Beneath the Billionaire’s Mask

Zoey Brown arrived at Miller Corp., it was approximately three hours before the store's closing time. Dressed in her workout clothes, she had not intended to come in today. "Good morning," Aria said snarkily during the greeting, and Zoey rolled her eyes.

"Good afternoon, Aria, and how are you?" With a grin on her face, Zoey responded to the question.

When Zoey entered the building, Aria grimaced and looked up from the file she had been pretending to be working on. Even though Zoey lacked sweetness sometimes, she was lovely today. Aria and Zoey were constantly exchanging clever comments with one another. Aria remarked, "You appear to be in a pleasant mood today," while a faint smile appeared.

Zoey did nothing more than chuckle and shake her head. "Is Mr. Miller here?" Aria laughed in response to her question.

"Had he left earlier in the morning, say at eight o'clock? A man named Ryan Hall came to visit him, and ultimately, the two of them left the building together. He requested that I cancel all his appointments and meetings scheduled for today." During Aria's explanation, she uttered a mocking comment each time the name Ryan Hall came up.

She was not yet prepared to deal with David Miller, so Zoey sighed in relief when she learned that there was very little information about his absence. "I guess we have Ryan Hall to thank, then. I'm sure you extended your lunch break by another hour." Aria scowled as Zoey pondered quietly in the background.

In an irritable tone, Aria stated, "I don't have to thank him for anything." Zoey had to take a deep breath to contain her laugh. Aria would have boasted about a handsome man named Ryan Hall, who had arrived at the office searching for David Miller. This scenario would have occurred regularly. In the past, she would have commented on his voice, gait, or attire, but that's not the case today.

"What did he do?" In a matter of seconds, Aria began and completed her story in a single breath, all in response to Zoey's inquiry. "Wow, what a brave person," remarked Zoey.

Aria muttered under her breath, "The jerk," causing Zoey to burst into laughter. "Anyway, there are some messages for Miss Miller." Her words came as she flipped through the files on her desk until she discovered what she was looking for: "Here." She presented several envelopes and cue cards to Zoey.

"These are invitation cards to some charity events; I don't know why they keep insisting on sending them when they know she won't be attending," Zoey said before placing the envelopes on the desk. "Next time you receive envelopes like these, please discard them; Miss Miller's important messages that come through the mail are usually confidential." A sigh came out of her mouth, and she shook her head as she scanned the cue cards. "I'll respond to all these people." According to her, she then placed the cards in her sling bag. "Any messages for me?" She inquired as if she was not expecting a response.

This is the only one. Give me a moment, please. After saying that, Aria started searching her desk for a message. Zoey grimaced as she pondered the possibility of someone leaving her a message. "Aha!" Aria yelled out in surprise as she pulled a shredded envelope from the corner of a stack of files. As Aria took the envelope, Zoey narrowed her eyes at her. Although the envelope appeared strangely familiar, Zoey could not place it where she had seen it previously. When she removed the document from the package, a sudden realization dawned on her as she remembered the resignation letter she had given to Olivia. "Miss Miller stated, and I quote: 'When Zoey Brown returns, tell her to start looking for a replacement for Miss Davis, or find someone else to do the job if she's tired of working for me.'" Aria cautiously spoke but was shocked when Zoey laughed again.

"I'll get on it," Zoey answered. "Good luck!"

"Getting you a replacement?" Ms. Aria asked, perplexed.

"I am in the process of finding someone to replace Miss Davis. If Olivia thinks she can quickly get rid of me, she is greatly mistaken, as she cannot escape my presence, girl." With a flip of her hair, Zoey made her statement.

Aria gazed at her, her lips agape. "All right, tell me this: what are you doing today?" "You will explode from the sheer amount of joy you are experiencing." Aria inquired with a grimace that eventually transformed into an expression of excitement. "Is it a man?" Excitedly, she inquired about it.

"Yes and no," Zoey responded with a blush. "I found my brother, and we are meeting for dinner tonight!" Because she was unable to suppress her joy, she let out a squeal.

"Zoey, that is fantastic news! Can you tell me his name, and how did you find him? What is he like?" Aria asked.

He is known by the name Xander Gomez. He is a wealthy businessman. He is the father of two children, a boy and a girl; they are identical twins, and I found out that they are in their teens." Zoey exclaimed with pleasure, "However, I haven't met him yet; I was communicating with him through his secretary." The brightness in her eyes was fading away as she spoke.

"Oh!" Aria observed her with a sardonic expression, murmuring under her breath.

"I don't know, but sometimes he treats this situation like a business deal. This is very important to me. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for something like this. After learning about him from my late adoptive parents, I was determined to find him. However, now that I've finally found him, I feel as though he's already slipping away from me before I've had a chance to grasp him." Aria resisted the impulse to hug Zoey and held her hand from across the desk instead. At that moment, Zoey was able to express everything that was going through her mind.

Your brother may be anything, but I'm sure he wants this as much as you do. Listen, I don't know what type of guy he is. Don't give up hope, all right?" Aria murmured in a friendly tone, gently stroking her hand.

With a slight smile on her face, Zoey nodded her head. "Thanks, Aria; I needed this." She said this while wiping away her tears.

"You are welcome." Happily, Aria let out a chirp.

"You are quite nice when you are not being cheeky." Zoey grinned broadly and scowled as she laughed.

Aria flipped her blonde hair and said, "I know," causing Zoey to burst into laughter. Once Aria admitted, "You are quite nice when you are not being cheeky, too," they fell silent for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Oh, my God!" As she clutched her stomach, Zoey let out a moan. Upon hearing her phone ringing, she displayed the screen to Aria and remarked, "I have to take this." After giving her a nod, Aria excused her. "Hello?" Zoey answered a phone call. "Oh!" She said that the information she had received was causing her expression to darken. She could not stop the tears from falling down her face as they began to slide down her cheeks.

"Zoey, are you OK?" With concern, Aria inquired. After lowering her phone from her ear, Zoey carelessly threw it into her bag and, despite her best efforts, let out a stifled sob. In a state of terror, Aria made her way around her desk and stood where Zoey stood. "Hey, what is the matter?" She asked about it.

"He just canceled on me," Zoey remarked through her tears. "I was disappointed." "His assistant called and told me that Mr. Gomez could not make it for tonight's dinner." As her sobbing became more intense, Aria embraced her and comforted her.

"Oh, Zoey, I'm so sorry." Aria offered her some solace because she knew how important this evening was for Zoey. Only a few moments had passed since she had been eagerly anticipating her brother's arrival, and now she was utterly devastated by his decision to cancel on her. There was a possibility that her brother was preoccupied with something of critical importance; nonetheless, it seemed to her that he had no desire to meet her.

"What the hell is this?" An angry shout resounded across the floor as David approached the front desk, where two women hugged one another. Everyone could clearly hear David's loud voice. Aria trembled and glared at him with a frown. "Don't shush me; this is not a show!"

"David." Aria attempted to warn him, but Zoey had already escaped from her arms and turned to face David. David's eyes opened at the sight, and he immediately disapproved of his conduct. Aria's attempt to warn him was unsuccessful.

"Zoey!" He mumbled something and ran his hand through his blonde hair, which was already a mess.

"Yeah, shit!" He flinched in response to Zoey's tone. "Go screw yourself, David!" She exited the building and pushed her way between Ryan and another man. She snapped and shoved him aside before leaving the building alone.

"What is wrong with her?" David inquired of Aria, who gave him an annoyed look and stared at him.

Her laughter was acrid, and she ran her tongue over her teeth. Aria shook her head coolly, "That's what you should have asked the moment you walked in on us." "You should have asked that." She avoided him and hurried out to follow Zoey, but not before she ran into Ryan and his other buddy. It was then that she encountered them.

As they watched her leave, the two men turned to David with expressions that suggested they were curious.