LOVE AND CHAOS

Chapter Four — Closer Than Expected

The next morning, Alice arrived at the Ministry earlier than normal. She hadn't even settled down at her desk when her phone rang. She looked at the screen. It was a message from Anthony.

Come to my office when you arrive.

Alice looked at the message for some seconds before putting her phone down. She then finished arranging the files on her desk and walked to Anthony's office. She knocked twice at the door.

"Come in."

Alice opened the door and said, "Good morning, sir." Anthony looked up. "Good morning, Alice, have a seat," He answered.

She sat down. Anthony picked up a file from his desk and pushed it toward her. "This is the updated version of the development proposal," he said. Alice took it.

"I want us to go through it together."

"Okay"Alice answered. Anthony leaned back in his chair. "There are some things I want changed before we present it to the committee." Alice opened the file and started going through the pages. Anthony watched her for a moment.

"You understand most of this already?" "I think so." "Think so?" Alice looked at him. "Okay I understand it." Anthony smiled. "Good."and she continued reading.

The room was quiet for a while. Alice pointed at one of the pages and said. "This part doesn't look right." Anthony moved closer. "Which part?" "This figure." She showed him the page.

"If we use this amount for the road construction, we may have a problem with the health centre." She added

Anthony looked at the figure.

"Why?"

"Because the health centre will need more money than what is listed here. If the road takes most of the budget, we may have to reduce the facilities in the health centre."

Anthony looked at her.

"That's a good point," he said. Alice smiled. "I thought so too." Anthony laughed softly. "You're becoming confident." "I have always been confident." "Really?" "Yes." "I didn't notice." Alice looked at him. "Maybe you weren't paying attention." Anthony smiled.

"Maybe I wasn't."

There was a short silence. Alice went back to the file and Anthony also looked away. He knew he had to be careful. He had been trying not to let his feelings for Alice become too obvious. He knew she worked under him and he did not want to make her uncomfortable.

But being around her every day was making that harder. He liked the way she spoke,

He liked the way she questioned things instead of simply agreeing with everyone, he also liked the way she smiled when she was trying to prove a point.

Anthony looked at her again. Alice was still reading. She suddenly looked up and caught him staring. "Is there something on my face?" She asked. Anthony quickly looked away.

"No."

"Then why are you looking at me?" Anthony said."I was thinking." "About what?" "The project." Alice raised an eyebrow. "You were looking at me while thinking about the project?" Anthony smiled. "Maybe." Alice shook her head. "You're strange." "I have been called worse."

She smiled and returned to the file.

Anthony looked down at his desk. He needed to control himself because he did not want to rush anything.

He wanted Alice to feel comfortable around him.

For now, working together was enough. They spent almost two hours going through the documents.

Anthony explained some of the parts she did not understand, while Alice pointed out several things she thought needed to be changed.

By the time they finished, Alice had filled almost three pages of notes.

Anthony looked at the pages.

"You really came prepared,"he said. "I told you I take my work seriously,"she replied. "I know." He paused. "That's one of the things I like about you." Alice looked at him. Anthony realized what he had just said. "I mean professionally."

Alice smiled.

"Of course."

But there was something in her expression that told him she had noticed. She then closed the file. "So what do we do now?" "I'll make some changes." "And me?" "You can start working on the sections we discussed." "Alright."

Alice stood up. Anthony also stood. As she reached the door, he spoke again. "Alice." She turned. "Yes?" "Thank you." "For what?" "For making this easier." She smiled. "You're welcome." Then she left. Anthony watched the door close behind her.

He sat down again. He picked up his phone. There was a message waiting for him l. He read it and his expression changed slightly. He deleted the message and placed the phone on the desk.

For a moment, he thought about Alice.

Then he forced himself to concentrate on the project.

He knew things were becoming complicated

and he did not want Alice to get caught in the middle of something she knew nothing about.

Alice returned to her office and placed the file on her desk.

Her colleague looked at her.

"You were with Mr. Marshall for a long time." Alice looked at her. "Yes. We were working on the development proposal." "That project?" "Yes." Her colleague nodded. "That must be important." "It is."

Alice sat down. She opened her computer and started typing. But after a few minutes, she stopped.

She thought about the conversation with Anthony. He had been different lately and she had noticed it. It was not just the extra work but the way he spoke to her.

The way he looked at her, the way he seemed to remember almost everything she said. Alice tried to ignore it. Maybe she was only imagining things. Anthony was her boss.

Maybe he was simply being friendly. She decided not to think about it anymore and she continued working.

Her phone vibrated. Alice glanced at it. Another message but this time it was from Gerald.

How is your day going?

She smiled.

She stared at the message before replying.

Busy.

A few seconds later, another message came.

Too busy to eat?

Alice smiled again.

Maybe.

Gerald replied.

That's not good.

She typed:

I will eat later.

His reply came quickly.

Promise?

Alice shook her head. She could already imagine the serious look on his face.

I promise.

There was no reply for a few seconds. Then:

Good.

Alice put the phone down.

She tried to continue working, but she was smiling and her colleague noticed. "What's funny?" she asked. Alice looked up. "Nothing." "You are smiling." "Am I?"

"Yes." Alice shook her head. "Just leave me."

Her colleague laughed and went back to work.

Alice looked at her phone again.

She did not know why Gerald's messages made her smile so easily.

Maybe it was because he was always checking on her.

Maybe because she liked talking to him. Or maybe there was something more but she did not want to admit that yet.

That afternoon, Anthony called Alice again and

she went to his office.

He handed her another set of documents and said, "I want you to go through these before tomorrow." Alice took them. "More work?"

"Yes."

She looked at the number of pages. "You are trying to kill me." Anthony laughed. "Not yet." Alice smiled. She turned to leave.

"Wait."

She stopped and Anthony looked at her.

"Are you free this evening?" Alice was surprised. "For work?" Anthony paused. "Yes." He quickly added.

"There is a consultant I want you to meet. We may need his opinion on the project."

"Oh." Alice nodded. "Okay." "What time do you normally leave?" "Around five." "I'll make sure we finish before then." "Alright."

She left the office.

Anthony watched her go. He knew he had almost said too much. He had wanted to ask her to dinner instead, he had found another excuse to spend time with her.

He was not sure whether that was a good thing.

The meeting with the consultant was shorter than Alice expected. They discussed the project for about an hour and Anthony asked several questions while Alice took notes.

When they were done, the consultant left. Alice gathered her papers.

"Thank you for letting me be part of this."

Anthony looked at her. "You've been very helpful." "I'm glad." "You should be." Alice smiled. Anthony stood up. "I'll drop you off." She looked at him. "No, it's okay. I can get a cab." "It's getting late." "It's not that late." "I know."

He picked up his car keys. "Still, I can take you."

Alice hesitated.

She did not want to offend him.

"Alright." They walked out together.

As they entered the car park, Alice noticed a black car parked across the road.

She looked at it for a moment. Something about it looked familiar. Anthony noticed her looking.

"What is it?" "Nothing."

She looked away. "Let's go."

Anthony opened the car door for her and Alice got in.

He walked around and entered the driver's seat.

As they drove away, Alice looked through the window. The black car was still there.

She turned back. She remembered the warning from the previous day: Be careful who you trust.

She pushed the thought away.

Maybe it was just another car or maybe she was becoming too suspicious.

She looked at Anthony. He was focused on the road.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Yes." "You've been quiet." "I'm just tired."

"You should rest when you get home."

"I will." Anthony nodded.

The rest of the journey was quiet.

But after a few minutes, Anthony spoke again.

"You know, you can talk to me." Alice looked at him. "About what?"

"Anything." She smiled. "You're my boss." "I know."

"That makes it difficult." Anthony glanced at her. "Maybe it doesn't have to." Alice looked out the window. She was not sure what he meant but she decided not to ask.

Later that night, Alice was lying on her bed when her phone rang.

She looked at the screen.

Gerald.

She answered. "Hello." "Hi." "How are you?" "I'm fine." "Did you eat?" Alice smiled.

"Yes."

"Good." "You really care about food." "I care about you eating." Alice became quiet. Gerald also became quiet.

Neither of them spoke for a few seconds then

Alice finally said, "How was your day?"

"Busy." "Hospital?"

"Yes." "Any difficult patients?" "A few."

"Did you save them all?" Gerald smiled. "I tried." Alice laughed softly and they continued talking.

Gerald told her about a patient who had refused to take his medicine.

Alice told him about the development project.

She spoke about the long meetings and the documents. Gerald listened. "You sound like you enjoy the work."

"I do." "Good." There was another pause.

"How did you get home?" Gerald asked.

"Anthony dropped me." Gerald became quiet and Alice noticed.

"Hello?"

"I'm here."

"You went quiet." "I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Nothing." Alice smiled. "You are not good at hiding things." "Neither are you."

"What am I hiding?" "I don't know yet."

She laughed. Gerald smiled on the other end.

The conversation continued for a while.

When they finally said goodnight, Alice put the phone beside her.

She stared at the ceiling.

Gerald was becoming a regular part of her day. She did not know when it had started. Maybe it was at the hospital, maybe it was the first time he made her laugh or maybe it was the way he had looked at her before she left.

She closed her eyes. Then another face came to her mind.

Anthony. She remembered the way he had looked at her in his office, the way he had offered to take her home, the way he had told her she could talk to him about anything.

Alice opened her eyes.

She sat up.

"What is happening?" She had never thought about Anthony that way before. He had always been her boss. But lately, something felt different. She picked up her phone again but there was no new message.

She placed it down.

Then she remembered Gerald's call. He had called just to ask if she had eaten. He always seemed to find a reason to talk to her.

Anthony was also finding reasons to keep her close.

Alice slowly lay back down. She did not want to make assumptions.

Maybe Gerald was simply being caring,and maybe Anthony was simply being a good boss.

But deep down, Alice knew it was becoming harder to believe that.

She had started noticing things she had ignored before. The looks, the calls, the messages,the extra attention and she was beginning to understand what they could mean.

Two men were slowly becoming part of her life.

And neither of them seemed ready to step away.

Alice closed her eyes. She had no idea which direction her heart would take.

She only knew that things were becoming more complicated than she had expected. And somewhere in the back of her mind, she still remembered the warning: Be careful who you trust.

She just did not know yet who she was supposed to be careful with.