1 The upper echelons

The moment he stepped inside, the man squatted on the floor, clutching his stomach, ''Ah…'' a feminine voice left 'his' mouth as tears pooled in the pair of downcast eyes. 

The blonde coloured wig slipped to the floor and long dark hair cascaded down till.

'Dexter', the young man that had been socializing with the crowd outside, ceased to exist as the persona was revealed by that of a young lady. 

Daisy Chen, the real identity and face to the alibi 'Dexter'.

Daisy did not know how long she squatted there, clutching her hair with one hand and caressing her stomach with the other before she inhaled a deep breath and pushed herself to her feet. 

She locked the washroom door and walked back to stand in front of the mirror. She grabbed her wig from the floor and she immediately repositioned it on her head before hiding and tucking her long fingers under it. 

''That jerk!'' she cursed the man who was putting her through this fiasco. 

It was supposed to be weekend for her where she stayed home rather than walking around in some ballroom, observing the interactions of the higher echelons so that her devil of a boss could have some intel. 

And worse of the worst, her body seemed to be acting strange since the moment she stepped out of her place in Los Angeles and came to New York in her boss' private jet. She recognized the familiar pain engulfing her body. It was her period, another fucker that was supposed to knock after five days, not this early, and most importantly, not under these circumstances. 

''Fucker!" she cursed as she washed her hands before sleeking her wig back. She grabbed a few tissues and dabbed them to wipe the cold sweat on her forehead. 

''Looks like the environment is not suitable for the lady.'' 

'Click' 

Daisy stiffened. 

The door to one of the cubicles opened as a man walked towards her. With an aloof expression on his face, he eyed her closely. 

Daisy looked at the man in astonishment. She was in so much pain when she stepped inside the washroom that she forgot to check if there was someone in the cubicles. It was quiet around the place and that had made her assume that there was no one in there.

"I don't know what you are talking about,'' Daisy switched her tone back to that of a man even though she knew it was too late for that. 

''You have some nice skills though,'' the man coldly stated as he washed his hand, ''I don't know what you do but you can consider working for me. I will pay you well.'' 

''No thanks,'' Daisy turned to leave. 

''My company's headquarters is situated in Beijing but there are several branches of my company in US. So, I happen to be here. If you want, I will take you in and pay you well.'' 

Daisy turned to look at the man, ''I don't know what gave you the impression that I am in desperate need for your employment opportunity but trust me, I am not,'' As soon as she finished speaking, she left the place without letting the man respond to her words.

Once she was back into the ballroom, she glanced behind herself and sighed in relief noticing that the man had not followed. 

Even if he saw through her disguise, they had no connections. This was probably their first and last meeting hence her secret was safe. 

No one would know that she was not a man, but a woman. 

''Dexter?" 

Daisy stiffened when she heard a feminine voice, calling out her alibi's name. 

She was Daisy Chen, the heiress of one of the most influential aristocratic families in Beijing. But it has been years since she last embraced that identity and made a public appearance. Away from the toxicity of her family, she made a name of herself. 

Dexter, that was the name she went by in the hacking world. And that also became the identity she had assumed during her job two years ago. 

When she left the job, she thought she did not have to pretend to be 'Dexter' anymore, but never once did she think that two years later, she would find herself back in the same position, being that devil's secretary yet again. 

She was still unused to the sound of it. 

''Dexter, I know it's you. What are you avoiding me for?" The woman raised her voice, gaining the attention of a few people who were mingling around them. 

Daisy turned around to look at the woman who was approaching her while sipping wine from her glass and immediately, the gears in her head started turning when she saw the slightly familiar appearance. 

Who was this woman?