My Perfect Marriage

Chapter 11

"You know me too well, Darling." That's all Sophia can manage to say without sounding strained, pushing a fake adoring smile in Leon's direction. She catches Celine's lingering look at him as he settles back into his previous position. It's a fleeting moment, less than half a second, but Sophia catches it. The undeniable appreciation and admiration for a handsome man and how his care for his wife melts Celine's heart. It makes Sophia uptight, suddenly suspicious of Celine's motives for showing up here like this, and she focuses back on the documents on her lap. Mentally chastising herself for being this foolish and acknowledging that her irrational thoughts have become a problem lately. Perhaps it's because they've become more irritable towards each other, colder and crueler of late, and Sophia feels like Leon is slipping further away.

"I only came to hand you these. We need them processed quickly. I'm awaiting signatures to get the ball rolling. I wasn't aware Biochem was sending someone so soon when the ink hasn't been applied to the agreement yet." Sophia raises a brow at Celine, then at Leon, wondering how exactly this woman got in here when Sophia was the one dealing with their male liaison just a week ago while digging through their financial projections. Sophia doesn't have a clue who Celine is. They didn't inform her of a liaison replacement.

"I hate to admit, but I wanted to come and introduce myself face to face. I'm recently recruited to biotech and have followed POLO's success for several years. I admire what you two have done with your company and how far it's come in such a short space of time to become an industry leader. I shamelessly came to meet in person my idol who put his company on the number one spot." Celine oozes charm with every word, and her eyes keep straying to Leon, making it clear that despite saying it's both of them, it's Leon she wanted to meet. Leon smiles back, but there's nothing in it, and it doesn't reach his eyes. Just a mere polite acknowledgment, and it makes Sophia feel a little less edgy and paranoid. If Celine had charmed Leon, Sophia thinks her current state of mind would have her ripping Celine's hair off.

"So, you have a thing for my husband... well, his brain?" It's an off-the-cuff remark, through a half laugh, steeped in fake jest, and Sophia smiles so brightly she passes it off as friendly banter. Sophia catches Leon in her peripheral vision flexing his jaw subtly and signaling he knew it was a catty remark and didn't like it one bit. His shoulders hunch forward slightly to signal he's moving to a bad mood because of Sophia. Not understanding where this bitchiness has come from when Sophia only just met the woman.

"You could say that. I could learn a lot from someone like Leon Hale, top of his field, and infamous in investment banking.....and of course you, Sophia." Celine's response is equally veiled but over-dusted with the same fake humor as Sophia's. Leaving Sophia's recognition as an obvious afterthought to point out she caught Sophia's meaning.

"My apologies, Miss White. We have a meeting soon, so you can leave all this with me, and I'll be sure to email you if I have any questions. I'll reach out to you for a formal meeting when we have a definite investment decision. It's nice to put a face to the name on the emails, and I hope to be working alongside you very soon." Leon is playing mediator, and it's obvious he's in no mood for this or Sophia. Sophia can feel his static sizzling in the air and knows as soon as Celine leaves, she'll get his cold shoulder and harsh words.

He stands up to signal Celine should go, and Sophia knows it's because she has upset him, not Celine. Sophia cut their brief meeting short, and she's not even sorry. Leon doesn't like entertaining when Sophia sours his mood and knocks him off his charm game. Sophia is like a black cloud to him every day. No one else is ever in the wrong besides Sophia, no matter the scenario when it comes to Leon.

"I'll look forward to it." Celine stands too, and Sophia follows suit, exchanging polite handshakes and empty pleasantries as Leon escorts Celine out of the room in a hasty manner, not giving her time to linger for chit chat. Sophia stands her ground and sits back down, with no intention of leaving here, picking up the documents she brought with her and steeling herself for a showdown when he comes back.

Sophia mentally reassures herself that she did nothing out of order here, even if her gut says otherwise. He's her husband, and she has a right to walk in here anytime she chooses and challenge women giving him the eye.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" Leon throws the words Sophia's way as he walks to his desk and not back over here. Making it clear he's not bothered about Sophia's presence, and he has no intention of talking to her. All warmth gone from his tone now that Celine has too, and Sophia gets up, snatches the files, and marches over to him instead. Tossing them on his desk with a show of aggravation and hating the change in him now they're alone.

"Did I interrupt your cozy little meeting? Might want to call Dee back and cancel the food you so thoughtfully ordered me, now the act is over." Sophia retorts and picks up his fountain pen from the holder before tossing it on top of the paperwork in a brisk manner.

"I need those right now." Sophia orders him, inwardly hostile and not sure why she's feeling this way from the second she got up this morning. It's like a growing storm in her belly that she can't stop from expanding.

"What is it? Threatened by a pretty face and a nicer personality who has an equal IQ? Worried I might realize other women are not that bad." He doesn't look at Sophia, just pulls it all towards him and starts flipping them open to sign. Rotating his shoulders before picking up the pen and flicking the lid off.

"When did you start taking impromptu visits from company personnel without an appointment? Is our CEO so accessible that any woman can walk in off the street and get into our senior offices for a cozy couch to couch visit?" Sophia bypasses his scathing remarks she knows are designed to hurt her. She knows jealousy is at the root of this, insecurity, and how she's been feeling since last night. And yes, Celine's attractive appearance too annoyed Sophia from the second she looked at her, getting so intimate with Leon in here.

"When the personnel hits a ten on the attractive scale, I guess. We all need a nice view from time to time to relieve our daily stress." He looks up at Sophia this time, locks her dead in the eye with a severe tone, and Sophia knows one hundred percent he's only saying this to wound her because of this, last night, what yesterday was, but it still stabs her in the heart. They're in the midst of the cold war once again, and Sophia swallows hard as her emotion gets the better of her.