High School Again: The President's Secret Lady Boss

Although last night ended with unexpected drama, Winter is still satisfied with how things turned out.

Lacey and Amanda failed to carry out Bianca's scheme. She's also able to make a strong impression on Jacob yet again. She feels like she's now a few steps ahead of them in this game of deceit.  And so, with a smile that she can't seem to drop, she makes her way to the office of her partner in crime. 

'I wonder what Sir Lexington will say about this.'

Another thing that pleases Winter today is that she no longer needs an authorized pass to go in and out of the headquarters. Cyrus showed interest in getting into a business partnership with the Lexington family this morning after receiving an invitation for Harold's homecoming party, and Grace entrusted her the task of learning more about them as part of her training. 

Now, Winter can enter and exit their headquarters without earning suspicions. This gets her feeling a bit proud of herself since she thinks that she's taken a step closer to Marcellus somehow. Then again, even Wynonna Snow herself still can't match a man of his caliber. 

'I mean, I always felt some sort of gap between us whenever I visited his workplace before. Now that I'm able to walk around here through my own efforts, I feel like I'm worthy enough to stand by his side,' she mused to herself.

Thinking that everything is going well so far, Winter is all sunshine and rainbows. That's until she finally reaches where Marcellus is and takes a peek inside his office.

The view that greets her has dampened her mood for some reason she doesn't want to admit. What came along with the sight of the man she went there for sitting behind his office desk was the presence of this beauty.

Winter found Marcellus together with a woman – a really, really gorgeous one.

She's standing before him with her back facing the door. Though she can't see her clearly, going by her voluptuous body and striking aura alone, she can already tell that she's not just any ordinary lady.

"I came because you're not answering any of my calls nor messages, President Lexington," the woman complained, seething in anger.

"Am I obliged to? How did you get my number, anyway?" he asked with an apathetic scowl.     

"Don't treat me like some stranger! I was your previous marriage interview partner! My father is a member of the board of directors!"

Winter feels like she's eavesdropping on a private conversation. Even then, she can't help but be intrigued. It's been a while since she last saw this kind of heated confrontation.

"Now that I think about it, it's around this time that Sir Lexington was pressured to get a marriage partner-"

"Ms. Winter Middleton?"

"Kyaaa!"

All of the sudden, someone called her from behind. She jolts in surprise before turning around to see who it is. There, she finds the conglomerate president's one and only secretary.

Claude is now standing before Winter.

"Oh, I'm sorry for surprising you, Ma'am. I wasn't informed that you'd be visiting…" he started and smiled. 

"By the way, why aren't you going in?"

"Oh, ummmm…" she hesitated, glancing inside again. 

"Sir Lexington is talking with someone at the moment." 

"The President is?"

Claude didn't know this since their schedule for this hour was supposed to be empty. No one booked an appointment. Marcellus even insisted to have this time unoccupied – probably because he was expecting that Winter would visit. 

When he takes a peek inside and sees the scene for himself, he can't help but heave an exhausted sigh.

"Oh, another one came, huh?" Claude said in dismay.

"What do you mean? Does this thing often happen these days? I really had no idea since I hadn't been here for a while," Winter asked, a little concerned.

"Well, uhhh… Since the President's uncle is coming soon, he'll have to decide who to marry. So, he started having visitors more often than before. Most of them are the higher-ups' relatives or close acquaintances. They're mostly women who are desperate to catch the President's attention. This one, for instance, is one of those who sent a request to have a marriage interview with him."     

"Oh, I see."

Getting the impression that Winter doesn't seem to be that bothered, Claude feels like elaborating the situation more. 

He knows for a fact that Marcellus has been keeping his marriage plans to himself for a while now, and he's aware that it's because he already has someone he wants to propose to in the future. However, seeing the person in question not at all that bothered by all these women who've been throwing themselves all over him, he suddenly feels sorry for him. 

"May I tell you something, Ms. Middleton…?" Claude continued, making Winter look at him and nod in response.

"There's a reason why many people have their eyes on the President like this. That's because he no longer has any family members other than his uncle and grandparents. There are his distant relatives from their family branches, but at this point, they're not qualified to compete with him. That being said, all of his current assets, properties, belongings, and everything else he owns – he doesn't have anyone to share them with. He has undivided riches."

Winter isn't astonished to hear that because she already knows that Marcellus is the one and only heir. However, what she's astonished about is when Claude goes on to say more things regarding his past. 

"The truth is, his parents abused and abandoned him when he was younger. There's more to that story that I think you should hear straight from him. But basically, he had it tough at such an early age. Apart from his uncle and grandparents, he couldn't trust anyone else, and when he became the official successor, things became worse. One moment he was abandoned, then on the next he was getting all sorts of unwanted attention. Some tried to please him, others wanted to get rid of him…" he explained solemnly.

"In the end, President Lexington decided to stand on his own feet – never relying on anyone, undergoing an intense series of training, using underhanded means to stay on his top shape, and handling the conglomerate as soon as he's out of college." 

The more she gets to hear, the more painful the sting in her heart becomes.

Before Winter knows it, she's starting to tear up a bit. Her heart aches for Marcellus – not because she can see parallels in their situation, but because she feels that he'd been through worse and was trying to hide it all this time.

She didn't know that he was abused and abandoned. All she knew was that he no longer had any contact nor connection with his parents.

It explains why he's going as far as tricking people. He grew up with trust issues. Those who're supposed to take care of him had certainly been a bad influence. Now, he's left alone in a world where most people around him are only after his good qualities. 

She also heard it right – that there are some who even try to dispose of him.

Not only does he have these heavy responsibilities laying on top of his shoulders and a sense of loneliness that makes him shut the world off, but he also faces those kinds of dangers. No matter how she sees it, these are all too much for one to take.

'Sir Lexington trusts Sir Claude like his own brother, though. He has him at least. I know that because he used to talk about him from time to time…' Winter thought while she looked at Claude with gratitude and relief.

'This past of his really does play a big role in how he treats and sees others. He must've developed some kind of fear and a strong sense of distrust. Also, he once mentioned that flirting around with women like what he used to was more of a job than a habit. Does this have something to do with his past, too?'

Winter understands why Marcellus never told her these things before. 

He is always looking out for her every single time, after all. In the previous timeline, she didn't get to know much about his younger years. She thought that it's only because he's just that reserved and detached – that it's just his true personality.

But she should've at least considered that this personality of his was caused by the scars of his past. 

"I'm not giving up on you, just so you know!"

Winter and Claude are taken aback when the doors flew open out of nowhere. 

The woman stormed out of the office, making them step aside in a hurry. Winter was caught off guard when Claude grabbed her wrist and hid her behind him – she felt like this also happened before. Right then, their unwanted visitor turned in their direction, looking so exasperated that she seemed ready to explode.

"You! You're his assistant, right?! Make sure to leave his schedule empty this weekend-"

"I'm afraid to say that I can only follow the President's orders," Claude cut her off immediately, finding it a struggle to stay polite when she ordered him as if she was his boss.

"I don't care! If you won't do that, I'll keep coming back here until he agrees to marry me!"   

With that, the woman finally takes her leave and stomps away.