Chapter Fifty-Five: I like him

Chapter Fifty-Five: I like him

"Oh, I guess your EQ isn't as low as I thought, huh?"

"..." Everyone keeps saying his EQ is low, and he is getting convinced.

"I... l just want to know why you're angry at me."

"I'm not." She insisted.

"You just admitted to it a second ago."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"I have some work to do, so go back. We will meet at home and discuss your mother's actions." She changed the topic quickly and moved her face away from his.

"I'm not going anywhere." He stubbornly took a seat.

He sent a text on his phone, and Jace arrived with a knock outside her office.

"Come in."

"..." Clair just watched as he made himself comfortable in her office.

Jace handed him his laptop, a few files, and then left.

"I have to eat my lunch so you can continue your work here." She stood up and so did he.

"Then let's eat lunch together."

"..."

"Actually, I just remembered I have to go down to a store of mine and do an inspection."

"I'll inspect with you and then we can eat lunch."

"..."

"I thought you were a busy man."

"I told you, I'm not leaving your side until you tell me why you're angry."

Clair sighed, and she gave up.

"Fine." She walked towards the intercom and spoke, "Bring me 3 men's outfits um size…." She took a moment to check his shirt and then told the secretary what size to get.

"Make sure they are plain and also bring a hoodie or a mask if you can find one. Do it as soon as possible and knock before you come in."

"Since you insist on coming, then we dress as if we are just normal customers. I received a report that the sales have decreased drastically in this specific store over the past 5 months."

James nodded. "Can I see the report?"

"Sure." Clair handed it to him without hesitation.

Was she testing him? Maybe. She will see what to do later. Right now she will just try to understand more about him and why he married her.

"Why are you doing this yourself? Shouldn't someone else be in charge? What about the manager?" He asked while he read the report.

"I sent a few people, but none of them found the cause of the decreasing sales, nor did they find a solution. I want to check it out since it's the first time a team has failed me."

"Maybe the location..?" He analyzed.

He changed his words when he got the key information in the report. 'Never mind, I see what you mean."

"Yup, this location is very important for me. It's where I first started with the brand and it has always had exceptional sales, that's why I'm surprised. I'm afraid something else is going on."

"You mean this isn't just a simple mistake from your manager and the sales department?" He understood what she was insinuating, and he was interested in how she would handle such situations. Knowing he has such an amazing business woman by his side made him proud.

He also felt that they would make a great team if they were to focus on a project together.

"Yeah, this isn't the only store. My first stores also known as the pillars that support my brand are becoming weaker as the months go by. I think it's quite coincidental that there is a new brand that came out a year ago too and all of their locations are near mine."

"The way they cautiously attacked my 'pillars' is also suspicious. I don't have a problem with threats since it's the business world we are talking about, but I think they have ulterior motives. Since it's just a hunch I'm determined to investigate the matter personally."

She explained and handed her a list of the other stores.

"Do you plan on investigating this yourself till the end?" He asked curiously.

"No, I will only do it for now. I just want to confirm things and then I'll see what happens." She replied.

"Okay, I'll accompany you." He nodded and handed her the reports back.

Clair smiled, and she walked to the door when she heard knocking.

One of her secretaries handed her a bag and left.

"Okay, let's see…." She took out the contents and chose an outfit that would be more 'low key' for James.

She chose a pastel blue t-shirt, some black jeans and sneakers. She handed it to him and led him inside.

"Change into them. The bathroom is over there."

"As you wish." To her surprise, he didn't complain or comment on her options, and instead, he loosened his tie as he walked inside.

'He seems really adamant on knowing why I'm angry.'

She shook her head and waited. She realized she should have gone inside the bathroom and walked into her 'secret bedroom' so she could also change, but now it was too late.

The reason she asked for her to need to pass by the bathroom to access the 'secret room' was because she knew that if she were to get easy access to it, she would go to sleep and ignore her workload.

She enjoyed using work to distract herself from endless confusing thoughts about her life, but she enjoyed sleeping a lot. That room was non-existent and she would do her best to forget there was a bed there waiting for her.

She would have gotten rid of it completely, but her brother suggested she kept it. Usually, people in influential positions would have a bedroom inside their office so they could rest to regain their energy.

That was a great idea, but it's a dangerous offer for her.

They should not give someone who enjoys sleep so much a bed during work hours.

She continued her work while she waited for James to change. A few minutes later the door opened and so she lifted her head.

When she looked up her heart literally skipped 3 beats. She knew this for certain because she counted how long it took for her heart to continue pounding. She blinked and closed her lips tightly.

Now, her heart had a different reaction. It was pounding faster and louder. It was so loud she could hear it clearly. She was extremely shocked. It was as if her complete body had been sleeping for ages and suddenly received an immense shock and had woken up.

She had never been this mesmerized by someone's beauty. She might be a goner for people's looks, but that's just because she enjoys looking at pretty things and people. It's like a hobby, the perfect use for her observation skills. She wasn't as shallow as to love, judge, or befriend someone just because of their looks.

This was different, though. It just made little sense. This time she could be almost 100% sure her reaction was not because of how handsome he looked. It was different.

'I engraved his handsome face in my mind, heart, and soul at that moment.'

He smiled at her and asked, "Are you going to change too?"

"Y-yes…?"

She stood up with a frown.

"Wait for me here."

...

When Clair reached the bed, she had probably never even laid on; she wrapped her body in the covers like a burrito and screamed.

"If*cking like him sh* sh*t sh*t!"

Liking him was shocking, but admitting to it was like a deadly poison.

She just took the first dose of that poison….