Confessing to the ceo, p.27
Confessing To The CEO, page 27
Her words sounded crazy to me as they came out of her lips, confirming even further that anything done at this moment would be wrong. So I looked away and continued on my way.
"Please don't fire her," came the plea. However, I didn't stop, and to my surprise and horror, she came after me. By the time I had reached the platform connecting the two flights, she was bounding down and trying to catch up with me. Eventually, she did, but wisely, she maintained her distance.
"I'll do anything to ensure she keeps her job," she said. "Please. This means a lot to her, and… I was the one who took things too far."
I realized I didn't care about all of the explanations she was giving. There was one thing I needed to know. "Why did you suddenly quit today?" I asked. She seemed taken aback. "When I spoke to Sophie, she said that she doesn't know. So now I'm asking you."
She looked at me, then lowered her gaze and sighed.
"Tell the truth," I told her, but we both knew it was a warning going forward, however uncertain I was myself.
"Well," she began. "I only had a few days left with you and… because of what you were offering, it was getting difficult to say no."
"To say no to what exactly?" I asked, and she held my gaze.
"I wanted to continue being Sophie because of what you had proposed. I wanted to continue working for you, I wanted to continue as we were. I didn't want to leave, and I knew… I knew the longer I stayed, the more impossible it would be, and so I…"
"Allowed me to have one more intimate encounter with you and then disappeared. Just to be clear, that was your plan, right?"
I could very clearly and finally detect the hurt in my tone, which I now realized I had buried underneath everything else because I didn't want to admit, especially to myself, that in such a short while, not only had I been fooled, but I had cared enough to feel hurt by it. In a way, what she did felt like a betrayal because if Felix had never found out about her, then I would have never known. I would have continued to treat Sophie like she was her, and even when she rejected me and things got awkward, I would have never known.
"Was Sophie planning to take over with intimate relations with me as well?" I asked, and a pained expression came over her face.
"We're not insane," she said, and my eyebrows shot up.
"Is that right?"
She sighed then. "I'm sorry about what happened. Sophie was pissed as hell with me as well, and we were going to try to fix it, but from the beginning… it was never my intention. I didn't come on to you, this wasn't something I orchestrated to exploit you. You know how it happened. You approached me, and I couldn’t say no."
This almost made me smile. "So it's my fault?" I asked, and instantly, she started to deny it, but then her expression changed, and she frowned. As a result, something inside me lit up in excitement.
This was the woman that I knew and had been enthralled by, and I honestly couldn’t wait to hear the next words that would come out of her mouth. She enthralled me like no other, I realized, so I gave her my full attention.
"It was both our faults," she said. "And Sophie as well. But in my opinion, even though what we did was unsavory, neither of us did it to hurt you. She did it to ensure you got all the assistance you needed, and I… I, well, I couldn’t say no to you. I liked you. I… I like you, and so… I have no regrets. So, don't punish her for something that we both did. I hope you will consider this. I know that loyalty means a lot to you, and her intention wasn’t to betray you. She just made a very emotional and silly mistake for a few days."
Afterwards, she went silent, and I didn't know what to say in response to this, but I was for sure not going to agree with her. So, I turned around and went on my way.
Chapter 55
Scarlett
Two months later.
"What's that?" Sophie asked. "Your fifth flute of the day?"
My eyes turned as I chugged down the sparkling liquid in the champagne glass. I frowned as I stared at my rude sister in the mirror but didn't respond as I finished the rest of the glass.
"Shut up and mind your business," I said as I put it away and then returned to fixing the bangs she had just complained about not being pronounced enough. We'd changed her hairstyle twice, wiped off her too-smoky makeup, and almost had to handle a mental breakdown because her dress was too tight.
Now she was fully dressed in her white gown for her wedding, and both my mom and I were suffering thanks to her anxiety but taking it all in stride. My mother was amused as she met our gaze through the mirror, but she was busy and on her phone. Before she returned to her screen, however, she shared a look with me, and I wondered what it was about.
I continued fixing Sophie's hair, but suddenly something occurred to me. As though she could read my mind, she looked up just then, and our gazes met again. "What?" I asked, but she shrugged.
"You two are making me even more nervous," Sophie said, and I wished I could tell her that she was nervous not because of us but because she wasn't sure of who she was getting married to, but it was too late.
"I need a nap," she said, and it almost made me laugh. But then the urge to go to the bathroom suddenly overrode this, so I set the curler down and turned around to leave.
"Bathroom?" my mom asked, and I nodded.
"I'll come with you. We'll be back in five minutes, Sophie," she said, and my sister nodded.
"Scar," she called out before I left. "Can I get a flat glass of that champagne you've been drinking? I need it."
"No," I replied. "I need you to be clear-headed throughout the day. Or else you're going to get drowsy and irritated. You do not know how to hold your alcohol."
She pouted in annoyance at me, but she just looked cute. So, myself and mom left, laughing.
We remained silent as we headed over to the bathroom, and it just made things even more awkward, especially since I didn't understand why they were awkward to begin with. When we got to the bathroom, it was more or less empty, so we took stalls next to each other.
It was quiet for a little while, although I was the only one doing the peeing, and it sounded like she was just sitting there.
"Are you alright?" I asked, but she directed the question back to me.
"Are you?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" I said, but she didn't respond. Not until we both came out and met each other at the vanity.
I immediately looked away so that she wouldn't see how distraught I felt in my eyes. How forlorn I had been feeling for the past few weeks since I had found out. Or even earlier, since that night he had turned around and just walked away. One minute he was all I could think about, and in the next, it was almost as though he had never even existed.
Sophie had been put on punishment for a whole two weeks, and in that time, she had nearly lost hair wondering about her fate. To our relief, he had called her back to work, and although things had more or less gone back to normal, I had felt even more hopeless then.
Because no call whatsoever I understood was ever going to come to me. "You know he's going to be here, right?" she asked, but I didn’t respond at first. I focused on washing my hands, but she didn't let it go.
“Is he?" I eventually asked and went over to dry. The noise drowned out whatever she wanted to say, but I couldn't avoid it or her any longer. "Mom, all of that happened months ago. And only for a few days, everyone and their mom has moved on. You, of course, should too.”
She wasn't amused at this.
"If you have moved on, then why have you been so gloomy? Or you think we wouldn't notice the change?" I sighed, then turned to her. "Mom, I'm fine. He'll be here, yes, I'm a bit nervous, but we didn't know each other for long, and I keep hammering this into everyone's head, but no one's listening to me. I’ll see him, I'll say hi, or maybe not. After all, he's just a wedding guest, and he's not my boss or anything, so please focus on the daughter who's getting married today and not the one who isn't?"
"Alright," she said. "I'll take your word for it, but what about your drinking? It's been at least six champagne flutes now, and I seriously wonder why you haven't collapsed yet." I gave her an incredulous look.
"It's six tiny flutes and I’m not Sophie." She narrowed her gaze at me.
"Is this just a one-time occurrence because you're nervous, or is this a habit of yours?”
At the immense concern on her face, I was amused.
"No, Mom, I'm not turning into an alcoholic, I just like this particular brand of sparkling cider, and I, of course, want to drink it from a champagne flute because why not?"
She seemed confused. Again, I leaned forward and blew my breath at her face. "No alcohol. For one, it's ten am, and secondly, in case you missed what I said the first time, it's sparkling cider. It's sweet, I'm starving, and it's available, so why not?"
"Oh," she said, and I watched as all her concerns drained away from her face. They, in turn, drained away from my heart, but I tried my best not to show it. "Alright then," she said. "You're fine, but Sophie's doesn’t seem to be, so wait outside a while longer. I want to talk to her privately."
"Alright," I replied, more than grateful for the space and reprieve. The wedding was starting anytime now, and most of the guests had already arrived. All the bridesmaids had long come and gone, and now it was the final moment, and it was just us three. I thought of going out to meet my dad, but I was sure to run into friends and relatives, and I needed the quiet anyway that I could get through the day.
No, I wasn't drinking champagne, but that wasn't because I didn't want to. All I wanted was an entire bottle of it, but I couldn't because I had something to hide. It was both fortunate and unfortunate, and it had sucked the soul out of me for the last few weeks ever since I had discovered it. And so all I could do was bide my time until I could eventually make up my mind on what to do, but every day that passed made things more difficult.
Perhaps, I wondered now to myself as I looked down the hallways if I had been waiting for this wedding all along. Perhaps I had been waiting to see him one more time so that I could decide on what to do. And so I was nervous and jittery and barely holding it together, and everyone, I was sure, could see through me. Sighing, I lowered my head just then, the door to the male bathroom pulled open. I had been standing by it, so I immediately straightened to give way to whoever had just exited since the hallway was so small.
"Sorry," I apologized; however, he didn't respond, so I was forced to lift my gaze then, cranky enough to just maybe call him an asshole for ignoring my politeness. However, as soon as my eyes set on the pair of gorgeous gray-gold speckled eyes that had haunted my dreams for the past several months, my heart stopped in my chest.
Chapter 56
Lucien
Ihad known that I was going to see her, and this, I had to admit, had deterred me from attending this wedding. But Sophie had my complete schedule as my assistant, so there was no way I could have lied to her in any way that I was unavailable.
Thankfully, though, Elena had been available, so she had agreed to come with me, and so here we were. If not at the church ceremony, I had expected to run into her at the reception, but now that she was here so early and standing in front of me, I had no idea what to say. She was in complete shock, I could see because her eyes were wide and her lips slightly parted.
She looked breathtaking, my brain instantly registered, but this was by the way. It wasn't a thought I could linger on, but the fact that I couldn't deny the ache and longing I felt as I looked at her was undeniable.
Before I could do what I had admonished myself not to, I turned and without a word continued on my way. Perhaps I could have said hi, but I wasn't ready just yet to open up any unnecessary doors.
When I returned to the pew we were sitting on, however, I remained silent for a while before eventually speaking to Elena. "I've seen her," I told her, and she snapped her head to mine.
"What? Where?"
"Bathroom," I whispered, and her head instantly snapped toward the back of the church. Then she got up.
"I need to go to the bathroom; I'll be back in a bit," she said; however, I stopped her and frowned. "I'm just going to the bathroom," she pleaded. "It's best to do it before the ceremony starts, and it'll be starting anytime now." I kept my hard gaze on her, and eventually, she plopped back down onto her chair. "I would have just said hi, and who knows what else might have happened?"
"The 'what else might have happened' is precisely why I didn't want you to interfere."
"I wasn't trying to interfere," she said. "I was just trying to be nice and polite, plus I like her."
"You only met her once and joined her in deceiving me."
"It's been months, and you employed Sophie back. You need to have gotten over this whole deception debate with her."
I didn't respond.
"Please tell me you have," she said, but I ignored her. And thankfully, just then, the guests began to take their seats, indicating that the ceremony was about to begin.
I was more nervous than I wanted to admit or acknowledge, so I simply kept my expression neutral and took extra care to act as though I didn't give a damn in the whole wide world. Hopefully, it was effective because the doors were pulled open, and the procession began. The bridesmaids and, of course, the maid of honor, who was none other than Scarlett. I didn't bother taking my eyes off her because I knew she would do all she could to avoid my gaze. This was acceptable, so I took my fill of her.
Her hair was slicked back away from her face. It seemed a bit longer, but I had no idea how that had been pulled off. Her makeup, though, was set and pink, and she seemed flushed and so soft.
Watching her in this way, it became nearly impossible for me to forget how she had felt in my arms. The first month away from her had been easy; at least, that was what I had told myself. And then afterwards, it was a thought; my ability to keep telling myself this had been lost.
She popped into my mind at random times, but through it all, I fought it until I accepted that none of it was enough for me to start a relationship with her again, I allowed them in my mind and treated them as fond memories at best and cautionary moments at worst, dependent on my mood.
Now, however, and as I watched her, I wondered if the sadness and exhaustion I sensed from her were all in my head.
I was sure she had moved on as I had, but I couldn't help but agree with Elena in this, more about the fact that all of it was a shame. Our chemistry was undeniable, and I would give almost anything to experience that again. Sighing, I looked away and focused on the altar, and pretty soon, Sophie came in with her dad.
I watched her and couldn't help but imagine as well how Scarlett would look in a white dress. Hers would be a bit more raunchier than Sophie's, who currently looked like a princess in a ball gown.
Suddenly, I received a nudge in the arm, and then I looked up to see that it was Elena trying to get my attention.
"What?" I mouthed, and she nudged my attention toward Scarlett at the altar once again. I was reluctant to look, but it was just in time to meet Scarlett's gaze. My heart lurched in my throat as we stared straight at each other, and then she turned away.
"She smiled at us," Elena said, and I released a heavy sigh.
Eventually, and during the ceremony, Elena nudged me on the arm again. "You really can't forgive her?" she asked, and I refused to respond to this.
Chapter 57
Scarlett
Ineeded to make a decision. The wedding was already over, and I knew that in very little time, he would be leaving. I had waited and hoped to see him here, wondering if, by some helpful twist of fate, we could reach some sort of understanding. I didn't even know what I was hoping for, but as I watched him throughout the ceremony, I understood that this was an instance where I wasn't going to wait for fate to cause a reconciliation on my behalf. Sure, I couldn't force Lucien's cooperation, but I could, to an extent, get his understanding. So, after emptying my sparkling cider, I rose to my feet, wishing to hell that I could drink alcohol of any sort. However, this was generally impossible, so I had to do this clear-headed.
I headed over to his table, which thankfully was empty as almost everyone else was on the dance floor. My legs were shaky, and I could feel all the perspiration I had somehow held at bay up till this moment began to appear on my skin and under my arms. I had to turn then to look toward Sophie's direction, and indeed, I found her watching me. For the first time in a very long while, I allowed my vulnerability to show as I asked her if I was making a mistake and if I should turn around. However, she smiled at me, softly, and kindly, and then she nodded.
She'd told me that after she returned to work, I was never mentioned. It was almost as though I had been completely erased from his mind and as though I had never existed. To an extent, and after this report, I had been certain then that I'd be able to do the same. But a few weeks later, I was pouring my guts out in the toilet bowl of a restaurant. At first, when I'd found out, I'd been shocked, but then I couldn’t help but feel somewhat excited because the door that I thought was closed forever seemed to have been creaked open. Yet I had no way to burst through. Perhaps I never would, but now that I had seen him again, I was convinced that I didn't want to get rid of his baby.
He had to be the most gorgeous and excellent specimen of a man I had ever come across, and if his baby was the memento that was given to me of the fact that we had met and that we had been intimate, then I was ready to keep the baby. Taking a deep breath, I continued on my way toward the table, but just as I was approaching, two things happened.
First, I spotted Elena, who had been trailing around with one of our cousins on the dance floor, and started to head over to him. She seemed so happy and carefree, so it took a while for her to notice my approach, but the moment she did, she immediately did a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn and returned to the dance floor. Of course, Lucien was paying attention, so the moment she did this, his head turned in curiosity, and he finally noticed that I was heading his way.
