Despicable encounter

"was it you that night...Ethan?"

A mild breeze went by, spreading his smell into the air as I looked at Ethan's eyes that were glaring at me.

"What are you talking about?" Withdrawing his hands, he moved back with a confused look. His side bangs rested on his frowned brows.

"If you're done with your questions, Please move back, sir." I looked away with a disappointed face thinking, "There's no way it was him."

"You didn't answer my question yet. Are you in love with Noah now?" His desperate voice irritated me as I kept my eyes locked away from him.

"What if I am? That has nothing to do with you! Why are you trying to figure me out?" I snapped at him feeling puzzled inside.

"So, you wanna play Noah and dump him again? Just like you did ten years ago?"

Hearing this, I helplessly stared at his cruel face, those brown eyes that lost their fondness and that mouth uttering such words.

After a brief moment of silence, he caressed his chin with his left hand. Exposing his wrist, he rubbed his eyes as he said, "Be honest. Did you ever love me?"

His words were like thorns stuck in my throat that I couldn't bear to swallow. My lips slightly quivered as I felt my chest gripping up. Clenching my fists, I said-

"No, I didn't. I played you simply because you were attractive. So forget the past and keep moving on, just like you were doing these days, Mr CEO. Or, if my presence bothers you that much, I can resign anytime."

Lifting my chin towards him, I gave him a genial smile and wished for that moment to end.

I saw him looking at me with his clenched teeth and frowning upside-down brows as if he was hurt, but it faded within a blink.

"I was the one who was hurt. Why was his expression like that?"

I kept thinking as he walked away from me while fixing his tie.

During explaining his schedule, I saw him nodding while resting his chin on his fingers as he did these days.

__________

Having no appetite, I walked through the hallway during lunchtime to spend some quiet time in the front garden.

By the corner of the stairway, I saw Noah waiting for me with 2 Starbucks in his hand.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"Maybe some coffee? I was going to the garden."

"Let me join you." He said as he handed me one of the cups.

The quiet and sweet breeze of the garden relaxed my mind. The air was chillier there, probably because fewer people visited that place.

"I had a great time with you that day. I didn't get the chance to say, thank you for spending time with me." Noah shifted his gaze from the ground to me.

"I also wanted to apologize for that day. I must've made a mess since I was drunk." I caressed my neck until a sudden realization came.

"Ah! Excuse me for a moment." I leaned towards his chest to smell his cologne, but it was different from that night.

"I-Irene?" Hearing him stutter, I raised my face to see his red cheeks covered with his hand as he flinched back.

After scanning the situation, my cheeks felt hot as I moved back in hurry, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude. I was just checking your smell-AH! No, I'm not a pervert! Your smell, I meant the cologne, I thought I have the same one, so I was checking. I'm really sorry!" I felt my brain circling in my head, not knowing what to say in embarrassment.

"Relax, I understand. I was just startled because you did that so suddenly....But you don't remember what happened that night?"

Noah's ash eyes seemed lighter when the sunlight reflected on his face as he turned to me.

"I....Don't. I found myself at my house in the morning."

"I see..."

I stood up while stretching out my arms and looked at the sky, "Let's go! Or my boss might fire me." I chuckled at my own joke that didn't seem so funny to Noah.

Speaking of the devil, as soon as we went near 1st floor, we crossed path with Ethan. Without saying anything, he looked at me with his narrow eyes as if I was disgusting. But who cares? I only need to do my job. I ought to stand on my words and my goal, not him.

__________

After finishing the last meeting, I glanced at my watch to confirm my time was up so I could leave. My legs were throbbing in pain from the high heels. As it was hard to walk,

I went to grab a pair of bandages, but the sound of rummage startled me. It felt as if Someone was talking outside. So I peeked through the door of the office infirmary to see Ethan dragging Noah by the collar through the hallway.

"Is he going to beat him? What is he doing?" Shoving the bandages into my bag, I took off my black heels and rushed towards their way to stop Ethan from making a mess, even though I didn't know their situation.

Ethan bashed him with the wall of the rooftop and pressed his throat with his arm, "I gave you a last warning, didn't I? Keep your filthy hands away from Irene."

"Heh...The big talk of the guy who doesn't give a fuck about her." Noah's accent changed along with his gaze. He smirked at Ethan as he placed a punch at his lower abdomen. Ethan groaned as he gritted his teeth to move away while touching his stomach.

"You dirty bastard! You think she'll fall for your dirty scheme?"

"Well, It was a dirty scheme at first but not anymore. I gained her trust thanks to my acting skill. Just a bit more push, and I can have her." Noah slicked back his hair and grinned!

My knees felt weak as I watched from a distance behind a wall.

I didn't know whom to trust anymore. I felt pathetic and disgusted at myself for making such a mistake. The nauseous feeling made me want to leave, and it was getting hard to breathe.

I mumbled to myself, "I should leave.....This is an unpleasant drama. Not worth watching."

My eyes couldn't see properly, since my bangs were covering my eyes. I couldn't care less about it since my target was to walk out of there somehow and get to my house for sleep. The stairs felt longer and deeper for some unknown reason. Why didn't I choose the elevator? Maybe because the stairs were empty and dark. Therefore, no one would see my unsightly look.