"What's up?", he asked again as he entered the kitchen. And again, Mara ignored the question. She just stood akimbo in the middle of the kitchen staring straight at him as if he was a curiosity.Mel was not one to be patient for long and she knew it; that was why she wanted to keep him hanging for as long as possible, so that whatever she said to him would stick in his mind."Come on, babe. What is it?", Mel asked, beginning to feel restless and impatient.Still, Mara said nothing. She just stood there staring at him. 10, 20, 30 seconds, and Mel couldn't take it anymore. Half-angry, he pulled a chair to himself and sat down heavily on it. Then he turned to her. But Mara was still not ready to say a word. He waited as quietly and calmly as he could, but soon, he was tapping out a rhythm with his feet on the floor. He went on tapping and tapping until he got tired and exhaled deeply. Then he ran his hand through his hair and muttered a curse beneath his breath."Come on, babe, say somet

By afternoon, despite all her fears and expectations, Marks didn't send for Angela. She wasn't even sure if he was in his office. He usually came very early and shut himself in all day, only communicating with his assistant who was as reclusive as he was. The CEO wasn't much different either, but she had closer interactions with Angela. Sometimes, they talked like colleagues and other times, they talked like a boss and subordinate. But Angela never forgot herself around her. Even before she was asked to spy on Mara, she knew that the CEO was not the best of women and she was always wary of her.An hour, half an hour, quarter of an hour to close of business, Angela couldn't sit still. She still had a strong foreboding that Marks would call her and ask for a report. What on earth would she tell him? She had spent the last half of the work day thinking up and throwing out various ideas. At the end of the day, she wasn't any closer to coming up with anything reasonable. At some point, she

“Who is it?”, Marks called out in anger in response to the harsh knock on his door. But instead of a reply, the knock was repeated again and again, louder each time.“I said who the fuck's that? Are you dumb?”, Marks roared, jumping to his feet.“Open the damn door, you barking fool.”“Oh, it's you,” he murmured in a subdued voice. If he had known it was Dalia, he would not have dared to shout. “Sorry, I didn't know it was you,” he apologized as he opened the door, hoping to avoid a hot scolding. But Dalia didn't seem to be interested so much in scolding him. Instead she fixed him with an angry glare and walked further into his room. She glanced around the place and finally chose to sit on one of the chairs.“So, what's the report from the girl today?” She asked as she sat.“Oh,” Marks ejaculated, scratching and hitting his head, “I forgot. I... I forgot to ask her.”“And when I call you an empty fool, you'll claim I'm harsh and merciless.”Marks couldn't say anything else in his defe

Mara was busy putting finishing touches to her work in the kitchen. She had done all the washing and cleaning and was now rounding up the stock taking. When it was only Leo and her along with the baby, she never worried about running out of food. She only restocked once a month, on the 15th. But since Mel joined them, food had been running down faster than usual. She now had to take inventory regularly to avoid the distasteful experience of running out of essential food items.She was in a squatting position, counting the number of potatoes left when all of a sudden she felt a shadow darken the doorway. Instantly, she jumped up to her feet and turned to the door. She did not feel any more relaxed when she found that it was Mel. She just stood there staring at him and wondering what he wanted. She could ask him, but she wouldn't. She wanted him to speak first. But to her surprise, he said nothing. Instead, he stood leaning on the door staring back at her.Minutes passed and they remain

"You look... sexy," Mel praised as he saw her approaching the living room, but Mara didn't bother to acknowledge the compliment. Instead she took her stand beside a sofa directly opposite him. She stared at his smiling face for a few seconds before sitting down on the arm of the sofa, so she would have the advantage of looking down at him from a higher point."I want to talk to you about something I've noticed," she said and paused, still staring directly at him."What, babe?" He asked with a wide grin."You seem to be getting very comfortable here. You promised me you would leave when you find your feet. From what I've seen so far, you don't seem very interested in finding them. So, I'd like to know, when do you intend to find your feet and leave?"Suddenly, Mel's face changed. All the smiles vanished and he tightened his jaw in anger. "What the fuck do you mean? Are you chasing me away?""Don't swear at me," Mara shot back, maintaining eye contact without blinking."Is this what tha