Gael stood in the doorway, a sheaf of papers in his hand. He and Violet had played a game to decide who would have to face Ms. Sinclair with the bad news about her flings. And he had lost.
He knew Dahlia could be terrifying when she was angry, and he prayed that she wouldn't take her frustration out on him. After all, it was his idea to set up the blind dates in the first place. He was the one who was doomed.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to walk into her office. He entered the office and saw Dahlia seated at her desk, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she worked. He cleared his throat. "Good morning, Ms. Sinclair." He kept his voice light and friendly.
When Dahlia merely grunted in response, not looking up from her computer. Gael took that as a good sign - if she had been truly angry, she would have snapped at him, but instead she had simply ignored him. Maybe she wasn't angry after all. Or maybe she was just hiding her anger. He wasn't sure which was worse.
Gael cleared his throat again and approached her desk, dropping the documents onto it. "This is a proposal from the fashion team."
Dahlia didn't even look up from her computer. "I'll take a look at it later." She said dismissively.
Gael let out a breath he didn't even realised he was holding. She wasn't angry, at least not yet. He knew she could be intimidating but he had to admit that she was one of the best bosses he'd ever had. Even if she could be a bit scary at times.
"What is it?" Dahlia asked, noticing that Gael had not left the room as she had expected. He seemed to be standing there, frozen in place.
He hesitated for a moment, before speaking. "I thought you'd be angry with me." His voice barely a whisper as he spoke. "You know, because your flings didn't show up."
He sounded so vulnerable, so unsure of himself. It was a side of him that Dahlia had never seen before. And it intrigued her. "Why would I be angry?" She asked, genuinely curious.
"Because we - I mean, Violet and I kind of convinced you to go on a date against your will, and then -" Gael began, but Dahlia interrupted him.
"Why would I be angry about a bunch of losers not showing up?" Her tone light and unconcerned. "Their loss, not mine."
Gael was a bit taken aback by her attitude. She didn't seem upset at all, and he felt a little foolish for worrying about it. But he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious about the situation. How would she get a husband now that the men she had been planning to meet had stood her up?
"What about your citizen certificate?" He asked, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.
Dahlia just smiled, the smirk playing on her lips. "Don't worry about that." She said confidently. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs and swiveling back and forth.
Gael watched her, bemused by her casual demeanor. "Do you have an alternate plan?" His curiousity getting the better of him.
"We're sticking with our original plan." The smirk playing on her lips again. "Marriage."
"But, none of your flings..."
"Those fools are not the only men in the world." She cut him off, sounding nonchalant. "I have someone else in mind. Someone much better."
Gael's eyes widened. "Who is it?"
"I'm not going to tell you that." A teasing glint in her eyes. "You'll just have to wait and see."
"Has he agreed to marry you?" He asked again, taken aback by her confidence.
"No." She replied. "But he will." She added.
Gael was left speechless. He couldn't believe that Dahlia was so sure of herself, so confident that this man would say yes to her proposal. Who was this person, and why was she so convinced that he would agree to marry her?
"How can you be so confident? I mean, what makes you think that he'll say yes?"
Dahlia just smirked, her expression one of pure confidence. "Because he won't stop thinking about me." She responded, her voice laced with a hint of mischief. "That's how I know."
Gael could only stare at her, amazed by her boldness. She was not just confident - she was arrogant, sure that she could get any man she wanted.
"I need to focus on my work." She said, returning to her computer. "You can leave now."
"Alright." Gael bowed his head, feeling like he had been dismissed. With that, he turned and left the room wondering what would happen next. He just hoped that the man Dahlia had her sights set on would be as captivated by her as she seemed to be by him.
********
The workers bowed as William and Henry walked into the distribution shop of Harmony Solutions. The manager bowed as well, a look of surprise on his face.
"Good Afternoon, Mr. Anderson." He greeted, his tone respectful. "We weren't expecting you today. Is everything alright?"
William nodded, a pleasant smile on his face. "Everything is fine. Thanks for asking." His tone friendly. "I'm just here to do a little inspection. Is that alright?"
The manager looked relieved, happy to be able to accomodate William's request. "Of course, Mr. Anderson." He replied, leading them through the shop. "Please, let me show you around and introduce you to our products."
He led William through the aisles, explaining the features and benefits of each products. He was clearly proud of the products his company produced, and it showed in his enthusiasm as he explained everything in great detail.
William listened attentively, making mental notes as he went. After the tour, the manager led them to his office, where they sat down to discuss the company's operations. William asked questions about everything from supply chain management to marketing strategies, and the manager was happy to answer each one in detail. William was impressed by the manager's knowledge and enthusiasm for the company, and it was clear that he was a valuable asset to the organization.
"Thank you for taking the time to show me around."William said as they wrapped up the meeting. "So, What's next on the agenda?" He asked, turning to Henry.
Henry consulted the tablet in his hand, running through the list of things they had to do that day. "Your blind dates." He answered, looking up from the tablet.
William groaned, he had forgotten about that part of the agenda, and the thought of going on another round of blind dates did not fill him with excitement. "Oh, joy." He said sarcastically.
As his eyes scanned the scenery, they landed on a giant billboard, advertising a product from the Sinclair Corporation. But then, something strange happened. The woman in the ad - Dahlia Sinclair herself - seemed to move closer, her eyes meeting his.
"Let's get married." Dahlia's voice was soft and seductive.
William blinked, sure that he must be imagining things. But when he opened his eyes, she was still there, staring at him from the billboard. He took a step back, unsure of what to make of this strange occurrence. Was he hallucinating? Was he going crazy? And then, just as suddenly as she had appeared, Dahlia disappeared from the billboard, replaced by the original advertisement. He felt a shiver of unease run down his spine. What had just happened? He looked around, wondering if anyone else had seen it. But no one did, he felt alone in his confusion.
"What?" Henry asked, seeing the dazed look on William's face.
"Let's get married." William said, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could even think about what he was saying.
There was a beat of silence, and then Henry's face broke into a look of utter confusion. "Wait, what?" He said, his eyebrows furrowed. "Did you just say we should get married?"
William felt his face flush, and he wished he could just sink into his floor and disappear. "I... um... I don't know where that came from." He stammered, trying to backpedal. "Just ignore me, I'm being silly."
But Henry was not going to let him off the hook so easily. "You don't just say something like that out of nowhere." He said, a mischievous glint in his eye. "I think you're hiding something from me."
William sighed, realizing he wasn't going to be able to get out of this one. "Fine." He gave in. "I've just been... thinking about marriage lately. And I guess it just popped out."
"Thinking about marriage?" Henry repeated, his voice full of curiousity. "You? Mr 'I'll never settle down'?"
"Forget it." William sighed, regretting his words. He really shouldn't have said anything, now Henry was just going to tease him about it. He could already hear the jokes and jabs coming. It was all Dahlia Sinclair's fault, if she had not made him start crazily thinking about her, if she had not intrigued him to the point that he couldn't seem to get her off his mind. What was he even thinking?
But Henry was having none of it. "You can't just say something like that and then expect me to forget it." He said, following William as he tried to walk away. "Come on, who's the lucky woman?"
"No one." William replied, keeping his voice firm. "I was just... thinking out loud, I guess."
"Oh, so that's how it is?" A mysterious grin spread across Henry's face. "You've been thinking about marriage and decided to take the plunge with little old me?"
"Ha ha."William laughed, rolling his eyes. "You wish. You're way too annoying to be my spouse."
"Oh." Henry mouthed, nodding his head, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "But you just proposed to me." He mimicked William. "Let's get married."
The nearby workers tried to stifle their laughter.
With a sigh, William turned on his heel and walked out the shop, shaking his head as he went. Henry just chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. Some days, Henry was just too much to deal with.