Stuart was still trying to comfort his sister when she suddenly pushed him away, an expression of realization adorning her small face. Marie's face changed faster than a chameleon changes its color, from shock to questioning, to realization, back to questioning, and then happiness.
Stuart was finding it difficult to keep up with these changes, so he went and asked directly, "What's got you smiling like that?" Instead of giving him a reply, Marie dug into her purse, and after shuffling for some seconds, she pulled out a small mirror, lipstick, and some wipes. Stuart watched her rearrange her makeup that had been ruined by the tears before smiling at the mirror in satisfaction and putting it back in her purse.
"I have an important meeting; try not to disturb me for the next four to five hours," Marie said before waltzing out of the office proudly, like a peacock with its vibrant feathers on full display.
Stuart was more confused than curious, mainly because Marie never described a meeting as important. To her, it was just hours of boring talk with men who had nothing fun to do with their lives. What also confused him was that she actually looked happy while leaving.
Unable to contain himself, Stuart called his secretary and asked her to find details about Marie's meeting. He was not sticking his nose in her business; he was just worried.
The secretary, efficient in her job, came in after some minutes with all the details Stuart asked for. "She is meeting with Mr. Yates in thirty minutes here in the company, and after that, they would be going for lunch together," the secretary informed as she scrolled on the tablet in her right hand, trying not to miss anything important.
Stuart was stumped. Why was Marie meeting with Berry? He knew that they had deals together, but knowing Marie, the topic of this meeting would be more about him and not their work.
**Four hours later**
Stuart was starting to get restless. Now he was more than certain that those two were not working but talking about him. It made him even more restless just thinking about the things that Marie would tell Berry about him. The mere thought of them laughing about his teenage days made him shiver, and goosebumps rose on his skin. He was cool as a teenager, but come on, we all have embarrassing things that happened in our teens.
He was so restless that the fingers he had placed on his forehead while trying to think began to twitch slightly. He was sure that after today, Berry would never look at him the same way.
A small knock successfully distracted him from thinking about those things, and suddenly, the door was pushed open, and the man who was just on his mind walked in.
Berry managed to make the vast office his personal runway as he strutted in with full confidence, oozing masculine charm. He was wearing a crisp white shirt with the top button opened, and the tie loosened a bit. One of his shoulders held his suit jacket, and his legs were covered by black trousers that were just his size. He looked tired, with strands of hair here and there and falling over his small face, typical of a normal workday or four hours spent in Marie's company.
Stuart wordlessly stared, starstruck by the man in his office as Berry leaned over the desk and casually planted a kiss on his cheek and nose, like it was the most normal thing in the world, while saying, "I missed you."
Stuart's heart thumped uncontrollably, as if wanting to jump out of the confines of his ribcage. They were boyfriends now, but wasn't this a bit too much? It was normal, but weren't there stages to these things? Weren't they supposed to talk a bit before moving on to the 'I miss yous' and kissing?
"Breathe," Berry said, his one hand now cupping Stuart's face while his fingers brushed the sides of his face. Stuart was beginning to think that Berry was doing this on purpose. How was he supposed to breathe easily when a face this handsome is literally two inches apart from his, with hot breath fanning his face, a sweet scent invading his nostrils, and fingers caressing his face, threatening to render his thinking useless.
He suddenly leaned back, instantly missing the warmth of Berry's hand against his face but choosing to remain resolute. With a frown, he crossed his arms over his chest and spoke, "You didn't call all morning." He knew he was being unreasonable right now, given that he also didn't call Berry, but that didn't mean he had no thoughts about doing it. So what if he liked being treated like a princess? What was so wrong with that? All he got was some flowers and a good morning card and had to spend a long time waiting for Berry to show up, and when he finally did, all Stuart got was a simple kiss and an 'I miss you.'
"I sent you flowers, didn't you receive them?" Berry said, a slight tremor in his voice as he tried to avert the incoming problem. The frown on Stuart's face was seriously unsettling.
"I don't like roses, though," Stuart replied with a straight face, and he watched as Berry began to panic. Great, he wouldn't be the only one with spiraling emotions!
"I brought you confectioneries too!"
"Marie took them!"
Berry was speechless. To think that he just made friends with that crazy witch called Marie. She didn't even tell him that Stuart disliked roses. If she did, he would have gotten some other kind of flowers or thought of something else.
In a state of desperation and panic, not wanting to lose his new boyfriend, whom he had worked so hard to get, Berry went around the table and turned the swivel chair to face him before leaning over Stuart. "I'm sorry; I didn't want to pester you for no reason, and I thought that I might as well surprise you since I was coming to see Marie today. I didn't mean to upset you," he explained quickly, making sure to leave nothing out. But the only thing that caught Stuart's attention was the way Berry addressed his sister. "Marie? Not Miss Garnett?" As of the last time they talked, Berry still addressed her formally as Miss Garnett, but after just meeting for a short time, he was calling her by her first name. He was right all along. These two had spent their entire time talking about something other than work.
Berry bit his tongue as an expression of 'oh, shit!' crossed his face. Marie had specifically told him not to give Stuart any hint that they were now friends, but he blew it up because of a slip.
Thinking that he could still control the situation, he said, "We work together; it's normal to address her by her first name… right?" He said with a shaky voice, not daring to look into Stuart's eyes.
Stuart felt like ten years had been deducted from his lifespan. Of all things, Berry and Marie had to become friends. This meant one thing: his peaceful days were over. Even his peaceful ex-boyfriend made sure to keep his distance from Marie, and Stuart understood that. But Berry became friends with Marie.
He didn't know if he was to be happy or sad. From the little he knew about Berry, he knew that the man has a little bit of crazy in him. His friendship with Marie is undoubtedly a case of when crazy meets crazy