Filed to story: When His Wife Can’t Forgive
Alicia didn’t insist any further. She said her goodbyes to Hank, gave him a sheepish smile, and finally left the building.
As he stood behind his desk and watched her go, Hank couldn’t help but feel a sliver of unease.
Before he could dwell on the matter any further, he noticed that it was time for the meeting.
Inside the conference room, Caden was seated at the head of the long table, ever the picture of sophisticated authority.
He had always been serious when it came to work, and his presence was significantly more intimidating when he was dealing with business.
Hank brought his laptop to the front to begin the presentation for the meeting. He plugged in his USB drive, and the large white screen flickered for a few seconds before going black.
Puzzled, Hank was about to disconnect his drive when the screen suddenly lit up again.
The silence that fell in the room was deafening, and the air crackled with tension.
The screen did not display any charts or graphs, or even a small smattering of text. Instead, it showed a high-definition photo of a male private part in all its naked glory.
Caden’s face darkened ominously.
Terrified out of his wits, Hank rushed to turn off the laptop altogether, but the program seemed to have frozen, and the device wouldn’t shut down. Caden’s Adam’s apple bobbed once as he narrowed his eyes at the photo.
“Shut off the projector,” he barked at Hank. “Your laptop is obviously infected with some kind of virus.”
Hank practically lunged at the cable center to disconnect the projector from the screen. What followed was a tense, almost eerie silence, likely caused by the unexpected photo but most definitely amplified by the forbidding energy coming off of Caden.
While his face remained blank on the surface, a storm of emotions brewed beneath his icy eyes.
Hank opened his mouth to speak when Caden stood up and beat him to it.
“Today’s meeting is adjourned.”
With that, he strode out of the room, Hank hurrying closely at his heels.
When they reached Caden’s office, Hank darted forward to open the door for his boss, but Caden paused in his tracks.
“Care to explain yourself?” Caden asked, fixing his eyes on his hapless assistant.
Under normal circumstances, Hank would have scrambled to his desk to trace the source of the virus.
Today, however, not only did Hank refrain from making any efforts to rectify the situation, but he was also unusually quiet about the debacle.
Hank straightened his back, though he kept his eyes glued to the floor.
“It was Ms. Bennett.”
The temperature in the hallway seemed to drop a few degrees.
“I know it was Alicia, but how did she pull it off?”
Hank was a little surprised and whipped his head up before he could stop himself.
“How did you know it was her, Mr. Ward?”
“How else?” Caden replied, his tone sharp. “Because those were my crown jewels paraded in front of my subordinates!”
In his almost thirty years of existence, he had only ever slept with Alicia, and they had just had an intimate encounter in his office earlier that day.
So, she hadn’t blindfolded him for a fun and sexy romp-she had actually dared to take a photo of him when he was at his most vulnerable!
“Ms. Bennett brought coffee and pastries to my desk before she left. She asked me to give them to you to express her apology. The next thing I know, she spilled the coffee all over my desk, and she was wiping it off my computer. Everything happened so fast, and at the time, I was more concerned about the possibility that she might have tampered with the coffee or the sweets…”
For all of Hank’s overthinking, he never imagined that Alicia would upload a vulgar photo to his computer and sabotage his presentation.
With a click of his tongue, Caden stormed into his office and grabbed a bottle of ice water from the coffee table.
Hank slowly followed him inside, his tone cautious as he asked,
“Should I send for Ms. Bennett, Mr. Ward?”
Caden could feel the blood pumping in his temples as he gritted his teeth.
“No need.”
Hank studied his boss. Although Caden was still nursing his rage, it was clear that he had no intentions of pursuing the matter any further.
Hank breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ms. Bennett is always so gentle and soft-spoken. I had no idea she had a hidden, wild streak.”
Caden put the bottle of water down with more force than necessary.
“Mr. Ward,” Hank continued, his curiosity already piqued, “who do you think-uh… the man in that photo is?”
The corners of Caden’s eyes twitched ever so slightly, but he said nothing.
It didn’t escape Hank’s notice, though. Shuddering with fright, he bravely forged ahead and asked,
“Was it you, Mr. Ward?”
“No,” Caden replied blandly. “It’s not me.”
Hank finally allowed himself to relax.
“Of course not. It’s just as I thought. You have issues in that regard, so you couldn’t possibly have achieved the alarming state depicted in that photo.”
Just like that, Caden’s fury flared back up again.
That moment was still vivid in his memory. They had been in this very same office, and Alicia had merely brushed her delicate fingers against him. Her touch had been so brief that it didn’t even count as teasing in his books.
And yet, his body’s reaction had been immediate and intense. Looking back at it now, he could only lament the utter disgrace he had felt.
Caden’s gaze shifted to Hank, his eyes as hard as steel. The silence that followed was suffocating, seeping into every corner of the room like a thick fog.
Hank could feel the tension pressing down on his chest, and a shiver snaked down his spine. Swallowing hard, he straightened his posture and stammered,
“I-I’m sorry, Mr. Ward. This was my mistake. You have full authority to handle it however you see fit.”
Caden’s lips twitched into a faint, dismissive smile.
“Hmm, no year-end bonus for you, Hank. Good thing, too, since I’ve been thinking of upgrading my car.”
Despite the cold remark, Hank maintained his composure and dutifully launched into his brief report on the day’s failed meeting.
His voice lowered as he reached the more delicate details.
“Mr. Joshua Yates, however, sent quite a few rather generous gifts and deposited a hefty sum into our account. He said it was just a little gesture to make sure Lilliana’s future is safe and sound.”
Joshua’s obvious attempt at securing favor made Caden chuckle under his breath.
It also brought to mind the look in Alicia’s eyes before she had left that morning. What was she up to now?
A flicker of anticipation sparked in Caden’s eyes as he finally spoke again.
“This woman, Lilliana…”
He paused deliberately, shooting Hank a meaningful look.
Hank, ever quick on the uptake, nodded obediently.
“She made her debut in the entertainment industry thanks to her family’s financial backing. For a while, she floated under the radar, but last year she struck gold with a hit song and rose to fame overnight. Her popularity’s been climbing ever since. I’ll compile all the details on her background and email it to you shortly.”
Caden’s expression remained impassive, almost bored.
“Since they’ve bought her way in, I won’t waste the opportunity. Let Joshua know-I’ll ensure his precious lover is well taken care of.”
Now that she had the ring, Alicia whisked Monica away to a lavish dinner at one of the city’s finest restaurants. The two clinked crystal glasses gleefully, the crisp sound echoing across the hall.
Monica wrinkled her nose in disgust.
“I never would have guessed Lilliana would sink so low as to become someone’s mistress.” She rolled her eyes dramatically before adding, “And getting pregnant before marriage? If her fans ever find out, there’ll be a full-blown scandal!”
Alicia took a measured sip of her drink, a faint, knowing smile curving her lips.
“She’s playing with fire,” she mused softly. “And eventually, she’ll get burned. She got pregnant far too early. Once she gives birth, hiding it will be impossible. Sooner or later, she’ll slip up.”
However, Monica still simmered with indignation, her eyes flashing.
“Are you seriously going to let those two scumbags get away with this?”
Alicia, however, had long since let go of any desire for revenge. Her voice was calm, her words measured.
“I couldn’t care less about their relationship, but Lilliana drugging me is a different story. That, I won’t forgive so easily.”
Monica’s fists clenched as she rolled up her sleeves, as though revving up for a fight.
“Say the word, and I’ll round up a few of my guys to take care of things for you.”
“No need.” Alicia chuckled lightly, shaking her head. “I have my own ways of dealing with things.”
Monica, seeing her friend so poised in the face of adversity, couldn’t help but sigh with admiration. It reminded her of the good old days.
“You’ve really changed since you decided to dump that jerk. Back when you were locking horns with Caden, you were so alive, with your fiery spirit and competitiveness. Now, it feels like the old Alicia is back!”