Wednesdays with the CEO (English) COMPLETED

Chapter 2 - A Kiss

    The woman silently sat there, frozen. Her eyes were wide, fixated at the paper scattered on the floor. She turned to look at Alexiel but his expression suggests confusion at his action as well.

    “Send the lady home, Alex.” Lowell ordered with a domineering tone. His sharp gaze lingered at her before stepping behind closing doors. 

    He marched angrily and at full speed towards the study. A maid came informing that the lunch was ready but he abruptly slammed his palms on the desk, making her turn away in fear.

    Yes, he's fuming over what happened over there. He ran his fingers through his slightly wet hair in the middle of his frustration. 

    One. Two. Thr - 

    Not even at the count of three in his head, the door opened and Alexiel appeared panting. 

    "Did you send her away?" Lowell asked as calmly as he could.

    "No, I did not." His assistant answered firmly, almost sounded like he was hissing. "We can't just cancel appointments that we've made, sir."

    "Then, why the hell did you call her?" 

    "Because it's part of my job?" Alexiel answered with no hesitation. His slightly raised voice didn’t even make this young man’s eyes waver. "The editing team sent her manuscript to me under your approval during last week's meeting."

    "That's the problem," He angrily gritted his teeth and snatched away the pile of papers from his assistant's hand. "This garbage isn't the novel we discussed at the meeting."

    Alexiel's eyes widened and his jaw dropped open in apparent shock. His gaze shifted back and forth from the papers to Lowell’s irritated visage. "What? How could that be?" He asked in panic and a slightly high-pitched voice.

    "Seriously, the way you express your emotions doesn't match your appearance at all," Lowell whispered while sighing and shaking his head. 

    "It's not entirely your fault." He continued as he sat in his office chair.  "I should've checked the email you sent me as soon as my flight landed last night."

    "Your mother came by the penthouse, I doubt you had the time to do that."

    "And who do you think is the fool who let that old lady in?" Lowell quickly noted in annoyance and glared at him. 

    "Sir, catering to your personal life is not part of my paycheck. Besides, how can I turn away a gentle and sweet lady who wants to see her son? I'm a man with good conduct." Alexiel defended himself while pouting like a child being scolded. "But if you want me to do that, you can give me a raise."

    "A man with good conduct shamelessly asking for a raise?" He scoffed at his absurd response and threw the pile of paper towards him. Alexiel dodged it, making him even more pissed. 

    "I still think you should treat your mother better, sir. She looked pitiful while waiting for you last night." His assistant tearfully added. 

    "You should've used your time wisely by trying to be less naive instead of worrying about that old lady." He said sarcastically, intending to mock his naive decision.

    "Now I can see how my mother and the editing team tricked you."

    "Tricked me? Isn't it just a mistake from their end?" 

    His lips pulled into a smirk. "Isn't it Miranda? The one who sent you that woman's details and manuscript."

    Alexiel nodded. "Yes. She actually came by and dropped the flash drive personally. I remember it quite well because it's usually her assistant who does those things."

    "Of course you'd remember. You expected to see your girlfriend but her boss came instead. You must be disappointed, Alex." He teased. 

    His assistant coughed loudly in embarrassment. "Anyway, what about Miranda?" 

    "Miranda was mentored by my mother before I hired her as Editor-In-Chief." He answered as if it’s no big deal and tilted his head to look at the papers on the ground. 

    "You think Miranda planned this with the madam? Why would they do that? " 

    "I think I know why." Lowell stood up and walked towards the door. "Call the old lady. Tell her that her beloved son wants to have an afternoon tea with her."

    "I'll get in touch with her secretary right away.” Alexiel pulled out his phone. He paused for a while and threw a stern look at his boss. “But isn't it much faster if you contact her directly?"  

    “And what makes you think I have her number?”

    “Oh,” Alexiel blinked innocently, as if having a eureka moment. He stepped back to give way for his boss. “What a wonderful son you are, sir. Always so consistent.”

    Lowell rolled his eyes at his satirical response. “Anyway, send that writer home. Compensate her with lunch or whatever. Do what you have to do”

    “She hasn’t signed the confidentiality agreement yet. I personally think it’ll be troublesome if I send her home with just that.” Alexiel scanned him from head to toe and sighed. “Especially not after what she saw.”

    “Well, that’s your problem now. Fix that if you want your vacation leave approved.” He jabbed back at him before walking away. 

    Wednesday remained dazed. Sitting in the middle of that big living room, watching the luxurious chandelier shine against the sunlight coming through the glass windows. She wondered what went wrong. 

    The voice of Lowell Sebastian still echoed at the back of her mind. It has been more than half an hour since he left angrily with his cheeky assistant running behind him. To be honest, she’s not even sure why she’s still seated here. 

    “Ms. Curtis.” It was Alexiel Sy, walking out from the humongous door where he ran into lately. 

    She stood up silently, uncertain on how to react. "Do I need to go now?"

    "I'm really sorry for what happened, Ms. Curtis." His apology only made her feel heavier. She was secretly hoping that this was all a misunderstanding. 

    "There must've been some errors on our end regarding the manuscripts. The chairman didn't mean to offend you like that."

    A trace of panic slowly crept in Alexiel's face when he noticed her expression turning grim. 

    "A-And please accept these as an apology for all your troubles." He carefully handed over two paper bags towards her direction without meeting her gaze. 

    Wednesday looked at him blankly, unimpressed. "What?"

    "I had a lunch box packed for you. I'm sure you're starving, it's past 12 noon already." Alexiel forced a smile, still wary of her unchanged expression. "A-And I also prepared some of our newly released limited edition books."

    "Is there anything you want me to sign before I go?" She gave in with a sigh. 

    "Ms. Curtis - "

    "Let's get this over with. I don't want to stay here any longer." 

    It was past one o'clock in the afternoon. The sun was shining intensely as Wednesday walked across the busy streets near the SMU building. Sweat came rolling down her forehead due to the extreme heat. It’s no surprise since summer is just around the corner. 

    Without an umbrella, carrying heavy books and a lunchbox, she continued to stroll until she tripped and fell on the ground. The books scattered around her and the lunchbox dropped open. People just walked past her, not minding the mess she made. She kept on wanting to cry but no tears emerged from her eyes. 

    “What garbage is this?” Wednesday mumbled bitterly as her eyes scanned through the scattered generic romance books in front of her.

    She picked up one book amidst her emotional breakdown. Instead of tears, a burst of laughter fills her throat. With her loud tittering, bypassers can’t help but to start giving her looks.  

    “Wendy.” She heard someone calling her out. A pair of shiny red high heels stopped in front of her. 

    “Wednesday Curtis, what the f**k are you doing?” This time, the voice seems too familiar for her to ignore. She looked up only to find Primrose Dia, her best friend, angrily scooping her back to her feet. 

    “Rosey.” Out of nowhere, she started sobbing. Primrose welcomed her outburst with a hug. 

    “There, there.” She caressed Wednesday’s back to soothe her. “But first, let’s bring this drama somewhere else and clean up your mess. We don’t want to be fined for littering and public scandal.”

    Her emotional state remained unstable as Primrose dragged her out of the sidewalk and into the car. The next thing she knew was they’re sitting face to face inside a cafe and she’s still hysterically crying.

    Primrose tapped her wristwatch and sighed. “It’s almost sundown, Wendy. Tissue’s out, give me the scoop.” She complained while watching Wednesday blow her nose. 

    “First,” She sniffed and pouted. “How did you manage to find me so fast?”

    Her friend snorted and pointed her index finger outside. Several men dressed in black suits were lined up across the cafe. “My father won’t let me go outside without them, so I figured why not make use of them?”

    “Oh, I keep forgetting how rich you are. Must be nice.”

    “Enough of that. Stop changing the topic.” Primrose turned serious and crossed her arms. “What happened? Do you know how worried I was when you sent that message? Spill everything. Who made you cry?”

    Wednesday can’t help but smile at her friend’s display of concern. She ended up bawling her eyes out yet again as she told the story of her unfortunate encounter with Lowell Sebastian. Even now, everything that has happened hours ago felt like a bad dream for her. 

    “T-That jerk?” Primrose loudly exclaimed and slammed her hands on the table. “He called you there and he had the nerve to disrespect your work like that?”

    She sobbed and nodded. “I couldn’t even vent my anger because he stormed out right away without properly greeting me.” 

    “There, there. How rude of him. He’s not worth crying for.” Primrose tapped her head to console her. “But earlier you said, you saw him in his bathrobe?”

    “Yes. He appeared like that and angrily shouted at his assistant.”

    “With his hair still wet?”

    “Yes, but - “

    “How was it? Is he hot?” Primrose asked enthusiastically. Her eyes were gleaming in excitement.

    Wednesday’s forehead wrinkled. “Wait. Are you sympathizing with me or gushing over SMU’s chairman?”

    “Both?” Primrose winked and bit her tongue out. “Come on. Give me some deets. Rumor has it that he’s the hottest bachelor among the socialites. Even my father wants me to meet him.”

    She frowned, looking back at her brief encounter with the man. “Well, he’s not bad. I think his looks make up for my bad impression of his personality.”

    “Fair enough. Rich men are usually like that.” Primrose agreed and took a sip of her matcha latte. “But you know what? They also said he’s gay.”

    Wednesday almost choked at what she said. "What?"

    "Shocking, right? There's also a rumor that his assistant was his lover."

    No matter how hard she thought about it, the rumors sound like a big joke to her. All she witnessed today was a chairman with excessive dominance and an assistant with underlying hatred towards his superior.

    "I don't know about that." She commented with Alexiel's pissed face playing at the back of her mind.

    "Anyway, I know how to make you feel better." Her friend clapped her hands together in the air. "Let's go clubbing. Nothing beats stress better than drinking until you drop."

    Fast forward to two hours later, Wednesday leans to a wall while on her way to the bathroom. Her vision was blurry. It felt like she's inside a washing machine, everything around her kept spinning. 

    She couldn't find Primrose after she got up and danced with a complete stranger on the dance floor. After this night, she might need to remind herself not to drink with her friend ever again. 

    "Don't touch me." A harsh yell suddenly echoed through the halls. 

    Although she couldn't see well due to her dizziness, she could tell that the loud voice was not far from where she was standing. 

    She looked up and saw a man with a good posture facing a muscular figure dressed in provocative women’s clothing. 

    "That's weird." She snickered softly, obviously too drunk to properly comprehend what's happening.

    "You disgust me." The good postured man spoke again. Wednesday giggled silently at how domineering his voice was. 

    "Why do you keep drawing the line between us? I just want to spend time with you. I'm worried about you." The other man said. 

    His voice sounded gentle and on the brink of crying. Even though she’s drunk, she could tell that the other man was much older through his wrinkled face and body figure.

    "Don't make me laugh. I don't need your concern."

    "That's right. Leave him alone!" She interfered causing both men to halt their conversation and look at her direction. 

    She managed to walk towards them despite her wobbly posture. A grin slowly appeared in her face while tapping the shoulder of the man wearing a revealing dress.  

    "He's not interested. Maybe he's not gay, buddy. Respect other people's preferences." She said with her eyes half shut. 

    And then she turned to the other man. "And you, don't yell. Have some manners. He's older than you."

    "You." The good postured man sounded a bit shocked. But as much as she wants to examine his face, her drunken state is preventing her from doing that. 

    "Yes, me?" Wednesday answered, already half asleep and leaning against the wall again. 

    "Do you know this trashy woman?"

    For some reason, his tone irked her. She grabbed an arm, not entirely sure which one of them owns it. 

    "Yes. I'm the woman he'll sleep with tonight." She declared, pulling that arm towards her. 

    Her sudden movement caused her to wobble and fall. The man she pulled fell over her and their lips were now touching one another. He was about to draw back but she opened her eyes and quickly moved her tongue inside his mouth. 

    You must be out of your mind, Wednesday. She thought to herself. There’s no doubt that she'll regret this tomorrow. But after all these, she knew she'd wake up feeling a lot worse. So why not do something crazy once and for all? She's doomed anyway.