Chapter Seven

Zoe POV:

The rest of week passed in a blur. I had kept it strictly business with Philip while suppressing the feelings I had for him.

Every morning, I put his cup of coffee on his table a few minutes before he arrived just to avoid standing close to him.

Things were going fine until he walked into his office at the same time that I dropped his cup of coffee on his table. He walked to the couch and dropped his briefcase on it.

"Good morning, sir," I muttered.

"Good morning," he muttered back.

I felt his eyes bore into my back as I walked out of his office. I let out a breath as soon as I got out.

I got to my desk and looked through the emails. One of our investors had accepted our business proposal and requested a meeting in London. I forwarded the mail to Philip and waited for his reply.

A few minutes later, the intercom buzzed.

"Book three first classes right now. We're leaving for London tomorrow," he said.

"Okay, sir. What about hotel reservations, sir?" I asked.

"I have a house there," he replied.

How could I forget that he had houses everywhere? I wouldn't be surprised if he said he had a house on the moon.

"Anything else, sir?"

"No," he replied before he ended the call.

The intercom buzzed again. "Zoe?" Philip called.

"Sir?"

"You can take the day off," he said and ended the call before I could say anything else.

Why would I refuse to take the day off?

I grabbed my bag, and I was out of the building and in a cab in no second.

I got home in no time and took the key from the flowerpot. The house smelled of strawberry cake and I figured Aunty Emilia left a few minutes ago. I took off my office clothes and changed into comfortable clothes.

My plans for the remaining part of the day were to watch movies while stuffing my face with potato chips and Oreos. I went to the kitchen and opened the upper cabinet, it was empty. I remembered I hadn't done grocery shopping in a while. Aunty Emilia wasn't a fan of junk food, so I had to buy those things myself. I grabbed my phone and headed out.

My hair was in a messy bun, and I was dressed in loose joggers and T-shirt, but I couldn't care less. The grocery store was only a few blocks away, I put on my earphones and walked down the road, blocking out the world with my music.

I arrived at the grocery store and went straight to my favorite section. It seemed like they had just restocked the whole place. There was a new snack on the shelf, and I examined it.

"It's new but the taste is amazing," someone said beside me.

It was a tall guy with dirty blonde hair and shiny eyes. He looked like he was around my age or a little older.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm Martin, by the way," he extended his hand for a handshake, and I took it.

"Zoe. Nice to meet you, Martin," I smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you too."

"Are you new? I've never seen you here before."

"You know everyone that shops here?" he asked.

I laughed. "Yeah. Everyone in the neighborhood shops here."

"Oh, that's true. To answer your question, I'm new here. I just moved here."

"Oh, that's good. So, how's this place so far?" I asked as we rolled our trolleys picking things here and there.

"It's nice. I like it here," he replied.

We had taken our goods to the counter for payment.

"Let me pay for that," Martin offered.

"No, it's cool. You don't have to."

It took a lot of turning down for him to back down and accept that I didn't want him to pay my bills. We settled our individual bills and walked out of the mall.

"So, let me take you for coffee or something," Martin said.

"Umm…I don't know you. I mean, you could be a serial killer or something."

He threw his head back in laughter. "I like you. You don't hold back your thoughts. I'm not a serial killer and the whole point of taking you out is to get to know you. How about this weekend?"

Martin seemed cool and I thought it would be okay to go out with me, I would carry a knife with me just in case.

"I'm going on a business trip with my boss tomorrow, and I don't know how long it will take. How about next week?"

"Sure, next week is fine. Can I get your number, then?"

"Sure."

On a normal day, I would never give my number out to a stranger, but Martin seemed like someone I could vibe well with. I typed my phone number into his phone and handed it back to me.

"I'll give you a call. Call or text?"

"Anyone is fine with me," I replied.

"Alright. Can I drive you home?"

"No, it's fine. I live around the corner."

We said goodbye and went our separate ways. It dawned on me that I was going to be with Philip throughout the business trip, it was going to be one heck of a business trip.

***

Philip POV:

I walked into the jet and plopped down on the seat. I needed coffee so bad. I closed my eyes and when I opened it, Zoe had walked into the jet and Mark followed suit. She was dressed casually, I wanted to scold her for dressing casually on a business trip, but I let it slide.

"Good morning, Mr. MacArthur," she said.

Mr. what? Oh, we're on the last name basis now, aren’t we? I almost asked but then I remembered we were in a strict business routine.

"Good morning, Miss Ortega," I replied and closed my eyes, not before missing that frown on her face. I almost burst into laughter.

Slowly, I was drifting off to sleep but I got awoken by a sound. I opened my eyes and Zoe placed a cup of coffee beside me.

"Your coffee, sir," she said, trying hard to avoid my gaze.

How did she know I needed coffee so bad? My heart melted but I realized it was her job.

"Thank you," I said. I took a sip and nerves were awakened. I closed my eyes, basking in the awesomeness of the coffee. "Thank you," I said again but she was longer there. She had gone back to her seat and buried her face in what seemed to be a romance novel.

I snorted and turned to the window. That kiss had never left my mind, I thought about it every single day while she tried her best to avoid me. I shouldn't be doing this, but I couldn't help it. I didn't know what to call what I felt for her. Was it love or lust? It had to be lust because there was no way I was in love with my secretary. I closed my eyes and sighed; this whole thing was frustrating me. We couldn't even address the issue because it would make everything weirder than it already was.

I was tired of this, I needed to get my secretary out of my head and fast. I drifted off to sleep again and by the time I had woken up, it felt like I had slept the whole day.

We were about to land, and I couldn't wait to get out of the plane. I wanted to go lie on a king-sized bed and not worry about anything, especially my secretary.

Finally, we landed and there was already a car waiting to take us to my house in Greater London.

"Hello, Mr. MacArthur. It's nice to see you again," the chauffeur said.

"Hello, Henry. How have you been?" I asked as I patted his back.

"Very well, sir."

Henry loaded our suitcases into the trunk while we went into the car. He returned later and we hit the road. Mark sat beside the driver while I sat with Zoe with the armrest separating us. Her phone beeped and from the corner of my eyes, I could see the name Martin pop up. Who the hell is Martin?

She was typing and smiling into her phone, and I wondered what they were saying. Her phone beeped and she let out a small laughter and later became aware of my presence. Who the hell was Martin that was making her laugh like that? Did she go and get herself a boyfriend behind my back? What do I care? This is so frustrating.

"Damn it!" I muttered under my breath.

"Is there a problem, sir?" Mark looked at me and I realized I wasn't that discreet after all.

"No, I'm good," I replied. From the corner of my eyes, I could see Zoe watching me before she went back to her phone, typed something, and then dropped it. She must have thought that she did something wrong, but I couldn't say anything, and I felt bad. Oh well, at least she wasn't smiling at whatever that guy was saying. Jealousy is a bitch!

We arrived at my house and got in. The entire place was spotlessly clean. The maid emerged from the kitchen.

"Welcome back, Philip," the maid and the chauffeur's wife, Mary, pulled me into a hug. "Is it just me or did you grow taller?"

I laughed. "It's just you, Mary. How are you?" I asked.

I had met them a few years ago when I hadn't taken over the company. I spent most of my time in London, it was my hiding place when I wanted to avoid Dad. I had allowed the couple to stay here when they were almost being kicked out of their house. They never had children and had taken me as their own.

"I'm fine. Who's this beauty?" She looked behind me. "Your girlfriend? You finally fell in love?" She asked and my eyes widened.

"That's my secretary," I replied.

"Hello, ma'am," Zoe said behind me.

"Hello," Mary walked to her and hugged her. "You're so pretty. What's your name?"

"Zoe."

"Nice to meet you, Zoe. Philip, you got yourself one fine secretary," she wiggled her brows.

I rolled my eyes and took off my tuxedo. "Zoe, you can take your things upstairs."

"Let me show you to your room," Mary offered and they both went upstairs.

Mark had already gone to his room to take a shower, I guess. I loosened my tie and went to the kitchen. I took out a bottle of cold water and gulped it down. I went upstairs to take a shower and probably watch a movie or something.

I turned on the lights, my room was exactly how I left it.

I took off my clothes and went to the bathroom. The Jacuzzi was already filled up with warm water and some roses. I dipped myself in and I felt relieved. I closed my eyes and basked in the feeling.

I wanted to get my mind off things, but I kept thinking about Zoe. Who was that guy she was talking to? Did she go and get herself a boyfriend behind my back? What were they talking about that made her laugh?

I opened my eyes and sighed. I needed to stop this. Zoe was my secretary and it had to stop there.