Aiden stared at the person in front of him with shock. He couldn’t believe he was busy thinking that maybe she was repentant of her actions towards him and decided to lock herself in, not knowing that she was already one foot ahead of him, scheming means to get closer to him by all means.
This is exactly why he’d never trust women. She was the same person who looked so broken last night, now, she was back on her feet, plotting.
“Are you that shameless, little wife?” He asked darkly, his face brewing a dangerous storm.
Ariel sighed, she knew it would get to this. She had already made up her mind last night to absorb all his insults this morning. And here she was, taking it all in without retorting.
What a marriage, she just had to be one of the unlucky people in life.
“I asked you a question,” Aiden got up from his chair and dangerously advanced towards her.
Ariel instinctively started moving back, not wanting him to accuse her of trying to seduce him again, at least, not in the office.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Chaz, but I can’t carry on with such informal conversation with you; though, allow me to digress; I’m just your wife on paper, we’re literally strangers, please, let’s abide by the contract, especially at the company,” Ariel said, slowly backing away from him.
Aiden scoffed, covering the space between them, standing feet to feet with her as she braced her back against the door.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” He gently traced a finger over her cheek, but his face was anything but gentle.
“I know your kind; just last night, you pretended to be hurt, yet here you are, grasping every little opportunity to get closer to me,” He said coldly, his gaze piercing hers.
Ariel bit her lips but instantly released it from between her teeth as she saw Aiden’s gaze fall on her lips. She didn’t want him to think she was trying hard.
“No, Mr. Chaz, it’s was-”
“Are you stalking me?” He asked her with narrowed eyes; he was really trying to figure out what his wife’s motive was.
“What?! N-no, sir, Your manager reached out to me himself, and after the interview, he offered the job; I swear, I’m not stalking you,” Ariel managed to say firmly, but her heart was racing within her diaphragm as Aiden kept looking at her with his cold, piercing eyes.
“Tell me this,” He placed a hand on the door beside her head and used the other to raise her face to him.
Ariel could feel her Carotid pulse pounding below her jawline; how was she supposed to act in this situation?
“Y-yes,” Ariel replied, feeling exposed under his intense gaze.
Did she have to go through all this?
“Do you love me?” He asked seriously, taking Ariel off-guard.
Ariel was lost for words, she honestly didn’t know how to reply, “Um, I don’t,” she replied honestly.
The truth will set you free, right?
Aiden frowned, he didn’t believe her.
“You hate me, then?” He lowered his face to hers just like last night; his lips were just inches away from hers.
“What are you doing, Mr. Chaz?” Ariel reeled back but Aiden gripped the side of her face and suddenly slammed his lips against hers.
Ariel swore that her heart stopped beating at that moment, her eyes widened in shock.
What was this man up to?!
Aiden had only planned to place his lips on Ariel’s lips to see if she would seize the opportunity and kiss him back, but he never expected to be the one who moved his lips first.
He never expected her lips to be so soft and tempting, he held her head in place and deepened the kiss.
“Ugh!” He grunted and released her as he felt her bite his lip.
He stared at her, a vulnerable expression on his face, but he quickly masked it and replaced it with his usual cold and indifferent look.
He stared at her flushed cheeks, noticing how she avoided looking at his eyes. She was angry, and he couldn’t understand why. Isn’t this what she wanted?
Ariel stood there, glaring at him for the first time.
How dare he steal her first kiss so casually?
Even if she was trying to seduce him at home, she never had kissing on her mind; she had just planned to get him to do the deed and be gone. But, now, he’d so easily stolen her first kiss.
“Don’t get so full of yourself, little wife,” he said nonchalantly and walked back to his chair.
“I’d say, you passed this test. I know now you’re not plotting to seduce me… in the office,” He locked his eyes with hers and motioned for her to sit on the chair in front of his table.
Ariel was so angry, she felt like giving him a piece of her mind, but she remembered her purpose for agreeing to this damned marriage and decided against it.
He was the boss; at home and in the company, so she had to behave in order to achieve her goals.
But it didn’t mean she would always allow him to treat her however he wanted; they had a contract, and they would adhere to the rules.
She had just lowered herself to the chair when a knock came from Aiden’s door.
She saw him press a button on the small black remote beside his screen and a soft click was immediately heard from the door.
Ariel was impressed with the kinds of technology Aiden produced and used. If anything, that was one of the reasons why she would love to work here, to witness all the magic first-hand.
She saw Anthony come in and place a white Tablet in front of her, “Sir, I’ve brought them as you asked,” Anthony informed and proceeded to place a laptop beside the Tablet.
“She’ll be out soon. Show her to her office,” Aiden said and waved him away.
As the door closed, the air became charged again with tension between the husband and wife.
Ariel didn’t know what to do or how to act under his intense scrutiny; she wriggled her fingers on her lap, looking everywhere but at him.
“You have half an hour to create a front-end and a back-end with responsive buttons, the landing page must be pleasing in one glance… If you want to keep this job, prove yourself,” Aiden said, pointing to the laptop in front of her.
Ariel was in shock. Half an hour? To create a responsive site?
She sighed and quickly flipped open the laptop, there was no time for delay.
What was she expecting? This was Chaz Tech, after all; they’d never accept someone incompetent.
But, she paused as she opened the laptop. What type of site did he want her to create?
“Um, sir, may I ask the type of site you need me to create?” Ariel questioned quietly.
Aiden looked at her, a mocking look on his face, “A site about gold-diggers. I’m sure you’re quite familiar with the details,” He said coldly and returned to his screen.
Ariel sighed. Why was he so mean?
She shook her head and got to work.
Twenty-five minutes later, she turns the laptop to him and is surprised to see him already staring at her with an unreadable expression.
Has he been looking at her for a long time? Why?
“The website is ready, Sir,” She said.
Aiden didn’t say a word, he slowly removed his eyes from her and looked at her work.
He had been staring at her for quite some time because he had noticed how focused she seemed to be on her work. He wondered if she could truly be passionate about her work or if it was just one of her acting skills.
But as he went through her design, he was forced to believe that she was indeed passionate about her work.
He was even marveled by how she had acquired such knowledge; many women never got themselves involved in this field of work, especially not gold-diggers. Her work was perfect, but of course, he’d never say that to her.
“As expected, you’ve shown your in-depth and vast knowledge about gold diggers. Take the Tablet and get out of my office,” He slammed the laptop shut and continued working.
Ariel was left confused. Did he approve of it or not? It wouldn’t kill him to be kind with words for once.
She stood from the chair, grabbed the Tablet from the table, and immediately walked out of the room; she couldn’t put up with his arrogance anymore.
“Ah, finally, here’s your office, Ms. Dew,” Anthony spoke cheerfully as Ariel walked out from Aiden’s office.
“Huh? I got the job?” Ariel asked.
“What? Of course! Your skills are spectacular! Come on, you have a lot to do!” He ushered her into the glass office beside Aiden’s.
Ariel was bubbling with happiness inside. So that jerk was just being mean to her on purpose.
“Thank you, Mr. Anthony,” Ariel said, smiling.
“There’s your desk, and your… just get used to the workspace. I have another interview, see you around,” Anthony said and turned to leave the office but he suddenly turned back as if he had forgotten something.
“Oh, and the Tablet; it has all his schedules and work mail. Be sure to notify him about his schedules, and emails. Never, I repeat, never ever miss them,” He informed her and left immediately before Ariel could even reply.
Ariel sighed and walked around to sit on her chair.
“Found yourself a job, Daughter-in-law?”
Ariel gasped and looked up at her door, her eyes widening in shock.
“Ms. Nari?” Ariel called quietly.