CHAPTER 44: BACK TO SQUARE ONE
He's been out of focus all morning.
Sonny can't understand Marcus' personality any longer. Just yesterday, he was beaming with joy but today, his mind seems lost for some reason. Most of the time, he caught the man looking at Jade from time to time while they were in a meeting.
The way Marcus steal a glance at the woman was a bit different. He seemed to be studying her--- suspiciously.
"Mr. Hanes, are you listening?" Sonny knocked at the man's desk. The man's attention was obviously not on the things he was saying so he sighed disappointed. "Care to tell me what happened today? Did you two fight again?" He was pertaining to the man's wife.
"No, not that." He leaned his head on the chair.
"Then what, misunderstanding?"
"Maybe? I don't know. I just felt like I said something that had hurt her but I can't recall anything." He was obviously troubled.
Sonny smirked meaningfully and sat on the chair facing Marcus. His boss' face tells him that he was worrying about upsetting Jade in some way. Whoa, this is a progress! He-he.
"Tell me. I will be the judge."
Marcus looked at the man in front of him for a few seconds, then he heaved a sigh.
FLASHBACK:
"What? Are you pregnant?" He was laughing inside his head. The thought of reminding the woman of what happened last night will definitely send her blushing in embarrassment.
He never thought that she could matched him in bed. They almost stayed till dawn enjoying each other's body. He never felt that kind of excitement before, not even with Rachelle.
But when he finally lifted his head to looked at the woman's face, he was surprised to see a hint of sadness in her eyes. 'What? Don't tell me she doesn't want to recall what happened to us last night?' An unexplainable sadness enveloped his heart.
"Jade, about what happened to us last night----"
"It's okay. You don't have to explain it." Jade interrupted. The truth is, she butted in because she doesn't want to hear the man apologized. She was afraid to hear him say it was an accident, that he didn't mean to do it.
Marcus furrowed his brow.
"Even if we were only married for convenience sake, but such pleasure has always been a part of marriage."
"Are you really okay with it? You, giving up your virginity without love? Are you saying that you're okay with having sex without the involvement of your heart?" He was suddenly annoyed.
"As I have told you, we're married and that's… normal." She pursed her lips. No, she doesn't want to say those things. She treasured love just as how she treasured her body. She wanted to make love with him not because of their marital status but because they both love each other.
But in her case, it was a one-sided love.
Marcus twitched his lip in displeasure. "I thought I was wrong about you but I guess I was wrong to assume you're somehow different from the rest." He muttered before standing up and trekked the staircase to their room.
A tear dropped from her eyes as soon as the man left. Not sure why but the man's last words pierced through her heart.
***End of Flashback**
"Hey, Marcus…" Once again, Sonny knocked on his desk when the man went daze.
Hearing that Sonny addressed him in his first name woke him up. He then raised his brow and looked at the man sternly.
"Mr. Lee, are you----"
"I'm sitting here as your friend and not as your personal assistant." He sarcastically leaned his back on the chair.
"Damn you, Sonny. Will you just get out of my office?"
"Not a chance unless you tell me what's upsetting you." He sneered.
"That's not for you to know----"
They both halted when they heard Jade knocking on the door.
Seeing how Marcus glowered when he heard the woman's voice, Sonny took the initiative to invite the woman in.
"Mr. Hanes, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Go on. I'm listening." He didn't even lift his eyes to see her. Is he back to being cold again?
"In private."
Marcus finally looked at the woman acting shy in front of him. He doesn't know why but he's irritated seeing her acting all shy. It doesn't suit her at all. Tsk!
"Is it important? Is it work related?" His cold treatment resurfaced again. "Miss Arria, I hope you didn't forget one of my work rules. If it is work related, then I think Sonny can listen to it too." He raised his brow.
She clenched her fist. For how long does he plan to embarrass her in front of other people? "I'm sorry, Mr. Hanes, it is indeed work related but I think it's not that important. Sorry for the inconvenience, please excuse me then." She lied but she kowtowed and left the room as soon as possible.
"You don't have to go that far, you know?" Sonny's tone was a bit disappointed but Marcus attention was on the woman on the monitor, standing frozen in front of his office. After a few seconds, he saw her left and went to who knows where.
He doesn't even know why he said that. Their relationship was progressing smoothly for the past few weeks, but he couldn't even figure out why it turned cold again.
Their back to square one.
On the other hand, Jade went to the rest room and locked herself at the bottom cubicle. She was pondering about a lot of things when her phone buzzed.
An unregistered number? Who could it be?
"Hello? Who is this?" She's been waiting for a response for a minute now but to no avail. 'Wey? What is this? a prank call?' She muttered then hanged up.
That call seemed to awaken her senses, therefore, she sighed to release her frustrations.
'I think I am not fit to work as my husband's secretary.' She whispered within her. Also, she recognized that such an arrangement may ruin their relationship. So that moment, she decided to tell Sonny to find a suitable secretary for Marcus.
But she'll inform him after she dealt with those scumbags trying to steal their new product formula.