Chapter 26: Chapter 26
As he secures me, he slowly moves his face to my lips, trying to claim a kiss. I close my eyes hoping this is all just a dream.
It turns out, it is only just a tease, a tease to me, and a show to make Seid jealous. He slowly releases his grip to my waist and slowly helps me stand, then he turns his gaze to Seid as he begins his queries,
"You wouldn't happen to have a boyfriend that has the right to be jealous if I am to kiss you right now, Ms. Anderson, do you?"
It seems I bite my tongue that I couldn't even say yes or no. I look at Seigfreid's furious face, and Barbara's grimace, then, reluctantly shakes my head to Dmitri.
"Good," he compliments, then he pats my head and slowly brushes my hair to my back, exposing my neck.
Thank goodness the elevator finally opens before Dmitri could even make another one of his iconic moves. As we step out of the elevator, people go straight to the conference room, while Seid takes his time to release his stress from the situation. I do too. It feels like a can now finally breathe, well, if I will deduct a pair of eyes cursing me right now. Barbara looks at me like a hawk while walking to the conference room. I deeply sigh and find my footing. Dmitri told me earlier not to engage in any conversation with Seid or Barbara. So I did what I was told.
"Are you alright?" he concernedly asks. I simply nod.
"Will you wait for me in the office, or do you want to join the meeting?", he asks for my preference, something that Seid hasn't done for me. He was always the one making decisions for me, even on trivial matters. So I simply request that I will just wait for him in his office. I am not interested in any of these business meetings, and to be honest, I haven't even slept properly since yesterday night.
Dmitri asks Ms. Johnson to accompany me to his office and to serve me some hot drinks and a little snack, which put her into a smirk. It's very obvious that she likes Dmitri, and apparently, hates me for being so close to him. But she still has to do her job as Dmitri's secretary. We finally arrive at Dmitri's office. She opens the door for me and I straightly go to the black masculine leather couch to relax. I stretch my legs on the white round, fur, expensive-looking carpet beneath the sofa. My eyes roam around the room. Dmitri's office renders a virile vibe. I can tell that he is somewhat a minimalist in terms of his office. He doesn't have decorations in here, purely necessities, just like the glass table, an executive chair, this couch, and a center table. I look at her as she fixes the stuff on the glass table at the left corner of the room meticulously.
"Another Claire," a thought uninvitedly rushes in. Then, my paranoia begins as to whether Dmitri is also having sex with her, just like what he did to Claire. I couldn't stand the idea of Dmitri having sex with other women. I bite my lips out of frustration and unconsciously cuss while picturing Claire's flustered face, "Damn you!"
"Excuse me!", Ms. Johnson raises her voice and her eyebrow at me thinking that I curse at her. I can feel the rage coming out from her rounded nose as it flinches, "Ms. Anderson, we recently just met and you are indeed Mr. Sullivan's guest, but I believe that doesn't give you the right to openly curse at me when I haven't done anything to offend you," she furiously bickers.
"Sorry, that wasn't intended for you," I apologize half-heartedly. She lets out a smirk as her face grimaces and shows disbelief at my excuse. Despite her hatred towards me, she still offers me something to drink as per Dmitri's instructions a while ago, "Ms. Anderson, would you like to have some coffee? Or do you prefer a tea? Hot or cold?"
"Then, I'll have chamomile tea if you have one, and bring some aspirin or ibuprofen, please. I have a terrible headache," I request her.
"Very well," she responds and goes out.
I massage my head and slightly slouch on the couch to relax from this tension headache. A minute after, Ms. Johnson comes back carrying a silver tray with chamomile tea, and aspirin. She also brought lavender essential oil. When she puts it down on the table, I first take the aspirin and drink some warm water she also brought. Then, I take a sip of the chamomile tea to warm myself up from the inside. Then, she explains to me how to properly use the oil so it will be quickly absorbed and increase efficacy. I did what she taught and lay completely on the couch. I close my eyes and cover my eyes with my forearm.
However, even the slightest movement worsens my headache, so I easily notice her walking back and forth. I can sense even before that she wanted to ask me something. So I take the initiative to open the topic so I could rest in peace.
"Do you want to ask anything?" I ask.
She is reluctant at first but eventually stops and puts her hands together in front of her and speaks up, "Uh, I-I, are you, Mr. Sullivan's g-girl-", she finds it hard to say the word, so I finish the sentence for her.
"Girlfriend? You wanted to know if I was his girlfriend," I frankly say. She simply nods.
"Ms. Johnson, is being his secretary giving you the right to meddle in his personal relationship as well?" Not feeling comfortable answering a stranger's question, and not being sure of what Dmitri and I have, I ended up saying a sarcastic remark to her, instead of answering her question.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," she begins explaining, "It's because you are the very first lady visitor he allows inside his office," my face brightens, "Even women clients and partners aren't allowed here."
Her words serve as a cure to my tension headache, that's why as a reward, I somehow, sadly, give her a proper response,
"Actually, I am not."