Sitting at her office desk, Amanda bent over some paperwork, trying to tie up loose ends in the documents. However, the thoughts lingering in her head didn’t let her focus.
Two successful weeks had passed by peacefully, without Tony or Joseph intruding in her personal business. Surprisingly, Joseph had kept to himself as if they hadn’t met before.
And even when they met to discuss business, he would address her formally, which was a good thing and also a bad thing for Amanda, because she was starting to catch stupid feelings each time they met.
She wished they could have their normal relationship again. But then, wasn’t she the one who rejected him?
As for Tony, the creepy manager, like Brenda had named him. He was also acting surprisingly calm and extremely generous towards her. Three days after she resumed, he had offered her a ride home after work hours, funny enough, she enjoyed the ride.
“Hi, Amanda?”
She looked up slightly, startled by the person standing before her; the subject of her thoughts in flesh and blood.
It seems her decision to always leave her office door open was being abused. At least he should have knocked on the door first before stepping in. She thought.
“Good morning, sir. How was your night?” She beamed. She was beginning to like their formal way of conversing.
And to think he was first harsh on her, she smiled. Or was it his way of showing ‘love’?
“Splendid! Trust yours was beautiful as well?” He closed the door slightly before stepping forward, “Here…I got you a little something yesterday when I went shopping,” he extended a gift bag to her.
Amanda gasped by the time she saw what was in it.
“Gold earrings! Oh my goodness!” She could now conclude that Tony was very much in love with her. “This is way too much. How can I ever repay you? Thank you so much.” She walked around her desk to give Tony a friendly hug.
But Tony wasn’t having that. He pulled her into a tighter, more intimate hug. She was struggling to pull away when he covered her mouth with his, trying to thrust his way through with his tongue until he felt a biting sting on his lips.
Tony cried out, letting go of her. Before he could recover, a quick slap to the cheeks followed. His hands flew to cover the spot.
“What did you do that for? Do you think I’m the sort of girl that repays generosity with her body?” Amanda yelled angrily. She didn’t care that she was raising her voice. She wanted to embarrass the nitwit who stood by limply with surprise.
“Cat got your tongue? Oh, you’ve never been slapped before? I bet you’re used to ladies throwing their sorry selves at you” she eyed him, before flinging his gift bag at him.
“Please leave with your gift…” She ordered.
A dumbstruck Tony picked up the gift bag. Amanda could tell he was taken aback by her outburst. He had kissed her without permission. Any normal girl would have fallen at his feet but she wasn’t going to fall for his antics.
She had thought he was a sensible man, but what he had just done proved that he was a sly man who is cunning enough to think he can always gets what he wants.
A last look at his face before he left her office brought a frown to hers, he looked defeated and crushed but she wasn’t fazed by that.
She was still trying to shake off the encounter and return to work when the intercom rang, interrupting her thoughts.
“Hello sir”
“My office. Now!”
Amanda was disturbed. Joseph sounded pissed. She only hoped Tony hadn’t told him what had transpired.
***********************************
Joseph paced the length of his office. His mind couldn’t quite grasp what he had seen a few minutes back.
He thought he would be able to ignore Tony and Amanda’s relationship, but he just couldn’t. He couldn’t afford sit back and let his manager carry on with the woman he loved.
He had made moves to see Amanda that morning, thinking he could push his luck. But he was surprised when he saw them kissing.
Joseph felt the painful pang in his chest and felt betrayed as he walked away from the scene. He wanted to stay quiet, but he could not. He was going to have to talk to her.
“Yes, sir. You called me.” Amanda said. Shutting the door behind her.
Joseph ran his eyes over her body. Her weavon looked slightly dishevelled and her full lips looked slightly swollen.
“I do not care about my employee’s relationship but what I wouldn’t accept, is carrying on your rendezvous in the office. For gawdsakes Amanda, this is an office! My office! If you want to sleep….”
“I’m not sleeping with him! Ughh for heaven’s sakes why is everyone thinking I’m a whore?” She half yelled, wondering how Joseph knew about the encounter.
She spent the next few minutes explaining herself.
Joseph could see how frustrated she looked. Tony must have provoked her. He thought. After all, he had too.
He had seen Amanda at her wits end but never had he seen her cry. He was shocked. Amanda had broken down right in front of him. And he knew Tony must have done something asides the kiss.
He didn’t know what possessed him but somehow, he embraced her, holding her closely, comforting her, and trying not to have an erection.
She snuggled closer, relishing in his warmth. She had missed him, his care, his jokes, his opinions, his soft caresses. Before he could say jack she was kissing him. She took both him and herself by surprise but then, he returned her kisses. Their lips moving in sync.
And then she broke the kiss. Muttered a quiet “I’m sorry.” And ran out.
Joseph didn’t go after her. His lips tugged into a smile. He felt satisfied. He wished he could, he was not sure what he wanted to do.
His phone rang, bringing him out of his thoughts. He reached for it, looked at the caller ID and frowned.
“Simi look, I’m really not in the mood for your nonsense. You can’t be pregnant for me. What we had was just one reckless night…” Joseph snapped. He stretched his free hand to loosen his tie.
“Really? You call this reckless? By the time it gets out to the media, you would be sorry you even said this,” Simi chuckled.
Joseph couldn’t believe his ears. Simi was a well-known Lifestyle blogger. She was one of those few bloggers that made millions from their business.
Asides that, he knew Simi has always taken a liking to him since they met at her father’s business dinner a few years back. Their parents had played matchmaker but he had wanted nothing to do with her, intimately. She was hot and pretty but not his type.
“Joseph, what’s wrong with me? I mean I’m not that bad.” She said
“I’m really not interested in this, Simi. I’m sure I’m not responsible for it. Just pin it on someone else,” he rolled his eyes. He played it cool but he was beginning to sweat inside the air-conditioned room.
Simi chuckled. “Are you calling me a whore indirectly? Have you forgotten Friday the 6th November? Joseph, you’d better do what is right otherwise by the time I’m done with you, you would be sorry for yourself,” she ended the call abruptly.
Her last words scared the shit out of him. If there’s one thing a man shouldn’t take trivially, it’s a woman’s threat. Women are quite unpredictable. He’d seen various news on her blog and how she could destroy one’s reputation within seconds.
He sighed. Just when he was starting to get things right with Amanda. He wished he could turn back the hands of the time. He wished he had gone home right after seeing Amanda and Tony that night. But he had gone straight to the club with his friend. Where he met Simi.
Somehow, he found himself touching his lips absentmindedly. He thought about Amanda’s soft lips on his, then shook his head and focused on dealing with the problem at hand. How would he get out of this predicament?
To be continued…
Story by Pelleura (www.pelleura.top)
