Chapter Thirteen

Zoe POV:

Philip and I had hit the road to friendship. I began to see the other side of him, the side he rarely showed. To him, that side was vulnerable but to me, it wasn't.

"You don't have to be as hard as rock all the time. It wouldn't hurt to loosen up a little," I told him.

"That's too risky," Philip replied.

"Life's all about taking risks. You can never be too sure about a decision you're about to make, you just have to take the risk and learn from your mistake."

"The last time I checked, I hired Zoe Ortega to be my secretary, not a motivational speaker," he joked.

"Well, maybe you need a motivational speaker in your life right now," I said.

"No, thanks." He stood up and began to head to his office. "Send me my schedule today," he requested before he went into his office. He opened the door again, "After the meeting with Mr. Anderson, I need to stop by at my father's house, he asked to see me."

"Sure," I nodded, and he went back in.

In the span of two weeks, I had learnt a lot about Philip. His mother had passed a few years ago and he still wasn't over her death. Growing up wasn't easy for him, he didn't grow up like a normal kid. His father was way too strict on him, trying to groom him into a strong businessman. Losing his mother had a great toll on him. His mum was his best friend and confidante. We shared something similar, losing our mothers. The only difference was that I wasn't sure if mine was dead or alive. She just disappeared and everyone figured out she had probably died.

My feelings for him had doubled and it was frustrating because I knew there was no chance for us. I was way out of his league, and I didn't seem like the women he’d dated in the past. Besides, I was his secretary, nothing more.

At 2 p.m., Mark, Philip, and I headed to a business meeting with a business mogul in his executive suite at a five-star hotel. I wanted to be rich like this someday. I couldn't be Philip's secretary forever. I had dreams I needed to chase. The meeting finally ended after what felt like forever. As always, we had secured a deal with Mr. Anderson.

"We would have gone out to celebrate but I have to go meet my old man," Philip said as we got into the car.

Mark roared the engine to life, and we hit the road to Henry MacArthur's house. I had never been there before, well, I had no business there in the first place.

We arrived at Henry MacArthur's extravagant mansion and my jaw fell to the ground. We found him playing golf in his mini golf course.

"Hello, father," Philip greeted.

"Hello, son. Mark, my boy, how're you doing? Oh, Zoe, how nice to see you!" Henry said elatedly.

Was Philip's father always this cheerful or were we meeting the wrong person? Mark and Philip also seemed shocked by his cheerfulness.

"Good evening, sir," I greeted shyly.

"Come on, let's go inside," he said, and we all went in.

Holy shit, this was heaven! His house was so huge, I wondered how they knew their way around here.

"So, Philip. How did the meeting with Mr. Anderson go?" Henry asked.

"It went well. We were able to secure the deal," Philip replied.

"Impressive."

Philip frowned and I could guess what was on his mind. Did someone else inhabit his father's body? "Did something good happen today?" Philip asked.

"What do you mean?" Henry asked.

"You seem hyper today," Philip replied.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Henry said.

Henry's phone rang and his countenance changed as soon as he stared at the caller ID. I guessed I was the only one who noticed the change in his mood.

"I need to take this call, excuse me," he stood up and left the living room.

While Philip and Mark typed into their phone, I looked around the living room. I was tempted to get up and take a better look, but I was afraid of touching anything.

"Where's the restroom?" I asked when I could no longer suppress the urge to pee.

"Walk straight down that hallway and go to your left," Philip replied.

"Okay, thanks." I stood up and went in the direction Philip gave. I found the weirdly large restroom and eased myself. I washed my hands and dried them.

"Who the hell are you and why are you threatening me?" I could hear Henry's voice from God knows where. I knew it wasn't right to eavesdrop on his conversation, so I started walking out of the restroom.

"Philip is my son! I didn't birth him but he's my son," Henry said in an aggressive manner and I gasped. I palmed my mouth in shock.

"You can't threaten me like this. Besides do you have proof that Philip was adopted? Adopted or not, Philip is still my son! Don't ever call this number again or it's not going to end well for you."

I hurriedly left the restroom so I wouldn't have to bump into Henry in the hallway, but luck wasn't on my side as he came out of the room at the same time I did.

"Zoe?" Henry asked, surprised. His eyes widened in realization.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, sir. I was only using the restroom."

Henry sighed. "It's okay. Please, can you not tell Philip about this. I'll tell him myself."

"My mouth is sealed, sir. Besides, I'm in no position to do that," I assured.

"Thank you," he smiled. "Go first," he said.

I nodded and walked back to the living room in guilt and fear. Guilt because I heard what I wasn't supposed to hear and fear because I knew what I wasn't supposed to know. If Philip ever found out that I knew all along, he was sure going to fire me.

"What took you so long?" Philip asked. "You know what? I don't want to know."

"Whatever." I took my seat the same time Henry came into the living room.

"So, Dad, why did you ask to see me?" Philip asked.

"I haven't seen you in a while. What? I'm not allowed to see you anymore because you're a CEO. Besides, I wanted us to celebrate our deal with Mr. Anderson. I knew you were going to come back with good news. So, what do you say? We eat out or have the maids prepare your favorite?"

"Your niceness is creeping me out so, I'll pass. Maybe some other time. We have to return to the office," Philip said as he stood up. Mark and I followed suit. He was the boss, we couldn't argue.

"Fine. You owe me the entire weekend."

"Alright," Philip agreed.

We said goodbye and got into the car. The house was so cozy, I didn't want to leave.

"Is it just me or was my Dad acting weird?" Philip asked as he unbuttoned his tux.

Mark snorted, "I thought so too."

"Maybe he just wants to spend time with you. He's your father," I said.

"Oh, yeah. How did I forget that?" Philip asked sarcastically and I rolled my eyes. "Did you just roll your eyes at me?"

"Um…pretty much," I replied with a sweet smile.

"If you weren't good at your job, I would have fired you," he said.

"Oh, so you finally agree that I'm good at my job?" I teased.

"I take back my words," Philip replied.

"You can't. You've already said them."

"When you two are done bickering, can you tell me if we're heading to the office or not?" Mark said from the driver's seat as he started the car.

Philip glanced at his wristwatch. "There's no need to head back to the office, it's almost the closing hour. How about we go out to celebrate?" He asked. "Do you want to go home?" He turned to me.

"Do you have a choice?" I asked.

"No," he replied with a smirk.

"Fine. Out to celebrate it is then."

"Good. Mark, let's go to our favorite restaurant."

"Yes, boss." Mark gave a mock salute and Philip rolled his eyes. I was grateful they didn't begin to bicker like they always did.

Mark hit the road and drove us to a five-star restaurant. Philip and Mark seemed to be well-known in the restaurant. The place smelled heavenly.

They took us to a VIP section of the restaurant. I took my seat and looked through the menu book. I had become familiar with some dishes and exotic wines, so it didn't take me long before to choose my order.

"Wow, somebody is a fast learner," Philip teased.

"I sure am."

Our orders arrived after a few minutes. The aroma almost sent me straight to heaven. We dove right in, none of us said a word as we filled our mouths with the heavenly dishes. I realized why this was their favorite restaurant to eat. The food tasted like they were meticulously cooked by professional hands.

"This is the best steak I've ever had," I said after I took my first bite.

"They serve the best dishes here. Mark and I come here when we're too lazy to cook and that's like all the time," Philip said.

"I'm not lazy to cook all the time, speak for yourself," Mark said.

"Yeah, right. You burned the food the last time you cooked," Philip said and I almost burst into laughter if not for the food in my mouth. "You would have burned the entire house down if I hadn't arrived in time."

"It wasn't that bad. You're over exaggerating," Mark argued.

"Why do you two bicker all the time?" I asked after I swallowed the food in my mouth.

"Do you know how annoying Philip is?" Mark asked.

"I should be saying that about you."

We finished our food and had our desserts before finally leaving. It was already dark, and I wondered how long we had spent in the restaurant.

"Thank you for the amazing dinner," I said to Philip.

"You're welcome," he replied. "Let's get you home."

Mark hit the road again and we arrived at my house. Mark used numerous shortcuts so he could avoid the traffic and I wondered how he knew all these shortcuts.

"How do you know all these shortcuts?" I finally voiced out my thoughts.

Philip snorted, "He knows the city like the back of his hand."

"I drew the city's map," Mark joked. "Off you go, little one."

"Thank you for the ride and the dinner."

"You're welcome, again."

"Good night, boss," I said as I got down from the car and waved at them as they zoomed off.

Who knew Philip could be this sweet? Also, who knew he wasn't the biological son of his father?

***

Zoe POV:

"Earth to Zoe!" Kevin snapped his fingers in my face to snap me out of my thoughts. "You zoned out, again."

"I'm so sorry," I apologized. "What were you saying?" I asked.

"What's on your mind? You were so deep in thoughts right now. Is something bothering you? Is there a problem?" Kevin asked with a look of worry on his face. "Is there any way I can help?"

I couldn't get my mind off the fact that Philip was an adopted child and there was someone threatening to spill the beans. No wonder Henry kept acting super nice. He knew he had not been the best father and was trying to make up for that before things went south. Even though Philip wasn't his seed, I could see how much he loved and cherished his son and Philip needed to know that before things went south but how was I going to tell him that without raising suspicions? I was supposed to keep my mouth about the whole situation, but Philip was my friend and my boss and keeping this huge secret from him was harder than I thought. Why did I have to hear that phone call in the first place? If I hadn't gone to pee, I wouldn't have been entangled in this web of secrets. I blamed myself for peeing at the wrong time and at the wrong place. Everything was bad timing. Why did I have to use the restroom the same time Henry was receiving the phone call?

If Philip found out that I knew about this and kept it from him, he was going to flip for sure.

"Nothing. Just thinking of ways to make six million dollars in two weeks," I replied.

"Do you plan on robbing a bank? If you are, then you can make six million dollars. Remember I gave you the idea so I should get thirty percent of the stolen funds."

I threw my head back in laughter. "You're a hoot."

"I get that a lot," he shrugged.

Philip stepped out of his elevator and stopped at the sight of me and Kevin. Was that jealousy on his face? No, it couldn't be.

"Hello, boss," Kevin stood to his feet.

"Hello," Philip replied.

"I have to go," Kevin whispered to me before he scurried away.

"Hello, boss," I smiled sweetly at him.

"My office," he said before he went in.

Oops, why did I do this time? I wondered.

I stood up and adjusted my skirt, ready for some scolding. I knocked on his door and waited for his reply before I went in. I found him sitting on his mahogany desk with his tux off and his hands in his pockets.

"Is there anything going on between you and Kelvin? I'm asking as your boss."

"Why do you care?" I asked with an innocent smile.

"This isn’t a joke, Zoe," Philip said.

"Sorry, boss. But whether he's my boyfriend or not, it's none of your business, boss," I said.

Philip snorted and stood up from the desk. He walked slowly towards me and impulsively, I stepped backwards with every step he took forward till my back met the wall.

"You're mine, Zoe. Remember that," Philip said as he stared deep into my eyes. As always, I felt giddy under his gaze. This man sure knew how to make a woman go crazy for him.

"I thought you didn't want me." My voice came out as a squeak. I was uncomfortable with the position he had me in. He had shoved me against the wall and caged me with his built body earned from spending hours in the gym.

"Well, I do now." He smirked and came closer to kiss the corner of my lips. I wanted more than that. Seeing as he had so much effect on me, he smirked again and moved backward.

"You have work to do." He walked away like he didn't just have me reeling from this sexual tension.

There are so many reasons to hate this man!

I scurried out of his office before he noticed I was all shades of pink. I let out a breath as soon as I got out. What the hell just happened? Did my boss just declare me as his? Most importantly, did Philip MacArthur just declare me as his?

Oh my God! I'm going to pass out. I remembered the light kiss he had left on the corner of my lips, and I could feel my insides churning.

I sat on my swivel chair and closed my eyes while replaying the event in my head, over and over again till I believed it actually happened. That had to be jealousy I saw on his face when he got out of his elevator.

I couldn't keep myself from grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Philip was such a jerk, making me act like a sixteen-year-old girl in love. Things were going to get a little spiced up between from now on, I was sure of that.