The CEO's Rented Wife

At the Thousand Steps Beach..

It had been a very hectic day for all the employees of Wang Fashion House. Miss. Sparklet Johnson took rest for an hour after the accident, and was involved in a number of shoots after that. A few convincing words from Wang and Smith, witty words from uncle Jack and an apology from Lina convinced the actress to continue with her work. Chunhua tried her best to convince Wang to fire the crimson haired personal assistant, but failed. What bothered her the most was.. Aunt Ning's sympathy towards Lina. This behavior was totally opposite to Ning's nature.

Sun was about to set. Everyone was busy in setting the equipment and arranging for the apparel and accessories that were planned for the final shoot of the day. The soothing sounds of the waves, coolness that the evening brought and the beautiful view of the setting sun created a breathtaking atmosphere. It was one of those moments that make you think that you should be watching more sunsets than Netflix.

Lina sat on a bench at a side as she looked at everyone setting up the equipment, the clothing and the makeup stuff. John looked like he would fall down any time due to tiredness from all the hard work he had been doing all day.

Lina wanted to be a part of every important task related to the shoots but was ordered to take rest by her boss, Wang. Moreover, aunt Ning's presence ensured that she didn't listen to any other order accept for her boss's.

Uncle Jack and Ning were still present at the beach, after Jack was able to successfully convince his wife to stay there and witness the Hollywood's topmost actress's shoot. He would walk to the actress and flirt with her whenever he would get a chance.

Mrs. Dongmei, Lina's mother, who still sat in the car, watched everything that had happened. She called Lina a few times on her mobile, but Lina did not respond to her calls. Her son, Jimmy, was at the beach as he managed the technical team that worked inside a vanity van. Dongmei gave a call on her son's mobile and asked him to escort Lina to her car. She wanted to talk to Lina as soon as possible.

Jimmy walked out of the vanity and walked towards Lina. Lina's fear of uncertainty rose again.

Jimmy spoke as soon as she reached near Lina. "Mother called. She wants to talk to you immediately. Why don't you pick up her phone calls? You have to be more careful from now on," instructed Jimmy as he bent down to check Lina's injured foot. He did not want any team member to doubt them. "Now, do as I say. Tell Wang that your injured foot is bothering you and you want to call it a day. I will, then, offer a lift in my car to you.. before Wang.. and you will agree to come with me," instructed Jimmy.

"Err.. I don't think I should be doing this. I have to stay with Mr. Wang until he remains at the workplace. He would not like this. Plus, I am too tired to talk to anyone… even if she happens to be my mom," sighed Lina as her irritation was clearly visible on her face.

"You don't have a choice. If you want to be safe from Wang's plans, do as I say," chided Jimmy as he looked at the scene of the shoot. He was immediately alarmed when he saw Wang, Smith, Chunhua and Mrs. Ning walking towards him. "Look! They are here. Don't do or say anything that could prevent me and mom from protecting you from these people," warned Jimmy.

Smith spoke as soon as all of them reached the place where Lina sat. "Hey girl! How's the foot now?" smiled Smith.

"Fine.. err.. Umm.. I mean.. it is still bothering me," stammered Lina as she reminded herself of Jimmy's words. She shifted her gaze towards Wang and spoke. "Ahmm! Mr. Wang, would it be fine with you.. if I take a leave for the rest of the day and give a little rest to my foot?" said Lina.

Jimmy was pleased with Lina's performance and her submission to his will. He eagerly waited for Wang's response.

"You can go home now," replied Wang.

As preplanned, Jimmy spoke in front of all of them. "Mr. Wang, I would drop her to her home. I don't think she would be able to walk much." Jimmy spoke with an innocent expression.

Aunt Ning had other plans in her mind. She wanted Lina to spend as much time with Wang, as possible. And what could be a better opportunity than this? She winked at Jimmy, whom she considered as her trustworthy employee, and spoke.

"That's a very good point, Jimmy. Lina should be given some time to rest. And, she should not be walking much. Jimmy, I think you should get back to the vanity van. I need to discuss the company's website design with you. Wang will drop Lina to her home," smiled Ning.

Jimmy was not happy, but he had no other option but to follow Ning's order. "Sure, Mrs. Ning. I'll wait for you in the vanity van," he replied as he began to walk back.

Jimmy messaged Dongmei telling her what had just happened. Dongmei was not happy. She drove away from the scene in anger.

Wang was surprised at aunt Ning's sudden decision. "I'll ask Robin to drop Lina to her home," said Wang.

"No! I think you should go along with her," insisted Ning. "You need some rest too. Smith and Chunhua will stay here and manage everything," ordered Ning.

Smith giggled at aunt Ning's brilliant idea. 'Wicked!' he thought as he gestured his friend and his business partner, Wang, to take Lina along with him.

For Chunhua, it was a day filled with frustration and confusion. 'Why is Ning behaving so weirdly?' she thought. "Errr.. Smith will drop Lina to her home.. and I'll stay with Wang. We have to discuss some important issues," Chunhua tried to set everything according to her wishes.

"No, my dear.. Chunhua. Let Wang take some rest as well. You should be staying here with Smith at the hotel, and Wang will travel back to the city with Lina," insisted Ning.

Smith could not be happier. "Yes! Yes! Chunhua will stay with me," he giggled. "Wang, I think you should go now. It is about to be dark. I'll see you at the office tomorrow. You don't have to worry about anything. Entire team's stay is at a hotel nearby. Chunhua and I will manage all," smiled Smith.