Chapter 4: Inconvenient

Bella shot Fiona a sideways glance. Not only was Fiona risqué, but she was also lewd. However, their compatibility indicated that Bella was no innocent flower either, just differently lewd. Fiona immediately caught Bella’s look and defended herself, "Crude but true! I can't stand your faux purity, married lady pretending to be a maiden!"

"Can't you be more subtle?" Bella criticized the crass language. She had never introduced Calvin to Fiona, and such words seemed far removed from him.

Raising an eyebrow, Fiona suggested, "If you prefer, we could call it 'lotus arm.' Is that subtle enough?"

Bella couldn’t help but cover her face. Was it even possible to have a normal conversation with her? Everything Fiona said was tinged with innuendo. Meanwhile, Bella noticed Jessica leading two new faces into the conference room. Fiona’s eyes followed, murmuring sounds of disapproval, probably cooking up some sleazy thoughts. Bella nudged her, "Come on, haven't you seen men before?" Just a couple of clients visiting; no big deal.

Fiona shot back, "Who do you think Jessica is? She wouldn’t bother unless those men were worth her time. Even without looking, you can tell they're handsome by how eagerly she’s parading them around. She’s clearly hunting."

Jessica was indeed a piece of work. With an inflated sense of her attractiveness, she put on airs, never uttered a truth, loved freebies, and then flaunted these small gains on social media as if they were grand gestures of friendship, earning her the nickname "Drama Queen."

"Yeah, your 'insights' could win 'The Brain!'" Bella retorted, heading back to her desk. Fiona followed, rummaging through her bag to pull out several DVDs. Bella glanced at them, unimpressed by the animation quality, "The art isn't very aesthetic."

"Ultraman and Transformers have aesthetic art?" Fiona accused her of double standards.

Bella shrugged, asking, "Is there a plot? I'd like to see Snow White."

Fiona snatched the DVDs back, "And you deny having peculiar tastes! Ultraman! Transformers! NP! My pure tastes can’t satisfy your heavy ones!"

Feeling somewhat wronged, Bella was curious about the so-called high-quality adult films. Suddenly, Jessica's excited voice interrupted, "What’s this about peculiar tastes? Hey, Fiona, found any goodies? Let me see." With that, Bella was pushed aside. Fiona glanced at Bella, now Jessica might get her hands on those 'blockbusters.'

Jessica flipped through the DVDs dismissively, "I thought it was something else. What’s so interesting about this? If you want to watch something, go for 'Rape of the Wolf.' This is child's play and poorly drawn." Fiona replied with a forced smile, suggesting they share their collections sometime.

Without answering, Jessica sighed dramatically, adjusting her figure-hugging dress, "Mr. Devon always dumps the messiest tasks on me, even sending me to the business department. One salary, but I'm doing the work of several people. If they don’t raise my salary, I might switch jobs. Just last week, another company offered me a high salary. I’m so busy, everything depends on me. I don’t have time for chit-chat, bye."

Bella rolled her eyes. The company could collapse without Jessica! Her unmatched skills in pretending were legendary. Fiona scoffed, the epitome of disdain. She shoved the DVDs into Bella’s hands, "Take these home, study them, and write a three-thousand-word review afterward."

Before Bella could retort, her phone rang. Fiona glanced at the caller ID—Calvin? "Your husband?" She had vaguely heard his deep, charismatic voice the other day and wondered what he looked like.

Bella answered, knowing Calvin was too reserved for idle chats or surprises; he was all about business. Indeed, he called to inform her that his mother invited them for dinner tonight. Lately, Bella couldn’t help but daydream about Calvin, her thoughts often veering into R-rated territories. She blurted out, "Can't you talk about something else?"

"Like what?" Calvin was perplexed.

Realizing she had drifted off, Bella quickly retreated to her desk, whispering, "I was talking to a colleague. What did you say? I didn’t catch that."

"My mom wants us over for dinner tonight. When do you get off work? I'll pick you up."

A summons from Calvin’s mother usually meant weekend visits. Why Friday this time? Was she planning a crash course tonight for weekend practice? Bella inquired, "I thought we were going on the weekend?"

"No idea, but she asked, so let's go. It's just dinner."

Just dinner? More like a feast at Hongmen! Bella internally screamed, apprehensive about facing mature topics with Calvin’s mother. Muffled, Calvin spoke to someone before asking again, "When do you finish work?"

"Who were you talking to?" Bella asked.

"My secretary."

Bella scoffed. Secretaries were prime vixen material. She doubted she could pry any information from him; perhaps she needed to stage a surprise visit, like in dramas. Regardless, as a mama's boy, Calvin's divorce plans would falter if his mother sided with Bella. She needed to impress at tonight’s dinner. Gathering her spirits, "I get off at six."

"Alright, see you later."

Hanging up, Bella sat lost in thought. She was ready to adopt dramatic gestures, yet Calvin couldn’t even muster a "Wait for me, wife?" Their discord was evident. He fantasized about rejuvenation post-divorce, while she yearned for a blissful marriage. How could their visions align? And why was she suddenly fantasizing about a happy marriage when everything seemed fine before? Was it the fear of losing him that made him seem more valuable?

Waiting for Calvin, Bella stayed an extra fifteen minutes at the office, noticing Jessica chatting up colleagues on her way out. Internally rolling her eyes at Jessica’s shamelessness, Bella wondered who’d be her victim today.

Downstairs, Calvin hadn’t arrived, so Bella waited at a conspicuous spot. Soon, Jessica appeared disgruntled, likely having failed to hitch a ride. Bella secretly rejoiced—served her right! But then Jessica approached, "Bella, you’re still here?" Looking around, she asked, "Waiting for someone?"

Bella saw through her intentions—eager for a ride. She had no car, but the person she awaited did. Playing coy, Bella asked, "Why are you leaving so late? Mr. Li piling on more work?"

"Don't get me started. My workload’s backed up till next month, even weekends are booked. Anyone wanting to meet needs to check my schedule."

Bella forced a laugh, "The capable are burdened. Mr. Li values you, something we can only wish for."

Jessica smirked, proud of her endless tasks, "Yeah, Mr. Li insists on involving me in everything. What do I have to do with the business department meetings? And why am I taking minutes? I’m not his secretary! His secretary’s useless, just living off the company."

Bella struggled to respond, her tales transforming simple tasks into meeting minute-taking. Listening to Jessica was always awkward, unable

to confront her lies directly, Bella just offered a strained laugh. As she tried to maintain her composure, a car honked twice and pulled up.

Jessica reacted faster, all smiles, "Your friend?"

Turning, Bella saw Calvin lowering the car window. Jessica was taken aback by Calvin’s appearance, marveling at Bella’s hidden gem of a handsome friend. She grabbed Bella’s hand, "Hiding such a handsome friend and not introducing him? That’s mean. Introduce me."

"Maybe some other time. I’m in a hurry," Bella said, eager to escape without playing matchmaker. With Jessica's unusual thought processes, who knew what trouble she might stir? Still, Jessica pressed on, smiling charmingly at Calvin, "I’m Bella’s colleague. It's hard to catch a cab now. Would it be convenient to give me a ride?"

Calvin gave her a brief glance, "Inconvenient." The window closed, cutting off Jessica’s hopeful gaze. Bella chuckled. Jessica was used to being gently refused, but Calvin's directness was rare, likely enough to irk her for days.

"You’re not very polite." Bella remarked on Calvin's bluntness.

He signaled to turn, "I bought cake. Eat some if you’re hungry." Why bother being courteous to strangers? Besides, if Bella were on good terms with her, she wouldn’t have rushed to the car.

Noticing a plastic bag beside her, Bella smiled, recognizing it was bought specially for her. The cake melted in her mouth, prompting her to ask, "Are you using the effort you’d put into a proposal to push for a divorce?"

Calvin shook his head, "Proposing didn’t take any effort at all."