Chapter 3

Honestly speaking, I never noticed Alvin's existence in the first place.

His performance was mediocre, his abilities were just average, he had no outstanding qualities, and he even frequently caused trouble for the company.

In fact, Jazmine used to complain to me that the new intern was a good-for-nothing troublemaker and should just be fired.

I thought that everyone had their struggles, so I told her to just wait until after his internship was over, thinking that perhaps Alvin just hadn't gotten used to the new environment yet.

Ultimately, Alvin passed the internship and was formally made a full-time employee. I even rewarded him with a small bonus to keep him encouraged.

But his ambition was already evident then. He always looked at Jazmine with an intense and even suggestive gaze. Still, I never doubted him, assuming that he just had a good and playful relationship with Jazmine.

However, it wasn't until one night during a company social event when Alvin helped a very drunk Jazmine home late at night, her clothes disheveled, and red marks obvious on her neck, that a chill finally went straight down my spine.

I reached out to touch the marks, wondering if my eyes were playing tricks on me.

Jazmine, who was half-asleep, suddenly grabbed my hand and whined, "Stop it, Allie…"

I froze immediately.

She also seemed to have realized something and immediately jumped up from bed, apologizing profusely to me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice that it was you in the dark. Don't get mad, darling. There's absolutely nothing going on between him and me. You know very well that I hate leeches the most of all!"

She was right, in a way. She always looked down on weaker men and looked up to those with power and talent. So, she would never let someone like Alvin who even needed help working the coffee machine every single day get close to her.

At least, that was what I kept telling myself. However, Alvin just kept appearing close by her side over and over again.

Jazmine explained that it was because of Alvin's exceptional working skills that she promoted him to be her personal assistant at work.

However, it wouldn't be the first time I saw both of them staying back at the office for overtime work, their hands intertwined atop the computer mouse and their heads close enough that they could smell each other's breath.

When I stormed into the office in a rage, Jazmine flung her mug onto the ground and hollered angrily at me in a way that I'd never seen before.

"What the hell is going on in that perverted brain of yours all the time? Alvin was just teaching me how to make a presentation deck!"

Meanwhile, Alvin stood quietly next to her with a fake aggrieved look on his face, watching me with those smug eyes of his.

They got even more brazen after that incident.

They began going to work and leaving the office together and barely even separated from each other during break time or lunch hour. They would also always be "working overtime" at the company until very late at night with the door locked.

They joked that it was just to deter me from catching them red-handed and giving Jazmine a fright again. They kept bringing up that joke over and over again, and each time they said it, I would feel my heart getting crushed repeatedly until I'd cry from the pain.

…

Soon after, Jazmine wandered completely off the path.

The company retreat was held at the beach. I picked out Jazmine's sunblock lotion from her suitcase and was just about to walk over to her when I saw her lounging on a chaise in her bikini, while Alvin was hovering over her, practically in her lap, as he expertly applied the lotion all over her body.

I froze to the ground, not knowing the words to describe the feeling in my chest anymore.

I should have just argued with her just like how I did when I realized they ate from the same fork at lunch, or stayed behind in the office during break, or remained in the underground parking lot for hours after work.

But if I did that, Jazmine would just glare at me in frustration and argue, "He's just applying sunblock for me. Will you or will you not stop thinking perverted things about us? The entire company already knows that you and I are married!

"I really don't know what's the point of you getting all worked up over nothing. Or, is it because you don't trust me? You don't trust me! You think that I'm going to cheat on you, don't you?"

We'd then end up getting into a huge fight and then start giving each other the cold shoulder.

I sighed and reflected on myself. Maybe I really was just being too touchy and oversensitive after all.

…

It was Jazmine's birthday the next day. By the time I arrived at the birthday party with the birthday cake I baked myself, Jazmine and Alvin were in the midst of playing a game of passing pieces of paper between their mouths, with everyone watching and cheering them on. Jazmine was literally climbing into Alvin's lap, trying not to let the paper fall.

I suppressed my anger and asked them what was going on.

Jazmine laughed loudly and chided, "You're such an old fart. Haven't you even played this game at all during your college days?

"Look at you, getting all mad just because you think we're kissing each other. Good thing we're good at the game and never dropped the paper. Just imagine what you'd do if we accidentally kissed without the paper. Tear the roof down or something?" she asked with a smirk.

She thought that I would get mad at her.

However, I just stared at her for a very long time. Then I put the cake on the table and calmly wished her a happy birthday, to her shock and surprise.

"Happy birthday, Ms. Garcia. I'm tired."

I closed my eyes and took off the wedding ring on my finger, gathered up the trashed wrapping paper from opened presents, and threw everything out in the bin downstairs.

My phone wouldn't stop buzzing in my pocket. I didn't even have to read it to know that the text messages were from Alvin.

"Say, Mr. Whitaker, don't you know how to cheer a woman up when she's down? How could you lose your temper at Jazzy like that?

"It's fine, though. I'll cheer her up on your behalf. Jazzy said she's not coming home tonight, so I'll take really good care of her tonight in your stead. Ciao!"

He then sent me a video of Jazmine, now all tipsy and drunk, as she reached out to pull him into her arms while mumbling, "Colin's just a useless piece of trash… He only knows how to get mad at me… You're still the best, Allie…"

I calmly blocked Alvin's number and all of his contacts before calling my secretary, Jay Ackerman.

"Have a lawyer collect the patent fees for all the technical support we've ever provided to Garcia Group. Also, withdraw the one billion-dollar investment that we gave her last time."