Thelma waltzed into Darian's office with sluggish gaits. She donned a long red skirt that stopped after her knees, a shirt that fully covered her chest and there was a blazer hanging on her shoulders.
"Good morning, sir." She greeted, scoffing as she gaped at Darian who had his head buried in a file.
"Thelma, have your seat." He motioned to the chair before him. "Have you seen the proposal of Derrick's Firm?" He asked her.
"Yes, I have and I have gone through it too." She affirmed, trying as much as possible to avoid his gaze. He had been mean to her since the day he warned her about her revealing dresses.
She had tried to seduce him into sleeping with her like he used to do, but her efforts had been futile and she wondered what kind of woman his wife was that he chose to remain faithful to her.
"What's your take on them?" He demanded, ruffling the papers in his hands. "Good or bad?" He stared at her.
"They've been existing for twelve years now and they'd transacted with big firms," she dropped the tab in her hand on the table and leaned forward. "They've done many transactions with big companies and those transactions have been successful. Their staff are trustworthy and very intelligent, and they offer a good customer relationship…" She paused and looked at him.
"Go on," He nudged her with his head. "What else?" He scrunched up his face like he wasn't impressed with everything she had listed before. "Do they have more?"
"Yes, they do. They won the Tesla stock bid last year." She read out from the tablet.
"What? The one we couldn't get?" He asked her, surprised.
"Yes, the one we lost. The company won it but chose to remain anonymous." Thelma explained. "You might ask how I got to know this," she stared up and their eyes met. Darian blinked his eyes, quickly staring away. Thelma smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Let's just say that I have my way of knowing things." She put it simply and leaned back on the armchair.
"I know you do. So, let's sign the contract with them. They are good and partnering with them will yield our company more profits." He finalized.
Thelma nodded her head, noting his decision. She penned it down and looked up at him.
"Happy birthday to you, Darian." She smiled at him. "You won't get mad at me, will you?"
Darian stared at her, reminiscing back to how she was always the only one who knew about his birthday in the company.
She always made herself available after work, took her to the club, and spent the night with him.
He looked at her, guilt eating deep in his insides. She had always tried to make him happy but all he did was disregard her, not recognizing her efforts.
"Thelma," he called her name swiftly and firmly.
"Darian," she smiled.
"Thank you," he said in a gentle voice. "I see all that you do but I want you to know that I am married now and…"
"Darian, I am not asking that you cheat on your wife. Maybe I was just one of your regular flings who thought something more could happen between us." She said with a shrug. "Yes, I was stupid to think there would ever be something more with you. I knew well that you don't date women but I still made myself available for you whenever you needed someone to sleep with." She smiled, twirling the pen in her fingers.
"And now, do you regret it?" He asked, wondering why he was concerned about how she felt.
"I don't. The times I spent with you were the best moments of my life and I won't deny that, but, I am curious." She narrowed her eyes down on him, and they gazed at each other for a split second.
"About what?" He questioned her.
"The woman you married, how did she manage to capture and melt your stony heart?"
"She didn't capture my heart but sometimes, some things have to be done." He looked away, his mind drifting to Lena. He had no idea why he asked her father for her hand in marriage instead of the money he owed him. He tried hard to wrap his head around what made her special but he couldn't get a hold of something. Perhaps, it was her stubbornness since the first day he met her. He chuckled lightly. "And maybe I am just doing one of the things that need to be done." He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"You should treat her well, Darian. Don't be so cold to her the way you are to me and some other ladies I have seen you with." Thelma smiled again. "I think I should stop boring you with my talks." She picked the file on the table and straightened up. "I will look into the company's proposal thoroughly and make sure we don't have a reason to regret working with them."
"Yeah, you should do that and get back to me as soon as possible."
"I will," she edged toward the door but Darian called her back. She stopped in her tracks and looked at him. "Is there something else you want me to do for you?" She asked.
"Yeah, I want you to accept my thank you." He emphasized.
Thelma smiled.
Darian's face was handsome, and staring at him always sent her senses amuck. But too bad he now belonged to someone else and she didn't matter to him anymore. She nodded her head and waved at him.
"Have a nice day." With that said, she dashed out of his office.
Darian shook his head when Thelma was out, he clamped his hands above his head, and thoughts of Lena crept into his mind.
He smiled, wondering if she knew today was his birthday, but a scowl quickly replaced the smile when he remembered he didn't tell her about it, and he hardly told her things about himself.
He flared up whenever she asked him questions. Sometimes he wanted to give her answers but he didn't want her to see him as weak.
He was strong and would always be even when he was dying inside to talk to someone about how he felt.