Chapter 1: The Boss's Secretary Is Irresistible!

It was ten at night.

From the driver’s seat of a Rolls-Royce Phantom, Zhang Cheng gazed enviously at a warmly lit window on the eighth floor of the Boyue Hotel.

Two overlapping shadows moved across the glass, drawing together like entwined vines, then separating like threads about to snap. The scene resembled an oil painting blurred by mist.

He knew who was inside: his boss, Zhou Mingyuan, a middle-aged man with a beer belly and enough money to win over beautiful women, and his secretary Su Qing, a red rose in full bloom.

“Damn it,” Zhang Cheng muttered. Jealousy churned in his stomach like sour wine.

Zhou had a stunning wife in Lin Wanshu, yet he still chased women outside their marriage. He kept a lover at the company and had spent more than half a year courting Su Qing. Tonight, he’d finally gotten his wish.

And Zhang Cheng? He was Zhou’s driver, earning six thousand yuan a month. After rent and living expenses, he had little left. His phone was three years old, and he didn’t even have a girlfriend to say good night to. Too often, he could only sit miserably behind the wheel, breathing in his boss’s lingering cigarette smoke while waiting for an encounter that had nothing to do with him to end.

As he brooded over his life, his phone vibrated. The screen displayed his boss’s name.

He answered at once, his voice unconsciously ingratiating. “Boss, what can I do for you?”

“Xiao Zhang! Get up here, room 805!” Zhou Mingyuan sounded more panicked than Zhang had ever heard him. “My wife! Lin Wanshu is on her way to catch us! Her bodyguards are all over the hall. Get up here and help me put on an act!”

“An act?” Zhang Cheng was stunned.

“Say you invited Secretary Su here! I’ll hide, and you deal with her. I’ll give you a five-thousand-yuan bonus afterward! Hurry, she’s almost here!”

The call ended with a click. The busy tone scraped at Zhang Cheng’s nerves.

His heart pounded. He was supposed to pretend to be Su Qing’s date?

He scrambled out of the car and into the elevator. The numbers ticked upward like a stopwatch. His palms were slick. How was he supposed to pull this off? Would Su Qing play along?

Just thinking about being close to her, even touching her fingertips, made him flush. He was nervous and eager, excited and afraid all at once.

The elevator chimed on the eighth floor. The thick carpet swallowed his footsteps, leaving only the pounding of his heart in his ears.

He knocked on room 805. Zhou Mingyuan opened the door, yanked him inside and slammed it shut. Two bodyguards glanced suspiciously at the room and spoke into their radios.

Su Qing stood by the window, beautiful and fragrant as a rose in bloom. When Zhang Cheng entered, a blush rose on her delicate face and her long lashes fluttered.

“Secretary Su, play along! I’ll give you a raise afterward!” Zhou shoved Zhang Cheng toward her, then slipped into the wardrobe and quickly closed the door.

“You’re hiding in there? The boss’s wife isn’t stupid. How could she not know?” Zhang Cheng stared at him. He’d assumed Zhou would leave the room.

“When she comes in, hold me tight,” Su Qing said, approaching him in a cloud of perfume. A faint blush made her look even more alluring. “We’ll pretend we’re a couple on a date.”

Zhang Cheng could only nod. Dazed, he slipped a trembling arm around her slender waist.

“I said when she comes in, not now.”

She gave him a reproachful look, pulled him onto the bed and drew the covers over them.

If only this were real, he thought with a rueful smile. He was just a poor driver. What chance did he have of ever sleeping with a woman like Su Qing?

He still remembered the day she’d joined the company a year ago. The entire office had seemed to hold its breath. He’d been washing a car, and even through three layers of glass, she’d captivated him.

Bang!

The door burst open, and a breathtaking woman appeared in the doorway. Light from the corridor edged her figure in gold. Her oval face was flushed at the cheekbones; a tiny beauty mark beneath her upturned eye flickered in the light. Her gaze could be soft as rain over southern rivers, but the next moment it held the sharpness of a woman seasoned in business, like a blade wrapped in silk.

Two impassive bodyguards towered behind her, setting off her graceful figure and commanding presence.

This was Lin Wanshu. At twenty-six, she was beautiful and poised, and she managed her considerable family business with skill. More than once, she’d rescued Zhou Mingyuan when he had run out of options. A man should have counted himself blessed to have her as his wife. Yet Zhou couldn’t stop pursuing other women.

Sweat broke out on Zhang Cheng’s back. Su Qing held him tighter and even gave a small, breathless moan.

They sat up as if startled. Su Qing widened her eyes. “Madam, what brings you here?”

Lin Wanshu surveyed the room. Her eyes widened briefly when they landed on Zhang Cheng, before she caught herself.

“Ahem. Pull up your pants. Where’s Zhou Mingyuan?” Her voice was clear and cold.

“Mr. Zhou isn’t here. Zhang Cheng and I are on a date.” Su Qing rushed to explain when Zhang seemed too frightened to speak.

“A date?” Lin Wanshu narrowed her lovely eyes at him, studying him with interest. “Driver Zhang, you’ve driven Mingyuan for ten years. I never realized you had the nerve to make a move on his woman.”

Worried that Zhang Cheng would give them away, Su Qing spoke first again. “You’ve misunderstood. I’m not Mr. Zhou’s woman. I’m Zhang Cheng’s girlfriend. I… I was the one who pursued him.”

“If you’re on a date, carry on. Pretend I’m not here.” Lin Wanshu smiled coldly and planted herself on the sofa. “Or don’t blame me for what happens next.”