KYLE
As I flip through the meeting notes Ms Burton left on my table some time ago, a message buzzes on my phone screen.
When I pick up the phone to glance at it, I rub my index finger and thumb across the bridge of my nose.
What does he want from me?
Sighing, I pick up my phone and slide my thumb on the screen, stretching the sides of my neck.
Oh, god.
Was I supposed to meet him today?
Tapping my finger reluctantly on the chat box to access his text, I make a face blow out a series of short breaths when his message pops up on the screen.
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DAWN My phone buzzes in my pocket and my hand mindlessly reaches for it. I watch Julie talk to one of our planning team coworkers and she laughs loudly while she playfully nudges the guy on his chest with the back of her hand. She's awfully flirtatious with him today. Is he set out to be her next crush? Julie exchanges a look with me when she sees me staring at them with a confused face. Her eyes offer me a blank look as they tell me to get off her case, so I shake my head and focus on the phone in my hands and the screen gleams before dying down. It looks like I have received texts from someone. When I tap on the power button again, my glowing screen tells me that I have received some texts from Kyle. An instant smile breaks out on my face as I take a step away from our colleagues to read his text in the corner of their office room. Tapping on the messenger chat, my eyes grow wide and my lips part. The smile fades off my features and its place, I reckon fear takes its place. H
KYLECrossing my hands across my chest, I wait for Neil to bring the car in front of the official building establishment. I am wondering when he's going to get around to pulling the car in front of me. Running a hand across my temple, I massage the sides of my head to massage the nerves throbbing in the right part of my skull.Knowing that I have to deal with my dad tonight is getting on my nerves, and I don't know what to do with it. I have to inform Neil that he's coming with me tonight. I don't know if he'll agree to accompany me.As I'm lost in my thoughts, I see a car pulling in front of the company's parking area and then making its way towards me as I pull on my shirt's wrist. There's a nip in the air, and I somehow feel the cold settling within my skin. I have a lot on my mind, but I also know that I have to just get through tonight.What will my dad think about Dawn?How will he react to this marriage that he doesn't even know about?It's not that I didn't want to tell him, b
DAWN"Come on, do it!" Leslie clears her throat while she crosses her hands on her chest. "You can't be a single lass forever.""What?" I eye her suspiciously. "Why would I say 'yes' to meeting some stranger from a social media messenger?""Well, he slid into your DM's, didn't he?" She stares at me with an evil smirk. "Don't you think it'd be nicer if you could get some ass?""Just look at your bad mouth." I point to her face and scoff like a pre-schooler. "How did your mom let you grow up with such a nasty mouth? Do you think I'll meet someone for the first time and then bang them?""Calm down, Dawny!" She puts up her hand defensively. "If you don't like him, you can just walk away after the date." Then Leslie rolls her eyes. "It's not like I'm telling you to get married to the man." She picks up my phone, sitting near my laptop on my work desk, and holds it up in front of my field of vision, gesturing with her eyes to unlock the screen. When I don't move an inch to do anything about
DAWN"Oh, did you see the new CEO? He's so goddamn hot." Julie, my colleague who sits at the desk next to mine, tries to get my attention while I stare lazily at my computer screen. "You should see him, Dawn. Your jaw will literally hit the floor.""So, that's the new guy, right?" I ask without looking up. "The new head in the management? Why did they change the old CEO? He was kind of nice. Disagreeable, but nice.""Well, the old head in management got caught redhanded embezzling millions from the company, but he did it quite smartly over the period of five years, so the chairman of the Waugh Industries decided to move him to a different sister company." She bares her teeth as she smiles. "It was a quick move to keep matters hush and utilize his talents for free till he pays back the company every cent he owes." Julie shakes her head, rubbing the tip of her nose. "I've also heard that it was an inside settlement, and he agreed, so he doesn't go to jail.""I can't believe it." I lick
DAWN"Well, what was that about?" Julie paces around the room and then steps next to me, setting the two cups on the table. "He looks like he knew you or something. He stood right there in the middle of the office and watched you for like a minute, I swear." She points at the space between the desks and the door. "Do you know him from somewhere, Dawn?"Pulling the mug by the cup handle gingerly towards me, I shake my head."I don't think so." Then I present my opposition to the idea with more zeal. "Of course not! What business do I have to rub elbows with the firm's CEO? I got to be crazy or something in the head for even entertaining the idea.""Geez. Calm down." Julie rolls her eyes. "I was just asking, Dawny. You don't have to take everything I say to heart.""Oh, okay, fine," I add in a dismissive tone, and Julie takes the hint. "I got to concentrate on work. Fiona needs these graphics in like an hour or two."In the back of my mind, I turn the idea of Kyle knowing me from somewh
DAWNI punch the send 'button' on my email, and it sends the folder with the newly designed graphics to the team lead, Fiona's business email. She needs the folder for the afternoon meeting. Just processing the thought of showing up to the business meeting in the back of my mind, knowing that Kyle will be there, sends shivers down my spine.Why did he have to work for my company?Well, scratch that.Why did I have to work for his firm?Why couldn't I have found a better job elsewhere?And why does my new husband also have to be my new boss?As I'm busy formulating these thoughts in my head, Fiona knocks on my door, putting her steely gaze on me. My eyes snap from my computer's screen to meet hers."What's going on, Dawn?" She clears her throat. "Didn't I ask you to go and see the new CEO soon?" Then she shakes her head, looking down at me as she crosses her arms across her chest. "What are you going to do about your bad memory? I had reminded you to see the new CEO in his office for a
DAWNDriving home in my car, I have thoughts spinning in my mind.Was marrying Kyle such a great idea?What kind of husband would he be to me?Have I made some mistake marrying a stranger without knowing much about him?Taking the next U-turn as I pull the car up a deserted lane that connects to the highway, I sigh. Kyle had sent me messages after the meeting to invite me. He wants me to come to see him at his home tonight. Moreover, Kyle's words give me a feeling about him wanting to get to know each other better since, in his messages, he asserted that I should stay the night and give this marriage a shot. And like a fool, I replied to his messages while I saved his home address when he sent it to me and looked it up on the online navigation maps. Then I sulked for another hour at my desk before leaving for the night. Now, I'm taking the highway which leads to the house on the outskirts of our city.Maybe I should follow his lead.And give this thing a try.Even if it irks me that h
DAWN“And I’m sorry.”His words grip me with surprise a third time this evening.“What are you sorry for exactly?” With my harsh words, I put my eyes on the floor because I don’t know how to face him. “I just want to know why you are apologising to me.”“Let’s just say that my harsh attitude and how I go about things have been far from appropriate.” He gazes at me with fierceness in his eyes. “I don’t want you to think I don’t care about you or you aren’t important to me. It’s just that things happen at work, and I can barely control everything.”“I can understand that.”He glances at me expectantly.“Can you?”I bob my head a few times, weighing his words in the back of my mind.In a way, I do understand how he feels.And where he's coming from in this situation since he’s also the head of an organisation?There are so many things at play here.He must be troubled about his private life making the rounds in the company.The legitimate fear of his employees spending their free time te