"Alright, since I am still here, I will take charge of Mr. Kempt's schedule for next month. I want both of you to start sorting out emails. I will be forwarding the emails to yours. Sort them out for you to get the hang of things. Place the emails that you think needs Mr. Kempt's attention in a folder and send it back to me. I will check it first before forwarding it to him." she said dismissing us.
We went back to our respective tables. I started going through the email that is in my bin. Some are really manuscripts.
Wow! I have never seen one before. I wonder if it is okay to read it. How can I when there is a ton of email to sort out.
I felt being watched. I looked at Ericka and I can see that she is also immersed with sorting out the mails. I looked towards the hallway thinking that somebody might have been there that I did not notice. But no one is. This is weird. Why do I keep feeling this way when ever I am here in the office. I tried to shrug off the uncomfortable feeling. I continued working.
My phone rang and the name popping on the screen made me smile.
"Yellow?" I answered in a sweet voice.
"I'm more of a gray person. Let's have lunch together. We will see you at the pantry in five minutes." Jeff said and hung up.
I looked at my wristwatch and to my surprise it is indeed lunchtime. Wow! I looked at Ericka and saw that she was getting ready for lunch.
"Do you want to eat with us, Ericka?" I politely asked her but hoping that she would decline when I remembered that I did not even let the guys know that she will tag along.
"No, thank you. I am meeting someone." she said and left. I followed after her. We were quiet in the elevator and when it opened I smiled at her and said "Enjoy your lunch. See you later." She just nodded and went off.
I entered the pantry and looked for Jeff and Ed.
"Eat lunch with me." Ashton said quietly which almost made me scream. I never even felt him beside me. Before, I would be able to spot him immediately.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kempt but she will be having her lunch with us." Ed said. How come I never saw him coming towards me. He held my arm and stirred me gently away from Ashton.
We reached our table and I saw Jeff waiting for us. We smiled at each other but I saw his eyes widened slightly as he was looking past me.
"Hello, Mr. Kempt." Jeff said respectfully which made me and Ed turn in surprise.
What? He really followed us! What does he want again?
" Would you mind if I have lunch with you?" Ashton asked Jeff. This place him in a predicament. He knows how guarded Ed is towards Ashton.
" Well, if you would like to. Why not?" he said reluctantly.
He sat down and waited for all of us to do so. Ed looked at me and gestured with his eyes to a seat between him and Jeff. I immediately started going over to the other side of the table when Ashton asked "There is a seat here, why don't you take it?" His eyes daring me to disobey.
At first, I was rooted on my spot. My old self trying to satisfy him by fulfilling his wishes. But my eyes went past him and I saw Ed. Seeing him made me realize that I do not have to do his bidding.
" I am more comfortable in that spot, Mr. Kempt. I prefer to be comfortable when I eat my meals to avoid indigestion." I said while over the other side. When Ed took his seat, he was wearing a satisfied smile. I sent him a text message saying "Stop gloating. I did not do it for you. I really just want to eat my lunch in peace. So wipe that grin off your face.'
When he was through reading my message, a wide grin flashed in his face making other women look at him hungrily. He was typing a message, and when I received it I almost laugh. 'I don't care why you did it, I just know that I won this round.'
Childish! How can a so large a man be so childish?
"What are you two texting about?" Jeff asked seemingly oblivious to the tension between the three of us. His question seemed to work Ashton up as he kept glancing at the both of us. He placed our food on the table while a staff delivered Ashton's food. We started digging in.
"Slow down, shorty." Ed said while handing me a napkin. When I just look at him, confusion on my face, he laughed and wiped a the sauce from the corner of my lips. This made Ashton drop his fork accidentally. He stood up and placed his napkin on the table.
"You haven't finished your meal, Mr. Kempt." Jeff said.
"I don't want to have indigestion. Enjoy your lunch." he said with a scowl. With a final look at both of us, he stormed off.
"Will you quit it? You are doing it deliberately." I hissed at Ed.
"What was I doing?" he asked, feigning innocence.
"He already said something earlier this morning. Apparently, he saw what you did in the elevator." I snarled. "I don't want trouble Ed, please."
"What did he do?" Jeff asked.
"I kissed her on the cheek." Ed said proudly.
"Way to go, Ed!" Jeff said and even gave Ed a high five.
"Are you both kidding me? No wonder both of you are buddies." I hissed. "Both of you should secure a ticket for a mental asylum." I stood up and cleaned up my mess. I have never liked having someone clean up after me. I left both of them. I need to freshen up.
"Hey, babe!" Ed called after me. "Wait up!"
I just rolled my eyes at him.
"She is playing hard to get." he said to the people around us. This made our colleagues laugh.
Arrrgh! This man is infuriating. I should never have considered him as a friend.