Lisa swallowed saliva hard, shut her eyes, and inhaled deeply.
"You're doing this for a job that doesn't even pay you well. I offered you a well-paying job, but you love following your boss everywhere as his PA. I'm giving you and Chloe everything you need, and you still treat me like trash, but this is it," Martin spewed in hatred like venom.
"Get him out!"
"When Chloe gets to know the real truth, we'll get to see where you'll hide your head," Martin shouted as he was being led outside.
'She'll never know it,' Lisa inwardly told herself.
She made slow and calculated steps toward her office, breathing in and sighing deeply with every step.
The moment she sat at her desk, she placed her head on her desk, still trying hard to calm her fast-beating heart.
'What's wrong with Martin? What's wrong with me?' She asked herself and suddenly thought of Chloe.
She fumbled as she dialed her number, and after knowing she was okay, she felt some relief, but it was all short-lived as the office phone on her desk rang.
"Come to my office now," she heard Andrew say into the phone and knew that her goose was cooked.
'I'm sorry about that," she said apologetically the moment she got into the office and closed the door behind her.
She knew how nosy some of her colleagues were, and since getting employment at Andrew's, she had strived to keep her personal business private, but Martin was proving everything otherwise.
Andrew felt like spitting on her, and he angrily rushed towards her, held her by the shoulder, and repeatedly shook her as he spewed unforgettable words at her.
"Are you fucking insane that you'll let him come to see you knowing very well I'm in the office?" Andrew asked as he abruptly let go of her and started pacing up and down his office.
"I have done everything you requested me. Every fucking thing!"
"Don't you dare use cursing words at me! I'm your boss!" Andrew shouted as he pointed the finger at Lisa.
He was angry, and he had really wanted to let everything slide till evening, but he couldn't control himself anytime his mind flashed to Martin
He loathed the man with every living cell in his body for taking away everything of his when he had nothing.
For the umpteenth time in his life, he regretted being born into a not well-to-do family.
Yes, that's where his problems had begun, and he had honestly worked his ass off and was now a respected man in society, yet he still didn't have what he wanted the most: his family.
"What is it? What more do you want me to do? I have done everything I can in my power, and he won't let go!" Lisa asked with irritation, and she saw Andrew sigh in defeat and slowly walk back to his desk.
Her heart went out to him, and she wished she could hug him tightly and whisper sweet nothings in his ears, but no. They were in the office, and they both had vowed to always be professional.
"I had to keep Martin close because it's the only way I could raise my child and stay alive. You had nothing, only love for me and dreams for a better future, and honestly, that's not enough to keep someone going," Lisa said in a slow voice.
"I know," Andrew said in defeat as he looked at Lisa with shallow eyes. "Look at me now. Am I not what he was to you all those years when I had nothing? Am I not in a much better position than him? Am I not what women want these days? A man who won't feed you but who gives you a chance to feed yourself? I have loved you all these years. I had you in mind and heart. I made it and thought of you. I gave you a job to fend for yourself. You're better off with me than you were with him. Don't you see that?" Andrew continued ranting, and Lisa just looked on, a poker expression on her face.
"I know," she answered finally in an almost inaudible voice. She felt her legs grow tired from standing, so she slowly walked to sit on the chair opposite Andrew's and stretched her hands to hold his hard and rigid ones, signs of how much he had struggled in his earlier days.
"We can pay back Martin all he spent on you, and we'll still not lack. I have the money now. I can afford anything! Anything!" Andrew desperately said as he fought back the tears that threatened to flow down. His heart felt heavy with pain that he didn't even know how to let go and feel better again.