"I REALLY love your eyes, Charity," Sandy said to me as she continued to stare at my face. "How I wish I could marry someone with that color of eyes." She pursed her lips before she went back with her plate of spaghetti. 

Sandy and I were having lunch together at a famous fast food chain in front of the VGC tower. 

It's been a week since I started working as Xander's secretary. So far, after the coffee mess I made on my first day at work, everything went smoothly for me. I even became friends with Sandy. She was kind and fun to talk to. 

Of course, when she asked me something about myself, I told her the same story I said to Xander—that I was forced to go back to the Philippines because of my father. 

"With your looks, you could easily enter the showbiz," she said to me as she picked up a tissue and wiped it on the corner of her lips. Then she took a sip on her soft drink. "You're really beautiful, Charity."

I pursed my lips. "Well, thank you. But I don't like the limelight, Sandy." I winced as I imagined myself in front of the camera. 

She shook her head. "I still couldn't believe your father did that to you. He's heartless."

No. He's nothing but the best, I wanted to say but I stopped myself. 

Guilt crept into my system as I looked at Sandy who was sitting in front of me. I felt sorry again for lying to her. If only she'd known, my father was a very kind man. 

"Oh, look. There's Sir Xander and Sir Austin." 

I turned my head to the direction she's looking at. From the glass panel of the fast food restaurant we were eating at, I saw Xander Villarama and his cousin Austin enter an Italian restaurant across from us. 

"Gosh, they're both handsome." I heard Sandy mutter with a sigh. I silently agreed with her. The Villarama cousins almost have the same features. Only Xander has softer features than Austin who looked really intimidating and brooding. I never once saw him smile. 

So yeah, Xander Villarama was a hundred fold more good looking for me than his cousin Austin. 

My eyes continued to follow Xander until he disappeared from my sight.

"Especially Sir Xander," Sandy sighed dreamily as she finally tore her eyes from the Italian restaurant across from us. "Everytime he smiles and waves his dimple, I feel like my ovaries are exploding." 

I gave Sandy a horrified look. She just grinned at me. "What? Don't you feel the same way, Charity?" 

I pursed my lips. "Fine. He's really handsome. But I've seen a lot of more gorgeous men than him," I said in a casual tone. Of course, I didn't want people to find out that I was head over heels in love with Xander Villarama and the reason I applied for the job was because of that. 

"Really?" She cocked her brow at me before pouting her lips a little. "Well… you're pretty so it's not surprising if you've been surrounded by good looking men in Greece." Her eyes slanted at me. "Wait. Do you have a brother?" 

I nodded at her. "Half-brother."

Her eyes widened. "Do you have a picture of him?" 

I took out my phone. I browsed through my gallery and showed her a photo of me and my brother Conrad with our father. It was taken last Christmas. The three of us were matching red outfits. 

Sandra gasped. "This is your brother? Gosh. He's like a Greek God, Charity."

I just pursed my lips. "Well, he's a playboy." Most of the Alinskys were physically gifted in the looks department. Half of the male population in Greece were good looking, but for me, no one could beat Xander Villarama. My eyes... they were only for him. 

"You both looked like your father." 

I chuckled lightly. "Yeah. Except for the height." I looked like a midget compared to them. 

"You looked pretty close to them in this picture." Sandy commented. 

I bit my lower lip. "Uh… that was before. When everything was still okay between us." I gave her a small smile as I put back my phone in my bag. 

"I'm sorry, Charity," Sandy said in a small voice. She placed her hand on top of mine and gave me a little smile. "If you want someone to talk to, I'm just here, okay?" 

"Thanks, Sandy." Damn. She's really a nice person. And I felt guilty for the lies I told her. 

We stayed there for a moment before we left the store. I even ordered a bag of fries that I'd brought back to the office. 

"This is Mr. Xander Villarama's secretary, may I know who's on the other line?" I said as I picked up the ringing phone on my desk. 

Aside from making him coffee every morning, most of my task here as his secretary was to screen phone calls for him. 

During the five days I've worked with him, I witnessed how Xander works, and I couldn't say that he was really deserving of his position in his family's company. 

I didn't even need to remind him of his appointments. Being his secretary was easy compared to what I do back in my office in Greece. 

He never goes to work late. He was organized and hands-on with his job. On top of that, he treats his employees well. He was a real leader. 

"I'll just schedule you a meeting with Mr. Madrigal on Wednesday. Two pm sharp."

I told the finance manager on the line before I put down the phone. I opened the laptop on my table and wrote down the appointment there. 

I shifted my swivel chair before I opened the bag of French fries on my desk. I love French fries. Since I was in high school, this food has always been my guilty pleasure. 

I was checking the meeting minutes I made earlier this morning while eating my fries. I picked up a piece of fries and was dipping it in the ketchup when I noticed Xander was back from his lunch with Austin. He was already a few meters away from me. 

I immediately put the piece of fry in my mouth before picking up the tissue to wipe my head. Then I put the bag of fries inside the drawer of my desk. I wasn't sure if he allows eating in the workplace but I didn't want him to catch me eating. 

Xander stopped in front of me. “Charity."

"Sir?" I said in a casual voice. Over the past days, I've already learned how to control my emotions in front of him. 

I found him looking straight at my face, especially at my lips. 

I cleared my throat. "Uh… do you need anything, Sir?" Why was he looking at me like that? Was there something wrong with my face? 

He lightly shook his head. Then I watched him as his brows furrowed a little. "What have you been eating?"