Fallen 1: Berlin

Chapter XIV: The Other Woman

Sage quickly exited the elevator and rushed to her office. Her heart jumped lightly in her chest and it was a feeling she wasn't used to. She didn't understand why she was eager to see for herself that Berlin was okay. She turned to the passive Nellie and recalled what happened between them. She was still pissed off with her, but at the same time, she wanted to clear her name. Despite that, Sage felt that she still needed time to cool off before trying to talk to Nellie. She turned away from the maddening woman and made her way toward her office. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find Berlin standing with his arms crossed over his chest while Cairo had his hands in his pockets. Both men were standing in front of Sage's desk and she could tell that Cairo must have said something that Berlin didn't like because Berlin's eyebrows were drawn down in a frown with his mouth taut while Cairo was smirking.

Cairo was a thoroughly bad boy and troublemaker. He must have been the younger brother that always got away with everything. The two men left her breathless in their dark suits and their presence. Sage was not the type to gush over someone, but somehow, those two men left her fighting the fog that clouded her thoughts and left her feeling all mushy inside. Looking at Cairo made her cheek tingle when she recalled the kiss he placed on it. Instinctively, her hand flew to her cheek and Berlin's eyes narrowed at her.

"Good morning, Sage." His thick voice came through, breaking the spell that Cairo was weaving over her head.

Sage turned back to him and gave a little nod before a smile appeared on her lips. "Good morning, sir--Berlin." She stuttered then added, "I am glad that you are alright. I wanted to come and see you but Lucian warned me about your family being around. I didn't want to interrupt your family reunion."

"I wish you did." Berlin muttered under his breath and straightened his backbone before saying, "I must have overexerted myself and the fatigue just took a toll on me. I apologize for having worried you."

Sage dismissed the apology with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry about it. You need to take a lot of liquids and have enough rest. I will make sure that you have the nutrition you need today. Lunch is on me--I mean, I will take care of your food for today!"

Cairo chuckled. "Look at the way her cheeks turn pink. She's like a little mouse, isn't she?"

"She's none of your business, so if you are done for today, Cai, you can go on your way," Berlin spoke as a light knock sounded at Sage's office door before Nellie entered with some files in her hands.

Her face brightened as she greeted Cairo and Berlin, then turned coolly towards Sage and handed her the files. "These are urgent and need to be worked on today."

Sage accepted the files and gave the other girl a nod.

"Would you like your coffee this morning, Berlin?" Nellie turned back to Berlin.

"Sage will take care of that." Berlin dismissed her by walking towards his office.

Sage felt the ends of her fingernails bite against her palm and realized that she had curled her free hand into a fist. Nellie walked out of the office, but not after shooting Sage a deathly glare. Berlin didn't know that he was creating a time bomb that was already ticking and could go off at any moment.

"Sage?" The voice suddenly cracked through the red haze that had formed in front of Sage's eyes. She snapped her head towards Berlin, who frowned at her in concern and quickly pasted a smile on her lips.

"I'll get you that coffee--" She started and saw the way Berlin's eyes narrowed even further. Panic hit her hard. That was something that Robert did when he disapproved of what she did or said. Usually, she got the full amplitude of his disapproval afterward.

"Forget the coffee...come to the office for a moment." He said as he looked at the well-behaved Cairo, and then back at her.

Sage felt her heart squeeze painfully in her chest. This was it. Finally, Berlin was going to show his true colors. She knew the whole situation between her and Berlin was too good to be true. There was no good employer, no matter how much she tried to make excuses for him. She was very sure Berlin was displeased by her reaction. Well, at least he had the decency to reprimand her in private. She just hoped she didn't have to avoid flying staplers and box files. Sage swallowed hard and watched as he made his way towards his office. He opened the door and held it open for her. Sage's legs refused to move but she didn't want her humiliation to be out in public.

Sage turned her eyes to the floor and blinked several times because the thought of looking for another job at that point in time was not an option for her. She needed to finish off the debts her father left behind. Not to mention, her mother needed the care she was receiving at the hospital and the only way she was going to be able to survive yet another day, was to work there.

She heard the light click of the door behind her and braced herself for the scolding. She feared turning around because she didn't want to see how upset Berlin was with her.

"What is it?" The voice came through, a lot closer than she expected. She jerked up in surprise and turned around only to lose her footing when she realized just how close Berlin was standing. His arm shot forward and he grabbed her waist to stop her from sliding to the floor.

Sage let out an unintelligible grunt at the action. She wanted to push away but when she came into contact with Berlin's chest, her palms tingled with the warmth and hardness of it. She wanted to keep them there. She wanted to touch him and feel if the rest of him was that warm and hard. Her thoughts made her face stained with color.

"Are you okay?" He asked her. The expression on his face told Sage that she might have offended him somehow. Maybe standing too close to him was an insult.

"I--I--I'm sorry, Berlin." She tried to get herself free but his arm tightened around her waist and a yelp escaped her lips. She was flustered and she needed to get away from him if she wanted to gain back her scattered senses.

"Sage, stop!" Berlin gritted his teeth and when he growled at her, Sage stopped moving altogether.

Berlin took a shaky breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Sage took that moment to look at him well. His skin felt too hot and she saw the slight quiver of his body and the dampness on his forehead. Though he was lying to everyone that he was alright, Sage was sure he had not completely recovered.

Without thinking, Sage reached forward and placed her palm against his forehead. "Goodness, Berlin, you are burning up!"

"I'll be alright, but you need to stay still for a moment." His voice was barely audible and it looked like he was fighting against some invisible enemy.

"You should not be standing, Berlin. You still have a high fever. You should have been resting at home." Sage protested as she tried to direct him towards his chair, but Berlin tightened his hold on her, and to Sage's surprise, he placed his forehead lightly against hers and took a deep breath.

Sage forgot how to breathe. She didn't know what to do because that had never happened to her. She could not say that she was close enough to Berlin to allow him to do that. She wanted to move away but something told her that that was what Berlin needed at the moment. He was burning hot and she always pestered people who got sick because she had been through it with her mother. She ignored the signs until her mother's depression got worse. She didn't want to make the same mistake with the people that surrounded her.

Sage took a deep breath and closed her eyes as well. She allowed Berlin to stand like that with her until he calmed down. She could tell that he was in a foul mood and she didn't want to add anything more to his already heavy burden. She wondered what he and Cairo were talking about.

"My siblings flew across the world when they heard that I had collapsed from Cairo and now my house is loud so no--I can't go and rest at home with them there." Berlin finally said when he got some measure of control and moved back to look down at the surprised Sage.

Sage swallowed hard and cleared her throat. "But I thought that family made it better when you got sick and they came to take care of you."

Berlin chuckled and let her go before he stalked to his chair and settled down. Sage was left standing awkwardly in front of him. "If you met my family, you would understand why I needed to get away from them. As it is, Cairo is the indifferent one."

Sage's eyebrows snapped up to her hairline. "He's been fussing about you from the word go."

Berlin turned to his monitor but suddenly frowned as if he recalled something foul and turned to her. "Why were you upset this morning? Did something happen?"

"I forgot my detox shake at home." She lied. Just because Nellie and she were not seeing eye to eye, it didn't mean that she needed to tell on her. "I spent an hour preparing it and forgot to carry it."

"Should I call Shel to come and escort you back--"

Sage shook her head and hands at the same time. "No! I'll just grab one of those Nutri-sludges--I mean smoothies at the cafeteria." She cringed when she realized that she called the Nutri-smoothies sludge. With everything that Berlin had done for her, she had the audacity to call the food he offered sludge. She was going to hell for that.

Before she could say anything, Cairo entered with his hands in his pockets.

"I need to get going. I am meeting up with Bucha and Ottawa for lunch--" He stopped, then turned to Sage and added, "Our siblings have been curious about you and were wondering if you were free for dinner this evening--"

"It's not going to happen." Berlin interrupted as he ran his hand over his tired face.

"So, you would rather have them come here. You know how Ottawa gets when she has her nose fixed on a whiff." Cairo warned Berlin and Sage couldn't help but be curious about his family. She wondered if they were as radical as Cairo.

"Sage will meet Bucha and Ottawa, but not right now," Berlin said, then turned to Sage and asked, "I'd like that cup of coffee."

Sage quickly nodded and went to make coffee for Berlin, but she could shake away the feeling that meeting Berlin's siblings was not something a normal employee did. As it was, there was already gossip about her and Cairo. If word got out that she had met the rest of his siblings for dinner, Nellie was going to throw something her way. She didn't understand why everyone was curious about her, including Berlin's siblings. Maybe it was because Berlin never had a P.A. in the past and now they were all curious as to who was able to tempt him into having one.

Sage found herself lacking in that sector, though for the past few days that she had worked there, she had learned a lot. There was so much that Berlin's company had to offer and there was room for growth. Sage was looking forward to that because she had always been a hard worker and concentrated on her career because of her mother. She wanted to make her proud and to make her stop worrying about her, which made her health deteriorate.

Sage was so busy daydreaming as she made Berlin coffee that she had not heard anyone enter until she was tapped on the shoulder. When she turned around, her smile fell as Elise stood in front of her with the smirking Nellie beside her.

"Miss Ferry is here to see Berlin," Nellie announced smugly.

Sage gave a little nod and turned to Berlin's office. "Berlin is currently meeting with his brother but I will go and tell him that you are here to see him."

"That is not necessary," Miss Ferry said, then turned to Nellie and thanked her for escorting her in. Nellie turned on her heels and walked out as if she had just been told the P.A. position was hers.

Sage felt sorry for her because she was kissing the wrong ass if she wanted that position. She should have been kissing Lucian's or Berlin's.

"Before speaking to Berlin, I wanted to speak to you first," Elise said, and Sage felt as if her heart was about to fail her. She didn't want to be associated with whatever was happening between Elise and Berlin because she was not the other woman. She was just a P.A. that was caught between a lovers' spur. She just wished that Elise saw her worth and walked away with dignity because word came out that Berlin had dumped her but she still clung to him.

"Please." Sage gestured to the chair by her desk for Elise, then went to sit on hers.

"I have known Berlin for quite a while now and I have never seen him take a P.A. before--until you. Can I know how you two met?" She asked.

"Uhm--I was recommended to him by Lucian, who knew my previous employer." And it was not a lie. Thanks to Lucian, Sage was able to escape Robert and work for Berlin. "At first, I thought I'd be working for the president of the company, but I was introduced to Berlin instead."

"Nellie tells me you are on good terms with Berlin's brother, Cairo," Elisa remarked, and Sage gritted her teeth. That little rat was already spreading gossip about her and Cairo! "For the time I was with Berlin, I never knew that he had a brother until the night of the stakeholder's dinner...yet you have barely been here for a week but you've already met him."

Sage could only imagine how Elise would react if she found out that the rest of Berlin's siblings also wanted to meet her.

"Are you the reason why Berlin wants to break up with me?" Elise went straight to the point and Sage forgot that she had made Berlin a cup of coffee until she grabbed it in surprise and it burnt her palm.

"Ouch!" She yelped in pain and looked at Elise in surprise. "What are you talking about? It's barely a week since I met Berlin. What happens in his life has nothing to do with me. I am nothing but his P.A."

"It doesn't make sense to me that you would come into his life so suddenly and change so much about him. His routine has changed because of you. You must be the other woman. I should warn you that I am not a person to give up easily. Once I lay my eyes on something I want, I always get it." Elise's eyes ignited with a fire that had Sage shrink back in her chair. "I don't care who you are to Berlin but you need to understand that he has always been mine."

Sage swallowed hard and turned to her red palm that tingled because of the burn, then back at the scathing woman in front of her. It was barely a week and she was already being threatened and warned off for things that she was innocent of. It made her infuriated, but every time she wanted to retaliate, she thought of her surroundings and she recalled her previous job. It was something she didn't want to go back to, so she leashed her tongue and swallowed back her anger.

She didn't know why, but her thoughts traveled back to what happened between her and Berlin. He held her in his arms and placed his forehead against hers, which allowed their breaths to intermingle. At that moment, she felt how Berlin's erratic heartbeat slowed and he calmed down. She could still recall how warm he was and how his warm hands felt around her waist. Berlin had been treating her so well and all she ever thought of it was that he was just a nice guy and she had to be grateful for it, but as she thought more about the professor's dinner where he took her away from Winston Archer, when she thought about the meeting with Mrs. Sinclair, about the way he allowed her to talk to McGrady alone and how he gave her his credit card, her heart pounded loudly in her chest.

He renovated her apartment and got her a driver to get her from home. That other time, he personally went over to her place to collect her. She never wanted to think too much about any of that but, somehow, she could understand why Elise was insecure.

"Elise." The voice came from Berlin's door. It jolted Sage back to reality as Elise quickly got up and made her way toward him.

"Berlin." She said lightly and smiled up at him. "I am glad that you are feeling better."

"What are you doing here? I thought I made myself clear the last time?" Berlin asked her and Sage winced at the sound of it.

Berlin was a wealthy man, not to mention hot and young. Sage could understand why he would have a lot of women flock around him, but what she hated was the fact that Elise lowered herself to a point where Sage felt sorry for her. Sage endured humiliation for a long time, so she knew what it felt like, but she didn't understand why someone would endure that humiliation willingly. Sage was sure there were many men out there who would adore and love Elise the way that she wanted to be loved, but as Sage turned to look at Berlin, she could tell that Berlin was not one of those men.

"I know you are tired and a little stressed with work and that is the reason why you are not being sensible about this, Berlin. Who knows you better than I do?" Elise asked. "I have always been there for you and at one time I felt that our relationship was going somewhere but you suddenly pushed me away. I don't know what I did but I'd love to know so that I can rectify it."

"It's not about what you did, Elise. It's about what I didn't do and I am sorry that I led you on." Berlin answered and Sage felt as if that was the right time to escape. She didn't want to know what happened between the two lovers because it was none of her business, so she inched away towards the door in order to go to the bathroom to run some cool water on her tingling palm.

"What happened to your hand?" Cairo suddenly asked as he zeroed in on her red palm and Sage wished that the earth cracked open and swallowed her whole.

Elise was soon forgotten as both men went around her and toward the startled Sage.

"No, it's okay." Sage dismissed them with a wave of her good hand as frustration bubbled inside her, but they ignored her as Berlin took her hand and inspected it while Cairo frowned down at her. "You two don't know how hard you are making this for me." She mumbled lightly to herself, close to tears as she looked at the raging woman in front of her.

"How did you burn yourself like this?" Berlin growled at her and tears sprang from Sage.

Everything was just overwhelming and Berlin and Cairo didn't know just how much damage they were doing. How was she going to explain herself to Elise enough to make her believe that there was nothing between her and either man? Why were they so attuned to her presence? Why did they fuss over her and make her feel like she was a porcelain doll? How was she going to save face if that kept on happening in public?

"Why are you crying? Does it hurt that much? Should I take you to the hospital?" Berlin offered.

"I am crying because you two have just ended my social life!" Sage sniffed as she rubbed the tears coming down her cheeks. "I will not make friends in this company because of you two. I will not experience a girls' night out or have someone to gossip with because everyone thinks I am sleeping with you two and the way you fuss about everything I do makes it even worse!"

"What?" Berlin and Cairo asked in shock.

Elise pushed past them and slammed the door behind her angrily.

"See?!" Sage wailed. "Now everyone is going to think I am the other woman! Why are you two like this? This was not part of my job description."

Berlin and Cairo looked at each other in confusion, then turned back to the crying woman. They were utterly stunned by what was happening in front of them.