CEO's: Office Secrets

CHAPTER SIX: DAY ONE

Purity unlocked the door to her apartment, the one whom she shared with her friend Barnard. Kicking her shoes off and allowing them to hit the ground was by far the best thing that had happened to her the entire morning.

All she had wanted when she returned to London was to get a job; she got what she wanted but not the way that she had planned it. Six years ago, she had run away from the very person that she was now employed by.

Purity covered her face with her hands, trying to make out how her life had turned into a nightmare within a matter of hours. She had a secret to keep and she would keep it for as long as she could. Finally deciding that there was no use in crying over spilled milk, Purity walked inside her small kitchen and made herself a hot cup of tea and she drank.

Even as she walked into their living room of her and her friend’s tiny apartment, she strolled, trying to rid herself of thinking of Scott. He had changed in the past six years; the man she saw in the office was different, more cold and unfeeling. The door shot wide open and before Purity could turn around to see who it was, the tiny voice calling to her warmed her heart.

“Mommy, mommy!” Purity smiled as her daughter, Violet wrapped her tiny hands around her waist. No matter how much of a bad day she had, her daughter always made her see the brighter side of things. Purity wrapped her arms around her little girl and a tear almost fell from her eye but she knew that she could not cry before her little girl.

Violet looked at her mother, her hazel eyes glistening as they met her mother’s own eyes. Within seconds, Barnard walked into the apartment looking out of breath.

“As sweet as she is, I am quickly reminded of why it is that I do not have any kids” Barnard confessed and this only made Purity smile. 

For the past month that she had been living with Barnard, he had shown Violet the love of a father that she had never had and for that brief moment Purity felt bad for depriving her little girl of the chance to have a father.

“Are you okay?” Barnard asked her and she quickly put on a fake smile.

“Yes I am okay” Purity smiled but her smile was not enough to convince Barnard.

“Violet can you please go to mommy’s room, uncle needs to speak to mommy,” Barnard asked Violet, in his little voice as he tried to get down to Violet’s level.

“Okay, uncle Bar” Violet responded. Purity smiled, she watched her daughter walked away towards her room. Purity had always known that her daughter was an outgoing child but she was surprised at how quickly Violet had taken to a liking to Barnard and named him ‘Bar’.

“Now are you ready to talk or do I have to wrangle it out of you?” Barnard asked Purity in his no-nonsense tone of voice and she knew that it was best that she spilled the beans before Barnard made enquires. Purity sipped her tea, preparing herself for what she was about to say.

“I got the job” Purity informed Barnard who clapped his hands together in excitement but it was short-lived as his smile faded.

“You got the job after searching for one for weeks and now you don’t even look excited about it” Barnard stated.

“How can I be excited when I am back where I started” Purity lashed out, quickly looking behind her to make sure that her daughter was nowhere in sight.

“I do not understand what you mean”

“I got the job but my boss, he’s— he’s Scott Webb” Purity confessed, she did not need to explain any further because the sheer look of shock on Barnard’s face was enough for her to know that he understood what she was saying.

“Scott Webb, Violet’s father?” Barnard whispered when in essence he already knew the answer to his question.

“Yes, who else?” Purity asked her friend.  

“What are going to do about it?” Barnard asked her the million-dollar question, the one that Purity herself had no clear answer to. She looked up at her friend, worry evident in her eyes.

“For now nothing, I am not going to tell him about Violet” Purity told her friend who was not one bit surprised by her decision.

“What’s the reason for you not telling him about his daughter?” Barnard asked her, for as long as he had known Purity she had never revealed the reason why she had simply run away without telling Scott about her pregnancy.

“Scott has the power to take Violet away from me, she is all that I have and I will not allow him to take her away from me” Purity confessed, deep down she hid her true reasons for her big secret. 

“I will not force you to do something that you are not comfortable with but as your friend, I have to tell you this, think about what it is that you are doing, it is affecting Violet negatively,” Barnard told Purity and she knew just how right Barnard was but she refused to admit it.

“I have to get Violet ready, we will talk later” Purity avoided the discussion further and she walked towards her room to tend to her daughter.

                                                                             **

Scott stared at the wristwatch on his arm and it was confirmed, Purity was ten minutes late for work and he could not figure out why that had happened. For the four years that Purity had worked for him, he could not remember a time where she was ever late rather it was always him was late after a long night of partying.

Scott paced his office, worried that Purity might have once again run away from him but this time he vowed that he would not leave a single stone unturned until he found her. The more he spoke to himself, the angrier he got that Purity still had this much control over him.

“You look worried” Scott turned his attention to his office door and there David was, smiling at him. There were days where Scott felt like slapping the smirk off David’s face but every time he tried, he was reminded that they were in an office space with people who respected her.

“What are you doing in my office?” Scott asked angrily as he walked towards David and the two men were facing each other.

“Well I simply came to visit you and the P.A that you took from me” David teased Scott who bowled his hands in a fist beside himself, he knew he had to stay calm otherwise there would be a fight inside his office.

“I did not take your P.A from you, she walked into my conference meeting and I realized that I needed a P.A” Scott informed David, not smiling as he delivered his message. David stared at Scott, trying to figure him out but he could not. Scott was not the type to show his emotion and standing in front of him was evident enough.

“What is it about this girl that made you hire her?”

“I don’t understand what you are getting at?” Scott asked, suspicious as to why it was that David was asking him all these questions.

“I just find it strange that for a brief period you fired every P.A that you hired over the past few years, then you stopped working with a P.A and then this girl comes then you hire her” David questioned Scott. An action that Scott was not finding funny and neither was he going to entertain such actions from a man that he considered lower than him.

With his eyes twitching from frustration, just about to take action, Scott’s door swung open and before both men, Purity walked into the office. 

“Good morning— My apologies, I really—”

“Before Purity could finish her sentence, David interrupted her. With a huge smile on David’s face unlike Scott, who seemed mad at her.

“No need to apologize, my dear, none of us are perfect. Hi, my name is David and you must be?”

“Purity—Purity Evans and I am the new—”

“P.A, yes I know that. In fact, you were supposed to be my P. A but— it is best I do not say before I upset someone” David told Purity, right then she smiled, embarrassed that they were speaking about Scott in his presence.

Scott could not control the anger building inside of him as he watched both David and Purity hit it off whilst he stood like a stranger in his own office. The smile on Purity’s face was one that Scott had not seen in six years yet David had managed to achieve that in a matter of seconds from meeting Purity.

“I do not mean to disturb your conversation but I think we have some work to do” Scott disturbed their conversation, looking irritably whilst doing so. David threw his hands in the air, flashing a smile at Scott, knowing deep down that he was getting to Scott. 

“Come on Scott, you know all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” David said as he smiled at Scott, clearly egging him. Choosing not to smile rather Scott remained neutral at this point.

“Leave my office, now!” Scott raising his voice at David so loud that Purity stepped back, he scared her. The fear in her eyes was enough to make Scott feel ashamed of his action. David smiled one last time turned and faced Purity.

“My apologies for my business partner’s behavior, if you need anything, please feel free to call me” David informed Purity, his words making her smile before he walked away and exited the office. Not knowing where his anger had come from, Scott paced his office, running his fingers through his hair as Purity stood on the same spot.

“What is wrong with you!” Purity asked him, she raised her voice coming as a shock to Scott who could not remember a day that Purity had ever raised at voice at anyone.

“What?” Scott asked her, still amazed that the little shy Purity that he once knew could raise her voice at him.

“I said what is wrong with you? I admit that I am late but that did not mean that you should be mad at Mr. David. The poor man was simply trying to be nice… maybe he could give you a few pointers on being nice to people” Purity sternly spoke to Scott; she had no fear in her eyes and not once was she afraid to take Scott on.

“I see you have grown wings, get back to work before I clip them off” Scott’s warning was clear, and even as Purity read into his facial gesture, she knew that he had no problem getting rid of her.

She watched Scott walked around to his side of the desk and sat down on his big, black leather office chair, his aura oozing confidence so much that it filled their office space.

“Take a seat” Scott pointed towards the empty seat opposite to his own, the smile on his face showing Purity just how much power Scott knew he had. Without hesitating, Purity walked towards the chair and sat down.

“Get ready because we have a lot of work to do, I hope you still know how to do your job properly?” Scott questioned her, his voice low but his eyes burning into hers as though he was trying to provoke her.

She had known Scott for quite some time, she was well aware of his tricks and how he manipulated situations to his advantage. Purity smiled, shock appeared on his face but he quickly hid it.

Too late der Scott, I have seen all that I needed to see. Purity thought to herself as she smiled inwardly.

“Of course I know how to do my job properly, not once did you complain about my work in the office and out of the office” Purity replied, her reply setting off a nerve on Scott’s side.