“Emily, you remember that I mentioned setting you up with my cousin, Chris?” Tessa asks, and I nod, holding back a nervous cough.A deep sigh escapes her lips as she leans back into her chair. “Unfortunately, I just learned that his marriage had been long arranged. I’m so sorry.”I quickly wave a dismissive hand, chuckling. “That’s fine. Although, while I don’t see myself ever getting married to my boss, I do appreciate your concern and support.”“What’s wrong with marrying your boss?” Tessa smirks. “If anything, I think office romance is the best kind of romance.”I lift my hands in surrender. “Alright, I think you have had more than enough to drink,” I say, wiping the corner of my lips with a napkin.“You are no fun,” Tessa eyes me and I’m happy she knows I do not want to continue in the direction of that conversation.I remember that I had a twenty-page portfolio to study and lift my gaze. “Do you want me to drop you off?”“No,” Tessa answers. “I came with my family’s chauff
The moment I storm into my bedroom, I find my phone and quickly send a text to Tessa.“Are you home now?”It doesn’t take three minutes for her to reach me through a video call on WhatsApp.“I just finished taking my bath. What’s up?” Tessa struggles to position her phone camera on herself while she smears some moisturiser on her face and dabs it into her skin.“Is there a way that I can successfully make myself sick so I’m unable to get out of bed this weekend?” I ask her.Immediately, her hands still and she refocuses her gaze on me. Squinting her eyes, she asks, “What is going on? What are you trying to avoid?”A deep sigh escapes my lips as I pace up and down my room.“My parents have scheduled the weekend to meet with Austin and his family; the old man they arranged for me to marry since Brenda stole my boyfriend??” I have to make sure Tessa understands the implications of that meeting and I think she does.“Emily, unfortunately, I’m not a doctor or a health practitione
Christopher’s POV.What could be worse than having your favourite tailored suit ruined a few hours before an important interview?I am livid with anger as I watch the older woman bow and apologize to me profusely after spilling hot chocolate on the right sleeve of my jacket.“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to...” She said, tears already welling up in her eyes as passer-by cast their glances at us.My gaze turns frosty when she attempts to rub the spot with her hand. I quickly take a step back. “Don’t touch me!” I warn, my gaze narrowing at her.The woman started another round of apology and I walked away and headed for the elevator.I don’t know why people wouldn’t watch where they are going or their backs before making abrupt turns.My mood is dampened with my suit for the HAWA interview ruined. I need a new set of clean suits to change into before the scheduled time arrives.As soon as I get to my office, Emily walks in with my daily cup of espresso.“Good morn—.”“I don’t
Emily’s POV.“I have a confession to make,” I announce, once I get Christopher’s attention.Christopher’s brows furrow in confusion with a hint of impatience in his eyes. I bet he just wants me to get on with my confession fast so he can leave.I slip my hand into my purse and dig for the flash drive and surprisingly, I don’t feel anything. Instantly, fear grips me.My eyes widen in shock as I quickly shift my attention to my purse, taking out the items in it; lipstick, hand cream, and powder. I feel Christopher’s gaze on me and wonder what he must be thinking about me now. “I’m sorry, but please give me a minute,” I quickly throw him an apology and continue to frantically dig around my purse.Out from the corner of my eyes, Christopher leans away from his seat and stands. “Emily, in a minute, I will be out of this office.”Finally, he can’t put up with me anymore. Invisible tears streak down my cheek with me thinking that my reputation has barely anything left of it.Christo
“What?” I exclaim before I can get a hold of my tongue.I’m wondering if it’s the same TRANSCORP where I hold the same position she just mentioned that she is talking about or another one. Barbara eyes me, a smirk appearing at the corner of her lips. She seems to think that she’s got me seeing how she loves my reaction.“Which Transcorp are you talking about?” I know I shouldn’t be holding this conversation with Barbara as I want nothing to do with her, but I just want clarity on this matter.“Are you dumb?” she eyes me. “How many Transcorp are there in this world? And in case you have memory loss, which one did you go for the interview?” My mouth hangs open for a minute and the next moment, a pearl of laughter bursts through me from the pit of my belly.The grin on Barbara’s face immediately disappears as she stares at me like I have lost my mind.“Hahaha...” Even her facial expression amuses me. I can’t help but continue laughing until I stagger towards a rack of clothes. I
Barbara attempts something she thinks might be a sweet smile, but I find it disgusting.I am smart, and cannot be easily taken for a fool. From the introduction, I already understand what this meeting is all about, and that is enough reason to lock Barbara at the back of my mind.I dislike people who use their influence to request a position they do not in any way, deserve.“Hahaha...” Mr. Collins chuckles. “It’s understandable that you do not recognize my daughter. This is your first time meeting officially, also, there were about thirty candidates you interviewed on the same day, so you might not have taken note of her.”It doesn’t matter if Mr. Collins is implying that I’m not fit for my position for not recognising a face I interacted with for a few minutes or not. I also do not care if he has his doubts of the truth.“It can be hectic meeting a lot of people within a short time frame, especially when you are in a higher position.” Grandpa comes to my defence. “And let’s not
SATURDAY.Emily’s POV.“Emily, get off the bed now!” Mum orders as soon as she bursts into my bedroom.It’s not even up to 7 AM and for some reason, she wants me out of my bed. I groan and turn to my side.I had a hard time sleeping last night with my thoughts filled with Christopher and his reaction after watching my confession and the video evidence attached to it.My job is not safe until Christopher says so, so I can’t relax.On another hand, I fear that he might have replaced the hard drive, or forgotten to take a look at the contents.“Emily!!!” Mum’s raging voice pull me out of my deep thoughts.My eyes flutter open, and it takes them a moment to adjust to the bright lights coming from the parted curtains which I remember shutting before going to bed last night.“Good morning,” I greet tiredly as I try to sit up on the bed.“Good morning to you too!” Mum barks as she glares daggers at me. I wonder what I had done wrong this time around.I rub my eyes, asking, “How ca
I can barely recognize myself in the mirror when the make-up artist finally steps away from my face.According to mum’s order, she had made me look a bit mature with the powder and concealer just to fit Mr. Austin.I guess she is ashamed of the man just like I am for her to go to this extent.“I have a few jewellery pieces, I will bring them now,” Mum says to the makeup artist and leaves immediately. Few minutes later, she returns to my side with three different jewellery pieces “Which one would suit her outfit from amongst these pieces?” Mum inquiries, in deep contemplation. Then I see her eyes linger on the pearl necklace.A scoff escapes my lips. I would never have believed that she would one day care about my looks enough to give me something from her expensive jewellery collection if a day like today didn’t come by.Anyone who doesn’t know Mum will think she loves me so much and want me to be presentable, not knowing that she has a selfish reason behind her attitude.Some
“What’s funny?” Christopher asked in genuine confusion as he met my gaze, but I quickly shook my head, refusing to answer that question. “Nothing,” I smiled at him. “I shall return to my desk. Have a good day, Mr. Moore, and see you at your lunch.” As soon as I made my statement clear, I opened the door and walked out, shutting it with a soft thud. Then it took me a few moments to recover and adjust my emotions before making my way back to my office. Stella was eagerly waiting for my return which was evident from the way she leaned out of her table as soon as she saw me walk back in. “What is Mr. Moore’s excuse this time around?” she inquired with her gaze on me and I told her the exact reason Christopher gave to me. “Oh…” Stella drawled. She had a mixed expression at the news. While she was happy that Barbara wasn’t promoted because she was deserving of that position, she was still a bit dissatisfied with her. Just like me, she must be wondering if there wasn’t any other w
“I just stepped into the office this morning and learned the worst news in recent times since I started work at Transcorp,” Stella started, turning her full attention to me. And I can tell by the way her jaw flexed that she was trying hard to control her emotions. I pretended not to have any idea of what she was talking about just to be on the safer side and probed, “What bad news did you hear?” “Barbara Collins was promoted and moved from the secretary’s desk to the Management department. Didn’t you hear about it when you clocked in this morning?” Stella inquired, narrowing her eyes. I could tell she was just mad at the situation, and not at me, so there wasn’t any need for me to lie to her, especially when she was being so honest with me. “I heard about it,” I admitted as my shoulders naturally slumped. I’ve been tensed all morning since finding out the news, and I still felt that Christopher owed me some answers. “And you have no idea why she was given a promotion she didn
Emily’s POV. As the warm water from the shower splashes on my head and pours down my body, I can’t help but think about Christopher and what he was doing now. We didn’t have much time to ourselves at work today and standing under the shower only made me miss him more. Thoughts of Christopher occupied my mind until I turned off the shower and stepped back into my bedroom dressed in my pyjamas. And in my bid to quickly check my phone to see if there has been any text from him yet, I discovered that one of my bags which I returned from work with, was missing. My brows creased in worry as I began to think of the place where I must have left it because I am quite sure that I took both bags with me while leaving my office. “Did I leave it my car or...?” My thoughts immediately come to a halt when I finally remembered the last possible place where I might have left it. Almost immediately, anger consumed me as I opened my door and stormed out of my bedroom. I can’t imagine that I w
“Honey, you should know my sister doesn’t care about how long she has known this Christopher before deciding to marry him,” I said to Oliver, my tone dripping with honey. “So, she only cares about taking revenge on me?” Oliver asked, meeting my gaze with a scowl sitting on his face. He looked very displeased as if Emily didn’t have any right to do as she pleased with her life. I smirked to myself and slowly nodded in response, as innocence contoured my face. I have to sow more discord why pretending to be oblivious to them. “I believe that’s what she is thinking about. Also, like I said, this Christopher Moore is from the famous prominent Moore family. Emily will definitely pick him as her partner as along as she feels he’s better than you.” As I made that striking statement of indirectly calling Oliver inferior, I laughed inwardly as I watched him gnash his teeth from the corner of my eyes. But then, I had to go into another coughing fit as my expression grew weary. Almost i
Brenda’s POV.I have been sitting in my bedroom, impatiently waiting for Oliver to come find me since I heard of his arrival, but I have no idea of what has been keeping him downstairs. If I didn’t have to pretend to be totally helpless, I would have already found my way to the living room long ago. But as if Oliver could sense my displeasure, he knocked softly on my door and came in when I weakly approved. “Babe,” Oliver called me softly as he quickly rushed over to my side with concern laced in his brows. “How are you?” My eyes turned teary as I attempted to sit up on the bed, but he quickly assisted me saying, “You don’t have to struggle to do this while I’m here,” While I enjoy this, I can’t help but actually hope that his mind is still divided. It would be futile for him not to be concerned about Emily and her impending wedding after my efforts last night. I won’t even let it happen.“I have been waiting for your visit. What took you so long?” I asked weakly, allowing m
Emily’s POV.Work was a lot tasking today. I felt so exhausted that I could use a full body massage to relax my tensed nerves. But this is something only a phone call from Christopher would have solved. Sadly, he is pretty occupied today.As soon as I finished the last document I had to review for the day, I shut my computer and left the company, expecting to get home and get some rest only for me return home and see Oliver and his parents sitting in the living room chatting with Mum and Dad.Honestly, I had no idea the Jones’ would be in our house today even though Mrs. Jones had phoned Mum last night. Although I had heard Mum’s happy voice from the door as I walked a minute ago, it never occured to me that there were only a handful of people she invited home and had this kind of reaction with while chatting, and that the Jones should be the more appropriate family.My stomach churned, especially at the sight of Oliver. I don’t know why he still affected me so badly even though
Barbara was a bit uncomfortable with my out-of-the-blue question. Her lashes fluttered lightly as she looked towards her father for help, but he either didn’t see her since he wasn’t looking her way, or he pretended not to have seen her subtle gesture.Whichever one it was, I am still waiting for Barbara’s response because I won’t let her get away with this. Her actions are annoying and the sight of her is irritating.Seeing that she couldn’t get away with my interrogation she smiled sheepishly and returned her gaze back to me.“I took a half-day off from work today.”“Why?” I probed, leaning out of my seat with all manner of curiosity as a deafening silence hit the room. And I’m glad that everyone apart from Barbara knew better but to be silent.Barbara looked anywhere but at me as she answered my question. “I wasn’t feeling too well, but I’m all good now.”A scoff escaped my lips before I could gauge my reaction. Nothing infuriated me more than this woman’s nonchalance at my
THURSDAY. Christopher’s POV. Thursday was a busy day for me and I barely had the time to check on Emily. But to make up for it, I invited her to have lunch with me during lunch break. Emily looked a bit stunned by the offer as she set my food down. “I have my lunch already. Also, while it’s true that Stella won’t say anything since she knows we are together, we can’t disrupt the work ethic” Emily said to me with slightly furrowed brows. If this had been any other day, I would have let her escape unfortunately for her, I’m not in that mood, so I pinned my gaze to her and ask, “Are you sure you don’t want to have lunch with me, and would prefer eating with others?” I asked her that question, I rubbed my jaw subtly with my fingers and licked my lower lips without doing as much as blinking. How could Emily resist this temptation? I am not always proud, but some special occasions calls for it, like today. Emily let out a deep sigh and plopped herself on the couch.
Emily’s POV. “I see that you are happy and satisfied with your best friend,” Christopher said with his gaze on me as he crossed his leg over the other while sitting on a chair as Tessa and I walked into the room and shut the door. From the shameless attitude he displayed back in the dining room, I thought that I would see him on my bed by now, but it turned out that he could be a gentleman when he wanted. “Of course, she’s always proud of me,” Tessa jumped in before words could form in my mouth. “Are you jealous that you don’t have any good friend like they way we do?” “Who said I don’t have good friends? What do you take me for?” Christopher retorted. Meanwhile, Tessa pretended to think for a moment before saying, “Oh... I remember now. All your friends are living abroad, so you are back here alone and lonely.” Tessa wriggled her eyebrows playfully after finishing her remark and I bet she’s very proud of herself while Christopher remained unaffected with her teasing until th