"Pattison, where's Claire?" Gabriel asked with a tired voice. "I thought I've made it clear that she was to be here tonight."
"Sir, I've brought all of her belongings here. As instructed, they all are in the guest room. Unfortunately, I am unaware of Claire's whereabouts."
"Find out where she is," Gabriel ordered as he rubbed his forehead with his hand.
"Of course." Pattison hesitated. "I found something, sir, that might be a little concerning."
"What is it?"
"This was delivered to Claire's apartment." Pattison passed a letter in the blank envelope. "At first I didn't pay much attention to it, but when packing her belongings I found these." He took out five more letters, all in the same style. Gabriel took them and started reading them as Pattison left the room.
Pattison had an amazing idea of just calling Claire to see where she is.
"Hey, Mark. What's up?"
"Hey Claire, just wanted to check how you're doing."
"Does he want to know where I am?" Claire guessed with an exasperated sigh. "You can tell him that I'm out on business."
"Thank you, Claire."
Pattison disconnected and went back to see Gabriel.
"Sir, Claire said that she's out on business."
"But…"
"I believe she's with Miss Green."
"Find her and make sure she's safe." Gabriel stood up heading upstairs toward his study. He held the letters that Pattison gave him, clenching his hands into fists. He felt that sleep wouldn't come even if he tried. Not while Claire was out there somewhere, while someone was threatening her life.
"Mark!" Claire welcomed him happily as he showed up in the club.
"Mr Pattison!" Zoe joined.
"Gina, this is Mark Pattison." Claire introduced her friend. "He is Mr Moore's assistant. Poor unfortunate soul."
"Pleased to meet you." Gina stood up and shook his hand.
"Would you like to join us?" Zoe asked.
Pattison looked curiously at the three women.
"Thanks, Miss Thompson." Jacob waved to her. "Miss Green. I'm looking forward to our meeting next week." He left.
"Claire." Pattison started.
"Come on, we just signed a 500 million contract!" Zoe exclaimed.
"With the Chi Group?" Pattison checked.
"Yes!" Claire was blushing from alcohol and excitement.
"Congratulations," Pattison said but he was very worried about how this will unfold. He knew the reason for the termination of contracts, and even though Gabriel didn't tell him outright, he knew what led to it. "I'll just make a call and I'll be right back."
He left outside and called Gabriel who answered immediately, letting him know that he found Claire and where she was. Gabriel, once again, asked him to ensure Claire's safety.
Gabriel stayed up all night but there was no sign of Claire and no further calls from Pattison. At last, Pattison showed up in the early morning.
"What happened?" Gabriel stood up.
"Nothing, sir. Claire stayed out for a long while, and after that, she stayed with her friends at Miss Green's family home as it was closer and she needed rest."
Gabriel banged on a table, standing up and leaving the room. He was swearing under his nose.
He dressed in his usual tailored suit and he headed to the company.
He didn't see her throughout the day. He knew that she was causing mayhem in her department and he tried his best not to interfere. It was driving him insane.
As it was getting closer to the end of the day, he made his way to her office. It was a holiday weekend and he wanted to ensure that she didn't try to disappear again without going back to his, or rather their, Villa.
He was calm and composed, nothing compared to yesterday. But on the inside, he was filled with rage. It wasn't directed at Claire though. He was still angry about his outburst, but now he was angry at a person that dared to threaten her.
He walked across the open office, noticing the hums of happy chatter between the employees. Barely anyone noticed him which was unusual. He knocked on the door and walked into Claire's office.
"Yes?" Claire asked without looking up. Her hair was slightly messy, falling out of the bun in all directions. She wore her glasses that had a thing golden frame. She had a light blue cardigan over her shoulders. She wore a white blouse and black skirt that she borrowed from Zoe this morning. She had her fingertips resting against her lips as she was deeply focused on her work.
She was perfectly imperfect at this moment. Her messy hair somehow made her even more endearing.
As Claire didn't get a response she looked up from her computer screen. She was surprised to see Gabriel, at least she was surprised to see him this calm. For most of the day she expected him to burst into her office.
"Mr Moore…" she took off her glasses, still trying to compose herself. She flattened her hair and pushed the cardigan off her shoulders. "Am I to understand that this is about Jones' and Chi's projects?"
"No." Mr Moore walked towards the desk. He sat down without an invitation. "There are two matters. First of all, why do you still insist on calling me, Mr Moore? I am your husband. At the very least you can call me by my first name." He leaned back into the chair. "Second of all, the contract was specific that you are to live with me. I understand that you had reasons to go out last night and I'm not going to punish you for it, but I cannot allow this to be a frequent occurrence." He took out the packet of cigarettes.
"There's strictly no smoking here," Claire said coldly. Gabriel put away the cigarettes without any further argument. "As for how I call you, I explained before that I did not feel it was appropriate to refer to you by your first name, and a piece of paper with a scribble on isn't going to change that."
"Since then, I am no longer your boss. You do not have to treat me as an authority."
"You're still the CEO of this company."
"And you own half of it, as per our agreement."
"As per last night…"
"I don't care, Claire. But I will not allow the same to happen tonight."
"And how will you enforce it?" She smiled with slight disregard.
"I have no more meetings today. I'll stay here until you leave and then I can ensure that you return home."
"You agreed that we were not to commute to or from work together."
"We will still travel separately, as per your wish."
"I have plenty of work left to do. It might be a while." Claire smiled mischievously.
"That's perfectly fine. I have time and patience for this."
"Patience?" Claire scoffed.
"I have reasons for my anger towards Chi Group and Joneses. For now, I will not share them. However, I'm sure in time you'll understand."
"Keeping secrets from your wife?" Claire teased. This comment made Gabriel smile. As Claire returned to her work, Gabriel took his laptop out and started working himself, analysing some data on current market trends. Within minutes, Claire started rubbing her eyes. "Why don't you put on your glasses, Claire?"
"I don't tend to wear them in front of people," Claire replied shortly. She smiled again. "But then, I think we established that you aren't human." She put on her glasses and returned to work. Gabriel looked at her with slight concern and then tried to hide his smile with his hand, as he continued staring at the numbers.
"Claire…" Gina walked in. She stopped in her tracks as she noticed Gabriel. "I'm so sorry for my interruption, Mr Moore." Gina bowed her head respectfully.
"What's up, Gina?" Claire asked, taking her glasses off and rubbing her eyes due to the strain. Gabriel didn't even bother looking up from his laptop.
"I just wanted to check if you need anything before I leave."
"I'll be alright."
"Are we still okay for tomorrow?"
"I think so, yeah." Claire smiled as Gina gestured at Gabriel and exaggeratedly mouthed something. "Mr Moore is assisting me with some data analysis," Claire replied out loud. Gabriel looked up at her curiously but he didn't interfere. As per their agreement, he wasn't going to expose any parts of the agreement unless Claire would permit him to.
"Of course." Gina nodded waving at Claire.
"Is Zoe still about?" Claire asked as she stood up from her desk.
"Yes, she had a meeting with the Chi Group reps and she's sorting out some details for them."
"Thanks." Claire stood up and followed Gina out of the room without a word to Gabriel.
"What is going on?" Gina asked worriedly as they were out of the earshot, Zoe came over too.
"I'll be honest. The contract I've signed has few more clauses than I initially admitted." Claire sighed. "Including the unfair trade of the complete autonomy over this department for consultation times." Claire rubbed her forehead. "I can't get rid of him at the moment. But don't worry, he must remain civil." Or so Claire hoped.
"Claire, I feel like you've gotten yourself a deal from hell," Zoe commented.
"I've done what I had to. My mum was moved to St Anne's today."
"Oh my goodness…" Gina wasn't sure what to say.
"I've received a huge joining bonus. That was the only way I could afford it." Claire's eyes well up. "But at last…"
"Please, promise me that you'll be safe," Gina demanded.
"Of course." Claire nodded. "Now, Gina go home. Joe is going to worry about you. Zoe, do you have a minute?"
Zoe followed her back into her office, with Gabriel still in the fixed spot.
"Good evening, Mr Moore." Zoe bowed. She barely received half a nod back.
"Here are the current estimates." Claire gave her a folder that she had on the desk. "Can you check the model?" Claire asked.
Zoe sat down in her chair and looked over the model on the screen.
"Looks great. Send it over and I'll get it all set up."
"Thank you, Zoe." Claire smiled at her.
"Good night, Mr Moore," Zoe said on her way out.
"I'll give you your clothes back tomorrow," Claire said behind her.
"Keep it."
"I can't. If it continues like that, I'll have half of your wardrobe." Claire joked.
"Don't worry about it. Dad is going to buy me more. Who will buy you anything?" She said as she left.
Gabriel looked up from his work and watched Claire sit back down in her chair.
"Why do you get Miss Green to check the work in here?"
"It's quicker than zipping the file and sending it over. Actually, this was the reason why I wanted the software upgrade. The upgrade has remote sharing capabilities. It'll make projects like this one easier and much more time-efficient."
"I'm guessing you didn't trust me about the Chi Group."
"Why would I? I barely know you." Claire shrugged dismissively.
"That's a fair point." Gabriel continued to work in silence for a few more hours. It was nearly midnight when Claire could barely keep her eyes open. She turned off the computer and started packing up her large handbag.
She was beyond exhausted at this point and starting to feel nauseous. She barely slept for several nights in a row now.
Gabriel also was tired from a previously sleepless night but he was much better at hiding it.
Gabriel packed his laptop as well, then silently followed Claire out of the building.
"I understand you didn't want to commute in fear that someone might see us and the scandal it would cause, but there's no one around and you do not know the way very well."
"I think I can manage. And if I don't, I'll find myself a place to stay."
"And this is why I don't trust you to come along," Gabriel admitted.
"Who knew we both have trust issues?"
"Let's take your car. It's less eye-catching." Gabriel declared.
"Mr Moore, my car might give you a heart attack. Besides we had an agreement."
"It's not written into the contract."
"I see." Claire continued walking into the parking lot, and up to her car. To her surprise, Gabriel followed her.
"I'll drive."
"Over my dead body," Claire said through her gritted teeth. Gabriel took a deep breath and sat in the passenger's seat. He looked at the floor in disgust as it had multiple food wrappers. "Sorry for the mess. Gina and Zoe used my car for their lunch today and they left all of the mess behind. It's probably Zoe if I have to be honest."
Gabriel tried to shift around in a small car but to no avail. Claire leaned over towards him and reached underneath his seat to move it back. Gabriel froze. She was so close to him that her hair tickled his hand and her arm brushed against his leg. Somehow, she didn't seem bothered. She strapped herself in and adjusted her glasses before driving out of the parking lot. "I do hope that you know the way," Claire murmured.
"I'll try my best."
"I love your confidence."
Gabriel felt uncomfortable in the passenger's seat. But to his surprise, Claire drove carefully. With how temperamental she seemed around him, he expected her to be more rash in other aspects of her life. But she maintained her razor-sharp focus as they left the city. Her face was calm, too focused on the dark road to be worried about Gabriel. "I am not as familiar with this area. I hope you can give me some directions?"
"Just head up towards Oak Avenue."
Claire nodded trying to remember which way it was. Thankfully she was working on a project within the area recently so she had no difficulty finding the way.