CHAPTER NINE

 Kelvin's P.O.V

"Hello, handsome," the lady who flirted with me and made me feel uncomfortable said.

"Hmm... hi," I answered plainly, trying to distance myself from her advances.

"I asked for your number yesterday; you promised you would get back to me, but you didn't," she pouted, feigning disappointment.

"I forgot," I lied, hoping to put an end to the conversation.

I settled down on my new office chair, deliberately positioning myself a bit farther from her.

"So, you're the person I would be sharing this office with?" I inquired, attempting to change the subject.

"Yeah, we would be great together, right?" she asked, a hint of seduction in her voice.

"Hmm, I guess," I replied nonchalantly, not interested in entertaining her flirting.

"I'm Stephen," she introduced herself, offering her hand for a handshake.

"Well, I'm Kelvin," I responded, politely shaking her hand.

"Nice name," she complimented, still holding onto my hand a bit longer than necessary.

"What do you think of the new boss?" she inquired, seemingly trying to engage me in office gossip.

"Nice, but a little bit different," I cautiously replied, not wanting to say anything that might get me into trouble.

"Glad you noticed," she said, smirking knowingly.

"Do you think she's beautiful?" she asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess so," I replied, unsure why she was asking me about the boss's appearance.

"She isn't even close to one," she declared, expressing her opinion with an air of superiority. It was an odd thing to say about the boss.

A little later, the managing director called Stephen and instructed her to show me around the company. She seemed enthusiastic about it and agreed willingly.

Anika's P.O.V

My heart pounded rapidly as the phone continued to ring, my hand trembling as I hesitated to pick up the call. I brushed a lock of my strawberry blonde hair out of my tear-filled blue eyes, trying to gather my thoughts.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to answer or not. Swallowing hard, I rested on my chair, quickly wiping away a tear that trickled down my face.

The sound of my cell phone ringing made me shiver with fear.

Why should I be scared? After all, he's the one who betrayed me. It should be him who's afraid, not me.

I decided to gather my courage and answer the call. I picked up my phone from the table and hesitantly pressed the green button, placing the phone against my ear.

"Anika, are you there?" he called out, attempting to reach me.

I remained silent, not willing to respond to him.

"I know you're there and listening to me, so please hear me out and talk to me," he pleaded, sounding sincere, but I wasn't ready to take any chances.

"Anika love, can you forgive me?" Richard said over the phone.

Tears streamed down my face as soon as I heard those words. Despite everything, I missed his voice deep down, even if I didn't want to admit it. I couldn't believe I was feeling this way again for the same voice that betrayed me.

My heart raced as his words played with my emotions, leaving me uncertain about whether they were filled with sincerity or deceit.

"I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but please forgive me for the sake of the love we once shared. I admit I made a mistake by dating you for your money, but we're all human, and we all make mistakes sometimes. I now realize how much I truly love you. Please forgive me and give me a second chance to make it up to you," Richard pleaded earnestly over the phone.

Tears poured endlessly from my eyes, but I used my hands to cover my mouth, not wanting him to hear me crying. I didn't know what to do or say.

I was utterly confused. Should I accept him back? Should I not? His apologies sounded so sincere and genuine, and people could change if we give them a chance.

My throat felt constricted as I weighed my options, but Richard's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Sweetie, are you still there?" he asked, and I could sense the vulnerability in his voice.

Wait, was he crying too? Did he mean what he said, or was he just pretending?

"Hello," he said again, making my heart race even faster. 

At that moment, I couldn't handle the emotional turmoil any longer, so I ended the call abruptly and released my hands from my mouth.

I let out all my pain through crying, but I tried to keep it as quiet as possible. I buried my face in my desk as I struggled to make sense of everything. I cried until I had no more strength left.

I needed advice from Laura. She's the only one who can help me and truly understands me. I washed my face in my office bathroom, trying to compose myself, and then grabbed my car keys to go to Laura's workplace.

Laura's P.O.V

I was carrying a pile of files that felt heavy, blocking my view and making it difficult to walk properly.

I wanted to turn around to go back to my office when someone suddenly bumped into me. The papers from the files flew from my hands and scattered all over the floor, blown in different directions by a gust of wind.

I hissed in frustration because I had spent a lot of time organizing those files, and now they were ruined because of some reckless someone.

I was about to give the person a piece of my mind when they spoke up first, further infuriating me.

"Can't you watch where you're going?" the person who bumped into me seethed.

I raised my head, and my eyes met with an angry guy. "How dare you?" I finally said, unable to contain my annoyance.

"You were walking with your eyes closed because if you had eyes, you'd have seen me coming and given way," he said.

"You were the one who bumped into me first, so you're the one walking with your eyes closed," I retorted.

"Did you just talk back to me?" he asked angrily, gesturing towards himself.

"Yes, and so what?" I boldly said, and he looked at the tag button on my chest, and then a sick smile appeared on his face.

"I'm sure you work here. Don't worry, I will make sure you regret insulting me, I promise, Laura," he angrily said and left.

I rolled my eyes and sighed in frustration. He is such a jerk, and who is he to make me regret things when he was the first person to bump into me? Instead of him apologizing, he acted like a complete idiot.

‘What a loser,’ I muttered to myself and reluctantly bent down to pick up the papers scattered on the floor. I finally managed to collect the papers, but they were now wrinkled. I would have to redo it all.

Back in my office, I sat down, still lost in my thoughts.

"Laura," I heard a voice call out to me.

"What!" I seethed, facing the person, only to meet Anika, her face soaked in tears. My anger died down, and I stood up to meet her.

"Anika, what's wrong?" I asked, helping her to the chair I had stood up from.

"It's Richard," she said, her voice barely a whisper, but I heard it.

"Did he try something funny again?" I asked, frowning.

"No, he... he just called me and said he was sorry and needed a second chance," she explained and sniffed.

I bent down, lifted her head, and wiped away her tears.

"Don't believe him. He's a cheat, and probably out of money. That's why he apologized. Look, your tears are precious, so don't waste them all on Richard because he isn't worth it... okay?" I told her, and she nodded slightly before hugging me.

I hugged her back, realizing how much I missed her even if it hadn't been 24 hours since we fought. It felt like she had been gone for years, and I also missed her scent.

"What if he meant what he said?" she asked.

"Then it's still too late for him. Forget him already and move on with your life," I advised, and she nodded.

We disengaged from the hug a few minutes later, and she raised her head to look at me.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you yesterday. Can you forgive me?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at me, which made me laugh.

"Of course," I said, and she sighed.

We talked for some time, then she left, saying she had a lot to do in the office.

As I was about to go to my office, I bumped into Angelica, a coworker, and our foreheads collided, making me yell, "Ow!"

"Why do you keep on bumping into people today? Firstly Steve, then me?" she said, rubbing her forehead.

"Sorry, wait, who is Steve?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes before replying, "Don't tell me you don't know Steven, the guy you bumped into. I saw all that happened."

"Maybe you didn't see what happened first. He bumped into me first," I said.

"So, his name is Steve?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Wait a minute, if you don't know Steve's name, then don't tell me you don't know who he is," she asked, surprise evident in her widened eyes. I shook my head negatively.

"You dummy, he is Mr. Wayne's son," she whispered angrily, and I gasped.

Mr. Wayne was the owner of the company I was working in. I had no idea he had a son because I was new to this job of mine.

"Mr. Wayne's son?" I asked, clearly amused.

"Yeah."

"I had no idea he had a son. I should have read the office manual to know more about the company," I said.

"Yeah, you should," she agreed.

"So, what's going to happen now?" I asked her.

"I don't know," she said, arching her eyebrows.

"You know I kind of talked back to him, and he was mad, saying I'm going to regret insulting him," I explained to her.

"About that, I dunno, maybe, you know, you're getting fired," she whispered to me.

"Fired?" I yelled.

"Keep it down," she said.

"Sorry, so what do you mean by me getting fired?" I asked nervously, and she sighed.

"Well, Mr. Wayne does whatever his precious son tells him to do, and since he's mad at you and knows you work here, won't he tell his dad to fire you?" she explained.

Gosh... She was right. So maybe I shouldn't have talked back to him.

I don't mind getting fired, or do I?

Angelica kept on talking about Steve, but I wasn't paying attention. All I could think of was getting fired. I wasn't interested in her conversation until she told me that Steve hated non-classy people.

I sighed and placed my hand on my forehead as Angelica kept on talking, tuning her words out and thinking about what I just did.

T.B.C

Noeline.