CHAPTER 5 : WILD LOVE
1225 Words
Bella’s POV
I was shocked on hearing this.
“But boss, I did nothing wrong…” Anna started to say. She was in panic mode.
“ Bullying your colleagues is more than enough. This will serve as a warning to every other person here. If you dare bully Bella, you’ll be fired as well. You should know there are several others waiting to take up your spot here. More talented people, you know " Richard smirked.
Anna went on her knees instantly. If someone got fired for a bad reason in Richard’s company, such a person would never get a good job in the country. He was that influential. I couldn’t allow this to happen because of me.
“Please, forgive her, sir,” I stood up and addressed him. “ She was only being childish. I took it for fun and nothing serious. Please, reinstate her. ”
Richard smirked.
“Why are you trying to play the good girl?” Richard asked me carefully. “I am not punishing Anna just because of you. She will probably do this to others. She needs to be taught a lesson for others to learn.”
“But not because of me…” I replied. Richard smiled now.
“She’ll be reinstated,” he replied coldly. He left right away, leaving others in shock. Anna sat up carefully with her chest heaving. Her whole life could have been ruined if she got sacked.
The dinner was over, obviously.
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“ You seem to be the most popular female in the company right now. Word has filtered even to headquarters. Congratulations! ” Alex was quick to say the next day.
“But nothing really happened…” I cut him unexpectedly.
“Boss stood up for you of all people. You see, the boss never stands up for people. He lets them go around with their business. I have been with him for the past three years, he has only stood up for someone twice,” Alex explained.
“I understand that the second time was him helping me out from that troublesome Anna. When was the first time?” I asked curiously.
“ It was in your Café, with those thugs. You were the subject each time! ” Alex told me firmly. “Trust me, Boss doesn’t think of you like a random girl.”
These words were fully etched in my heart. I tried to forget them but I couldn’t. This made me begin to think about this carefully. It made a lot of sense too.
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In the next few days, I watched Richard closely. He always acted like a mean boss, barking out orders all around, but he seemed to be a good guy.
“I’m done with the book!” I told him happily. I felt more excited than I did when I got my college degree.
“How many pages are there?” Richard asked me skeptically, like a professor.
“Five thousand and twenty-three,” I replied confidently. “I summarized it like you said, and I sent it to you in PDF form.
Richard grabbed his iPad and checked what I sent him. I could see a look of distaste on his face.
“ The summary is like an epistle. You can do better, girl… ” he said wildly.
“Then I will do better next time,” I told him, already dreading his reply.
“No, that won’t do,” he said, making me terrified. “You should make it shorter. Go and do it now. I can’t read it all.”
It was around noon and I hurried to get it done. I made it short but he wanted it shorter. After making it was shorter, he wanted the shortest version. After five unsuccessful attempts, I was drained.
“Can you just give me a hint? This is exhaustive, please…” I begged.
“Nah, find it out yourself,” he replied, scrolling through the company’s official blog as he talked to me.
Next, I shortened the summary and used only five words to explain what it was about. I was prepared for his rejection. Probably, he would realize how ridiculous he was when he saw that.
Alas, I met the opposite.
“Perfect!” he exclaimed. “What is the essence of wasting so many words when you can summarize it in five words?”
I was shocked.
“You told me to read a book of five thousand and twenty-three pages for five words?” I asked him wildly. I was controlling my temper.
“Is something wrong?” he asked me curiously, even though he knew everything was wrong about that.
“No, sir,” I replied politely with a curt smile.
“Then get ready. I will treat you to a meal for your hard work…” Richard told me calmly. He stood up right away, and I smiled to show my gratitude. This was the first time.
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Richard took me to a Chinese restaurant. There, we were served, and he ended up tutoring me on the ethics of eating.
“You believe I eat like a glutton too…” I said calmly. “ Oh, can I speak informally? We are not at our workplace, are we?”
“Speak casually,” he replied. “ And, I believe you eat like a glutton as well. The other day at the Italian restaurant, I guess the food was too delicious.”
“I don’t believe in hesitating before food…” I replied firmly.
“ The next team dinner will be at this restaurant. We will have Chinese food. By then, you should know what you should order…” he smiled.
I wondered why he was being so considerate to me. We thought about several things, even his personal life.
“Alex once mentioned that you are without a lover. He claims you have been chasing after one woman for the past few years. You have been allegedly rejected seventeen times…” I smiled while narrating.
“Yeah, she told me to keep trying…” he smirked.
“Will you?” I wanted to know.
“I don’t know,” he replied without hesitation. “A random lady appeared before me lately and she has been making me doubt if I still wish to try again.”
I didn’t think much about that.
“ Who is that crush of yours? Is she beautiful? ” I asked curiously. I wasn’t expecting him to open up to me.
“Emily Noah…” he replied.
“The same Emily Noah!” I exclaimed. “The popular model and actress!”
“Sure,” he replied solemnly. This left me breathless. I wouldn’t have believed it, but he wasn’t a person who would lie over such an affair.
Richard offered to drive me home and, of course, I agreed. He even wanted to escort me to my doorsteps, claiming that my environment was unsafe. As we moved, a thug being chased by his fellows brushed past us, pushing me in the process. Richard caught me midway and slowly drew me up with his face directly against mine. Our lips were inches apart.
I could feel the coldness of his hands on my waist as we breathed in unison.
“Can I…” he hesitated. “Can I kiss you?”
- Writer
