Chapter - 4 : Ex - girlfriend

I threw his door open and shouted, "Mike!"

"Shh." John placed his index finger on his lips, gesturing for me to be quiet.

I nodded, sighing. In my frantic craze, I almost forgot that John had mentioned that he was coming over. Relief washed over me as my eyes drifted to Mike, who was sleeping on his bed peacefully. I didn't fail to notice the alcohol bottles lying on the floor next to the bed. John came to me and jutted his chin towards the hallway. We both walked out, closing the door behind us.

"What happened?" I asked John as soon as we were out of the room.

"Nothing."

I frowned at his answer. The whole living room was a mess and Mike was still sleeping instead of getting ready for work. How could he say that nothing had happened?

"Are you going to tell me or not?" I demanded. Unlike Mike, John became my friend instantly when he started dating Rose, so I could raise my voice at him without worrying about being fired.

He ignored me and started walking downstairs. I followed him. When we reached the living room, I pointed my finger at the condition of the room and asked, "How do you explain this mess?"

He sighed and eyed me. He knew that I wasn't going to leave until I got answers.

"Mike drank last night. He got mad and did...this."

I can see that he drank all night, but...

"Why?"

"It's something he does whenever he gets mad. Come on, let's clean this mess up."

If it was anyone else, I wouldn't have done it. But John helped with cleaning our apartment so I started picking up the mess off the floor without asking any more questions. Even if I'd asked, he wouldn't have told me about Mike's past because he'd never told us about it. Whenever Rose tried to ask him why Mike was so mysterious, he would ignore her question or change the subject.

If John couldn't even tell his girlfriend, how could I expect him to tell me? It was a waste of time for me to try. 

We cleaned everything up. John asked me to go to the office. He told me that he would bring Mike for his three P.M. meeting. I agreed and left.

***

I got out of the cab and lifted my head to see the skyscraper in front of me. This was the second time I had stopped to fully admire this building. The first time was on my interview day. I had admired the architecture of the building and had enjoyed the view. After that, Mike never gave me enough time to appreciate it. But now that I had time to enjoy it, I didn't like it. I didn't want to look at it because Mike was at home and I was standing here without him. Sighing, I walked inside.

I entered the elevator and pressed the button to my office floor. It was the twenty-fifth floor. The whole building was around forty floors. There were many firms operating from here, ours being one of them. Though, with how big the business was booming, we might have needed to consider buying our own place. Sharing with so many other companies, though it seemed great two years ago, felt far too compacted now. 

The elevator chimed and I stepped out. The confusion was evident on everyone's face when they saw me walking alone. Some of them asked me about Mike and when I told them he was going to be late, their jaws dropped. They couldn't believe that Mike was late for the office. He was always on time.

I headed to my office (which was right next to Mike's) and closed the door behind me. Slumping in my chair, I started working on the presentation that was going to be discussed in today's meeting.

Even after working continuously for hours, I couldn't manage to finish the presentation. I wished Mike was here to help me because he was the one who guided me whenever I was having an issue with my work.

I even skipped lunch to work on the presentation but I was nowhere near finishing it. The door to my office pushed open and my eyes lifted from my laptop screen. My breath hitched when I saw Mike's face peeking inside.

"Come to my office." He left before I could get a glance of him.

I checked the time on my wristwatch. It was two P.M.

Oh God!

I didn't finish the presentation on time. He was going to yell at me, I just knew it.

Be ready to get scolded at, Jessie...

I ambled to his office. I felt like a kid who was scared of confronting their teacher after not finishing her homework. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.

"Come in." His voice was low.

Straightening my shoulders, I walked inside.

He sat in his leather chair, facing the large windows that gave a beautiful view of New York City. The chair spun around when he heard the clicking sound of my heels against the floor.

My steps slowed when I saw his face. He looked tired. His brown hair was messy, he had dark circles under his eyes, and he wasn't wearing a tie.

John didn't help him with his tie? Did they fight?

I stood next to him. When I opened my mouth to apologize to him about the presentation, he shook his head. "Don't."

My heartbeat increased. I had to prepare for the worst because he wasn't even ready to listen to my apology.

"Don't ask anything. Just forget about last night."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. It didn't take long for me to realize what he was talking about. He wanted me to forget everything that happened at the party.

His eyes bored into me as if waiting for my answer, but I said nothing. I just nodded and turned on my heels to leave.

I went to my office and closed the door behind me. A frustrated huff escaped my mouth. He told me that he would explain later but now he expected me to just forget about it. I wanted to know why he had introduced me as his girlfriend. John had told me that nothing was happening, but I wasn't blind. I could see that something was going on, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

My gaze shifted to the presentation. "Go to hell!" I snarled, looking at the slides. I knew I was angry with someone else, though.

My stomach growled. I stood from my chair and went to the cafeteria to have lunch. Even if I tried, I couldn't finish the presentation in an hour, so it was better to please my stomach rather than my stupid boss.

I entered the elevator and pressed the button to the twentieth floor to reach the cafeteria. It took me thirty minutes to finish my lunch. I walked out of the cafeteria once I was done and took the elevator. The moment I stepped out, I could see people gathered around Mike's office.

My eyes grew wide when a girl's voice echoed through the walls of the corridor. I rushed towards the office, making sure that I didn't push anyone.

"Why are you ignoring me?"

The girl's familiar voice pierced my ears as I got closer.

I froze at the sight of Katherine in front of Mike's office.

"Open the door!" she yelled as she kicked the office door.

I flinched. John was trying his best to pull her away but there was no use. The very next minute, Mike opened his office door.

"What the hell do you want?" Mike yelled at her.

Her face glowed when she saw Mike. Her lips curled into a smirk as she said, "You."

Mike grimaced and gritted his teeth. "Leave."

"No. I'm your girlfriend and I'm not leaving you."

I gasped and I could hear some more from behind. Everyone else was just as shocked as I was.

"Ex-girlfriend," Mike corrected her.

A thousand thoughts raced through my mind at that moment. One thought seemed to be shouting louder than the others, though: Katherine was Mike's ex?!