Chapter 5: The New Boss

Ari’s P.O.V

I took off my sunglasses and placed them on my desk before plopping down heavily onto my chair.

Amara hadn't returned home last night. In fact, I had no idea if she was coming back today or had she eloped with Landon altogether because for the first time in my life…I hadn't returned home either.

However, from what I could tell…I was in a humongous mess myself.

Not only had I fled the VIP room of a bar in a tiny black dress after losing my virginity to a complete stranger, there was absolutely no sign of remorse in me. Which made me even more confused as to why I couldn’t still bring myself to regret my choices.

My parents called me their ‘good girl’, the reliable one, the one who had her life together. I was never the one to cut my nose to spite my face. And yet, I seemed to have done just that. Lost my virginity to a stranger because my boyfriend fucked my sister.

What the fuck was even wrong with me?!

 “Do I even need to ask?” Tory, Victoria Millar, my colleague and closest friend since college, plopped down on the chair next to me and took off her own sunglasses to give me a once over. “Or should I be getting you an ice pack?”

“Amara slept with Landon.”

“Motherfucking cunt!” Tory’s jaw literally hit the floor as she tried to cover her mouth after that outburst that could’ve been heard from Busan. “You’re not…you’re serious?”

“Do I look like I’m joking, Tory?” I pointed towards my swollen, red eyes that made me look like I was the one with the massive hangover.

It was only after I had arrived back home that I had realized just how big of a mess I looked like. Red eyes, mascara running down my face and my makeup in ruins. I looked like I belonged in a circus!

How the hell had a handsome guy even thought to look in my direction with the state I had been in, let alone sleep with me?

Wait…he didn’t have AIDS or something…did he? Fuck! I know we used protection but I should really get myself tested ASAP. The last thing I needed was to end up with Chlamydia.

“How are you holding up?” Tory asked me immediately, scooting her chair closer to mine so she could place her hands on my shoulder for support. “Do you want to stay over at my place tonight? Clear your head?”

“Maybe…I don’t know?” I bit down on my lower lip, trying to keep my emotions in check. Damnit! I thought I could do this…I thought I could go out and face everyone like nothing was wrong, but…

How could I keep lying to my closest friend? How do I keep a straight face and keep last night a secret from everyone?

“It’s okay,” Tory wrapped her arms around me, her familiar jasmine scented shampoo providing a form of comfort that I didn’t knew I needed. “I’m right here. You can stay over at my house tonight.”

“B-but…what about Korina?” I asked, knowing that her girlfriend could get insanely jealous sometimes when it came to Tory’s friendship with other women.

“Korina understands you just fine.” Tory told me. “Right now, you need the emotional support and you need to stay away from that house!”

Tory was right…I needed to stay away from that house for a little while. With the memories of their betrayal so fresh in my mind, I had no idea how I would react when I saw Amara again, smiling like mommy’s little angel.

“You know what the worst part was?” I told her, moving away to wipe at my face with a tissue. “They both texted me at the same time. They both told me that they would be going out. Amara told me she would go clubbing with her friends and Landon told me he’s go see his parents! His fucking parents!”

I scoffed in disbelief at how easily he had involved his parents into his lies. “And it was right after I’d heard them going on a date together from my room, right after they banged. And I went through all the texts they’d sent me before, going through the time stamp on every single one of them…I realized that they had been doing this for over a year now…probably even longer.”

“You’re torturing yourself, girl! Why would you do that?” Tory sighed, shaking her head disapprovingly.

“I had to know.” I told her. “I had to know how long this was going on. I had to know how long my own sister and my fiancé were fooling me!”

“And what are you going to do about it?” Tory challenged me. “You tortured yourself into finding out about their cheating; I know it wasn’t easy and I admire your strength that you went through all of that alone. But seriously, what are you going to do about it now?”

I blinked several times, feeling at a loss for words. What am I going to do about it? What am I supposed to do about it?

After all…hadn't I already done what I wanted to do…slept with a stranger and given him my virginity, even though it didn’t serve me any purpose in the end?

“Don’t tell me…” Tory’s expression was weary as she looked at me. “You plan to just let it slide and suffer in silence?”

I looked down at the floor, unable to answer that question. Because that’s what I had been thinking, right? To just let it slide? What’s the point of arguing with them if they’re going to place the blame on me somehow? For not being enough…for overreacting…for not having proof.

In the end, everyone will blame only me…my sister would go crying straight to my parents to complain how I was framing her for such heinous acts and my parents would instantly take her side!

And then there was Landon. By now…I think I knew what his reaction was going to be.

Shock and utter disbelief, like he was the one who had been wronged. Now that I see the pattern, gaslighting had always been one of his specialties.

“Nevermind.” I told her now, shaking my head to remind myself that I was in the office and gossiping about my private life could wait until after we were done.

However, just then, the microphone buzzed to life and the voice of our CEO’s secretary, Mrs. DeLuca, could be heard clearly from all directions.

‘Everyone, please head to the main lobby immediately. Our CEO has an important announcement to make.’

The message repeated two more times as we all got up from our seats, looking at each other in confusion.

“Was there supposed to be something important today?” I asked Tory, in case I had forgotten about it.

But even she shook her head in confusion. “Not that I remember.” She told me with a frown. “Let’s get to the main lobby, shall we? Find out what’s going on?”

I nodded, and we all headed to the main hall, which was just the lobby adjacent to the entrance to the company building.

There was already a crowd forming and none of us seemed to know why the CEO would call for a sudden meeting. Moreover, by the looks of it, only two departments were involved in the meeting, not the entire office.

“Good morning, everyone.” Mrs. DeLuca, a wise woman in her mid forties, who had been the CEO’s executive secretary for the past decade, greeted us all with a huge smile. As usual, her appearance was pristine as ever, making most of us feel self-conscious. “Please, welcome Mr. Leonardo Henderson.”

We all waited in perfect silence as Mr. Henderson, the CEO and founder of The Henderson Incorporated, came to stand next to his secretary. He was a kind man in his early sixties and was well loved in the company and the corporate world.

“Greetings everyone,” he gave us all a warm smile as he met our eyes one by one. “You must be wondering why I had called everyone here this fine morning? Well, it’s to deliver a good news…and a bad news.”

Tory and I exchanged looks before shrugging and waiting for Mr. Henderson to continue.

“I’ll start with the bad news first.” He sighed before continuing. “You see, our Project Manager, Mr. Dilip Advani, was admitted to the hospital last night due to a cardiac arrest. And he wouldn’t be able to join us for the time being since his condition is still fairly unstable.”

A chorus of gasps sounded from all around us. Mr. Advani was a wonderful man in his mid fifties, a little plump in the middle but definitely a hardworking man with a great reputation. It was sad to know that he was in the hospital.

But that also meant that all our ongoing works were now on hold and we needed a project manager ASAP to replace him. I wondered if that was the good news that Mr. Henderson wanted to share, the news that he found a replacement project manager.

“But, none of you need to worry about the pending projects that our company has undertaken, because I have found the perfect man to replace him.” Mr. Henderson gave us a wide smile as he motioned to someone. “So, please welcome my son, Damien Henderson, who will be taking over as the new Project Manager from today onwards.”

A huge round of applause sounded from all around as we all put our hands together to welcome the CEO’s son, Damien into the company. In all honesty, I didn’t even know he had a son until now, since Mr. Henderson usually kept his private life…very private.

“Wow!” Tory whispered into my ears over all the clapping noises. “He’s totally a looker. If I wasn’t into women, I’d totally do him!”

Following the direction she was pointing to, I looked up in search of Damien Henderson, but as soon as I saw him, I felt my entire being freeze in place and my face drain of color.

Of all the times I had rotten luck in my entire life…what were the chances that this time as well, I was about to be screwed over by fate once again?

It was him.

The person that I had a one-night stand with. The person I bailed on the next morning. The person who I lost my virginity to.

And he was now my new boss…Damien Henderson.

Fuck. My. Life.