Chapter 56: Chapter 56

Chapter 56 The Jealous President

The president did not find his office had been broken into since he was completely distracted by his new junior secretary, Kelvin.

The appearance of the handsome young man with Bella kept him on edge. The distance between the two was close to nothing. He even caught Bella smiling at Kelvin from time to time-a scene that caused him to feel uncontrollably jealous.

Bella's beauty could easily make a man's heart flutter. The president was bothered by the thought that Kelvin might be charmed by the beautiful woman beside him, and he regretted hiring a man to do the job.

Everything was all too late for any regret, though. The president's patience was stretched to its limits. He hammered his fist on the table, startling Bella and Kelvin.

The two secretaries looked confused as they turned to their direct superior. Deep inside, they were also nervous that they might have displeased him in any way.

"President?" Bella took the courage to approach the president.

"I'm fine...." The president waved his hand at her. "Continue your work. It's nothing."

Although she was still slightly hesitant, Bella did not push questioning him and walked back to Kelvin to continue the training. On the other hand, the president could not help but feel disheartened to see how unconcerned she was.

That was the first time he felt abandoned by Bella since they got married. He felt like a poor puppy thrown on the side of the road.

As time passed, the president gradually felt suffocated in the same room as them. He stood from his seat and loosened his tie to breathe properly, but it did not help a bit. His heart still felt stuffy that he only had one option left to get rid of it.

'I have to do something about it, or I'll go crazy because of this jealousy,' he thought. 'Maybe I can make things difficult for him so that he will quit of his own accord.'

The president turned his head to his prey with that plan in mind.

"Kelvin, please come here for a moment." He waved at Kelvin, who immediately walked toward him with a smile. "I'd like a latte with a 7:3 ratio of coffee to milk and an exact temperature of 70 degrees Celsius."

"Consider it done, sir." Kelvin respectfully bowed to the president, then went to the pantry to prepare the coffee.

A few minutes later, Kelvin returned to the office with a cup of richly scented latte. He had a barista license, confident that the president would love his coffee.

However, Kelvin was baffled when the president did not even glance at the cup and insisted that the coffee was not at 70 degrees like how he wanted it to be.

Kelvin had no choice but to make a new one. He quickly returned with the new cup five minutes later, but the president nitpicked the ratio of milk and coffee and asked him for another one.

On his official first day at work, Kelvin spent his morning running back and forth to the office and the pantry and making cups of coffee that could last for a week. Unfortunately, the president was still unsatisfied with his craft.

'I'll have to study and perfect his coffee,' Kelvin thought as he submitted himself entirely to the president.

Watching on the sideline, Bella was disappointed by the president's behavior. She hated how he abused his position to power trip Kelvin who had just joined the company.

Bella wanted to stop the bullying, but she saw how dedicated Kelvin was to his job. She could only hold herself back and continued watching as the anger grew in her chest.

***

That afternoon, the president had to go out for a business meeting, but he was reluctant to leave Bella and Kelvin alone. In the end, he asked Jenny to supervise the two in his office.

Fortunately, Jenny was smart enough to know the intention behind his order. She repeatedly assured the president that she would not leave the office no matter what.

It was only then the president was relieved to leave.

After he left for his meeting, Bella finally had the time to train Kelvin without any interruption. As she was pressed for time, she finished the training in just three hours before taking care of her own business.

However, no matter how much she improved her efficiency, she could not see the end of her tasks for that day, and she had no one else to blame but the president.

Bella shut her eyes tightly because of stress when Jenny suddenly approached her and asked her to leave the office together. Thinking that she had to work overtime, she declined her offer.

"That's fine, don't worry," Jenny persuaded her. "Even if you can't finish your work, the president won't get mad at you."

"Don't be ridiculous." Bella immediately shrugged off that idea because of what she had witnessed that morning. "The president's very mean. If you only saw how he bullied Kelvin earlier. He wasted our training time with his refined taste in coffee. I'm sure he'll fire me if I don't get all my work done today."

Hearing Bella's concern for him, Kelvin smiled and joined the conversation. "Thank you, Bella," he said. "I know you're upset for my own welfare, but I can actually understand the president. I don't think he is mean. He might have just been trying to train me to work under pressure, and that's okay."

"I agree with Kelvin," Jenny seconded, then a meaningful smile slowly formed on her lips. "If there's anything I find interesting, I think the president is fond of you."

Chills ran down Bella's spine once she had deciphered Jenny's words. She frantically shook her head to deny her fantasies, especially when Kelvin expressed his interest in knowing more.

"Stop it!" Bella snapped; irritation was etched on her voice. "I'm already married, and I don't want any speculation staining my marriage."

Jenny shut her lips tightly while Kelvin held his curiosity back.

"You guys can go ahead now," Bella said under her breath, then shifted her attention back to the computer. "I want to finish my work before I leave. You don't have to wait for me."

When Jenny sensed the heavy atmosphere settling in, she pursed her lips, stopped kidding, and left the office dejectedly.

On the other hand, Kelvin could not bear to leave Bella alone to work overtime and insisted on staying with her.

***

Edward anxiously waited at home. It was already 9 p.m., and Bella still had not arrived yet. He tried calling countless times but to no avail.

Consumed by jealous thoughts, he could not help but think that his wife might be having dinner with Kelvin. However, a part of him was also worried that Bella might have met an accident on her way home.

Edward wanted to send Andrew to the company and check on Bella, but he had another mission that required his attention.

Planning to do it himself, he grabbed his cane and was about to leave the house when Bella suddenly called back. She explained to him that she worked overtime and would be home soon.

One explanation from Bella was enough to put Edward's mind at ease. In the end, he just went to the kitchen and continued preparing dinner for his hardworking wife.

***

After her phone call with Edward, Bella fixed her things and bid farewell to Kelvin.

As she was rushing to go home, she drove the car faster than her usual speed. And with only a mile left, she pressed her foot on the gas harder and accelerated when a dark figure suddenly jumped out from the side and crashed into her car.