Chapter 4 I am married
1652 Words
Isabella POV
After my salary increase, my responsibilities also increased, and most of them involved working closely with Mr. Dominic almost all the time.
Working with Dominic opened my eyes to the reason behind his supposed success, despite being under 30. He was tenacious, and his work prowess was second to none in the professional realm, making him a force to reckon with in the business world.
But he was also a rake. In the first few days of working with me, he persistently tried to flirt with me, blurring the fine line between professionalism and personal interest and driving me up the wall.
Oftentimes, he'll ask me to stay behind after closing hours and work overtime with him, promising the remunerations would be great. At first, the money was tempting since it was a lot, but after working two days with him; I was ready to stop coming to work.
He kept talking ambiguously about how sweet I was the other night and I should remove the cloak of shame if I was worried about the reason I had gone to the hotel in the first place and that he likes me like that, regardless.
Even though I insisted that he had got me mistaken with some other person, he didn't relent. Every time he saw me, no matter how serious our discussion was, he would always link it to s*x.
As my hands flew around my keyboard, my eyes were trained on the large wall clock on the wall opposite me. As soon as it gets to 5 pm, I wanted to leave the office promptly. Raphael had hinted about making a reservation at a hotel today, and I didn't want to miss it for anything.
Our relationship these past few days has been strained, and I saw it as an opportunity for us to bond and who knows what will happen. We might get to kiss before the end of the night.
"Are you working overtime today?" Lillian leaned towards me.
Without looking away from my screen, I shook my head.
"Nope, I'm going out on a date with Raphael. As soon as it's 5 pm, I would leave with or without finishing my tasks. Why do you ask, though?"
"I was hoping you would keep me company since it seems you've been working overtime nowadays. I have a lot of unfinished tasks and Mr Barnabas won't stop nagging me about them,".
"I'm sorry dear. Maybe another day, but today is for my husband,".
As soon as the clock struck 5 pm, I picked up my already-packed bag and headed out of the office. At the entrance, I collided with someone who was also rushing in and nearly flipped to the ground, but for the timely intervention of two strong arms.
"Are you alright?"
It was Mr Dominic.
I struggled out of his arms, feeling my cheeks already burning red with embarrassment.
"Yes sir, I'm fine." I made a big show out of straightening my clothes before raising my gaze to him. "Good night, sir,"
As I tried to walk past him, he grabbed my arms, pulling me back.
"Not so fast, Isabella. I was coming to look for you. Can you work overtime today? Skyline accepted our conditions, so we need to draw the contract before tomorrow so we'll give it to the legal department and send it to skyline before noon tomorrow".
"I'm sorry, sir, but I'll have to decline," I said, adjusting my bag straps. "I have a prior commitment and I have to leave now,".
"I know you do. We all do, Isabella," he sighed, "But I need you to come through for the company just this once,".
"There are more qualified people in my department. I'm sure they'll agree to stay without hesitation. Why don't you ask them?"
"I feel better working with you because you take instructions and do as you're told. Besides, you don't have an option here. I'm only telling you for telling sake and nothing more,".
My phone rang in my bag, and I knew it'll be Raphael. We promised to meet each other in the parking lot.
"Please, boss," I begged, "You know other times, I wouldn't hesitate, but today is really important to me,".
"So is Skyline," he said adamantly. "Cancel whatever engagements you have and meet me in my office in five minutes. We have a lot to do, so it'll be easier if we work from there,".
Without another word, he turned and left.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched his retreating figure. Why was he so bent on punishing me? I decided it would be better if I walked to the parking lot and informed Raphael about the change.
When I got there, he was leaning against his car, idly scrolling through his phone.
"Hi," I called out when I got close to him.
He looked up immediately, shutting down his phone. "Hey, are you ready to go?"
"I'm sorry, Raph," I sighed and walked up to him, resting my head on his shoulders.
He shifted with discomfort as he patted my back awkwardly.
"Did something happen?" he asked.
"Mr. Dominic asked me to stay behind again. I tried to talk my way out of it but he wouldn't hear a word of it. I'm so mad right now,".
"Oh! That's fine, dear. We can move the date to another day," he said.
Pushing away from him, I gave him an icy stare. I knew that was going to be his reaction, but I expected more. It irked me that he rarely gets angry at things like this.
"I wish you'd react more." I left his arms. "It's not cool what has happened, and I expect you to express your displeasure. Aren't you pissed?"
"No," he shook his head, "I also understand that it's work. These things happen," he said.
"We haven't had time for each other for nearly a month now, Raphael, and the one chance we get...".
"What do you want me to do?" He interrupted me, his lips pressed in annoyance. "Go up to Mr Dominic and yell at him to release my wife? Or what? Why are you super sensitive to everything I say or how I respond to things like this? The world doesn't revolve around you, Isabella, and things don't always go the way you want,".
I opened my mouth to talk, but no words would come out. "How can you say these things to me, Raph? Is it bad for me to want you to care more?"
"By being a nuisance and causing problems everywhere?" he scoffed. "You know what, I'm not going to do this with you today. See you at home,".
I watched as he entered the car and drove off without a backward glance at me. Fighting the tears that threatened to spill, I went up to Dominic's office.
"You're here," he said warmly when I entered the office. "I've set up a workspace for you there," he pointed at an open laptop on the coffee table and went on to explain what he wanted me to do.
I nodded listlessly before moving to the chair to work. The air in the office crackled with heavy tension as we worked late into the night. I was glad that he didn't try his usual flirting with me.
"I take it that your silence means you're angry with me," he said suddenly, making me jerk with surprise. I had been so immersed in my work that I forgot he was in the room.
"I have other things to worry about than my boss's shabby whims," I responded without sparing him a glance.
"My shabby whims?" he chuckled. "What do you mean by that?"
I've had it up to my neck with everything and I knew that if I continued acting like it didn't matter or kept putting it off, he was going to keep doing it.
I dropped the file I was holding, closed the lid of the system and faced him, meeting his gaze.
"Seems you're about to drop it on me like a bomb," he laughed, folding his hands across his chest. "Alright, let's hear it,".
"Boss, I know you're a playboy and flirting with women is like breathing for you and that is not a problem,".
"Really? Is that what you think of me?" he arched his brow.
"But I think you should only do it to people who like it. Women who will appreciate it not someone like me. It's getting pretty uncomfortable working in the same space as you and if you're doing this because of the salary increase, I'd prefer you place me back on the last paycheck so I wouldn't have to put up with this,".
Silence reigned in the room as he studied me. "Are you seriously going to pretend about everything?"
"You think if I knew about what you're talking about, I would keep acting like this? I've told you, boss. I am not the person you're looking for and I wish you'd stop flirting with me,".
"You're young, beautiful and with that body of yours, no man would say no to you. So, why?"
"Because I am married," I cried. "I am happily married and I love my husband so much. This evening, we quarreled because of you. We were going to meet up for dinner but then I had to cancel,".
I had added the backstory so it would make him pity me more, but he just gave me a side glance and went back to what he was doing.
"It's almost 10 pm, finish up and leave when it's 10 pm and Isabella, you can lie about everything but lying about being married is extreme,".
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but he already had his attention fixed on the Desktop in front of him. I would try again another day.
- Writer
