The text worried Leila but it couldn't be worse than knowing her husband was mad at her. Leila wasn't sure what her crime was. Kelvin's cold attitude was unnecessary, so was Sarah's text.
Kelvin's phone rang. She pretended not to listen to his conversation but her ears perked. He was talking about moving a meeting forward.
Was it the meeting he cancelled because of her? She didn't ask him that. When he dropped the call, her attention returned to the window and the passers-by enjoying their day. Leila would have been one of them if Kelvin didn't call her.
They stopped a few metres from the office like they had been doing in the past. She glanced his way again but he was leaning on the window, eyes closed with his hand over his forehead.
"Kev," she whispered. Her hand reached out to touch him but she dropped it before her fingers met his arm. She didn't want to end this on a bad note. But it seemed to be what he wanted. "Kev." No response. "I'm leaving," she snapped. He waved her off and a ball of fury erupted in her belly. How dare he? She came here because he asked her to. "Fuck you too, Mr McKenna."
Kelvin's eyes jerked open. The anger brimming at the surface didn't bother her. Yes, let him get angry. If she was angry, then he also deserved to be angry. She stormed our of the car and slammed the door. Stupid man. Stupid husband.
The car didn't start immediately, she kicked the back tyre and winced at the pain that travelled up her foot. Still annoyed, she stomped to her office. Kelvin could go fuck himself for all she cared. The man riled her up so much she was now swearing. Cursing wasn't her style.
Inside the office building, Leila took calming breaths. Her appetite was gone. She tucked her phone inside her bag and headed to her superior's office. With different thoughts pounding in her head, she almost missed her steps. She didn't do anything wrong or did she?
Sarah might be calling her to inform her about the approval of Stars Glow. With that thought in mind, her nerves calmed. She stopped in front of the mahogany door with Sarah's full names written on it and knocked.
"Come in," the voice said from inside.
Anxious and nervous, Leila pushed the door open. Sarah's desk was by the window, giving her a beautiful view of the city. Rows and rows of tall buildings stood in the same line as Tech Valley. Most of the buildings had the same pattern and Leila wondered for a second if the contracts were awarded to the same person.
Hiding her hands behind the swivel chair in front of Sarah's desk, Leila tried to smile. Sarah's office was almost as big as theirs but she was the only one here. If Leila got an office half the size of this to herself, she would be more than grateful. That thought fled her mind when Sarah leaned forward with her hands clasped on the desk. There was a brown envelope on the desk, she had a gut feeling the contents of the envelope would be about her.
"Have a seat," Sarah said. She gestured to one of the two chairs.
There was a long couch at another end of the office. A coffee table and a wall half-filled with awards from her department. Portraits of them at the office Christmas and New Year parties over the years completed the other half.
Leila lowered her handbag to one seat and sat in another. She crossed and uncrossed her legs. There were so many reasons Sarah could have asked her to come here but the look in her superior's eyes made her feel like it was nothing work related.
"Where were you?"
"Ma?" Leila murmured.
"Where did you go for lunch?"
Since when did whatever she did during lunch hours become her superior's business? Leila cleared her throat.
"I didn't go for lunch," she said at last.
"Because you were in the boss's car doing God knows what instead of getting some food."
Leila's cheeks burned red, the disappointment in the woman's gaze made her want to confess the truth. "Take a look at yourself, Leilani May Collins."
Sarah's hand swept over her frame and Leila quickly adjusted the front button of her shirt that had come undone. That must have happened during Kelvin's tease.
"You're not the same woman I employed." Leila's resolve weakened. The words hung on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't voice them out. Sarah was the only one who took a chance on her because she had no work experience. "What do you get from this?"
"Ma, it's not what you think," she said in her defense.
But it only seemed to annoy Sarah. She reclined back in her seat and folded her hands on her chest. Irritation flashed across Sarah's face. Bile rose to Leila's throat and her nails dug into her palms. Sarah's mouth opened and she prepared for more of the verbal lashing. She deserved it.
"How many times do I have to tell you that Mr McKenna is married?" The tone she started wasn't the same she finished with. She held the envelope and slammed it back to the table. "Do you want to get fired?"
"No, Ma."
A slight shake of her head in disgust and Sarah threw the envelope at her. The envelope crumpled at her feet and some pictures fell out.
"Explain that to me, Leilani. Start talking now."
Leila bent to pick the picture. There were tons of them. All of them were her and Kelvin. Some of the pictures were of her entering Kelvin's car. In one of them, Kelvin was holding her hand and smiling at her. They looked like husband and wife.
"Where did you get these?"
Sarah released a short laugh. "I'm the one who should be asking the questions. What's going on, Leilani?"
"Nothing." Sarah drummed a fist on the table but Leila said nothing more. Her superior tapped a finger to her lips. The tension hanging in the air was so thick she could stab it. Leila sighed. "Kelvin is my husband. And we were on a date."
"What?"
"He's my husband."
"I heard you the first time," Sarah interrupted. She swept her hair down and ran a hand over her face.
Leila was soon forgotten as she brought out her phone. The click clack of her fingers meeting the screen echoed in her office. The air-conditioner did nothing to ease Leila's discomfort. When she couldn't endure the silence any longer, she coughed to get Sarah's attention. Was she fired? Could Sarah actually fire her now?
"Ma, what are you doing?" she asked.
"Confirming your allegations." Allegations? If Sarah wasn't her superior, her next choice of words to her would have been nasty. Instead of replying, she ransacked her bag for her phone. Sarah scowled when Leila tsked and dropped her phone face down. "There's no information on his wife."
"Because we are private about it."
Leila had never regretted anything as much as she regretted telling her boss the truth. She would need to tell Kelvin. Her hands wrapped around her phone, she skipped to her gallery for pictures of them. There were no pictures of both of them except one of her hiding her face. It had been Kelvin's idea to take the selfie. Most of their regular pictures were on his phone.
She showed that one to Sarah. "Here. That's us at home."
They had just finished dinner when Kelvin asked her to pose for a picture. Too shy, she had covered her face while Kelvin held the phone above their heads.
The disbelief on Sarah's face faded, she stretched her hand for the envelope and Leila handed it back to her. She didn't want to. But she had to. It couldn't be Mia. The pictures were taken before the hospital incident.
Maybe Charles? Leila breathed a sigh. She couldn't be sure. Charles was evil but would he stoop this low?
Massaging her ear, she said, "Can you tell me who sent this?" A look flashed in Sarah's eyes and she shook her head. "It's important I know who's trying to sabotage us?"
This was the second time in two months.
"I'm sorry but I can't." Why would Sarah be protecting the person? What if it was someone they both knew? "Just be careful, okay?" Leila nodded. How could she be careful when she didn't know the danger she was up against. Sarah smiled but Leila couldn't reciprocate it. The woman was protecting the person who was working hard to come between her and Kelvin. "Happy married life, Leilani! Congratulations."
But there was nothing happy about their marriage right now. Leila left her superior's office without a reply. Her marriage to Kelvin was beginning to stress the hell out of her.