Perfect disguise by Elizabeth A (speld decodable readers .txt) 📗

Chapter 2.

Dominic.

When life gives you lemon, make lemonade, but when your boss' wife tries to lure you to sleep with her, you flee!

 As I walked into Stevesoft, a software company where I worked as a team leader, I made up my mind that it was high time I started avoiding my boss' wife, Chloe. For as long as I could remember, Chloe had been trying to lure me into bed with her. It wasn't like she wasn't beautiful or attractive. Trust me, she was so gorgeous that my blood boiled and my muscles flexed whenever I set my eyes on her. She knew the effect she had on me and she seized that opportunity like a predator sinking her fangs into her prey.

She blew me out of my mind whenever she had the chance, but still I couldn't go to bed with her. She was my boss's wife for goodness sake. Besides, I'd been working in Stevesoft for almost four years and I had gotten very familiar with her husband, Mr Rodriguez. I just couldn't disrespect him by going to bed with his only wife.

I studied my appearance through the transparent door leading to my team office. I looked so professional and organized. My shoes were well polished and my round shirt graced my trousers accurately.

I opened the door with a quick turn and strolled inside. The workplace became very silent and all my team members stared at me. I paused, becoming a little confused as to why they were giving me the awkward stares. 

"Good morning, Mr Otieno." Adelina, my Italian-American assistant, greeted me from her desk. Her ponytail dangled behind her back as she jerked up. 

"Good morning, Miss Adelina." I leaned at her desk.

She awkwardly glanced at my personal office door. "Sir, there are some documents on your desk from the administrative department."

I nodded and said, "Is anything strange going on?"

Adelina's eyes flickered.

She nodded rapidly. "No, everything is well."

I looked back and caught Kenneth smirking underneath his hand which barely covered his face. His half-parted red hair hid his face, but I was certain he was eavesdropping on us. He has great detective ears despite its small size.  

He was a teammate and a roommate. We both rented a condo together after we finished college. He was typing something on his computer, but he wasn't concentrating. Too bad, he would have to redo that work. 

I could see the truth bursting out through Adeline's darting eyes. Kenneth and the others were hiding something from me. 

"What is going on here?" I insisted with a hushed tone.

Adelina bent to adjust some organized files on her desk and darted her eyes towards the direction of my personal office. "Hmm, I think you should find it out yourself."

I furrowed my brow, getting more confused. "Find out what?"

She scratched her nape. "I don't know how to say it, but when I walked into your office to drop the documents, I saw something on your desk and some of the teams saw it too," she wetted her dry lips, "it is somehow inappropriate to say what it was." 

I exhaled deeply and tightened my grip on my briefcase. I knew who dropped that inappropriate whatever on my office desk. 

Who else except Chloe? 

She was capable of doing ridiculous things just to frustrate the life out of me. I left Adelina's desk and walked towards my personal office. I felt my teammate's eyes following me as I walked towards the door.

The moment I opened the door, I dashed straight to my desk. I glanced with a cringe at the mess on my table. A lacy red thong attached to a white paper tag dangled on my glittery office pen.

Suddenly my stomach turned and I wanted to puke. I reached for a handkerchief in my back pocket and used it to pick up the thong. 

My hygienic acts of devotedly sanitizing my desk just got ruined. Gosh, who knew what billion of gems it contained?

I raised the underwear to my eyes level. It was rolled up. 

I cringed again. Was it a used thong? 

Then I glanced at my door. Ah! My team members stared at me through the opened door, then all eyes focused on the thong still dangling at my eyes level.

Oh my.

I darted, nearly spraining my ankle, to the door and closed it. I leaned on the closed door, slapping my lean hands on it. Sweat broke out of my pores and my heart thumped.

 How could this happen at a time when I was aiming to get a promotion?

 I didn't want to assume what my team members were thinking, but my lousy mind rang it loudly in my ears.

The introverted and reserved boss had sex in his office?

Does he have an affair with one of the team members? Who? Could it be Chl—

Shut up. I quieted my mind.

Or maybe he just has a secret obsession with rolled up G-strings.

Oh no.

I huffed a sigh, I gave up on this grimy mind of mine. For once, stop assuming and fix this mess!

Finally free from the mob of suspicious looks, I suspired out of relief. I straightened up and restlessly adjusted my collar. I drew in my breath and exhaled slowly. My tensed muscles and bones gradually relaxed.

Yes, that's it. Stay calm. 

I dashed towards the dustbin and was about to trash it when I noticed the tag attached to the thong. I napped the tag and read its words.

See you soon, sexy muffin!

I grimaced.

What? Muffin?

How could she even address me as a muffin?

I was too resolute and firm to be called a muffin. Besides, isn't that a nickname for kids with freckles and curly sponge hair?

I bit my bottom lips, my senses perked up. Why was I fuming over being called a muffin? 

I shivered, jolting myself from futile thoughts and disposed of my precious pen and the rolled up thong.

Chloe had a first class degree in the craft of disturbance and was practically exhibiting it.

I cleaned my hands with the handkerchief, removed a sanitizer from one of the drawers of the desk and emptied it on the handkerchief. Then, I used it to purify my contaminated desk. Once, I was certain I had scrubbed out the trace of the thong, I sat down and face-palmed. I needed to think fast, I needed to find a way to swerve from Chloe's direction unless I would be crushed by the force of unemployment.

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