Why Rinzler Alone?

[IVY TANNER]

"Did. You. Just. Refer. Me. As. A. Slut?"

Ivy reread the text and typed, "keep dreaming."

"How can I dream of you calling me a slut, beta?"

Ivy's forehead wrinkled up. Anger seeped through her blood, and she thought, "no, she can't do that to him. She is wrong to leave her man in bed and come here kissing another woman."

"Can we go to work, please?" Ivy typed.

"I will meet you there."

Her eyes darted around the café, it was full since it was the rush hour with people eating breakfast before heading to work. The last thing Ivy wanted to do was to make a fuss and create a show she knew Marina despised.

Marina hated commotion as much as she hated whenever Ivy butt in and pushed after she had told her not to. Ivy offered a tiny wave at Marina and turned around, she was sad, sad that she couldn't do a thing about it at the moment and let Marina enjoy her time with someone other than Rinzler.

At the office, Ivy greeted Clave, Marina's assistant and he replied, "hello, aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?" He marched Ivy's long stretch that came unintentionally to Ivy. She wanted to arrive inside her office and scream at the mirror to release the pent-up anger she didn't know where it came from.

"I am fine, Clave." Ivy smiled as she headed for the stairs.

Clave stopped and pointed at the lift, and when Ivy said nothing, he followed her to the stairs that Ivy was taking as a pro, "where is Marina?"

"Is everything okay?" Ivy stopped on her track.

"Uhm, yes. The lawyer is in the office waiting."

"Isn't the meeting supposed to be tommorow?" Ivy inquired, confused. She remembered scheduling it with her assistant and Clave so she and Marina would attend together.

"Yes, but something happened. The inspectors called and reported something… unclear." Clave explained.

Grabbing the file from Clave's hands, Ivy nodded as she conjured a plan on how to deal with the problem and find a solution as fast as possible. "Thank you, Clave."

Clave apologized, "I didn't call Marina because you…"

Ivy cut him off, "Clave. No problem."

Marina did not know that Ivy had asked Clave never to call her after work hours. At first, Clave had been confused and asked what he should do if it was something urgent and Ivy's answer had been simple, "call me, of course."

Taking the stairs two by two, she winced when pain shot from her toe to her knees, she opened the file and closed it. She opened it and closed it, it again. She eyed the erected stairs and whispered, "dead of me." As soon as she arrived in her office, she swallowed painkillers without water.

She had a gut feeling that whatever was inside the file wasn't good, she settled on her armrest chair and looked around, Was he inside Marina's office? "Hey, Clave, can you go to Marina's office and ask the lawyer to return in the next few hours? Thank you."

Instantly Clave said okay, Ivy took her phone and called Marina, "we have something to handle. Come, now."

She didn't want to hear Marina telling her anything or an excuse so she ended the call. Ivy opened the file and stared at it. She couldn't concentrate though as the voice of the woman in the background when she called Marina played in her head.

She didn't rule over Marina's love and sex life and knew it was wrong of her to call her best friend a slut. But after seeing Rinzler the previous night, it didn't sit well with her that she has never reported Marina's infidelity to him.

Ever since she met him, she knew Marina was his world, his moon, and everything in between. They say whenever you talk about your soul mate, your eyes lighten the room and that was exactly what she always saw in Rinzler's eyes.

Even if most of the time she could see right through him that he was sad, she knew the man adored Marina dearly. So, why was Marina cheating on him? Why hadn't she asked her to stop? Most importantly, why was it always with women?

"Does he have a magic dick?" Ivy murmured, stupidly wondering why Marina has never cheated with a guy.

Humming to herself, she tapped on the table, she has never thought about it deeply as she was at the moment. She has never seen Marina with a man. If it weren't for the fact that she and Marina's assistant were men, she would have concluded a long time ago that Marina loathed the male gender generation.

She closed the file with a thud and rose from her chair, "she always acts as though she didn't meet him, why?"

Mostly, after Ivy asked Marina how her night went with her prince charming, Marina would nonchalantly reply, "what are you talking about?"

She always pushed it away saying they were busy or even sometimes Ivy could stop after seeing Marina in a bad mood. Ivy heard a knock on the door, "come later." She said. Instantly, the footsteps retreated, and she continued tapping her chin, "who are you Rinzler? And why only you?"

Ransacking through her brain wouldn't help for sure. So, she returned to her work as it was important to handle the matter at hand. At least she knew what it was. Ivy began reading the reports about the water from the inspectors.

**two hours later**

A bone cracked while she stretched herself, "you are going to kill yourself." Her conscious mind relayed the message. She eyed the painkillers and trembled, "let this not be the road to addiction, please." She whispered.

She picked up the files and the notes and went to Marina's office. She could hear noises coming from inside, then things breaking. Before she entered, she heard Marina's voice, "Cecil, you can go fuck yourself for all I care…"

Then a tiny voice from Cecil, "Marina, don't call her a witch, just go and…"

"You know what, get out. For all I care, they can have a virtual burial."

"A virtual burial?" Ivy pondered.