"Where are you off to?" He asked.
"I am going somewhere with my Boss, Andrew Lane."
The way she said the name like it was someone he knew, made him search his memories for any man he had seen with her since they got married. There was only one, the man she was laughing with that night in The Anderson Corp's garage.
Though he knew the person now, he asked again, "Who is that?"
"You asked me who he was that night in the garage. The man I said I respect." Shikera explained, thinking he had forgotten.
She brought out a hand mirror from her sling bag and placed it in front of her face, checking if she applied her lip gloss perfectly.
Assured that it looked perfect, she ran the tip of her tongue on her lower lips and smiled to herself, unaware of what her actions were doing to Ethan.
"How did a man you respect turn out to be your date?" Ethan asked, averting his gaze from her lips. Was this how she wanted to go about, tempting people with her lips?
"He's not my date, I'm simply doing him a favor. Bye!" Shikera stressed, before rolling her eyes. Why was she explaining herself to him anyway?
Since she had bade him goodbye, she proceeded to leave the house when Ethan took large strides to intercept her.
"You are not going anywhere." Looking straight into her eyes, he said that with an expressionless face.
He bent down at the doorway and picked up all her shoes before standing up to stare at her.
"If you really want to go, then wear that one." He gestured towards the only footwear he left on the shelf, a purple bunny slippers which Shikera liked wearing in-house.
Shikera scoffed in disbelief, "Are you joking or...?" She trailed off when she noticed there was no smile on his face. Thinking of it, apart from that first day in her father's office, Shikera had never saw him smile.
Interrupting her thoughts, Ethan replied, "If you see your shoes later, then you can think I am joking." He walked away, leaving her standing.
"What?!" Shikera yelled after him, "Do you think I don't have a closet where I keep my other shoes?!"
Ethan, who was now at the foot of the stairs, placed one foot on the stair and said, "Thanks for the information. I happen to have the keys to every door in this house while you don't."
Shikera was so shocked at his pettiness that she could do nothing but stay rooted to one spot, watching as he walked up the stairs and entered her room. Why was he doing this anyway?
Looking down at her sling bag which had purple stripes, she slipped her feet into the bunny slippers. She padded across the room to the table which held their car keys. Bending slightly, she checked very well this time around so she wouldn't pick Ethan's car key again, like the previous time.
"What are you doing there?" Ethan asked. He had successfully locked the door to her closet and he expected to see her fuming when he got down. But why was she raising the car keys one by one and checking them like she wanted to pick one of it?
He finally got down the stairs and his eyes travelled to her feet, noticing that she was now wearing the bunny slippers. She was wearing a black t-shirt and a short denim skirt so Ethan didn't think the purple slippers, cute or not, were fit for her clothes.
"You're still going?" He asked, thinking she was only pretending.
"Of course. Arguments shortens one's life span and I can't bear to shorten my already short life."
Feeling a tad bit guilty because of her words, his voice softened,"That's not the point. The point is, why did you apply make up when you are only going out with your Boss?"
"Because I kissed you yesterday! You hate reporters so much that I don't know if you have been brushing your teeth every hour because I kissed you! I... wanted you to see my lips as pretty and not disgusting." She walked out of the house when she was done talking, not stopping for a second until she was settled in her car.
She rested her head against the seat and sighed, fanning her face with her hands. This had never happened before as she was a carefree person who never cared about what other people thought about her but now... Ethan was making her feel insecure about herself.
The previous day, when they came back from Preston TV station, Ethan had rushed straight to the bathroom immediately the car stopped. Throughout the day, after that, he had gone upstairs to his room almost every hour. Shikera presumed he was going to wash his mouth since he always glared at her before leaving.
She picked up her phone and texted Cyprian the address they were going to meet with their Boss, Andrew.
-
Back At The Villa.
-
Ethan stood in the middle of the living room where Shikera had left him, wondering what her words just now meant. Yes, he had visited the bathroom several times since they got back the previous day but he didn't go to brush his teeth.
He had actually gone there to read and reread the contract they had signed so he could remind himself that he was not allowed to touch her. Who knew her thoughts had gone that far?
He picked up his phone to call one of his assistants to accompany him, since he wanted to visit an Ice Cream parlor for the first time, to get Ice Cream for Shikera. Ruthlyn was taking care of Enoch who was still half unconscious, so he could only call Raymond now.
"Ray..."
"I will call back in a few minutes, Boss." The whisper came from the other side of the line, before he hung up.
Ethan stared at the phone, his eyebrows raised in annoyance. It seemed like he had become a soft Boss in this past few days fit this kind of disrespect to occur.
Slowly, he sank down into the sofa and picked up his laptop. He opened it and began to read the information about the dissatisfied board members of The Anderson Corporation.
***
Raymond knew he was stalking Cyprian, yet he could not stop himself. The previous day, after she knew he was the assistant she would be working under, she had simply left the office. He had followed her to this area before finally losing track of her and he was lucky to find her in a Cafe around here when he had come here today.
He didn't want to lose this chance so he had decided to just follow her and see where she was living first, before planning his next move.
He trailed after her as she climbed up the stairs of the King Apartments, which was a building of 12 floors, making him wonder why she didn't take the elevator.
He followed her up, till she got to the 5th floor, and opened the door with the Apartment No. 321. She entered and since he had finally known her apartment number, he turned to go back, wanting to use the elevator.
The elevator door slid open and...Raymond back stepped till his back hit the wall. Who were this heavily built men, four in all?
He expected them to bypass him but they walked straight to him, one of them opening his mouth and asking in a gruff voice,
"What are you doing on our floor?"
Raymond was shaken and he could barely opened his mouth to talk,
"I came...T.. to visit someone on...this floor. Yes! That's what I came to do... " His voice trailed off as he saw the four of them look at each other.
"Which of us? Or is it...our precious sister?" The bulkiest of the men asked.
A cold drop of sweat trickled down Raymond's temple as he struggled for what to say.