Chapter Six

Alexander slowly opened his eyes the moment his alarm went off. After doing a couple of lazy stretches on the bed, he put aside the bed cover and rose to his feet in nothing but his pajama pants. He was used to sleeping shirtless.

Alex reached for the pill on his nightstand and gulped it down immediately with a glass of water. The purpose was to cure every form of hangover and also boost his energy. As hardworking as Alexander Clay was, he couldn't do without enjoyment so the pill was very important to him as he needed energy to function during the day after going to bed very late.

Putting back the glass cup on the table, he proceeded to the bathroom to perform his morning rituals. In a couple of minutes, Alexander Clay was all dressed up for work. He reached for his phone and wallet, then exited the bedroom.

He went straight to the dining room which was downstairs and as usual, his breakfast was waiting for him on the table. Pancakes with syrup and coffee. Alex got settled and dug in. He was halfway through his meal when he heard some footsteps. He rolled his eyes, knowing who it was and in a couple of seconds, her voice came through. "I didn't know if I should get you some flowers or a more expensive befitting gift. I tried my best to stay awake last night so I can give you my precious shoulder to lean on but unfortunately, I slept off. I guess after the heartbreak, it was only reasonable for you to go to the club to vent out your anger on alcohol and those poor strippers." Natalie said as she approached Alexander in nothing but her sexy nightdress and matching bedroom slippers. Her hair was in a neat bun. Alexander Clay did nothing but pause the food he was eating and threw Natalie a spiteful glare as she approached him. 

"Good morning, dear husband." Natalie placed a hand on his shoulder but Alex was quick to shrug it off.

"Sorry, the pain must be too much to bear." Natalie mocked with a small smile on her face as she took a seat beside Alex. He was seated at the head of the dining table so Natalie occupied the seat on his right-hand side.

"What fucking pain?" Alex found himself asking. Usually, he would have shunned her or walked out on her silliness but he couldn't help but think that there was more to her statement.

"We all know that your precious mistress dumped you" She stated.

Alex chuckled, then brought his mug of coffee to his lips for a sip. "Like I give a fuck about you all's thoughts and opinions."

Natalie Brooks smirked, "Of course you do. You don't have to hide all of your feelings under the strong face you tend to show. It's okay to cry about it. It's okay to ruin your reputation a bit by going to plead with her to accept you back."

Alexander scoffed. "You're so sick. You should be hiding your face in shame but you're doing the opposite. That bitch thinks she's so smart, but she's just as dumb as you are. I might as well make an official statement about it by releasing the tape where she was begging me not to break up with her."

"You're so full of your disgusting self. You call people horrible names when you're in no way different from us. She dumped you or you dumped her, what difference does it make? You two still dumped each other! So what's next? I guess you're already in search of mistress number 14."

"You're not trying so hard just so I will make you my mistress number 14. Or are you?" Alexander said frankly!

"Nah!" She responded with a small smile. "Unfortunately you can't have me because I'm someone else's Mistress. You've met my lover before, right? I'm sure you can attest that he's a far better human than you can ever be."

"Anything that makes you sleep at night, honey!" Alex smirked at her. He knew she was not being true to herself and even if she was, he doesn't give a damn. "You claim I'm not a good person, yet you are always in my business. I never knew my so-called wife could be that obsessed!"

Natalie snickered, "You wish!!! It's just so unfortunate that my line of work gives room for news regarding your extramarital affairs. Even if I don't want to hear or know about it, I can't help but know about it because it is what people around me gossip about. No one is telling you not to cheat or womanize, but don't you think it's high time to have some decency along with it?" She said.

"Mind your language, Woman! whatever I do with my personal life is none of your damn business." Alexander said.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Here comes your horrible temper!"

"Don't you dare roll your disgusting eyes at me again!" He said with clenched teeth.

"Why?" Natalie said with a small smile. "Am I arousing that little guy down there?!"

"You wish!" Alex spat at her! "You may have won awards for the hottest model, actress, brand influencer, and even many more, you may be chased around by men who clearly have horrible tastes. You may even be screwing Leroy Cruz, but one thing I will never stop telling you is that you're the worst woman I've ever had an affair with. You aren't even worth making love to and to top it all, you think so highly of yourself which is beyond disgusting." 

Natalie sighed, folding her arms. "I'm tired of hearing the same abuses every day. Don't you have anything new to say?" She stared into the eyes of her so-called husband. If looks could kill, she probably would be dead by now. Gone were those days when the duo were still newlyweds, Natalie could hardly talk back at him or look into his eyes when he was angry but over the years, she had found her voice and courage.

"Why the hell am I even still seated with you?!" Alexander hissed. He picked up the napkin on the table, wiped his mouth, slammed the piece of clothing on the table, and then took his leave.

Alexander Clay was dashing out of the dining room when he bumped into someone. It turned out to be Martha, his housekeeper. There was no doubt that the almost 50-year-old woman was eavesdropping and she didn't even look guilty about it. Martha used to be Alexander's nanny when he was little and there was no doubt she was still nannying him at age 32, courtesy of his parents.

Denise and Anderson Clay didn't trust their son the moment he became a married man so they sent Martha over to keep an eye on him and Natalie.

"Don't you have something more important to do? Shouldn't you be preparing Kaylee and Emily for school?" He snapped.

"Well, Good morning to you too, Alex. Your children are at your parents' place."

"Whatever!" Alexander mumbled, then took his leave.

.......................

Today was quite a busy day for everyone at Clay international and the CEO, Alexander Clay was of no exception. From having meetings in the morning in the conference room to burying himself with work in his office, to skipping lunch for an outdoor meeting. Alex returned to the office when it was almost 4 pm. He was quite exhausted but he knew work must go on. He still had a few more tasks to complete before the end of the day.

Settling on the comfy chair behind his desk, Alex's eyes met something strange on his table. A white envelope. Even though he couldn't remember his secretary telling him about any letter, out of curiosity, he picked up the envelope and then went ahead to take a look at what was in it.

"What the fuck?!!!!!" He voiced out after going through the contents of the paper. Usually, Alex would have demanded Emma's presence over the phone but honestly, he had no idea what came over him. He rose to his feet with the paper and dashed out of his office.

"Care to explain this rubbish?" Alex said as he came to a stop before Emma's cubicle area. Her office space was opposite her Boss's office.

Emma swallowed painfully as She rose to her feet. "I...it's my resignation letter, Sir."

"You idiot, did I tell you that I can't read? I know it's a resignation letter. Why the hell was it on my table?" Alexander raised his voice at her. He couldn't care less if Emma does not want to work in his company anymore. He was just angry that she resigned. His workers, most especially his secretaries don't resign because he always ended up firing them which was why meeting Emma's resignation letter on his desk felt like a great insult to him.

"I....I will no longer be working for you as your secretary so I thought you should know." Emma said with a shaky voice while she played with her fingers.

"What an ingrate!" Alex scoffed. He felt really insulted but he was trying so hard to hide it.

"Ingrate??" Emma's voice came out as a whisper but Alex heard her.

"Yes, you're a fucking ingrate! Do you know the number of people that were interested in this job before it was handed to you on a platter of gold?"

"I'm aware of that, Sir. And I've done nothing but dedicate my life to this job. I served you well despite your cold attitude towards me. You deprived me of my full salary and bonuses so many times but I never complained."

"Yeah! It's always about money for you all!" Alex snorted, giving her that gold digger look.

"Of course it has to be about money for me. I'm not some charity who should be doing free work for you. I work so damn hard so therefore I should be paid well. I have responsibilities, I have siblings and parents who look up to me for support." Emma voiced out. She honestly had no idea where her confidence came from because she had never spoken to Alexander Clay like that but she was happy she spoke to him in that tone.

Before now, she was feeling a little uncomfortable about Ellie's intention to take over her secretary position but right now, She doesn't give a damn. Ellie could be a gold digger for all she cared. Emma was just happy and relieved that she accepted the deal. She had enslaved herself to Alex all these while and she has had enough of it.

Alex was taken aback by Emma's response and the tone she used to speak to him. He didn't like the fact that she stated the truth and the truth made him feel even more insulted. "You know what? Get the fuck out of my company and never set your foot in here again!!!!!" Alexander Clay instructed at the top of his voice and then went back into his office.

...................

The moment Arianna stepped out of her office, She bumped into her best friend. Ellie reached for Ari's hand and ushered her back into her office, gently shutting the door behind them.

"What's wrong? You look as if you just saw a ghost!" Ari said, looking into Ellie's worried eyes intently.

"Maybe things would have been better if I had seen a ghost instead. I just got off the phone with Emma. She accepted the deal but you have to resume at Clay International tomorrow." Emma said at a go.

"What???" Ari's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "What do you mean tomorrow? The agreement was Monday. Didn't you tell her that?"

"Of course I did. Apparently, Emma got into a fight with that bastard. He was pissed about her resigning so he made her quit immediately. Emma said you have to show up tomorrow if you want the Secretary position because if you don't, he may find someone to replace you by Monday."

"Alexander is such a punk. Why did he have to make her quit immediately?" Ari said as she started pacing up and down her office.

"Now is not the time to ask rhetorical questions or curse anyone. You need to prepare for tomorrow if this revenge is what you truly want."