work was kinda hard but easy at the same time. The time passed so quickly that I didn't even notice that it was already time to go home.

I smiled inwardly. I thought everything would be so boring but I didn't even have the time to think about anything else aside from work.

While I was on my way to my parking space, I saw a group of employees, chatting under the maple tree, which was coincidentally next to my car. They were the same people who gave me that unpleasant look this morning. They were busy talking that they didn't even notice me approaching their direction.

I didn't have the intention of getting their attentions and just go straight to my car but I heard what their topic was.

"Did you see how young the new GM is? I don't even know if she could fulfill her duties effectively without any experience. I bet they just hired her because of her looks." One of the women said while shaking her head.

"Yeah, you're right. She must be acquainted to the owner of Super L for her to get this job that easily without even breaking a sweat."

"Well, everything's possible nowadays especially that she's beautiful. What do we know? Maybe, she used that beauty of hers to get the job." They then laughed all together. I felt like all the blood inside my body rushed to my head upon hearing what they said.

I was about to castigate them when someone suddenly got out of the sports car that was parked near my car and walked towards them with a dangerously calm face. Marco! What is he doing here?!

"What did you just say? Can you repeat it?" He asked the group with a hint of danger in his voice. All of them were shocked upon seeing him, but then, one of them gathered himself together and faced Marco bravely.

"And who do you think you are?"

The corner of Marco's lips lifted. "Just a friendly advice. Know your place and don't be an ignorant fool because your ignorance could cause you your worthless life." Marco answered matter-of-factly. They all gasped of Marco's remark.

The three guys faced him. "Are you threatening us?" They looked more than pissed.

"What do you think, you fool?" Marco spat at them uncaringly. My eyes widened when one of the guys suddenly attacked Marco, but to my surprise, he easily dodged his fist in a blink of an eye before grabbing the collar of the man's uniform and pulled him closer to him, tightening his fists in the process.

"Listen to me carefully, you a*shole. No one has the right to bad mouth 'my woman', do you understand me?!" He roared like a dangerous beast and that made me gape at him. What did he just say? Did I really hear him say that? Is he referring to me?!

I stared at his face. He looked like he was on the brink of killing someone with his bare hands. He looked murderous and dangerous that I almost shivered coldly. I've never seen that expression from him before and it made me feel uncomfortable. I didn't know that he could be this dangerous but for some reason, I couldn't feel any fear.

"Let go of me!" The employee shouted as he tried his best to remove Marco's fists on his collar but Marco didn't budge. Instead, his hands in his collar tightened even more that the man was already having a hard time to breath.

"Hey, that's enough! Let go of him!" The other people around them rebuked and tried to pull the man away from Marco's grasp but he didn't let him go.

"Answer me!" Marco thunderously said instead. The man was already coughing as his entire face turned red. That was my cue. I briskly strode my way towards them to stop him from what he was doing. He looked like he was about to kill that poor guy if I wouldn't stop him.

"Let go of him!" I ordered sternly with a loud voice upon approaching them. To everybody's surprise, Marco let go of the man's collar right away upon hearing my voice as if he got burned or something. He looked at my direction and his face automatically softened upon seeing me.

"Maggie..." He uttered softly. My heart raced for an unknown reason upon hearing him calling me by my name. As far as I could remember, this was the first time that he said my name. I mentally shook the thought away and gathered myself together. I raised my chin and met his gaze courageously.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked him. The employee that he almost choked was coughing and gasping for air. I felt sorry for him even though he was bad-mouthing me a while ago.

"I only taught him a lesson." He answered and shoved his hands inside the pockets of his pants nonchalantly. I looked at him in disbelief.

"Lesson?! You almost killed him! You shouldn't've done that!"

He squinted his eyes. "I would never let anyone disrespect you like that. They should learn their place. You own—" Before he could say everything that he wanted to say, I interrupted him. I didn't want my employees to discover yet that my family owns Super L.

"—I could've handled them myself without you interfering!" I retaliated and then faced the employees. "If your shifts are already over, go home already." I commanded them with a serious face.

They nodded they heads silently before walking away. I was about to get inside my car when Marco spoke.

"You should've told them that you own this damn Supermarket so that they won't bad-mouth you like that again." There was a hint of anger in his voice.

I bit my lower lip and looked at him again. His eyebrows were crinkled. "I don't have to tell them that in order to earn their respect or approval, Mr. Pearce. Anyway, thank you for standing up for me just now but don't do that again next time. I can handle my problems myself. Good day." Before he could answer, I opened my car and got inside.

I felt like my heart was about to come out of my chest because of how hard it was beating.

I started the engine and maneuvered it out of there. While I was driving away from there, I saw Marco from the rearview mirror, still standing on the same spot while following me with his eyes.

I sighed. I wanted to ask him about what he said a while ago but I didn't have the guts to do so. "What did he mean by 'my woman'? Was he really referring to me?" I asked myself confusedly. I shook my head vigorously.

"No! He didn't say that. You were just imagining things!" I answered myself like an idiot. I decided to just forget what happened and just play a music on the car stereo.

I was still around 10-minute drive away from the gate of our subdivision when my car suddenly slowed down on its own. I noticed that the right side was a little bit higher than the left side, making it unbalanced. I turned off the engine and went out.

"Sh*t!" I hissed when I saw the flat tire. I opened the trunk and searched for the reserve tire that I've been keeping in there but I saw none. That was when I remembered that I took it out the other day and left home because I needed more space for my things that day.

"Great!" I looked around but there was no one.

"What am I going to do now?" I asked myself. I grabbed my phone and called Brey.

"Hello, Brey. Are you busy right now?" I asked right away when he picked up his phone.

"I'm on my way home. Why?"

"I got a flat tire here and I don't have an extra one with me. Can you drop by at my place and get my extra tire for me, please?" I asked him sweetly.

"Sure. Where are you right now?" I was about to open my mouth to tell him my location when a familiar car pulled up before my car and my jaw dropped when I saw the driver come out of his vehicle.

He looked at my car without speaking to me and before I could say anything, he took an extra tire and some tools from his car and began replacing the flat tire of my car.

"Hello, Mags. Still there?" I heard Brey say. I cleared my throat.

"Y-Yes. Brey, you don't have to come anymore. Someone's already here." I informed him.

"Really? That fast? Who is it?"

"I-It's Marco." I answered with an almost inaudible voice. Brey chuckled upon hearing that.

"Of course, he came for you. That's good then. I need to go now, brat. Make sure to thank him properly so that you will make him happy." Before I could answer, he already ended the call.

"What the heck was that?" I muttered and then looked at Marco again. But then, I almost choked with my own spit when I saw him already shirtless. My eyes involuntarily raked his muscular body a stare. I swallowed hard. Damn. What a sexy man.

I could feel my cheeks redden of that thought.

****

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