Tasting All My Mates by Alexis Dee

397-Subtle Hints

"And this is the resting area for Lazio and me." Valerie said, pointing at a cozy small room in the corner, "Now you

will also be able to enjoy this luxury." She joked because the room had a pretty good view. "Anything bothering

you?" she asked when she finished showing me around.

I was a bit baffled, responding slowly and unreasonably. There were a few things that caught my eye, but I couldn't

really tell what they were.

"You guys rest here?" I asked with a weak and awkward smile on my lips. I entered the room and found a cozy

mattress near the window, with flower pots and lanterns around. It didn't seem like a normal room, something you

will see in an office building. It looked like a honeymoon suite.

"Yeah! Why?" She tugged the strand of hair behind her ear and asked me. Her eyes were weird, too. I mean, they

were gorgeous, but the way she would stare at me was as if she was looking down upon me. It could only be me

and my insecurities making me think that way.

"Together?" I gave a nervous laugh, trying to make it sound like a joke.

"You know! You haven't even seen your office yet," she forced a huge smile across her lips when breaking the

concentration from the room and walking me to the office she had prepared for me. She had talked about it

nonstop.

When she reached the office and saw a big lock on the door, her smile faded.

"Why is there a lock here?" she frowned, talking to herself. My office was on the third floor with the other

employees.

However, hers was on the top floor, with Lazio's office near the resting room they had prepared for themselves.

"Did you like the building?" Lazio appeared after finishing the meeting. He asked me with a smile covering his lips. In

response to him, I only nodded faintly.

"What is the matter? Why are you two standing here?" he asked Valerie, who was searching her bag inside out for

the keys.

"Her office is locked." She complained, still looking around for the keys.

"Yeah, I asked Mr. Oliver to lock it. She will be in my office with me," Lazio announced while wrapping his arm

around my back and standing pretty close to me. This was the most romantic thing he'd done in a long time.

"Your office?" Valerie smiled, though it was more of a forced one.

"Why? Is there a problem, Miss Valerie?" He asked while tilting his head. I could not tell exactly what I was hearing

in his voice, but it rather seemed like playfulness.

"No! It is your office. You get to make the decisions here," she responded to him in a bit of a sad tone. It irked me

the way she stole his eyes.

"Let's show you my office." The sweetness in Lazio's voice sounded fake, but I didn't question it at the moment.

"And Valerie, bring us coffee," he ordered, and he walked me with him to the top floor. The instant we entered his

office, he unwrapped his arm from around my back.

"Since you are new and my secretary, you should stay in my office." His voice sounded cold now that we were

alone.

"Did you notice?" I asked, looking around his big room. There was a small bar in the corner, too. He had made his

office a little home. No wonder he spent most of his time in the office these past few months.

"Did I notice what?" He put the file down to look my way.

"The way Valerie acted when you touched me?" I sat down from across the table and watched his face change

expressions.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Did she look jealous?" He questioned me, but it didn't seem normal. There

was a hint of curiosity, and enthusiasm when he wanted to know from me what Valerie gave off when watching us

this close.

"I don’t know." The topic no longer held interest to me. I denied answering him and probably helping him in some

way.

"Anyway, if you have any problems, you can ask me. Since you are new, I am not going to dump a lot of work on

you. Just do the typing, fill in the numbers, and then you are done," He said, gesturing at me to sit at my desk and

get to work. My desk was placed next to the window on the side, with a laptop opened and ready to go.

"Okay!" I got up from the chair and walked over to my own desk. I started working instantly, otherwise, my head

would explode from questioning every little thing. I think the problem was me. I used to be so confident back then

that I never noticed what people around me were doing. But now that I was just a flesh and bones creature, my

entire attention was on the surroundings.

That's when Valerie walked back inside with two coffee mugs in her hands and a very sad look on her face. I

sneakily watched Lazio and was surprised to see his face light up after seeing her.

"Hm! What took so long?" he asked, taking the mug from her and walking behind her to stand there. "Take a look at

this," he said, then hunched over and tapped his finger on something in the file.

"What am I looking at?" she asked. Lazio was standing behind her, his hands on the desk, and he was caging her.

"This is our new project," he whispered, and she turned around in shock. The way he stepped back and tilted his

head, shoving his hands in his pants, took all of my attention.

She then shook her head, trying to hide the big smile, and turned to me, only to pass a quick glance before she

returned to looking at him.

"This is beautiful—," she paused, "a beautiful project, I mean," she finished, and the two stared into each other's

eyes before Lazio looked the other way and sneakily itched the back of his neck.

"That will be all for—," he was talking to her when his phone started ringing and a much confusing look took over of

his expression.

"Maynard?" he said as he read the name of the caller ID.