Chapter 1 AFFAIR

PHOEBE's P O V

"Phoebe, please be my mistress..." Tyler Hudson stated, following the submission of the report I had been working on since yesterday. As I stared at him in disbelief, the yellow folder he was handing me back lingered in the air. "Come with me on Saturday's party, and be my date..."

Did I hear him right? Oh no…

I couldn't believe Mr. Tyler Hudson, my boss, asked me to accompany him to a party on Saturday to commemorate the company's Silver Anniversary.

I have to admit, Tyler Hudson was a remarkably handsome and gorgeous young man, a combination of Keannu Reeves and Chris Hemsworth, two of my favorite stars in Hollywood at the time, but he was not my type. In addition to being the CEO of the company, Hudson Steel Industries and Manufacturing, for which I was currently employed, he is also a very wealthy man in his own right.

He's a boss who exuded self-assurance and has a commanding presence. He might be a little frightening and domineering at times, but he's a kind man.

However, when he gave me orders, he made me jump sometimes. And whenever I was in his office, like right now, I could feel his power radiating strongly, like a hundred thousand volts. But keep in mind that when he's intoxicated, he behaves in a childish and immature manner.

He had a lot of girls around him and was quite adept at flirting, but he never tried it on me even once. Perhaps he respected me as his personal assistant. He only sees me as an employee, not as a woman whom he thought he could sleep with. And I truly respect him as well for that.

Well, he started to flirt around some girls, and began to behave like a playboy ever since the day his wife cheated on him. His wife, Scarlet Lopez, with whom he had been married for seven years.

During my stay here as his personal assistant, I witnessed how much Tyler loved and cherished Scarlet, to the point where he practically turned his room into something like a museum by displaying so many photographs of Scarlet. And the largest portrait of her was hung behind his desk, where I was welcomed by his wife's annoying smile every time I walked through the door to his office.

He would sometimes cancel his meetings because his wife called him, and was having tantrums that he needed to go home. Or he would go home early to take his wife on a lunch or dinner date and never come back in the afternoon.

I had no idea what he saw in that girl, who he had fallen in love and even got married with. They said that if you get butterflies in your stomach the moment you meet someone, it implies you're in love with that person. Perhaps that was Mr. Hudson's impression of Scarlet when he first met her, despite the fact that she had an attitude. He was head over heels in love with his wife.

Scarlet Lopez was shameless, narrow-minded, possessive and a jealous bitch, when in fact she was the one who was flirting with another man. She despised me because I caught her kissing my boss’ best friend in his own office. She hated me because she thought I was seducing her husband.

I can still remember when we’re having a meeting in the conference room and Mr. Hudson asked me to get his phone in his office, where Scarlet was waiting for him to finish the meeting. When I opened the door, I was shocked at the sight in front of me.

My jaw dropped open, and my gaze froze on Scarlet's bouncing breasts, who was riding on top of Mr. Wood, my boss’ closest friend, on the couch. I blinked my eyes several times as I was trying to process what was going on. I felt like I was watching a live porn show at that moment.

I wanted to walk away and return to the conference room, but I was worried about what I would say to Mr. Hudson if I didn't have his phone with me. I desperately wanted to get away, but my feet were firmly stuck on the ground. I couldn't move because I was frozen in shock. But my hand moved to close the door so that no one could hear us from the outside.

"Mrs. Hudson…?" I covered my mouth with my hand to prevent myself from cursing. "What are you doing?"

Of course, they were having sex, damn it!

Scarlet hopped out from Mr. Wood and covered her bare body with a golden throw pillow she had taken from the couch before jumping out. "What are you doing here?" she screamed, casting a violent glare my way. She was red all over, but I couldn't tell if it was because she was embarrassed or because she hadn't finished her sexual activity with the man she was with.

"No!" I shouted back. "What are you doing with your husband's friend?" I drew my chin up and crossed my arms across my chest to express myself. "You're cheating on my boss!"

"Me, cheating on your boss?" She laughed like a witch, and I was on the edge of snatching her hair and pulling it tight until she became bald, but I was able to keep my hands on my sides, turning them into fists. "Or him being unfaithful to me by sleeping with you!"

"What?" I exclaimed, my eyes expanding at her accusation.

"Oh... don't even bother trying to deny it, bitch! I know you're trying to seduce my husband!" she shouted.

"Of course not, Mrs. Hudson!" I denied, and my eyes darted to her lover behind her, who was now putting his clothes back on in a hurry. "Mr. Hudson is my boss. I will never--"

"Miss Stone! What’s taking you so---" the door flew open and Tyler came rushing into the room, but he came to a halt when he spotted his wife, who was completely naked with only a throw pillow covering her body. Shit! You’re dead, bitch! "Scarlet…?"

And his gaze was drawn to the man at the back who was adjusting his slacks, pulling them up. "What the fuck is going on here?" Tyler's thunderous voice resounded throughout the room, and his eyes were ablaze with rage as he looked at his friend and his wife.

These people were stunned and unable to move from their positions. My gaze eventually switched to Scarlet, who became pale and her face and entire body became as white as a sheet of paper. Oh my my… it's quite a sight.

"Honey…" Scarlet drew closer to her husband, tears in her eyes. The fact that her make-up was ruined, the mascara staining her face, and she appeared to be a complete disaster made me want to burst out laughing. "Please let me explain..." She attempted to grip Tyler's arm, but he jerked her hands away from him as if he was burned by her touch.

"Don't you dare touch me..." he said firmly, his teeth clenched in frustration. He appeared to be disgusted with his own wife.

"Bro…" Mr. Wood tried to open his mouth to talk but before he could say anything else, Tyler attacked him and threw a punch on his face.

"Tyler… stop!" Scarlet cried as she blocked her body to stop Tyler from hurting her lover even more.

"Get out of my office," he said at first with a calm voice, but when the lovers didn't move, he became more enraged, making me flinch with nervousness. "Get out of my office right now!"

I stood there watching as the two scurried out of the room. Mr. Wood grabbed Scarlet's garments, and Scarlet was still clutching the throw pillow to her body to cover her nakedness. My boss was patient and kind, but when he became enraged, he had the ability to turn the entire building upside down.

Following that encounter, Tyler requested that I dispose every photograph of his wife that he had in his office, which I gladly agreed to do. It was advantageous for me since I cringed every time I walked into his office and was greeted by Scarlet's face.

And now, it was incredibly refreshing, in contrast to the previous time I entered his office and couldn't even take a breath.

In the days that followed, I didn't see Scarlet or Mr. Wood, not even their shadow in the building, and I soon discovered that Tyler had decided to leave his wife. That encounter was also the catalyst for Tyler's transformation into an ultimate playboy. He used to bring different girls into his office and have intercourse with them on the couch, on his desk. I could even hear them doing it in the bathroom.

His reputation as the most loving CEO in town was tarnished when he was exposed as a notorious playboy, and he became a news headline. He, on the other hand, couldn't care less. Nobody was able to stop him from carrying on with his activities.

I could tell from the way I looked at him that he hadn't completely moved on from his wife. I could see the redness in his eyes every time, which indicated that he had cried. And I vividly recall the time I was going to walk into his office to compel him to sign some documents when I heard him sobbing. He was broken, and I felt sorry for him.

I was the only person who understood what he was going through and how he was feeling after he decided to separate from his wife. I was also the only person who didn't judge him for being the playboy that he had become. My heart went for him. My heart cried for my boss.

The only question that was still running in my mind was, why didn't he divorce Scarlet yet?