Mr. James was certain that he had never felt angrier in his life than he felt at that moment as he walked into the lounge where he usually met with Maya for their rendezvous.
He was mad at her for jeopardizing everything because of her stupidity! How could she have made such a phone call in the restroom of the company she was applying to? How could she have saved such photos of them in a way that anyone could easily access her phone and get them?
What had he been expecting anyway? That was what he got for getting involved with a bimbo. He should have known better than to have anything to do with a beautiful airhead like her.
He glared at his phone when it started ringing again, and he saw that it was Maya. He felt like receiving the call and snapping at her, but he couldn't. Not after she had sent those explicit videos to him, threatening to send them to his wife if he didn't show up.
"Just what the hell do you think you are doing?" James growled at her when he got to where she was.
Maya, who had been sipping from a glass of Baileys Irish cream, smiled when she saw him and dropped her glass.
"You are late," she told him, and he raised a brow.
"What for?"
"What do you mean by that question? Today is Monday. We meet on Mondays, remember?" she reminded him, and James' eyes turned cold as he looked down at her.
"I told you already. It's over. I'm done with whatever it was we were doing. Move on, and leave me alone," he said as he turned to leave but stopped when he heard Maya laughing.
"Over? Do you think so? It's not over. It can't be over. As a matter of fact, we just started," Maya said, causing him to look at her as though she was crazy.
"You don't get it, do you? I barely managed to keep my job, and now I've been demoted because of YOU! Because of your..."
"I lost my job too! Do you know how embarrassing that was? Do you know what it means to lose my job after throwing such a party to celebrate it? Who do you think caused it? Vanessa! That Vanessa girl did that to me. She is the reason you were demoted, not me! She did that to us, and you're going to just give up? Are we going to let her get away with it?" Maya asked, her eyes blazing with fury
Mr. James sighed, "She wouldn't have been able to do that had you not..."
"Are we going to pass blame right now? Sit down!" She ordered.
"Maya, I'm not interested in..."
"Sit the fuck down, else you're going to be losing your job for real by the time I'm done," Maya threatened, and James looked at her reluctantly before doing as he was told while wondering if an airhead like her was capable of doing anything.
"Vanessa Scott is our enemy. She cost me my job, and she not only disgraced you, but she also got you demoted. How can you bear to face her in the company?" Maya asked, but James said nothing.
"Our relationship isn't over. It ends when I say it's over. If you fail to show up, as usual, there will be hell to pay. Vanessa messed with me. I won't let you or anyone else do the same. Together we will make her pay for what she did to us," Maya declared, a dangerous glint in her eyes as she reached into her handbag and took out a cigarette, leaving Mr James stare defenselessly.
**********
The following day, Alex prepared for work with no more than the usual devotion he had for making more money. Almost every day was the same, and he doubted anything extraordinary or exciting would happen to him, but the moment he arrived at his office, the first wave of doubt about that thought seeped in.
He remembered the pair of flaring green forestry eyes he had seen at his lobby a few days ago, the ferocity that lingered in them, and the determination that spilled over her when she demanded for what she called 'justice'. And if he remembered correctly, he had strewn in some comments into that sketchbook of hers. If that attitude of hers were exactly as he suspected it was, then he'd be having more than a mere morning meeting with her this morning. She looked like someone who could mutter a colorful string of curses under her breath or even be stupidly bold to spew them out.
His impression of people's personalities was barely wrong, but he'd like to see if she differed from all his predictions.
Not long after he settled in, a knock sounded on his door, and his secretary walked in to inform him that Vanessa had arrived and was ready to report to him.
His lips twitched in amused anticipation as he gave his secretary a nod of approval to let her in. He was looking forward to seeing just how she would react to him. Would she let her pride get in the way? Or did she love her job enough to swallow her pride?
Vanessa held a journal and a fountain pen tightly in her hand as she walked into his office. She had been so mad the previous day that she had been unable to sleep and had spent the night drawing.
Right now, she was feeling exhausted and irritable, and the mere sight of him was making her blood boil. How dare he make those useless scribblings on her sketchbook? How rude could a person be? She mused as she slowly approached the desk.
"Even a tortoise can move faster than you right now," Alex said, his voice dripping with disapproval as he watched her, and she automatically picked up her pace before remembering that she was angry with him.
"Sit down," he ordered, and she sat down quietly and looked down at her lap.
"I'm here to receive the instructions for..."
"I know why you are here. Did you see the corrections I made on your drawing book?" Alex cut in when he noticed that she wasn't going to bring up the subject.
Vanessa lifted her eyes up to him. Silent indignation flaring through it.