Karine was surprised and confused. “Yes, sir. That’s all, sir.”
“Okay.”
“Yes, sir.” She bowed slightly and left.
Some employees rushed to her side the moment she stepped out of his office.
“What’s wrong? Is he pissed?” Employee B asked, panicking.
“No, actually, but-“
“Isn’t he supposed to be on his honeymoon?” Employee A said.
“Yeah, and I’m confused. He placed Nand’s email on hold.”
“The Nand Corporation?” Employee A asked to be sure.
“Yes,” Karine answered, walking toward her desk while they followed her.
“Isn’t Nand Corporation already in collaboration with our company? But seeing how he placed it on hold, something is definitely wrong. I mean, he’s even married to their daughter,” Employee A said.
“Maybe he doesn’t like his wife. Seeing the way he’s back from his honeymoon already, he definitely doesn’t like her,” Employee C pointed out.
“That’s true,” Employees A and B reasoned with her. “That must be why he placed their contract on hold.”
“Who wouldn’t?” Employee B added. “I heard some rumors about his wife, so I guess there’s no love lost there.”
“What rumor?” Employee A asked.
“I heard that she was married to Arthur’s family but got divorced after a month because she was caught committing adultery.”
“What?!” They gasped.
“Are you for real?” Employee C asked.
“Of course, and that’s not all,” Employee B continued. “She also got pregnant by her lover and…”
“Will you stop spreading rumors?” Karine interrupted, shutting her down. “They’re all rumors. I don’t think the chairman would marry someone like that.”
“Then explain why he’s back already from his honeymoon and even placed his in-law’s contract on hold. I bet he just found out about her,” Employee A said.
“Does he look like the type who’ll jump into a marriage without doing his research?” Employee C replied.
“I heard it’s an arranged marriage,” Employee B chimed in.
“Even so, I’d advise you not to spread baseless rumors if you still value your job,” Karine warned them, then walked off. The employees eyed her as she left.
“She’s so boring,” Employee B murmured.
“And so uptight, not like she knows anything,” Employee A whispered to his fellow gossipers as they returned to their desks.
Karine was settling back at her desk when she felt someone’s presence in front of her. Thinking it was one of the gossipers, she rolled her eyes and asked, “What do you want again?”
“Again?” The voice was different, so she looked up and saw that it was not one of the employees, but someone with a higher status-someone of authority, like her boss. She quickly bowed, apologizing.
“I’m sorry, I thought it was someone else.”
“Of course, that must be the case,” he nodded. “Is he around?” He motioned with his head, indicating who he was referring to.
“Yes, sir, he is.”
“That bastard! He’s dead today,” he frowned, and barged right into his office, ready to make his day worse-something that seemed to be one of his jobs.
Christian’s head was still buried in the system when he noticed someone barge in. He immediately frowned.
“Were you not taught the courtesy of knocking?” he glared up as he spoke.
“No, I wasn’t, and I’d never be taught,” Ryan replied.
Christian leaned back in his swivel chair as he saw who it was-his pain in the neck, his best friend, Ryan.
“You’re back,” Christian rolled his eyes.
“Yes, I am, after you schemed me abroad and made me miss your wedding day. So, yeah, I’m back, idiot,” Ryan said, standing with his arms crossed.
“That’s nice, at least you brought back the money, so it wasn’t a waste,” Christian replied casually.
“What?!” Ryan scoffed angrily, “Ha!” he chuckled as he glared at Christian in disbelief. “Don’t you owe me an apology?”
“No.”
“No? I missed your wedding.”
“Against my will.”
“You’re such an asshole, do you know that?” Ryan said, his frustration evident.
“Yeah, so get over here, there’s more work,” Christian said nonchalantly.
Ryan felt like grabbing something and hitting it on Christian’s head. He glared at him, gritting his teeth. “Just how? How is this man my best friend? How?” he thought to himself in exasperation.
“Check this out,” Christian said, pushing the laptop gently towards him.
Ryan eyed it but still looked at Christian. After carefully analyzing what was on the screen, he exclaimed, “Woah! Now I know why you’re my best friend. You’re such a genius.” He chuckled loudly and clapped his hands. “You deserve a kiss for this.”
“No,” Christian replied flatly.
“Haha,” Ryan said, blowing him a kiss.
Christian glared at him in disgust. “Eww,” he said, looking away.
But Ryan wasn’t done. He began walking toward Christian, winking and blowing him kisses.
“No, hey, don’t! Stay right there. If you come near me, I swear… hey! Hey!!” Christian screamed as Ryan jumped on him and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Christian screamed at the top of his lungs, feeling both pained and humiliated. It was as though his favorite clothes had been ripped apart. If he hadn’t murdered Ryan in that moment, he was sure his ancestors would have done a great job saving him.
Meanwhile, Blue hurried out of one of her client’s rooms. She had many part-time jobs, and her services had been paid for to clean an apartment of a lady. She was rushing out because she had to meet Sandra, who was impatiently waiting for her. As she rushed outside, she bumped into a young man holding a bouquet, and they both fell. Unfortunately, the bucket of water she had used to mop the floor spilled onto him and the flowers. She gasped when she saw what she had done, while the man just looked at himself in disbelief.
“I’m so sorry, I’m really, really sorry,” she began apologizing, seeing the state the man was in. He stood up slowly and gave her a murderous glare.
“Are you blind?” he yelled. “Look at what you’ve done!”
“I’m sorry, I swear it wasn’t intentional. Let me clean it off for you,” she rushed her words apologetically, feeling guilty and bad. Her day seemed to be getting worse by the second, and this man was about to make it even worse. When she reached out to dust off his shirt, he slapped her hand away and scoffed.
“I see,” he nodded. “You must be one of them, right?”
“Huh?” she asked, confused.
“One of those cheap girls that throw themselves at rich men.”
“What?!”
“What’s your name?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.