Emily's pov
"There's no way!" Wendy said, almost spitting out her third coffee for the day, she slammed her open palm on the desk and gave me a stunned look, her eyes widening so much you wouldn't be surprised if they popped right out of their sockets in the next second.
"You and Mr Williams? How? when?why?"
This was the exact scenario I had feared; I mean even a moron would ask what a man like Mr Williams who lacked in almost nothing from his chiseled appearance to his voluminous net worth. It wasn't a stretch at all to say that he was the most sought-after bachelor in the country.
The thought of such a man settling for his simple vanilla secretary seemed like nothing sort of a far-fetched joke.
And yet it was reality.
Wendy was leaning forward begging me with her eyes to convince her while I had not even convinced myself all the way.
"It just happened, we spend a lot of time together because of work and one thing that why another before we knew it we were in love,"
Wendy gave me this shrewd look, crossing her hands together. "All right now that you have practiced what you are going to tell other people, what's the actual truth you want to share with your best friend?"
I sighed, my shoulders slumping in defeat. If I was going to fool anyone, it definitely wouldn't be Wendy. She already knew me too well even down to the problems I had at home.
"Promise you won't tell anyone?" I asked shifting my chair closer to her and allowing my voice to drop cautiously. She nodded rapidly, her face lighting up and a smile spreading across like melted butter.
"Of course not, what you say this office will stay in this office,"
So I told her everything, my chest feeling considerably lighter, I relaxed on a cushioned chair waiting for her response. She was strangely quiet for a moment or two then she sprinted up like a thumbtack had been left on her own chair.
"I can't let you do this, you have to break it off now!"
She reached forward grabbing my shoulders desperately, her voice rising with each syllable it crossed.
"Wendy, calm down, it's a contract marriage not a blood oath…"
She still looked genuinely disturbed her finger subconsciously rising up to her teeth and she bit then in a panicky frenzy, I called out to her worriedly; "Wendy, why are you being so strange? You are really beginning to scare me," I was still trying to brush off the matter with a light-hearted smile but anyone could see it was forced.
She fell back to her chair, anxiously massaging her temple.
"Just trust me when I say this, I've been working in this company longer than you. Wasn't I even the one that recommended that you work here?"
I nodded agreeably, and an uneasy smile found its way across her face.
"Exactly!" she said, clapping her hands together and rubbing them in an unsteady rhythm. "I've known Mr Williams more than you and let me tell you he's bad news,"
"I don't think the Mr Williams I know is like that," I admitted to her, nervously entangling my fingers together as I fiddled with them.
"I mean he can be very demanding as a boss sometimes but…"
Memories of the past days flowed into my mind, how he noticed that I was taking too much overtime and found me in the bathroom, instead of firing me on spot he was only upset that I had kept it to myself and I wanted to secure a room for me in one of the most lavish hotels in the city.
Even that moment where he had defended me in front of my sister. He didn't have to do any of that, nobody would have blamed him if he turned a blind eye to my misery.
Just like my father has been doing for years.
Yes, Olivia and Susan wore the most natural mask in the world to hide their nasty personalities but there were little clues here and there my father would have noticed if he cared to pay attention to me.
The endless bruises and cuts, my weight fluctuating often and the look of horror that would swell in my eyes whenever I saw them.
If he really cared, he would have noticed by now.
This was my own father, and yet a man who had no blood ties to me treated me far better.
I tapped my fingers on Wendy's desk, and nodded my head submissively.
"I think you might be right," I lied through my teeth.
No matter how bad she claimed he was, anything was better than going back home and asking for those people's forgiveness before turning into their emotional punching bag again.
Wendy settled into a comfortable posture, nodding her head once more with visible satisfaction written all over her face.
"I'm glad you listened to me," she said, "just tell him you started getting cold feet and change your mind,"
"Okay," I responded, then flicked my eyes to my wrist watch. I only had an hour and a half until noon when I was to submit the contract to Mr Williams.
I should probably leave now but there was something I needed to check.
After I got up, I brushed a smoothing palm over my attire straightening out any forming wrinkles before I asked Wendy in a casual tone.
"Do you mind if I stay at your place for a few days?"
The immediate discomfort that was written all over her face caused me to reel in my request.
"It was just a joke," I said trying to laugh It off and she smiled as well.
"Great, you almost got me there!" She said hitting me with a playful pat on the back, and even though on the surface I was smiling back I knew what I was going to do had just been cemented in my mind.