Once the elevator doors closed, Ariel expected Raymond to put her down but he didn't.
"Um..., You can put me down now."
"Don't bother. I can do this much. It'll just be uncomfortable to burden you." Raymond said and she felt confused. Wasn't that supposed to be her line? "Now that we're in the company, you can freely say what you wanted to say back in the car." He brought up and she pursed her lips.
"Well, that's..." She peeked at White. "You said earlier, when we were having dinner... That conversation we had."
"You and I talk a lot during dinner, Ariel."
"... I mean, you told me that if I performed well and trampled them then, you would give me a reward." She reminded him, her face almost turning into a ripe tomato. "I've been meaning to bring it up but I just couldn't find the right opportunity."
Raymond was silent. Yes, he did say something like that but he couldn't remember the reward he planned out. He knew she would do well and prepared it beforehand but he completely forgot about it.
Saying he forgot now would only make Ariel feel embarrassed for asking.
"I remembered." He cooly said. "Tonight, I'll give you your reward." He said and the elevator doors split apart, revealing them to the 'hardworking' employees who had already started gossiping about the rumors from the down floor.
They all went silent but the little murmurs remained as they couldn't ignore the sight before them.
'So, it's true?'
'What do you mean? Don't you have eyes? Would he carry her otherwise?'
'It might just be a misunderstanding. Maybe she hurt her leg.'
'Didn't you guys watch 'that' video?' someone asked and everyone suddenly went silent.
'You crazy or something? Why would you talk about that now? You know the other lady is the Chief's wife.'
'But he's not here right now.' that person pouted fearlessly.
'Did they have a bone together or something?'
'I will never understand rich people and their fights.'
Ariel listened to all this and wondered if they were so confident that their boss wouldn't hear them clearly or if they were simply fearless?
Well, the place was pretty wide so not everyone could hear them clearly. She had keen hearing, so of course she heard them clearly but for Raymond... She stole a glance at him. She didn't know.
In any case, she was glad the rumors spread all over here as well. She'd like to hear what they had to say concerning Clara but it didn't look like they talked much against her since their Chief manager was her husband and they were scared of getting on his bad side.
"When are we going to your office?" Ariel whined, pouting her lips.
"Hold on a bit, White just needs to get something for me."
"I'm not worried about myself. You've been carrying me since we got here. I don't want your arms to hurt. You're here to make more money, aren't you? You need your hands, hubby."
"I know but trust me, you don't weigh more than a pillow." He said and she surprisingly gasped.
"So that's why you've been trying so hard to fatten me up these days." She said in realization. "You're so bad."
"I just want your stamina to increase." He said. "What will I do if you keep passing out in between like that?" He grinned and Ariel's face flushed.
Seriously, she needed to get the kind of books he was using as reference material.
"It's not me that lacks stamina." She said, "You're just too good at it." She muttered, though loud enough for others to hear.
"I got it sir." White announced, walking back to them and they went back to the elevator.
Once the elevator doors closed, the employees went into a frenzy.
"Oh my, oh my! Did you guys see that?"
"All those who bet on the news being hyped lost and same with all those who bet the lady was in a one side pursuit." Someone announced and looked at a few papers. "So, we have three winners who bet on their relationship being real."
"Yes! Pay up."
The employees who had been ladened with heavy work load relieved themselves with a betting game. Betting if their overall boss had really entered a mutual love relationship or if he was being chased by some crazy chick and the results came out as him entering a mutual love relationship.
(So they think)
"But she didn't look so vicious as the media entails." A lady said and a guy spun his chair towards her desk.
"Yeah, she's pretty cute." He said.
"Hey, rabbits are cute too but even they get vicious at times." Someone said which was a true fact.
"You know, someone said she was the devil's incarnate so I thought she'd be ugly." The guy who spun his chair said.
"What are you saying? Devil's are supposed to have absolute beauty." The lady said and they both paused, turning to stare at the spot Raymond and Ariel were at. "On that note..."
"It's true that they are a match made in hell."
"Who is?" Marco's voice rang in their ears like an alarm and they quickly took their position in front of their desk. "Won't you tell me who?"
"It's not anything important. Really." The lady said, trying to smile her way out of a pit.
Marco was the chief manager of their finance department and though a lot of people claimed his skills were not very up to par compared to other chief managers, they couldn't deny that he had a very adaptive brain. He was smart so he was able to work his way well and got the recognition he craved for.
The reason he drank so much and got violent with Ariel was because he lost his job after just two months and always blamed his bad luck on her.
He couldn't get a job no matter how hard he tried or how good his honors he graduated with were, so he was ready to throw Ariel in as a prostitute if that could secure him a good place at a company.
All was going well till his wedding day and here, he started wondering.
'Did I make the right choice marrying into that family? They are filled with such bad luck.' He sighed and massaged his nose bridge. 'It must be it. I shouldn't have accepted Clara's plan to get married. I can marry any girl I want to as I am. Even...' his mind suddenly flashed to the stunning image of the lady who was beside Raymond that night. She was such a beauty and funny enough, she felt really familiar to him.
But now he had already tied the wedding knot.
'It's just because... At the end, that dead bitch still has a chain around my neck, huh?' he rubbed his neck.
"Chief." The lady called and he looked down. "About the file you sent me before you got married... "