Chapter 46: Chapter 46
"Before facing your enemy, you must first face yourself."
-Tite Kubo-
***
Clara had been sitting in her desk for hours typing in a proposal for the company's next project. It was a completely different experience compared to what she was used to. Before she would spend hours painting with her right brain in maximum usage, but this time she allowed her left brain to play around a bit.
She had been working with Corentin for a whole month and so far she had been enjoying herself, the only thing that felt strange to her was mostly sitting in front of a computer roughly eight hours a day, for some people it might not be that big of a deal but even before when she was still dealing with her family's business, she often incorporated manual methods which she had to admit, was far less effective than using a computer.
Besides that though, everyone around her had treated her well, she had no idea if it was because she was a close acquaintance to Corentin or if they were actually nice. Considering how Corentin had always treated her, it would come to no surprise if he had previously told them to behave well around her. Ah, the office life, you just never know who's genuine and who's not. At the beginning she had a rather low expectation, she always had a negative stereotype about the average 9-5 life, yet overtime she had gotten herself used to it. Was it the most liberating thing in the world? No, it was not but it paid the bills.
As if she had any to begin with. On the bright side. Corentin had been treating her especially well. He would often get her coffee or check out on her work, telling her that if she needed anything she could just ask the other employees to help out, which of course was not received very well by the others, but it was none of her business.
It was just sometimes he's a bit too nice to her. It frightened her a bit. At this point she still had no idea regarding his true feelings for her. Why would a man treat her the way he did if he had no ulterior motives? Still she chose the way she responded to it and took everything merely as his virtuous gestures. Since her first day of work they had been having lunch together for the most part, except for when he had to have business lunch outside the office. Yes, the other employees also noticed it and some rumors had been spread but it was nothing major.
On the other side of the story, Corentin had discovered for the past month that Clara was indeed a hard working woman. Her level of intelligence had well surpassed his expectations. Her best quality was her punctual self, she always arrived earlier than everyone else so she could get a step ahead for the day. Other than that she had been getting along with most of her co-workers.
Of course, beforehand he had taken precautions by asking the employees to treat her kindly, which was not exactly the best political career move. After all there was some personal emotions involved. They say one should never mix personal life with business, but that is never the truth, is it? No matter how objective someone is, on some occasions, subjective attitudes do occur in business.
As promised he had put her on a completely different division from Giselle, she had been working more closely with him. That way he can prevent any unwanted outbreak happening while having Clara near him at the same time, for him, it was a win win. Of course he would not let her know he had silently stolen glances at her every now and then, followed by a stupid grin and a bite of the tip of his index finger, a habit he did whenever he was feeling flirty or amused. She was unbothered for when he did it, she would probably be busy doing something on the computer. His secretary had also approved her and she was not ashamed to admit it to him. That was when he knew she was the real deal.
"She is one of the hardest working woman I have ever seen during my time here, and we have at least over fifty female employees in the building alone."
At the same time Corentin had to guard his heart tightly, since he was scared of falling deeper for her, he respected their friendship and he made sure he did not turn into a fool who would ruin it, having Clara near him and watching over her was more than enough for Corentin, he loved throwing a few cheesy, flirty jokes here and there at her Clara did not seem to mind. She found them rather funny. Perhaps it was her who was oblivious to his feelings, but it was fine, as long as they could remain as friends, it was enough for him.
The two had gotten a whole lot closer within a month and she was able to know Corentin better and vice versa. Of course, she had not told Raphael everything because she knew he would be jealous for absolutely no reason. Sometimes some things are better kept as secret.
Corentin turned out to be more than an easygoing man. When it came down to the well-being of the company and his employees he was willing to make a few sacrifices here and there. He had a serious side to him too, and she had seen it a couple of times when he was handling some trouble inside. But overall Corentin was a great person to hang around with and she really hoped to learn more from him. Why? Who knows? Ask her heart.
That day was a special day for the company because they were celebrating the closing of a major deal. Everyone was planning to go out and eat and a fancy restaurant in the town. They had booked a VIP room, large enough to fit everyone. Someone had done a survey of it beforehand. The place was located on an upscale One hour before the usual work shift was done, everyone had tidied up their work and headed their way there
Clara went there along with Corentin, there was no way he would let her drive there alone. That night was not exactly her first time in his car. She had driven with it many times before, but somehow she was feeling a bit nervous that day. She did not know why, maybe because they were heading to a place where they could not merely be the friends, Corentin and Clara. They were there on business.
What would the other people say when they saw them arriving together? Especially since everyone knew Corentin was single. It was going to put his reputation at stake and she feared of being judged as his girlfriend of something which would definitely leave a rather bitter impression on her professionalism. It had come across a bit too obvious that Corentin could not help but notice it.
"What's wrong?" Clara had two choices at the moment, to confront him about the chemistry between the two of them or about something else that had been bothering her as well. She had to make a wise decision and settled for the latter.
"She is going to be there too." Clara had known it before Corentin told her, because she is also part of the five main divisions in the company, although she was still considered a new employee, it was obvious she would be invited too.
"It's okay, I just have to not talk to her, right?" Corentin bit his lips, he wished he could be unfair and left Giselle out, but it was not how it worked. The other employees would question their respect in him if he played favorites and left some people out.
"You'll be staying near me the whole time, I got you." He parked his car and opened the door for Clara, he held her hand and both entered the restaurant. They arrived thirty minutes earlier than the agreed timing, and were first to arrive all the other employees were still on their way there, thus he picked the furthermost seat in the room. Around fifteen minutes later people started coming one by one, they ordered food and had them served.
Giselle arrived a bit late, she was there twenty minutes after the initial timing. Food had been served by then and Clara had been eating a quarter of her food. As soon as her eyes met Giselle's she dropped her fork on her plate followed by an unplanned staring competition with her which had been going for thirty seconds before one of the other employee invited Giselle to sit down, the only way to break their competition as no one wanted to lose.
No one in the room questioned Clara's seating position near Corentin, they just could not be bothered as they gulped down their wine and ate their steak. Only Giselle suspected something about the relationship between the two of them, but she was powerless, Clara had Corentin to back her up. Both women knew they should not ruin the night for selfish reasons.
Clara found herself a bit unwell in the middle of the meal, both mentally and physically, perhaps she had eaten too much. She excused herself since she needed to head to the bathroom. Roaming through the lobby, she found her way and immediately slammed one of the stall door open. For the first time in a while she threw up. She flushed it and shut her eyes to prevent herself from looking at her own vomits. It felt absolutely horrible, and it was such a waste of food as well. Pulling the tissue paper, she wiped her mouth before washing her hand in the faucet. She poured some water to her hand, gathering some water with both of her palm, sipping them to clean off her mouth before spitting it out to the sink. She took a deep breath and stared at herself in the mirror.
You are better than this.
She closed the bathroom door. Feeling so much better that her stomach was not as bloated. As she walked through the place on her way back, she encountered a certain someone sitting on the waiting seat near the door. It looked like someone she had known but her mind was to occupied to pay attention, but out of the blue, the person decided to call her name out loud.
"Clara!" His voice slightly echoed and she froze in place. That voice, that damned voice. She knew it all too well. How could she not, it was the same voice which she had heard almost every day for over five years of her life.
She was debating in her mind whether or not she should run away or confront him, the first option would be better, but her legs would not budge, as if something was holding her back. There was no other choice, she turned to see him approaching her. After all these while, he was looking the same. He was wearing an all-black shirt with matching pants and a brown leather belt, which by further look, was a present from her.
"Clara, hello, I did not expect to meet you here. You... how are you?" A small smile was visible on his face, there was obvious sense of guilt, but he had covered it pretty well, two wrinkled lines were visible on his forehead as he spoke.
"What do you want, Marcel?" Clara could not even hide her deep hatred for him, the only thing keeping her composure was the realization that they were both at a public place. Clara's cold shoulder had stabbed Marcel in a way he never thought she could. He realized she must have been hurt deeply. He knew it would happen, and he was not blaming her. Clara was always kind, she was a bit of a loner, but kind nonetheless, and he hurt her. In the worst way possible, cheating on her father's god daughter, lying to her and did nothing when she cried because of him. Instead, he ran away. He run away like a coward. He was a coward since the beginning.
"I just want to know how you've been doing. That's all." Clara stared mockingly at him. She could not believe her own ears. She chuckled sarcastically, and it only made Marcel felt worse.
"As you can see, I'm thriving. Without you." Right, even he could see it. The Clara he saw was slightly different, she still had an angelic vibe, but was visibly more mature, she had a better posturing and emitted confidence when she spoke. White was still her favorite color, but she was dressed with an obvious high sense of fashion. She had grown beautifully. Like a butterfly climbed out from its cocoon.
"I owe you an apology." he admitted.
"I was wrong, and I-" Before he could finish his sentence someone had cut him. The sound hefty clank of heels was coming their way and it came from Giselle.