The Second Wife by Melinda Mulera (book club reads .txt) 📗

"Okay, so what's on the schedule?" I heard Avery ask from behind before he appeared beside me, fixing his shirt.

I tapped on the screen and into the spreadsheet in a flash, already feeling the slight heat in my fingertips as I scrolled the schedule.

"Well you have to send the recent analyzed chart for your company, the manager there sent it yesterday." I said as I turned the tab off and opened the folder with a thin stack of papers inside. I pulled them out carefully and held it out to him. He stared at me for a moment before slowly taking it from me. "It's the chart for the last three months you were gone. Looks like everything is going well except for the stock hoods, they claim the teenagers don't find them in fashion these days but the rates only dropped by 3% in two weeks. Stabilized the last five weeks but predictions claim it might decrease by a good 10% the next eight weeks." I said as he checked the documents, turning one page over the other.

"Okay." He simply said as he sighed and stacked the papers together. "Anything else?"

"No." I furrowed my brows at it and he raised his brows. "What?"

"No parallel questions?" He asked and I sighed with a small roll of my eyes as I turned the tab back on.

"The next thing to do at ten a.m is-"

"Are you ignoring me?"

"-is I think sending the documents and having them checked with the manager, a video conference is needed, I highly recommend it since you can explain things better to each other that way-"

"Wow..."

"At eleven thirty, the conference ends and you will have a lunch break. There after, you will be wanted to attend an online conference again but with the high ranks and supervisors of your company. That will take at least an hour." I said as I scrolled down the list. "At three, you will be requested to visit your father who wants to explain things to you. At five, you have... A guest?" I blinked, confused as I stared at the schedule.

What guest?

"Seems like a personal guest. Anyway, you will entertain this guest for at least an hour since they will be here for a brief meeting. There after, at five and onwards, you're free." I sighed as I shut the tab and glanced at him. "That's it."

"Are you free tonight?"

"This is business, Mr Bronze." I smiled as I stared at him and sighed with a small roll of my eyes. I heard him click his tongue as he let out a heavy sigh.

"Are you mad?" He asked and I clenched my jaw as I stared down at the blank tab, still aware Linda was in the room, wiping off the countertop. "Iris-"

"We agreed we wouldn't take things personal." I said as I glanced up to meet his eyes. "Haven't we kept things professional since the last two weeks?" I asked and he chuckled lowly.

"Yeah but you seem more distant today." He said and I sighed out, glancing towards the ground. "And sick."

"I look fine." I rolled my eyes and sighed as I threw a leg over the other, glancing towards the blank TV. "Just hurry up with the report, I need to send it in time.

"Fine." He sighed out and got up from his seat, giving me some room to finally breath.

Geez.

"Anything I should do for you sir?" I heard Linda ask as I stared at the TV, mindlessly staring.

"No. That's all. Just bring my breakfast." He said and it wasn't long before I heard the door open and close softly. "You know, Iris-" I heard him say as I sighed out heavily. "- I don't think your friend likes me. She gives me this weird look when I'm close to you." He said but I didn't think I had to respond to that. Linda, despite being his employee, wasn't afraid to show distaste whenever it had to do with me. She hardly even whispers when talking about him. "Are you even listening?"

"I am." I said bluntly. "But I can't respond to that." I said as I folded my arms across my chest and sighed out heavily.

"I thought you were my friend?" He asked and for some reason, it kind of ticked me off a bit. the fact that we shared a moment....

No wait...

He's shared countless moments with countless women. To him, I was just another girl he could get under her skirt.

Clicking my tongue, I sighed out heavily and clenched my jaw as hard as I could.

"If I remember correctly, I'm not allowed to be a friend during working hours." I said as I kept my eyes at the screen.

"Psssh." I heard him sigh and before I knew it, the seat beside me sunk suddenly as he sat down. "You might be with Hazel but I can tell you also want me sometimes." He whispered as he leaned into my neck. "Funny thing is, I've been craving you since the day you let me have you." He breathed out as he plastered his warm lips against the crock of my neck with one of his arms snaking around my waist and the other slithering his fingers into the edges of my skirt, tickling my thighs.

Though I feel disgust towards him, I couldn't lie that I found him attractive.

I slowly closed my eyes as I felt my cheeks slowly heat up at the thought of us again.

Did I want it?

"Breakfast is ready!" I heard Linda's sharp voice beam into the room, forcing me to jerk back and move an extra mile from Avery. He stared at me for a moment before sighing out and leaning back into the seat. "I brought some fine golden toast with butter on the side, some fruit salad either before or after your breakfast, some nice black coffee with no sugar added, as your preference, and some egg salad." She smiled as she stared at him with that murderous eye, even though he wasn't staring right at her, I could tell he knew she was looking at him. "Anything you might want to add or have removed?"

"No." Avery said as he got up from his seat. "You may leave." He told her and she turned her eyes towards me with a knowing mocking glare in her eyes before sighing out and turning, leaving the room, leaving me with Avery. "Want to have breakfast with me?"