CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN
ISABELLA
I didn't confront Melo about him talking to the reporter. I want to know what he said to her but what would I say if he asked why I didn't say anything to him? I gave him so much hell for keeping things from me but I do the same and I don't want to be confronted by my hypocrisy.
I should have just taken a day off from work because mentally, I'm not here. I'm back home having a conversation with my husband about the reporter. It wasn't that I didn't want to tell him, it was just that I couldn't. She looked so sad and angry as she told me about her sister that I couldn't bring myself to tell Melo about it.
I knew he would be angry about her coming to me with that and I didn't want to make things worse for Maya. I should have handled my emotions better before I got home. If I didn't act weird he wouldn't have known that anything was up.
There's a knock on my door which brings my attention back to my office. I really should be more attentive. The door opens and Melo enters with a smile.
"Babe?" I say in confusion.
I stand up and hug him when he comes by my table. He presses a kiss to my forehead.
"You don't look happy to see me." He says.
I shake my head vigorously. "No! I'm happy to see you. I'm just surprised."
He lifts my chin and kisses me passionately. "I have a surprise. Texting or calling ahead would have ruined it a little." He says.
"Surprise? What surprise?"
He holds up his index finger and walks to the door and opens it. Five women of different ages walk into my office with smiles on their faces. I look from them to Melo in confusion.
"You were right, Bella. It's not realistic to not have a nanny when we both work. I shouldn't have insisted that we don't get a nanny so I took initiative and I screened and did background checks on a lot of nannies. These five here passed with no red flags. You just have to screen them yourself and see which one you like best."
My mouth hangs open in shock and I look wordlessly around the room. Am I being pranked right now? He screened nannies without me bringing it up? No, this has to stop. I shake my head to clear it from the fog of shock then clear my throat and turn to the ladies.
"Ladies, please excuse us. I just want to have a quick talk with my husband." They all nod politely and walk out.
Once we are alone, I fold my arms and turn to Melo.
"What are you planning?"
"What do you mean?" He asks. He knows exactly what the fuck I mean.
"Melo don't play games with me. What is this? I know you know about the reporter. Why aren't you saying anything or being angry?"
"Is that what you want? For me to be angry?"
"No. What I want is for you not to act scary. It feels like you're buttering me up to strike hard when I least expect it!"
I throw my hands in frustration and he laughs. He actually laughs.
"I'm not going to fight with you, Isabella. Take the nannies or don't. I'm going back to work."
He tries to walk away and I pull him back. "Don't you dare walk out that door, Melo. Don't you dare. We're going to talk about this before you leave."
He chuckles dryly. "So now you want to talk? Look Bella, I don't want to talk about it and that's it. Be safe."
He comes close and tries to kiss me but I move away.
"What the fuck is this? I know you're angry with me. For the thing with Evan, for starting work when we both agreed I wouldn't and most recently, for not telling you about my run in with the reporter."
He moves away from me and leans against the wall. "What the fuck do you want me to say? That I wasn't happy when I came home and found out that you didn't follow through with all the plans we made before I left. That all the times we would talk, you never mentioned any of the things you were doing and I had to come home and find out about all of them."
Shit, why didn't I let this go? I know why. I hate feeling like the other shoe will drop. I like having things settled and everyone moving on.
"Or how about that you told that boy about me in three months what you've never even told Rocco or Sarah and they're supposed to be your best friends. Or the fact that you get on my ass about not telling you things when you don't tell me things either. That situation with the reporter could have gone differently. She could be crazy and I wouldn't know that someone like that came around you because you didn't say anything."
Tears drop from my eyes and he sighs. I messed up badly.
"The reason I didn't bring it up was not because I wanted to keep it hanging over your head, I would never do that to you. I just didn't want this argument. In my mind, it's forgotten."
I run to him and hug him. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for not telling you things. I'll do better, I swear. And arguing isn't always a bad thing. We can argue, it doesn't mean we don't love each other."
He laughs and shakes his head. "I don't want to argue with you, Bella. Not now, not ever."
"That's so cute but also very toxic. We're two people with minds of our own, of course we're bound to disagree at one point."
He looks away and I sigh. This is a battle I'll have to fight another day.
"What about the nannies, do you really mean it?"
"Of course I mean it. You really thought I brought them out here to guilt trip you?"
I nod and he laughs. "I also thought the two orgasms this morning was psychological warfare."
He laughs harder and lifts me up. He wraps my legs around his waist and turns us so I'm on the war. "Baby, making you cum will always be my pleasure, not warfare."
"I like the sound of that." I say as he grinds into me.
"Baby, we have people waiting for us outside."
"They can wait. We'll pick whoever stays until we come out."
He angles my neck so he can kiss behind my ears.
"Melo, no. I'm not having sex with you in my office in the middle of a busy work day. No."
He sighs and puts me down. "Not fair, Bella. Not fair."
"I didn't say anything about the back of your car though." I say winking at him.
His smile widens and he clears his throat and opens the door. "Sorry, ladies but this interview is now for tomorrow at our house. The details will be sent to you."