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Chapter 6 - Professionals in the banquet
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 7 - Getting back together
**One month later** Arielle woke up late. She had slept past 3 am after completing the report she wanted to discuss with Thomas that day. It was Friday, and she wanted to get some things out of the way before she could relax for the weekend. Arielle had the unhealthy habit of being too engrossed in her work and forgetting about her health and everything else. The more work there was, the more she would work off on adrenaline, making herself extremely tired by the end of each grueling project. She shut her eyes as she leaned in the elevator and yawned behind her palm. She was aware of the people looking at her wide-eyed as if she were an alien. Arielle could feel a few unfriendly gazes on her, but she ignored them. She had almost two decades of experience in ignoring hostile looks. However, what prompted her to open her eyes a crack was a feeling of someone stealing peeks at her as if she was a precious treasure, and they were afraid of disturbing her. She ignored that as well
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 8 - Fling, ex-girlfriend, ex-CEO
**Three months later** Thomas and Arielle were living in their high. Their work was going exceedingly well. They were practically living together. No one knew of the secret fling. They were happy and content with each other. However, the company was in chaos. Arielle was good at her job. She had accurately flagged most of the employees hired through back-doors - using connections or due to sucking up to others, rather than their workability. She had, similarly, flagged troublesome projects likely to end up as a liability. There were a lot of peaceful and forced exits and contract breaches in the last three months. That led to a series of unrest among the employees. The internal stir and tense environment had Arielle and Thomas cracking their heads. It was evident that people were let go due to their incompetence. As such, people hired on merit and doing their work well need not have panicked, but unfortunately, that was not the case. Arielle suspected that someone could be
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 9 - Threats and attacks 1
Arielle was leaning against the counter while her espresso brewed when Emma arrived. “You! Make me a cup of coffee!” Emma ordered Arielle like she would order her servants at home. For Emma, her employees were nothing better than her servants. Being the oldest child, the only child for the first five years, and the only girl in the family, she had been excessively spoiled. No one in her family corrected her attitude as it went from bad to worse as PGI flourished. Emma’s grandmother was the only one who would not tolerate her behavior, even with her husband speaking on behalf of the kids. Perhaps, Emma and Thomas had different personalities despite being siblings because of their grandmother. Thomas had stayed with his grandparents since he was young because he disagreed with his elder sister, which led to constant fights. Emma would avoid anyone in the family who tried to discipline or contradict her. Hence, Thomas lived with his Grandma rather than his parents. Arielle ignore
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 10 - Threats and attacks 2
Seeing Sophia coming toward them, Arielle smiled at Thomas and said, “Go take a long piss or something!” Thomas was dumbfounded. “Excuse me!” Arielle said without changing her expression, “I see Sophia Green making her way here. Let me talk to her in private.” Thomas frowned but did not turn his head. He left after saying, “Whatever she says, don’t take it to heart. I will give you an explanation later.” Arielle frowned but nodded before he left. Arielle acted unconcerned and started playing with her phone as if she had not seen Sophia. “May I take this empty chair?” Sophia asked, emphasizing the word empty. Without waiting for a reply, she took Thomas’s chair and tea as if she was marking her territory. Arielle kept her phone aside and said coldly, “Miss Green, I have company as should have been evident by the teacup on the table and the coat hanging on the chair.” Sophia sneered aloud, “Miss Ward, why are you so hostile towards me? I am here to offer an olive branch.” Arie
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 11 - Break up
**Three weeks later** Arielle had all the proof to sue both Emma and Sophia. When she was about to take action, Thomas’s mother, Emelia Payna, approached her. It derailed her plans. Emelia threatened to make her disappear if found entangling with Thomas, who was due to marry Sophia. Arielle waited for two weeks for an explanation from Thomas, but he did not say a word. Thomas merely explained that Sophia was the girlfriend he had at college, the one who had tried to use him without knowing his identity. Thomas had assured Arielle that he did not have any feelings for Sophia, he had not had any in years, and Sophia was nothing to him. But he could tell something was bothering Arielle. His worries came true when he arrived in her apartment to see candlelight dinner, wine, and a table full of his favorite dishes. “What’s wrong?” He asked straightaway. “It’s scary how well you know me,” Arielle laughed bitterly. “El, what is it?” He panicked. “Let’s break up!” She said, looki
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 12 - Rumor Mills
**Two weeks later** The second last Monday of Arielle’s contracted time in PGI proved to be a difficult one. Emma and Sophia had managed to collate some ‘evidence’ against Arielle and were determined to push her to the abyss. As soon as lunch break started, the main LCDs on the reception hall and the cafeteria blew up. A video, composed of a few small clips strung together, was played in a loop. Emma and Arielle were having an altercation in the break room that ended with Emma dumping hot coffee on Arielle. Arielle left the office without informing anyone. Since there was no audio, people only saw Arielle ignoring Emma and being disrespectful. Emma was, after all, a Payne, former CEO of PGI, and current Managing Director. Arielle was just a specially recruited contracted employee. Worse still, she seemed to be dating the CEO, sleeping her way to the top. The next video showed Sophia apologizing and begging Arielle while the latter only had a disdainful, indifferent expression
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 13 - Mid-year Banquet 1
Arielle spent the entire week drowned in insults and jabs aimed at her, but she was too busy to care. A few people were in awe of her indifference and ability to endure. While a bunch of people thought she was too shameless to care. The majority, however, kept their opinions to themselves. Unbeknownst to them, Arielle was listening to everyone and keeping note of overly verbose people. A part of her job was cleaning the company, which meant she had to root out the bad apples. This rumor had helped Arielle by creating an environment of conflict. It was a chance to evaluate people’s characters. Arielle disliked people who thrived on gossip and other people’s misery without empathy or remorse. She would include them on her list of toxic people ruining the work culture. It was up to Thomas what he wanted to do with them. Finally, the day of the banquet came. Arielle showed up with a date who happened to be the man whose hotel room she had entered in one of those videos. It thr
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 14 - Mid-year Banquet 2
The hall was still silent as everyone processed what was going on. Arielle, the one slandered the entire week, was friends with Evan, the top jewelry designer of Soul Jewelry, the most unique and best jewelry brand in the world. She had purchased a 10 million dollars worth of necklace for her 5-year-old goddaughter. Emma Payne and Sophia Green, the rich kids born with silver-spoon, were involved with the case of fake jewelry and bribing and threatening. Emma recovered and threw the necklace at the floor, which not unexpectedly broke to reveal a small chip with a glowing red dot. Sophia was shivering and looked ghastly. As if on cue, a police officer, accompanied by the manager, came looking for Miss Sophia Green. Arielle interjected as Sophia started to make a scene. “Officer, why don’t you have dinner and wait for a while? I also have to sue Miss Green. It might save time for you as well. Please!” Arielle said respectfully. The officer nodded, and the manager himself brought
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One night stand gone wrong Chapter 30 - The last one
**6 months later** John dropped Brenda off at the police station and returned to Thomas and Arielle’s. Everyone was waiting for him except Brenda, Rick, and the kids. “Ideas, guys, ideas! How should I propose to her?” John paced back and forth. “I have no clue, buddy. I told Rick that my parents said getting married on Friday brings good luck. We registered two days later, on Friday.” Joe shrugged. “Most lame-ass proposal ever!” John looked at him in disdain. “Mat did not even ask me. He asked Belle to pick the wedding theme for us and plan for the winter wedding. We were at the dinner table, she squealed, and that was that. Damn! I got tricked.” Arabella said. John was at a loss, “Yes, you got cheated. And you are not helpful!” He looked at Thomas; the latter just shrugged. Arielle had a thoughtful look on her face. She caressed her pregnant belly and said, “Baby, your father has never proposed to me.” And she started crying. Thomas caressed and coaxed her while shooting a gl
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 29 - The hungry hormones 2
Thomas decided not to overthink things and enjoy his wife’s enthusiasm. He told others they were taking an impromptu vacation for a week. Their friends did not even have to think to know that they were going on a honeymoon. Everyone knew that they had started to plan for their last baby, and what better way to make another human than to do it like bunnies. When Adrian came from school, Thomas told him that he and his mother would be going away for a week to make him another sibling. Adrian was ecstatic and ran off to Joe and Rick’s place without looking for his mother. Moreover, he shouted it at the top of his lungs for everyone else to hear. Thomas fed Arielle some food in her sleep, and she obediently ate after he alternated every bite with a kiss. He drove her to a port from where they would take a boat to an island where he had booked a small villa with a private beach. Arielle woke up when they were boarding. It had a private cabin and a person who was ferrying them to th
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 28 - The hungry hormones 1
**One year later** Arielle pushed Thomas away when they were making out and dashed to the bathroom. It was a peculiar sight in the bathroom. Arielle was crouching down naked on the toilet and throwing her guts out. Thomas, also naked, was still sporting a boner as he rubbed her back and held her hair back. “Oh, God! I feel like I am dying,” Arielle cried after a while. Thomas pulled her to his chest, his boner gone by then. He lifted her and made his way to the shower as he rubbed her head and back soothingly under the warm shower. They brushed their teeth and went back to bed. Thomas spooned her and kept caressing her until her breathing evened out. Arielle had started throwing up in the morning. It was probably due to the cold pizza that she could not resist. The entire day she had felt funny in the stomach due to acidity and had been in a bad mood. Thomas had forced her to have some bland porridge to settle her stomach at dinner. Thomas wondered if she was pregnant. He
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 27 - Don’t want to shortchange you
By the time Arielle and Thomas returned home, it was already 4 hours later. They did not offer any explanation. But the glow on Arielle’s face and the satisfied smirk on Thomas’s were self-explanatory. “You ruined my date to screw your wife. You have a big house; you could have done that anytime.” John grumbled under his breath. Having been friends with Thomas for over a decade, despite working for him for eight odd years, they shared a good rapport, even though it could not compare to that between Thomas and Mathew, who had been friends since diapers. Brenda heard him and laughed but did not comment on it. “She is sleeping now. I think John and I will get going now. I will come some other day to eat garlic shrimp.” She said to Arielle before she started tidying herself. “I would ask you to stay back, but we have not even started prepping for dinner. We will probably end up with takeouts now. You guys have fun. Call me next time you have time off, and I will cook you a feast.” A
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 26 - Her deepest fear
“You are so absorbed in thought,” Thomas remarked. “I feel like these few years have gone by too fast. Not that I am complaining. These were the best years of my life. I have never been this happy before. It’s just sometimes it’s too overwhelming.” Arielle explained as she hooked her arms around his neck. “Do you want to go somewhere just you, me, and Adrian? To relax and have your me time.” Thomas asked as he picked her up by the waist. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he started to walk to the bed. “That sounds like a good idea. Maybe wait a few months. The twins will be moving with Joe and Rick soon. Let’s let them get used to it first. I have yet to stop breastfeeding. It will take a while.” She said, tracing his face with her fingers. “Are you happy?” He asked as he lay her on the bed and hovered on top. “I am not sure. I don't regret it. It will be hard in the beginning. But at the end of the day, the twins are our kids. They are just a wall away.” She explained, u
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 25 - Clingy children
Brenda broke John out of his thoughts as she patted his shoulders. “You were so lost in thought. What were you thinking about?” Brenda asked as John wrapped his arms around her. “I was just thinking about life. How far all of us have come since Mathew, Thomas, and I graduated! Not to mention having five kids at home. It’s been a long journey and, thankfully, a very fulfilling one.” John explained succinctly. Brenda hugged him, “Well, you have good friends. They are so welcoming. It’s like living in a joint family but of your choice. You get all the good parts and not many bad parts.” John had to agree. “Well, you are more than welcome to join that family officially.” Brenda punched him, which hurt for real, “Ouch!” John cried. “Was that supposed to be a proposal? If that was, it was fucking lame.” Brenda punched him once more but managed to control her strength this time. John gulped and kept quiet. He would get beaten if he confessed that he had yet to think about marriage. T
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 24 - Babies
**One and a half years later** John stood outside a police station in Pearl city, awaiting his girlfriend. A year earlier, he had broken up with Rick’s cousin after giving each other several chances. They were simply not compatible because they wanted very different things in life. Hence, they had broken up mutually. One day, he had ended up making a scene at a bar in a drunken stupor, and they ended up calling the police. The one who responded was a female police officer. The first thing about the female officer that John had noticed was the scar on her left eyebrow that made her look equally sexy and dangerous. John had an instant crush on her. Especially with how smoothly she handled everything. John had always admired people who were good at their jobs, which had also been one point of discontent with his ex-girlfriend. Rick’s cousin was never into one thing for long enough to do it properly. John had called Rick to help bail him out. Then, John found that the female police
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 23 - New journey
Thomas finally voiced, “The idea sounds good. We all know how to run a company, but none of us know what to sell.” John nodded at the realization. “That’s right. You, your wife, Mathew, and I - have a finance and management background. Arabella is from product marketing, Joe is a network engineer, and Rick is a cop. We know how to protect and sell something. But none of us know how to produce anything.” Arabella chimed in, “How about we open a Logistics company?” Mathew asked, “Logistics?” Arabella hummed, “There isn’t any good logistics company where we grew up, especially at the international level. Same with where they currently stay. It’s been a nightmare when I have to send something to this cavewoman.” Arielle rolled her eyes at the reference, “So, I take it you did some research?” Arabella clinked her glasses, “Touché!” She shrugged and added, “Work habits are hard to suppress. There is a good market for it, though the initial few years would be bad. Combined with all o
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 22 - The new couple
The week went by exceptionally well. The friends had not spent time together in a long time, and some of them had never met. They all got along like a house on fire. Mathew got enamored by Arabella’s spunky personality and her honesty. He was pleasantly surprised to see how well-mannered Belle was and how well Arabella had raised her daughter, all on her own to boot. He asked her out after a few days, and she agreed. Arabella thought Mathew was fun and adventurous and seemed to be a good guy. He already knew all about her, thanks to all the nights they had spent drinking and spilling secrets. She felt comfortable being herself with him. More importantly, being Thomas’s best friend, he was probably not trying to score her to just hook up with a single mom. She was not looking for a marriage at the onset, but she was not okay with one-night stands or flings. Surprisingly, they got on much better than either had dared to hope. They had similar interests and were both adventurous.
