Heartstrings on Fire

Chapter 1
Agnes Pritchard was just five minutes late, but she was summoned to the boss’s office for a one–hour lecture.
When she emerged from the CEO’s office, Agnes looked like a ghost. Her face and eyes red and swollen. Clearly, she had been
crying.
Everyone in the secretarial office felt bad for her.
Agnes was a new intern assigned to the secretarial office. Her job typically involved writing drafts and sorting out files.
For some reason, the CEO always seemed to have a bone to pick with her. He could always find a reason to summon her to his
office for a dressing–down. And every time Agnes came out of the office, she looked like she had seen a ghost.
Agnes finally managed to slump back into her chair.
Anita, another intern, rolled her chair over and voiced her indignation, “The CEO is so mean to you just because you look like an
easy target.”
She sighed, “Agnes, what on earth did you do to piss off the CEO? Why’s he got it in for you? The first thing he does when he
returns from a business trip is chew you out?” Agnes hadn’t quite pulled herself together yet, her mind still reeling from what had
just happened in the office.
He’d been away on a business trip for two days, but his energy seemed to have doubled. She might have been stuck in there for
another hour if she hadn’t been crying and begging for mercy.
Anita looked at Agnes and felt terrible, but there was nothing she could do.
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So, she just patted Agnes on the shoulder, “Agnes, take it easy. The internship is almost over. Just hang in there.”
Agnes was a junior majoring in news management at Lakeside College; she was just here for a month–long winter internship.
Agnes nodded, looking a bit dazed.

Anita sympathized even more, “Don’t worry too much about it. We’ll figure something out for you at the department dinner
tonight.”
This snapped Agnes back to reality, “Department dinner? Do I have to go?”
Anita whispered, “Of course, you do. It’s Yolanda’s treat. Rumor has it she’s got some special privileges. But that’s not the point.
The point is a lot of the senior staff from the secretarial office will be there, we interns can’t just blow it off.”
Yolanda was also an intern. She went to the same college as Agnes but in different departments. Rumor had it she had
connections and was assigned to the Tim Group for her internship.
Agnes spent the whole afternoon fretting. Because earlier today in the office, her boss had told her to go straight home after
work. After an afternoon of contemplation, she decided to go to the dinner.
If she went home, she worried she wouldn’t be able to hold it together. She never understood why the cold, handsome man, in
everyone else’s eyes, could turn so brutal in front of her.
Anyway, when he whispered those words in her ear, Agnes was already exhausted, barely conscious. She might as well have
pretended she didn’t hear it.
So after work, Agnes and Anita cheerfully went to the company dinner.
Even though it was Yolanda’s treat, Agnes somehow became the center of attention. Naturally, the talk of the party was why the
CEO was so cold–to her.
With an innocent face, Agnes said, “I honestly don’t know.”
This only made everyone feel sorrier for her.
Halfway through dinner, Agnes‘ phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, her heart rate accelerated.
She walked to a corner to answer the call. On the other end of the phone was Jared’s deep, seductive voice, “Where are you?”