My Perfect Marriage

Chapter20

The name is like a bitter taste in her mouth, and she presses her lips together and steadies herself before pasting on a bright face. Clenching her fists under the table as it conjures up that woman in her mind's eye. At them, together, and the bile rises in her throat once more.

"Not yet, the funds are in process...." Sophia states blankly and sees many simple nods around the table. Leon seems immersed in his papers, satisfied that his plan is steaming ahead, yet she can't let this go. The board signed off on this venture and has been eager to get things in motion to start seeing the benefits.

"but...." Sophia adds in deliberate afterthought, her heart rate elevating and palms become sweaty as eyes dart back her way, and even Johnny frowns at her. It's not like her to be indecisive.

"Some things flagged up in the risk report amend that I missed the first time. I'm putting a hold on the payments until I run an investigation team through the details once more. So, we hold off and exercise our cooling-off period to its fullest before we commit with cash." Sophia convinces herself, and despite knowing how petty it is, it feels like the only weapon she has. Messing with business deals over some silly woman.

"What are you talking about? What risks? Why am I not hearing of this until now?" Leon is right on her, looking at her solidly for the first time across the table from his standing spot, and she can read the mild panic in the depths that gives her a slight sense of satisfaction. This project is his current baby, and if she's the reason, she doesn't intend to make it easy on him at all.

"I only learned of it today. I hadn't quite gotten my head around it yet to discuss it with you." Sophia smiles, fake as always, and as his eyes narrow on her with a confused frown, she raises one brow and smirks. Resentment rises in the pit of her stomach and she loathes his face while he looks so innocently at her.

"I'm sure it's nothing but a little blip in our relationship..... with biotech..... but I like to kill any little flies in my ointment before they become a problem." She delivers it coldly and catches the flicker of hesitation in his eyes, the twinge of his brow, and the appearance of one dimple as he flexes his jaw with tension. He can't be sure, but he feels like she's onto something. She can read it in him because she knows him so well.

"What kind of blip? If I know the issue, I can pinpoint the reasons much faster than wasting resources with a team." He grits his teeth, seemingly frustrated and unprepared for this.

"Why, because you're on such good terms with their representative and doubt she'd lie to your face because you trust her?" His eyes widen slightly, and he falters, expression jumping from confused to mild shock, and then he straightens it to hide it all. Sophia knows her words are loaded, hate-driven, and stupid, given where they are, but the closed-down way it shocks him makes it worthwhile.

"She? I thought the Biochem spokesperson was a man?" Johnny swipes in, seemingly only catching up with changes and another sign Leon hasn't been sharing all that much in the Biochem deal with his younger brother, who's meant to be in the loop of all things.

"It was. They apparently replaced him with someone else in the company. Claire White. She's been here to see Leon in his office to introduce herself, and he took her for lunch today." Sophia adds it in airily, holding no punches, and closes her files laid out in front of her with precision. Keeping her mannerisms slow and graceful.

Her voice is light and airy, as though she's not worried about some skanky woman wading into her marriage.

"Claire White? Why does that name sound familiar?" Johnny forgets this is a board meeting and verbalizes his thoughts. It's a bad habit he's had since he was a kid, and it's why he's unable ever to keep himself in his own lane when it comes to Leon's and Sophia's problems.

"Let's call it a day and reconvene when we have more definite answers. Sophia, my office. We need to talk about this."

Leon closes them all down, and the murmur of disgruntled board members signals they disagree, they have questions, but they respect him enough to leave it in his hands. Eyes darting between them, and he knows this is something else, something more significant. His fierce tone tells Sophia she's pissed him off, and Johnny gets up cautiously.

"Me too. I want to know what's happening." He eyes Sophia and then his brother once more, catching onto the tension, and that stubborn protective side kicks in. He always did play buffer between them, and Sophia loves him for it now, even if it's unwanted.

Sophia gets up, picks up her files and leads the way straight to Leon's office. Holding it all in, she doesn't look back while the room clears and the suited shareholders depart in a flurry of noise. She marches right into his space, leaving the voices of him and Johnny behind her, knowing fine well he won't let his brother join them. Not when this is about his girlfriend.

She walks over to his desk, throws down her files and wanders around before planking herself in his seat and turning to face the cloudy cityscape. Wondering if they will ever see an end to this constant rain and miserable weather of late. It's been unbreaking for weeks. She feels like it matches her mood, and if she saw the sun just once, maybe she'd be doing better of late.

"What the heck was that?" Leon loses his temper as soon as he storms in and slams the door behind him, banging it hard, so it subtly vibrates the wall on either side and pictures swing, yet Sophia loses all her fight. Her energy dwindles, her head clouds with a sense of cotton wool, and she just can't face this. She's battle-worn and weary, and she doesn't want to do this with him anymore. It's hard to come out on top when you're the only one with invested feelings.

"What's the relationship between you and her?" Sophia asks blandly, robotically, preparing herself for the worst. She just wants the truth, so she knows. So she can deal with it and see where she goes from here.