Joseph brooded over the information he got from Eddy and knew if he dig deeper, he will surely find something. The mention of a secret house intrigued him so much, he wondered when Tom got a house and even if he did, what was he using it for that he would there with his secretary during the weekends.
“I know they are dating but that is just another level of dirty, why is he not man enough to show his love for his secretary” Charles remarked from the other side of the room.
Joseph had gone over to his house to discuss the issue with him after getting the information. Charles was the one he could confide in and also the person who can help him strategize coolly and effectively. His anger issues would not allow him to calmly plan his attack on Tom but with someone like Charles guiding him, he was progressing in his findings.
“He will be kicked in the guts by father, how dare he dates his secretary when he should be looking for the daughter of a rich family but then who would want to marry their children off to someone whose future is not secure? He is just occupying that seat for a while, I will be the one there soon” he responded and Charles laughed at his confidence before murmuring “What an arrogant punk” as he moved closer to him.
“You seems to have forgotten that you are dealing with Tom Holland. He might not have any friends but that is his own weapon of survival. He doesn’t have what to protect or lose so he will make sure to fight for that position with the last drop of his blood so if you underestimate him and attack without being prepared, you will not only lose your position, you will also have your head rolling on the floor” Charles stated with all seriousness while Joseph sat there absorbing every words he was hearing from his friend.
“What do you think I should do first? Should I just raid the house?” he asked, getting worked up already but Charles placed his hands on his shoulder to calm him down. “You don’t have to do anything like that for now, all you will just do is to tail them at the house to find out whatever it is they are hiding. If you are patient enough then the information will crawl into your hands effortlessly” Charles advised and he listened with rapt attention.
They spent more time strategizing on how they would carry out the mission that they didn’t even know when time flew by. Joseph checked his wristwatch and gasped before jumping to his feet. “I need to go now” he declared and went outside the room with Charles where he met Stephanie just coming in from work.
“Hello Pretty!” he called out to her but she only scoffed, “It is not sexy coming from you” she slammed him. The surprise look on his face couldn’t be hidden because her words cut through him deeper than he could imagine.
He was not expecting her to attack him with that kind of answer because who does that? A woman loves those type of comments so why did she even think of replying with something like that?
“This is some fierce atmosphere” Charles chuckled behind before wishing Joseph a good night after escorting him out.
***
Silence rode with Tom and Amber on the elevator as both of them said nothing to each other till the elevator stopped at their destination. He marched to his office and she tailed behind with her chest beating fast.
“I know I should let you rest but we have a lot to catch up on. Please go through the order lists once again before passing them back to the mall staffs. Also, we need to draft the quarterly report so that should be ready as soon as possible” he notified her and she gladly replied that she would get them done as soon as possible.
She was already heading for the door when he called her name again. She stopped and turned to hear him out, “Make some time available for yourself by seven in the evening, we have to go somewhere together” he informed her and she bowed in agreement before leaving the office.
Thanks to her heavy workload, she didn’t know when time flew by and seven crept in. She had set an alarm previously to remind her when it was quarter to seven so as soon as it rang, she picked her mini bag and dashed into the bathroom to touch her face up since he already told her they were going somewhere.
One thing she hates the most is looking shabby so she quickly fixed all that needed fixing before rushing back to the office. “Let’s go” he ordered and she followed him quickly into his car.
He drove for up to twenty minutes before he pulled up in the front of a huge restaurant. He got down from the car but she was still sitting there because she was not sure if that was their final destination.
“Are you not coming down?” he questioned and she quickly rushed down the car to catch up with him.
The waiter on a thoroughly ironed white shirt and black trouser rushed to their side. “Welcome here, do you have any reservation with us?” he asked with the most polite tone to ever exist.
“Yes, I have a reservation for number 10” he responded. The waiter took a while to scan through the huge book in his hands and finally found their name.
“Please follow me” he motioned to them and they walked into the hallway part of the restaurant where they were led to one of the rooms along the hallway.
She only followed because of his order but she was not sure why they were in a restaurant all of a sudden. She just followed like a child following her mother’s orders until they got to the room and he motioned for her to have her seat.
Although he knew she was feeling confused, he just pretended as if he didn’t know what was going on with her. He wanted her to find out what the occasion was on her own but she seemed not to be catching on at all, well that was better for his planned surprise.
He stretched his hand at the waiter, “Can we have the menu please?” he said with a slight smile and the waiter provided one immediately, he had picked it up on their way to the room. “Here you go, sir” the waiter quickly responded and gave it to him to place his order.
He scanned through the menu and picked his choice before passing it to Amber who didn’t even know that her menu was right by her side, she was still lost in whatever the occasion was. “You should pick yours too” he motioned to her and she received it from him.
She picked something random hesitantly because all the dishes on the menu were insanely expensive. If she turn down the offer, it would look rude on her side and a humiliation to her boss so she just chose something without checking the price to get rid of the menu quickly. “I’ll take this” she notified the waiter by pointing at it and the waiter disappeared to get their orders ready.
They both didn’t know what to discuss while they wait for their meals and were staring in silence until she mustered up the courage to spark a conversation.
She coughed a little to clear her throat before placing her hand on the table, “Paris was finer than I thought” she started and he looked up to see what she meant by that.
“I enjoyed everywhere I visited. I ate delicious foods, the view of the city from the rooftop was cool and also the cafes had extremely great coffees” she added and he just sat there listening to her talk.
“The exhibition went well too, they were following the scrip to the core so they was no answer out of the blue except the one about the company and I am sorry I did that without discussing with you. I just didn’t want him to stab you in the back successfully so I had to step in from behind” she explained herself and he smiled a little before placing his hands on the table to lean forward a bit.
“Why don’t you want me to be stabbed in the back?” he questioned with a raised brow and she hesitated.
She wanted to respond but she doesn’t know what to say in order not to offend him but since she has to give an answer, she mustered up the courage. “Because you are my boss” she answered and he chuckled a bit before looking at her face.
“What if I want to change the reason?” he asked and she wondered what he meant by that. She was not sure what he meant by the change, what would they change to? She wanted to ask for what he meant by that when the door opened with the waiter leading in two employees with a cake and a present bag.
“Happy Birthday to you ma’am” the waiter greeted and popped the confetti on her. Her mouth draped open in surprise, she didn’t even know that day was her birthday.