CHAPTER 19: Worried

CHAPTER 19: Worried

Sarah was rounding up on some emails she had been attending to on her laptop when Irene walked into the living room–obviously in a hurry.

Not looking up from my laptop screen, Sarah addressed her assistant. “You were supposed to be here over an hour ago, Irene.”

Irene bit her lip nervously. She had really tried to be here on time, but it was very difficult to beat the early morning rush hour traffic.

“I'm really sorry, ma'am. I tried to get here early.”

Sarah paused, and flickered her gaze at her assistant for the first time since she walked in. She was about to say something, when she noticed the beads of sweat on her forehead.

“You’re sweating?” It came out sounding more like a statement than a question.

As if she was just realising, Irene swiped at the temple and forehead, embarrassedly.

“I'm so sorry, ma'am. The traffic was so bad that I had to get down from the cab, and walk a while.”

Sarah’s brows lightly rose in surprise. She had been working from home for the last couple of days, so her ankle could heal properly. She was also trying to give herself time away from Edward to put her emotions in check.

She thought that it would have been an uphill battle with Edward to approve of her working from home, but she had been surprised when she received a reply from his secretary that he had approved her decision.

He hadn't even tried to oppose it, or called her.

Irene had been running errands for her to, and from the office. Sarah felt a bit guilty when she realised that this is what her assistant had been going through the past couple of days.

“You can move in,” she said and returned her eyes to her laptop screen.

Irene frowned. “Ma'am?”

Sarah turned to her. “You can move in here at the house. You're my assistant, and I need you close by. I think it's the smartest idea. That way you're always on hand if I need your services. And we can also solve this problem of heavy traffic this way.”

Irene blinked a couple times. She could not believe that her boss was asking her to move into her home. Don't get it wrong. She was paid handsomely well for her work—but living with her boss was a rare privilege.

Sarah noticed that Irene was still dazed. Her brow rose, as she peered at her face. “Is there a problem?”

Irene snapped out of her state, and shook her head. “It's nothing madam. When can I move in?”

Sarah shrugged. “Whenever is convenient for you.”

Irene smiled gratefully. “Thank you ma'am.”

“That's fine. Where are the documents you were supposed to get for my signature?” Sarah asked switching into workmode with a hint of urgency.

Cara was going to be here soon. She had promised to go with her to the spa today. The grand hotel launch was the next day, and she needed to destress and prepare.

Irene opened the folder in her hand and gave her the documents.

Sarah took the documents and began to append her signature on them.

“What else is in my schedule for the weekend? I need to clear them up, because I'll be resuming work at the office on Monday,” she asked without looking up from the papers she was signing.

Irene dropped her purse on the couch, and pulled her tablet computer from it, and pulled up Sarah’s schedule.

“Ma'am you have a dress fitting for the hotel launch by two pm today, and by eleven am tomorrow, you have a zoom meeting with the foreign suppliers from Zurich to discuss the hike in price which happened with their last supply. And that will be all for the weekend.”

Irene looked up to see her boss anxiously gazing at her phone, like she was mentally willing it to light up with a call or text. She was not sure that she had heard all that she had just said.

She was confused on whether to call her attention, or wait till she replied to her.

Finally she decided to call her attention.

“Ma'am. Did you hear all I just said?”

Sarah snapped her eyes and attention to her assistant. She had heard all she had said, but her mind was worried about something—Benicio.

She had not heard from him in almost three days now. She could not reach his line, and he had not called her. It was quite strange, and unlike him, because they had never gone this long without speaking to each other. Especially since she got here. She was deeply worried about him.

The sound of the doorbell filtered into the room, and Mrs Langford appeared, and headed towards the door.

Sarah sighed. I heard all you said, Irene.” She handed her the documents that she had finished signing. “Have these faxed back to the clients, and save some copies of this, and send it to my secretary as well.”

Irene nodded as she took the documents from her. “Okay, ma'am. Anything else?”

The sound of heels clacking against the marble floor from the foyer filtered into the room, Sarah flicked her gaze to the entrance of the living room, before turning back to her assistant.

“No. Nothing else for now,Irene. Just get those done as soon as possible.”

Irene nodded, as she gathered her things. “Okay, ma'am.”

Sarah picked up her phone again, dragging her lower lip between her teeth in anxiety. She was back to worrying about Benicio.

“Why the long face?”

Sarah looked up in time to see that Irene had left, and that Cara was standing at the entrance to the living room regarding her with a puckered forehead and a raised brow.

Sarah took a deep breath. “I didn’t hear you come in. Have you been standing there for a long time?”

Cara sighed and began to step closer. “I've been standing here since your assistant left almost three minutes ago. You seemed so out of it.” She sat down beside Sarah on the couch, and rubbed her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Sarah chewed on her lips. “It's Benicio.”

Cara frowned. “What about him?”

“I haven't been able to reach him for some days now. His lines are not going through. He hasn't called me or replied to my texts. I’m worried about him.”

Cara’s frown eased, and she shrugged nonchalantly, and then pulled her phone from her purse, scrolling through it. “Maybe he's busy. You know how much of a workaholic Ben can be. He's probably busy. Don't worry, I'm sure he’s fine. You know how he can be.”

Sarah drew back slightly, her face a mix of surprise and anxiety. “You’re not worried.”

Cara chuckled, returning her attention to her phone. “You forget that he’s my brother. I know how he can be. Don't worry he’ll reach out soon, okay?”

Sarah was not convinced, nor the least bit relieved, but she nodded lightly, and Cara smiled.

Cara smiled when she saw that Sarah was still worried. “I get it. You're worried, but stressing is not going to help. I really think this spa date is exactly what you need. It will help you de-stress.”

Sarah shut her eyes and opened, before she exhaled deeply. “Alright, let me finish up here.”

“Alright.” Cara was about to drop her phone, when it buzzed. She picked it up again. “Give me a minute.”

Sarah nodded and proceeded to shut down her laptop, so they could leave soon. She finished up and turned around to face Cara, but saw her scowling at her phone screen.

Sarah's forehead creased. “What’s the problem?”

“It's the launch guestlist.”