Chapter 16 Bella's POV
Chapter Sixteen
Bella’s POV
At exactly 3:30 p.m, I walked into the boardroom clutching the files Xander was going to present.
I personally handled them this time around to prevent any more missing file accidents.
I found Anna already there. She was seated at the center seat where Xander always sat.
I turned back and tried to avoid her before she saw me.
“Bella.” she voiced out behind me.
Shit, she saw me. I was too late. I turned around slowly to the source of the voice and plastered a convincing smile on my face. “Hi Anna.”
“I haven't seen you in so long, I thought your ass was fired.”
“Well, we don't always get what we wished for.” I widened my arms, “Here I am in one piece.”
She stood up and walked slowly towards me, “Congratulations, I can see you got reinstated.”
I nodded and smiled. I had nothing more to say to her.
She came closer until she was directly in front of me. She raised her hand up, I closed my eyes and waited for impact.
Instead she picked up a stray strand of hair that had escaped from my ponytail and tucked it behind my hair.
“You're a pretty girl.” She drawled. “Let's see how much pressure a pretty girl like you can withstand before you decide to give up and quit “
And with that, she let go of the strand of my hair.
“Say hi to Dr Daniel for me will you?” she threw in casually.
My eyes popped open, I was about to ask her what her relationship with Daniel was when she turned around and walked towards the door with her heels clicking hard against the marble floors.
I watched her receding back walk out the door. She looked rich and commanded the room with the same dominating energy as Xander.
They really looked like a power couple.
I tore my gaze slowly from her back. What did she mean by say hi to Daniel for me?
I decided to ignore her. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Just then the boardroom door clicked slowly behind me, I could tell who that was without looking. I would recognize this scent anywhere in the world.
“Ms Reyes” he called out.
He was still dressed in his black suit from earlier without the tie. His sleeves rolled up just above his wrists
Looking at him without the tie did things to me, I swiped my hand acrosss my mouth to check if I was drooling.
“Is everything set?”
The question brought me back to reality, I quickly regained composure and nodded, “Yes sir.”
“Good.”
The meeting went on smoothly without any hitch. I made sure calm my nerves and try to pay attention throughout the meeting.
Suddenly one of the investors grabbed my elbow, it was the man I had spilled coffee on earlier.
He grinned at me, I could see his disgusting yellow teeth. He lowered his eyes to my boobs unashamedly and called out to Xander.
“Xander, how about I take care of your assistant for you? I could train her in my mansion’s bedroom and tame her unruly behavior.”
The men burst out laughing, I could see that Xander jaw was clenched, he dug his nails deep into the file he was holding. “I think I can handle my own matters, Mr Duke.”
I swiped my elbow from him and reached out for the coffee pot. I intentionally brought it closer to him.
Mr Duke shifted nervously in his seat and adjusted his tie as I looked at him in his eyeball and poured the coffee gently.
I never broke eye contact with him till the cup almost got filled. He cleared his throat and fixed his eyes on Xander.
I could see Xander trying to contain his smile. I sipped the coffee slowly and gave Xander a wink.
The wink seemed to temporarily disorganized him, for a moment he stood there with his mouth agape before collecting himself again.
I regretted the wink as soon as I did it. A wink? Seriously Bella?.
I mentally chided myself. Who winks at their boss halfway through a meeting? Why did I even do that? I felt like a 2012 ROM com series character.
I avoided Xander’s eyes for the rest of the meeting. Handling Mr Duke’s inappropriate gazes was more than enough work.
Xander called the meeting to an end, we closed rather early today.
But I was not sad about it, it just translates to more time with Noah.
The investors walked out in a single file and Xander shook their hands.
I could tell he squeezed Mr Duke’s hand a little to hard because veins popped out his head and he winced a little.
He let go of his hand and smiled without any warmth, “Are you okay, Mr Duke? Do you need water or preferably coffee?”
Mr Duke’s eyes widened. He scrambled out of the door.
A snort escaped from my lips, it drew Xander's attention back to me.
We both stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. I lost my cool and laughed till I was gasping for air.
Xander's laugh was a much more composed laugh. It’s low echo filled the room, but it was rich and hearty.
I wiped a tear at the corner of my eyes, “Did you see the look on his face when you mentioned coffee?”
“His face was like ‘ahh no, not again.” I burst into a fresh set of laughter, I bent over and held my stomach, I tried to ease the pain.
Xander reached out to me immediately, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think I laughed a little too hard and broke something.”
His brows furrowed, “Do we need to go to the hospital?”
I walked slowly towards the chair and sat, “No no no, I'll be fine. Just… give me a moment.”
He watched me as I exhaled slowly and inhaled. I haven't laughed like that in a really long time.
“So, what was that about?” He suddenly asked.