The Man In Red (4) - Bleeding From...

Sebastian wasn't just shocked - he was furious. Victoria was talking about another man right in front of him. He couldn't believe it.

"Victoria, don't tell me you're dating your boss and his secretary and then there's an additional man? It's got to be a misunderstanding. Please tell me it is," Sebastian's voice was shaking with anger and disbelief.

Victoria was speechless, unable to believe that Sebastian was accusing her of something.

Before she could respond, the door opened and Oliver - Sebastian's secretary - walked in. He stood behind Sebastian, casting his eyes towards Victoria.

She was surprised to see the look in his eyes, as if he didn't know her at all. But before she could think about it, she had to focus on Sebastian, who was raising his voice. "What is it? You're talking about a man in red? What did he do to you? Tell me."

"No one did anything to me," Victoria responded, trying to calm herself down.

As she waved her hand while speaking, she heaved a sigh, exasperated. "What I was referring to, Mr. Sebastian, is a woman thing," she said, before stopping abruptly and swallowing hard. "It comes around monthly, just for women alone."

She was definitely referring to her menstrual cycle, but Sebastian didn't understand. His eyes widened as he asked her, "Oh my God, Victoria. The man in red is even interested in women. He's a playboy and you still date him?"

Sebastian was totally clueless about what she meant. Oliver, on the other hand, tapped his boss on the shoulder and shook his head and hand, gesturing that she wasn't referring to a man.

But Sebastian didn't want to get it. His mind was set on something and that was it.

He kept looking at Victoria disdainfully. "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" he exclaimed. "It hasn't even been six months, or even a year, and you're going around dating men - not just one, but multiple men." He rambled, oblivious to Oliver's attempt to make him understand.

Victoria took deep breaths, trying to hold herself together, but Sebastian kept rambling on.

She tried to keep herself from speaking, tugging on her skirt to do so. But Sebastian kept talking about the movies he had seen, where the girls cry when they have their hearts broken. He even mentioned some of the movies by name, but Victoria stopped him.

"Let me stop you right there, Mr. Sebastian Queen," she said. "Whether I date men or not is none of your business, and I wasn't referring to a man when I mentioned 'the man in red'."

After interrupting Sebastian, Victoria continued, "What I was actually referring to was my menstrual cycle, and I'm surprised that you didn't pick up on that. It's something all women experience, and it's natural and normal."

She was a bit annoyed with Sebastian's misunderstanding, but she tried to be patient and explain it to him. "Does that make sense?" she asked, hoping he would finally understand.

Sebastian was completely lost. He couldn't fathom what Victoria was talking about, and the more she tried to explain it, the angrier he became. He kept yelling and demanding an explanation, accusing her of trying to cover up the fact that she was dating multiple men.

Victoria was getting tired of explaining herself to Sebastian. She sighed and said, "Fine," her hands shaking in frustration. "If you don't believe me, then let's just forget about it."

She turned to leave the office, and Sebastian slumped into his chair, his face as white as a sheet.

Oliver looked at him with concern. "I don't think Miss Victoria was talking about dating men, Mr. Sebastian," he said, his voice tentative. "I think she was trying to explain something else."

Sebastian rolled his eyes at Oliver. "Don't try to cover her, Oliver. You knew young girls like her do these things."

Oliver stared blankly at his clueless boss. Sebastian was a smart man and one couldn't say a thing that he didn't know about but, look now. "Sir, I am married so I know what she's talking about."

"I'm married too, aren't I?" Sebastian asked sarcastically. "Besides, I dated Victoria for almost two years. She didn't mention this stuff of a monthly man but now, she is saying it and you want me to believe her?"

He scoffed loudly.

Oliver, still persistent, explained. "Man in red means she is bleeding." he started off.

On hearing the word bleeding, Sebastian's head shut up immediately. "Bleeding?" He was bewildered, he was concerned, he was confused.

"Bleeding from… ahh…" Oliver stammered. "Emm…" he cleared his throat not knowing how to say the words he wanted to.

"Speak, Oliver!" Sebastian commanded.

"From her P-pubic area, down…."

Sebastian gasped. "What! She got injured there?!"

Oliver face-palmed himself. Why did the boss find it difficult to understand a simple thing? It happens monthly, he wanted to scream at his boss.

"Fast, call Con. And go get her, we need to take her to the hospital." Sebastian stood up urgently. He hurriedly strode to the door.

"Boss, she doesn't need to go to the hospital…."

.

.

Victoria immediately left the office, opening the door as she went. She had just met Rowan. As she stood in front of the door, she was startled for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and said, "Oh, good day. Good day, Rowan."

Rowan looked at her carefully, studying her mood. She didn't seem angry. In fact, she looked a bit happy and amused. Rowan knew, of course, that Sebastian was inside the office she'd just left.

Rowan felt a gush of jealousy spring up inside him, filling his chest. He felt bitter that Victoria was coming out of the office where Sebastian was.

Keeping that aside, he didn't want Victoria to know how he felt inside, so he wore a mask of happiness and asked her, "How are you? I'm sorry that we wasted your time today. You know, nothing went as we'd hoped," he said.

"It's nothing wrong, it's actually fine," Victoria replied with a quick smile.

Rowan was about to open his mouth to say something else when Victoria interrupted him, saying, "I'll be on my way home. Maybe tomorrow we can see each other."

"Bye," she said, waving to him as she walked away.

As Rowan watched her leave, his hand stayed hanging in the air. He'd intended to wave back to her, but he suddenly felt annoyed. Very, very annoyed. He felt like he was being challenged by Sebastian over Victoria.

Rowan stormed into his office, slamming the door shut behind him. He saw Sebastian sitting on the couch, his legs crossed, looking at him haughtily. Oliver was sitting next to him, flipping through a magazine.

"You must feel pretty happy right now, after you pretended to be in pain to get her attention," Rowan accused him, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sebastian opened his eyes and ignored Rowan's question, instead asking, "Why isn't there an air conditioner in my office?"