Aphrodite left for the day and so did Maximile, earning a huge sigh of relief from Azriel. The two boarded the car as the driver started the engine and drove off into the highway and into the restaurant that Nesryn booked.
It only took a 25 minute drive from the company to the restaurant, they were lucky they didn't get caught up in a traffic jam.
Nesryn was feeling off the entirety of the day and she has no clue as to why she's feeling that way. She got out of the car and thanked the driver, she walked straight to the restaurant, not waiting for her boss.
Azriel watched her from behind, trying to figure out what's happening to his secretary. She seemed fine earlier but when they got out of the company her mood immediately plummeted and she kept silent inside the car.
A staff led the two inside the private room that they reserved, Nesryn was glad she didn't have to deal with a flirty hostess, like how every time they dined in a restaurant.
Nesryn shook hands with the other party in front of them, after Azriel introduced her to them. The meeting started and Nesryn stayed silent, beside her boss. Azriel did all the work while she just noted whatever agreement the two parties agreed upon.
He kept sending her looks though she didn't pay him any heed and just focused on the other party. The meeting was paused when the food arrived. Azriel put food on her plate first before filling his.
She smiled at him as a sign of thanks but excused herself and politely left the room with her bag. She tried to stable her steps on the way to the restroom but she couldn't help but feel dizzy and lean over a wall to keep herself up.
The staff noticed her condition and asked if she needed their help but she just brushed them off with a weak smile and whispered 'I am fine'. She was able to reach the restroom without falling on the floor. Nesryn checked around first and saw the 3 cubicles empty, she locked the bathroom door and walked closer to the sink.
Nesryn slumped over on the sink and threw up what she ate for breakfast, the grim sight turned much more violent when blood also came out of her mouth. Her eyes widened and she quickly cleaned up the sink, washing it with the soap.
After making sure she won't be throwing up again, she gargled a mouthwash from her bag, freshening her breath and removing the foul taste of blood. She sat down on the floor as her body trembled.
It took her a couple of minutes to regain her strength, she stood up and stared at her reflection at the mirror, weakly. Nesryn blinked her eyes a couple of times, making sure she wasn't seeing things, she leaned in closer to the mirror to confirm that what she feared had come.
Nesryn is ghostly pale.
It's a surprise Azriel didn't notice how pale she is.
She slowly rummaged through her bag, pulling out a small, empty glass bottle. "How many days has it been since the last one?" she whispered to herself, her eyes glossed over. Nesryn returned her gaze at the mirror with her forehead creased.
She was so deep in thought that she wasn't able to notice the girls entering the bathroom. They looked at her confused but decided to ignore her. The two ladies disappeared behind two cubicles.
"3 weeks" Nesryn whispered to herself, her glossed eyes widened, remembering why she was in the restaurant in the first place. She quickly put on a slight thicker coating of make up than how she usually wore it.
With a satisfied nod of her head, she left the bathroom and returned to Azriel's side.
Azriel looked at her, concern filled his eyes. The moment Nesryn left the room, Azriel kept his gaze on the door and his client clearly noticed this. A soft smile appeared on her mature face as her eyes softened in his direction.
"You like her don't you" her melodic voice rang loud in the silent room, startling both her assistant and Azriel. He quickly snapped his head towards her direction "No, I-" he was cut off from his rumbling when the woman smiled at him.
"No need to panic, I didn't bring my company to the top with just business deals, I can distinguish those that I can trust with my business" the woman said, tapping on the sides of her eyes with a smirk on her face. Azriel was a blushing mess in front of her, to say the least.
The female CEO brushed his fumbled words off and just continued eating alongside her assistant. Silence filled the room as he kept his head down.
This was the scene Nesryn returned to, with a confused look on her face. When he heard the door open, he quickly snapped his gaze to his secretary. The other CEO in the room winced in fear the man would receive a whiplash.
She returned to his side but didn't spare him a glance. Nesryn refused to eat more food on her plate, having only eaten a fourth of the food on her plate. Despite not looking at him, she kept reassuring him that she's fine and he shouldn't worry about her.
The meeting ended at around 2 pm, Azriel was able to convince them to sign with them. Further spreading Linus Zenon throughout the entire world. The billion-dollar company just added another world leading brand under their wings and protection.
The boss and secretary returned to the car and the driver made his way back to the company. They were in the middle of the highway when Nesryn's phone rang loudly. She apologized for the loud interruption and immediately answered her phone.
Azriel watched as she said a few words before hanging up and switching to her iPad, scrolling and typing faster than he has ever seen before. She let out a deep shaky breath, she slowly turned on her seat and faced Azriel.
His eyes went wide, her eyes were glossed over and tears started pooling on the corner of her eyes. She handed the iPad to her boss with shaking hands. Azriel immediately told the driver to pull over and once the car stopped, he immediately got out of the car and ran to her side of the car and opened her car door.
He turned her body to him, gripping both her arms and making her face him. "Don't worry about this Nesryn" he whispered, pulling her to his arms and hugging her tightly. With that Nesryn's control broke and she lost her composure.
She bawled her eyes out in his arms and he just kneeled in front of her, running his hand on his back, his way of sending her comfort. The driver looked away awkwardly and gave the two privacy by stepping out of the car. Azriel pulled back and brushed her tears away using his thumbs to remove her tears.
It took her a few minutes to calm down. "I am sorry," she said, her tone low and airy. Azriel kept whispering reassuring words to her, by the time she was completely relaxed, her mind was already functioning at high speed regarding what was written on the iPad in bold.
She was once again on the news, this time a scandal that could ruin her clean reputation being his secretary. Her eyes traveled back to the iPad on her lap, where he placed it back. The bold headline immediately caught the attention of the readers.
"Second daughter of the Winterfowl family, Aphrodite Winterfowl, betrothed to Linus Zenon's CEO, Azriel Evanders" was all it said but the following article was the bomb that blew her confidence away. It brought up the fact that she was announced as his fiancee first.
The amount of nasty comments she received from the netizens were quickly affecting her. Usually, she would ignore such nonsense but this, this was much more than she could handle. Azriel glanced at the iPad.
He clenched his jaw and his fist turned into a ball "Aphrodite" he growled out. He tried his best not to grab the iPad and throw it on the asphalt under his foot. He took a deep calming breath and focused his attention on Nesryn.
Nesryn took a deep breath and forced herself to relax, she took the iPad again to turn it off but a comment caught her eye. The netizens started comparing her against Aphrodite over who was the perfect match for the billionaire CEO.
A sad smile appeared on her face, she already lost on money alone, against the heiress. The netizens also started their looks against each other. Though Nesryn was a beautiful angel, she felt that she couldn't compare herself to a beauty like her, she is called Aphrodite for a reason.
"Don't worry about this Nesryn, take your mind off this. Let me handle this" he said with a tone low and serious. Nesryn raised her head and stared straight to her boss's eyes.
"But si-" he immediately cut her off "I said don't worry about this, I will handle everything" his tone was filled with finality, leaving no room for discussion.
Nesryn had no choice but nodded her head, after he made sure that she was fine, he returned back in the car and called the driver to get back in. The man immediately boarded the car and drove back to the company.
Employees got close to welcome them back but they were frozen on their steps upon noticing Azriel's fuming face, they quickly shut their mouth and moved away from them.
The two boarded the elevator together, Nesryn pushed the button for their floor and just focused her gaze on the floor.
"I told you to don't worry about it, didn't I?" he said, grabbing her hand and not looking at her. Nesryn lifted her head and stared at the back of her boss's head, before looking down on their intertwined hands.
Before she could pry him off though, the door opened and he dragged her out back to his office, pulling her into his arms. Nesryn tried to protest upon seeing all the eyes of the employees on their floor staring at the two of them in shock.
Despite this Azriel didn't let her go, dragging her inside his office and closing it behind him. Nesryn was ordered to sit down on the couch as he turned the windows opaque, making sure no one could peek in on them. He sat down in front of her and stared at her.
"You always took care of me this past three years, it's now my time to pay you back. Don't worry about this article and focus on your job" he said before smiling widely. This eased the feeling in her and she nodded, a sad smile appearing on her face.
"Now, now my dearest secretary, don't pull up that sad smile on me" he said, standing up and pinching her cheeks and making her smile whilst pulling a funny face. This made Nesryn laugh, the sound made him smile. He let her go and the two returned to their usual silence when working.
Nesryn left his office and returned back to her desk. Azriel sat back down and took out his phone, dialing a number with a smirk plastered on his face. He didn't have to wait too long for the other line to connect.
"Hey, it's been a long time...yeah I am fine you?...that's good to hear, do you remember the favor you owed me when we were in college?"
"I would like to use it now….yeah so this is what I want you to do…" his voice trailed off. Nesryn glanced at her boss to see him talking on the phone "Probably a woman" she whispered to herself. She shook the thought off and focused on her work.
Azriel hung up the call with an evil smirk plastered on his face. He gazed outside the window and into another building next to them before turning his gaze towards his secretary, his sadistic smile turned into a soft one.
"There's only one fiancee I will acknowledge in this world" he whispered to herself, with a pleased smile appearing on his handsome face.