25 - ODD DEAL II

“What does she want from you, dear?”

Her neighbors were back. They met her standing by the cubicle, mute to the core, with eyes that had tears in them. her fingers danced on the edge of the cubicle where Mary had her hands on when she spoke with her.

“What’s the problem, dear?” came the reserved neighbor, the one at the left.

“She threatened me and made me an offer she thinks I can’t refuse.” Lola turned to them. “For heaven’s good sake, I was beaten in the head, abducted, tied to the bed, and abused by that dick head she fights for.”

“Come on, dear, you don’t have to cry, you have to fight, that’s the only thing you can do to that son of a bitch, not that sassy little thing and her damnable threats and silly offer.”

“Don’t even give a damn about her offer, if she was right, she wouldn’t come to negotiate with you.”

“And by the way, we heard she raised the issue in the boardroom but she was churned back to the hell she came from.”

“Enough of the noise, ladies, your boss is almost here.” A lad walked into the office with Grey’s office bag.

The ladies settled in their cubicles and Lola wiped her face and focused on her system. Grey wouldn’t tolerate any kind of lapse, for any damn reason. He is super disciplined and wouldn’t take excuses.

He walked in five minutes after the lad had left and stopped by Lola’s cubicle. Lola looked up at him with a weak smile. She had done a good job with the tears, but Grey could see them.

He wondered what could have been the cause and he was going to find out.

“Lola, you came,” he said with an urgent smile.

“Yes, sir.” She rose from her cubicle.

“Good,” he blinked once at her and walked over to his door. “Meet me in five minutes.”

He walked into his office and shut the door. Lola had taken care of the things he would need in the office the very moment she stepped into the office. But she hadn’t done much though, because what she expected wasn’t what she saw.

Someone had been the one in the job for the little while she wasn’t active. She checked in five minutes later and saw Grey in the form she had never seen before. He had made a different table out of his mess.

On normal days, it should be his laptop and his desktop on the table with a few books and a couple of compiled files he sometimes demands be brought in hard copies, but this time, it was a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a document that seemed like a lawyer made it up an hour ago.

“Sir?” she said.

Grey was at the window side like male lead characters in romance movies would do when they await the woman they love and wish to take out on a date.

He turned gently. She hadn’t so far taken time to stare at him and spot that one unique thing about him. He was handsome beyond imagination, but he had been her boss all the while and she had always failed to take a glance at such, but here, she just realized he was such an angel in human form.

“Lola,” he spoke like gents do, and like a British noble, he walked over to her and offered her a hand. “If you don’t mind.”

At first, it was like a joke, but he was serious. He handed him her hand and he led her to one of the seats by the table.

He was a creative gent. He made the large table a table for two, when it naturally came with four seats, one for him and three for his clients.

She sat gently; a bit confused. What the heck is he up to?

He chose the second seat, then, he popped open the wine and poured it into her glass first, before his.

“Lola,” he said again.

She raised her brows. “Sir?”

“Welcome back.”

Lola smiled. If Grey would throw a little party to have her back in the company after a few days of being off, who then is Mary to number her days?

She gently grabbed her glass and raised it for a toast. He picked his and they toasted and had a brief sip. Grey didn’t stop with a sip. He finished what was in his glass and poured another.

“Thanks for standing out for me and having me…”

“You don’t have to say that, Lola,” he said; his tone ever gentle and lovely. If only Lola had had a man his sort as her fiancé, she could have been the happiest on earth, but Shawn was everything different, and she is stuck with him.

“Thanks,” she took a second sip.

“So, how have you been all through yesterday?” he asked.

“Less of worries, and, just good because my friend and my mom were there for me throughout the day, and, I did go out to find a friend,” Lola said.

“To find the rascal you called fiancé?” Grey had a weak smile.

“Yes, I did go to his place, but he was out and we hadn’t spoken since yesterday but hopefully, we will,” she took the third sip.

Grey poured her more wine.

“Tell me, Lola, aren’t you tired of that good boy?” he asked.

She chuckled. To call Shawn a good boy is such a joke. Only silly people would speak of him in that manner because he was never good enough to be called good.

“He is my fiancé, I’m so indebted to him I wouldn’t just walk away from him even if he put a gun in my butt, but I’d have choices a couple of times, though.” She took a desperate sip this time. She wouldn’t say a lot without taking as many sips as possible.

“Do you need more, I can feel your cup,” said Grey.

She offered him her glass and he poured him more wine. She smiled and moved the glass to her lips, drew a long sip, and lowered the cup.

“Is that why you called me in, sir?”