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This chapter is dedicated to caslovessleeping
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Thursdays at the Regal Corp. were often just as tedious as Mondays—or maybe even more, as it was often the days when all sub-units had to turn in their reports for the week to their designated upper hierarchies, before the overall summary was edited and submitted for proofread.
Part of that also meant that Maldives had to check in with Fai—or rather, Mr. Regan, her boss—an action she had been dreading, since the dawn of the day.
Ever since their 'fun-not-so-fun' encounter on Sunday, they had successively avoided each other over the course of four days, with Fai using middle-men to deliver his messages across to her whenever necessary, and she, more cautious than ever not to cross paths with him at any point in time, especially during the ends of the days—when they most often ran into each other.
Of course, it didn't also help that Miss 'You-know-who' was in Regina's words 'back to aiding our acquaintance temporarily' and currently even had an office stationed very close to his.
And here I was thinking I was earth's favorite daughter pfft!
Hailey...she heard herself think out loud, as she recalled the first time she had ever really seen her upfront and had a conversation with her.
Maldives had found herself racing in back as she returned from her lunch break at a nearby restaurant, and had been totally oblivious of her surroundings.
Checking the time on her wrist watch, she cursed out loud when she realized she had been twenty-one minutes past her lunch break hour and began mumbling incoherent prayers to whoever listened, desperately hoping that no one, especially Regina, had noticed her absence.
But apparently, being the woman she was with only but a few luck to spare, she eventually accidentally crossed paths with Hailey during her flash-inspired waltz back in.
Dashing her way to the elevators, she hadn't exactly been thinking straight as immediately the doors had opened, she found herself jumping in hastily without checking to see who it was that the elevators had carried with it, which led to her bumping into Hailey with enough force that almost took them both down.
"Oh—I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I didn't—" Maldives started to stay as she began picking up the files and documents she had unknowingly scattered all over the floor.
She paused.
Red bottoms? People wear red bottoms to work? Wow, the world really is a—wait a minute...
"I guess Regina was right when she said you really do tread in your own world" Maldives heard the lady say from above her. She tensed as she feared her suspicion had been accurate.
Clad in a carton-brown body-hugging knee length office skirt, gold silky button-up shirt and a pair of black red-bottoms, was no other than Hailey Henderson.
If there was one thing Maldives thought to be worse than the fact she currently looked like a weakling bowing at the feet of her mistress, it was the fact that she looked like 'a 'disheveled sweat-soaked weakling, trotting at the feet of her goddess-looking mistress'.
Of course, 'she' would wear red bottoms*snorts*
"I'm talking to you, Miss Coleman" she refuted, to Maldives' annoyance. I guess it's no wonder why she flocks with Regina. Yes, I said it: 'flock'!
"I um—" *Clears throat* Proceed with caution Mal, remember, she's your boss and CAN fire you!
No-no-no, Fai IS my boss, and he wouldn't fire me, not even if SHE asked for it—even though I really don't know where I stand with him for now...shit! Focus girl! Play it cool and focus!
"I am, I am Coleman, why, is something wrong?" Maldives asked, her shoulders as squared up as her fragile pride could carry her.
She isn't even as tall as she looks from afar and in those stupid blogs, Maldives snorted, when she was finally at shoulders with her.
In fact, she could have sworn that if not for the six inches her feet graced, she would have probably towered over her with a considerable amount of height difference, 'but I guess we'll argue that later'
"Can see you really are a tough one..." Hailey nodded knowingly, her face wearing a mischievous smile as she stretch forth her hands towards Maldives.
Maldives furrowed in confusion. "What?" she asked confusedly.
"The files—surely you know that I'll be needing those" she retorted, pointing to the series of papers Maldives had gathered together from the floor.
"Oh—right" she mouthed, when she realized she still had them in her hands. "Here you go, sorry for running in on you earlier..." she began apologizing, deciding it was in her best interest not to pick a fight. —Might not like her, but I obviously like my job so...
"You're sorry?" Hailey questioned amusingly, to Maldives disapproval. Bitch, you deaf or what?!
Sighing deeply, she pulled herself together as best as she could afford, before responding. "Yes, I'm sorry..I was in a hurry and—"
"Well, there you go! I think that's another thing we need to address Miss Coleman" Hailey chipped in, folding her arms and cut-edge red-polished nails in all seriousness.
"...your late-comings—I've heard they're quite legendary"
"Oh—um...I don't—"
"Nope, don't wanna hear it. Listen, you are the Financial secretary and—"
"Yes I know that and I—"
"Nuh-uh...no excuses!" she shut her up abruptly, her index pointing at her. Maldives, as discreet as her tolerance could afford her, shot her her 'What-the-fuck' face, an action that indicated she wasn't liking her tone with her.
"Look, I don't know how Fai runs this company—not that I question his judgments, but now that I'm here, eIll personally see to it that all forms of lateness and other short-comings, are not taken lightly.
"But you ain't even my boss" Maldives raised a brow at her.
"No, Fai is, and since I'm his partner—"
"Partner?" Maldives asked, furrowing.
"Yes PARTNER, while I'm his 'partner', you will do what I ask"
"Right..." she swallowed in defeat.
"Now I'm not sure if you're aware—considering your unruly habit of lateness, but on my first day here, Regina did ask that I be treated with—"
" 'With the same respect as she and the boss', I know" Maldives chipped in reluctantly. *hisses* 'unruly habit of lateness', 'unruly' my ass!
"Glad to know you were early enough to witness the introduction" she nodded proudly, before retrieving the files from Maldives hands and making her way out of the elevators.
To say that Maldives had been at loss for words that day would be a huge understatement, as she hadnt even been sure how she had managed to scale through the rest of the day.
Throughout the remainder of it, her thoughts had been filled with confused feelings and emotions of doubts.
Partners?' What the fuck did she mean by partners? Does this mean they're back together?
No no no, can't be! Probably just meant business partners
But even at that, why the fuck is she still in this company?! Doesn't she have like a fucking billion-dollar steel company to run?!
Oh God...I'm gonna go insane!!!
If they are together again, then that probably explains why he hasn't reached out yet...
Dude probably doesn't even care that we're not on talking terms...
Shit! That's a lot of 'probablys' there honey, a lot! And they don't pay you for any of that, so you better get working! We don't want 'Miss-you-know-who' barking behind your ears now, do we?
Oh wait—crap! Now we got two 'Miss-you-know-whos'—Junior and senior hahaha... she chuckled lightly in her attempt to humor her sorrows away.
But now she was back, and it all felt like déjà-vu—the memories playing back in her head. How was she going to pull it through? Walk the corners of the company's passages and elevators without the danger of crossing paths with either of the 'She-devils'?
It also wasn't just them, there was him.
Were her first words to him after four long days going to be: 'Sir, here's your documents'?
Fuck fuck fuck! She cursed continuously and rolled her eyes at her intended tone of professionalism for him.
Oh well, he used to be my boss and boyfriend, but now that the latter is 'kinda' on hold, we kinda have to.
Certainly, the situation would have been much better if Rachel had been around, to help her with the 'stupid papers', but no, my friend is probably swimming in the sweet pleasures of marital bliss—literally, while I'm here, stuck in this complicated love triangle and professional cobwebs!
If only life was fair...
*Sighs*...might as well get it over with....
She winced and sighed deeply as she proceeded to gather the files and make her way to his office.
On her way out, she noticed everyone getting very antsy—as antsy as they had been the day Regina had arrived, and the day he had arrived—bottom line, it's never a good sign.
"Mal!" she heard someone call from the far end of the room. When she turned to see who it was, she heaved a huge sigh of relief.
"Gerald, what's up, is something wrong?" she enquired from him as strode towards her.
"No, not really, I just thought I'd give you a heads up, you know word's been going round that the Chinese are on their way now, and I know how the witch can be about things like this. You should be prepared" he whispered with a chuckle, and she nodded in understanding.
"Yeah I understand, but don't worry, I've got everything covered" she smiled assuredly.
"I trust you. Are those the financial statements?" he asked, gesturing to the files she held in her hands. She shook her head. "No, these are just the weekly itineraries, I'm about to go submit them on Fai's table" she explained, her face wearing an expression that told him she'd rather be mopping the oceans.
Gerald raised a brow in amusement, earning himself a smack on the arm by Maldives. "Good to know my demise makes you happy, Gee!" she hissed.
"Hahaha, of course not, that's not it. it's just—I can't believe you're both letting the lady come between you two. I mean, even if they are working together now and she has a temporary desk in the office beside his, it still doesn't mean—"
"Wait—what now? "Maldives cut him mid-sentence.
"What?" he echoed.
"What do you mean 'she has a desk beside his'?"
"Oh—you didn't know?" he mumbled lightly, scared he had somehow divulged information she wasn't prepared to hear.
"I didnt! No one tells me anything around here! Oh Christ!" she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Dear Lord, have you finally given up on your daughter??? Maldives heard herself mutter inwardly.
"Look, it can't be that bad, okay? You know what kills you women? Assumptions! Jumping into conclusions before we even get a chance to explain ourselves"
"What—no no no! I am not jumping into conclusions! I am deducing a conclusion off of the signs I've seen!" she refuted defensively in the lowest most-audible tone she could muster so as not to draw more attention from the passerby than they were already doing.
" 'Signs' are not 'facts' Mal, but what can I do really? I can only offer you my words of advice and hope you heed to them. I don't know how serious whatever you two have is, but I can tell you one thing: this rift—it's only gon'make things worse...and I also don't think he's handling it well" he sighed deeply.
"Huh? Wh-what do you mean?" she furrowed.
"Mal, I don't know, I can't say for sure...but a lot of people have been complaining about his increased irritation lately. Some say it could just be the pressure of the Chinese visitation stressing him, but I think you and I know it's much more than that"
"Oh..." she mouthed, not sure she had anything else to say.
For some reason, knowing that their distance away from each other had stirred up some sort of turmoil in him, sent spirals of relief flowing through her veins. She had initially envisioned him whiling away the time from their moments apart by going on shopping sprees with Miss Perfect, or having sexual expenditures with her beneath their Givenchy-inspired sheets, which was probably why she was glad to know it was the complete opposite.
"Oh well, I have to get going now, everyone's going crazy in 'Editing', we'll talk later, okay?"
"Yeah *sighs* wish me luck!" she chirped as he walked away, making her attempt to brighten her slowly dampening mood. He turned back to offer her a warm smile, shooting his thumbs up at her before finally treading off.
"Pheeeww...well, here goes..."she breathed as she pulled herself and made her way to his office.
Meanwhile, back in Fai's office, Hailey was currently seated opposite him, with the two discussing and prepping themselves for their meeting with their potential investors.
Regina had suggested that they be the ones to handle the negotiations, since they were the most experienced in the game.
It felt just like old times—one party of them proposing a business deal, while the other offered a head of support. 'Strength in numbers', Ronald would say, each time he shook hands with Mr. Henderson, Hailey's father, after they had succeeded in landing a huge business contract.
"...that's it, I think this is perfect..." Fai said as he went through the files containing their strategies and plans.
Hailey nodded with a smile, her insides flowing with pride at the idea of what they were on their way to achieving. "I know right! And I'm sure dad would be happy with our own quarter if it eventually pulls through"
"Oh I hope so, else I don't think John will ever let us lend your assistance in the future" He smiled back as he relaxed, reclining to the rest of his chair while he intertwined his fingers on his thighs.
Hailey chuckled, tucking a few strands of her hair behind her ear as she smiled.
She paused, stared at him, her mind churning back old memories of when both of them working together used to be a normality.
How times have changed...she wondered, thinking about how she probably wouldn't even be with him in the moment, had Regina and his entire board not fallen desperate to the demands of pressure.
"What are you thinking?" Fai asked, calling her out of her sea of thoughts.
"What?" she scrunched in confusion.
"You're doing that thing you usually do where you squint your eyes and tuck your thumb beneath the rest of your fingers"
"What-I'm not—" she started to say, when her eyes flew to her hands on the table and realized that he had been right. He smirked knowingly and she rolled her eyes at his cockiness.
"Oh well, I guess you're right after all" she sighed in defeat.
"I always am. So, pray tell me...what is it?"
"Hmm...are you sure you wanna know?" she questioned suggestively, and he stared at her. He wasn't sure how, but he could read her—her thoughts, the illusions they housed, and even now that he really thought about, even her voice held it—crazy ideas from a crazy woman, hmm... He breathed and pulled out of his desk.
"Not again Hailey..."he groaned as he poured himself a glass of apple juice from the large juice box he had stored in the refrigerator.
"...didnt I already make it clear back in Frankfurt?" he asked as he remembered the little show she had tried to put on for him weeks ago when they had just landed back in her native hometown,
They had just settled into their hotel rooms and Fai decided for a cold shower after a long day of endless meetings with long-time family friends and business partners. He had just stepped out of the bathroom, his towel hanging loosely around his waist when he had been startled by the unanticipated sight of Hailey sprawled over his bed in nothing but black lacey thongs.
"What the fuc—Hailey, what in heaven's name are you doing here?!" he growled as his hands instinctively flew to his waist to tighten the knot of his towel.
She smiled mischievously. "I can see I still have the same effect on you..." she slurred her words, as she got up from the bed to orchestrate her seductive strut towards him.
He shook his head dismissively, "No-no, this is not because of you!" he explained, gesturing southwards to the swollen member of him which had been throbbing painfully.
"Well, who else would it be for? I don't see anyone else here..."she mouthed slowly as she began trailing her fingers along the contours of his chest.
He watched her carefully, not uttering a word as he allowed her feast her eyes all she wanted, then caught her hands midway before they approached the life of him.
"Enough!" he bickered at her. She jerked in response, and when she looked up at him, she saw the last thing any man had ever held in their eyes whenever she touched them—especially not while she was in a thong!
"Fai, can we just—"
"No, there's no 'we', it's just you and I, on an 'official' trip together okay?" he tried reasoning with her in the most calming tone he could offer.
She swallowed and nodded in defeat. "Good...now, let's just go to bed, you in your room, me in mine, while we wake up tomorrow and pretend this didn't happen, okay?
"Mmhm, okay"
~~~~~
"Sighs we don't want a repeat of that night now, do we—" he started to ask, when he turned back to the pleading eyes of Hailey approaching him.
"I already apologized Fai, for everything! Just give me this one chance, just this once, and I promise you, I'll—"
"No" he cut her off abruptly.
"Come on now, just one—"
"I said no! Dammit woman!" he cursed and rubbed his temples, the unmistakable look of frustration creasing his face.
Regretting his raised tone at her, he sighed. "Hailey, please...we have an important engagement coming up in a few hours, and the last thing we need is an argument right before it"
"Exactly, so let's not argue..."she encouraged as she began playing with the buttons on his shirt. "I don't wanna argue... let's just be with each other—"
"We can't" he insisted defensively.
"But why not?!" She probed, her eyes looking into his for answers.
"Is there...someone else?" she questioned, scared of what the answer might be, and when he didn't give her any, she felt her heart sink.
"Right...is she—someone I know?"
"No—or maybe you do, but no"
"I've never heard of her—never heard from the media that you were seeing someone..." she shrugged. "...which only means that whatever it is you two have isn't so serious" she illustrated as she began to slowly tug at his tie.
He scoffed. "You're crazy to think that simply because the media doesn't know about her, we aren't serious" he stopped her hands in their tracks and peeked at her in all-seriousness.
"We ARE serious, more than you think, and you should know that I lo—" he paused in his words. No no no Fai, the first time you say it, you say it to her, no one else!
She felt her insides quaver.
"You-what?" she urged him, and he swallowed. "You what Fai?! You love her?!" she asked again and he waved her off.
"We're not gonna talk about this Hailey, not now" he turned to walk away but she pulled him back.
"You're right, we're not, and I'm not buying it!" she concluded before doing the one thing Fai did not prepare to be doing at any point of his day—she kissed him.
Hungrily but passionately, her hands clung to the life of him, hooking themselves behind his neck while she threw all of herself on him.
.
He groaned, his feet staggering from the impact of her force on him, as one of his hands still held the glass of drink.
Christ.... he thought to himself, as in his bid to steady her away from him, he found his spare hand gently tugging her neck away from him.
Suddenly, the door flew open, breaking them away from their escapade.
"Oh for fuck's sake!" he cursed out loud when he saw the last person he wanted walking in on a scene like that.
"I-I'm sorry I shouldn't have—"Maldives stuttered as she struggled hard to keep her composure.
She stared at him, then at her, and back at him, before shaking her head with eyes she was sure were about to betray her with tears.
"Mal I—" he started to say when she halted him in his words.
"Ex-excuse me" she muttered shakily before racing to the door.
"Dammit! Mal would you—" he began saying as he made an effort to stop her in her tracks.
"And where the hell are you going Fai?!" Hailey called back.
He rolled his eyes and seethed painfully. "Oh fur die Liebe Gottes Hailey! Bist du dumm, oder einfach vollig ahnungslos?! (Oh for the love of God Hailey! Are you dumb, or just totally clueless?!)" he growled at her, before bolting out after her and slamming the door behind him.
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