Chapter Six

"So what were you and Anita talking about before I walked in on you two in the kitchen, " Stanley asked interested as he walked Lauren to her apartment.

She stopped in her tracks and he did the same.

She turned to look at him and folded her arms. "Turns out I wasn't officially invited to the dinner. You lured me into coming with you."

Stanley scratched the back of his head shyly. "I'm sorry. I wanted you to come with me so I had to use Anita's name to avoid you refusing."

Lauren smiled, "Your sister already apologized on your behalf."

Stanley's lips curved into a small smile. "I'll remember to thank her later."

Lauren nodded and they continued walking towards her apartment with their hands intertwined.

"We also talked about You, me and Rita." She mumbled after a while.

"But mostly about me and you." She added.

"Anita plays the role of an elder sister and a best friend in my life. She has always been there to listen to all my talks, whether they make sense or not. So she knows about what me and you feel for each other. I hope she didn't make you feel uncomfortable?"

"Not at all. We only talked about the truth of the matter."

They finally reached Lauren's front door and she turned to look at Stanley. Worry was evident all over her face.

She took Stanley's hands in hers and caressed it. In the process, she noticed he wasn't putting on his wedding ring. She heaved a sigh and looked into his eyes.

"Are you sure this is what you truly want? Are you sure you want me? It's not too late to stop whatever is going on between us." She said with a heavy heart. Lauren loves Stanley so much and for the sake of that love, she is ready to do whatever he wants her to do.

Stanley held both sides of her shoulder and looked into her eyes as he spoke. "You're what I need in my life, Lauren. I love you, I want you!" He said sincerely.

Lauren ran her right hand over her face.

"I swear, I tried not to fall in love with you because it is forbidden. One, you are my boss and two, you are married. I tried not to care too much about you but I couldn't help myself. And never did I see it coming that you were going to reciprocate the same feelings for me."

"Stanley, in as much as my love for you is pure and innocent, I don't want to be the reason for your breakup with Rita."

"I'm going to protect you from her, I promise." He interrupted.

"I trust you Stan and I know you will protect me. I just want to make sure you're certain about what you want with me."

"Your happiness matters to me Stan and for the sake of that, I'm ready to do anything for you."

Stanley smiled and then kissed her forehead.

Lauren's kindness was one of the qualities that attracted him to her. She's a wonderful woman with a heart of gold.

"But again, I'm concerned." She voiced out.

"About what?" Stan asked with his eyebrow raised.

"About Rita. I'm concerned about how she will feel when you end things with her. You're an amazing man Stanley, no woman in her right senses will be willing to give you up for anything in the world."

"I understand your worry but I assure you that everything is under control. Rita doesn't see me as an amazing man, She doesn't value me and I can assure you that I'm the last person she gives priority in her life and you can testify that I'm not making up stories because you've seen and noticed theses things yourself."

"Just forget about Rita, She isn't worth your worry. You and I deserve to be happy, that's all that matters." Stan assured and Lauren nodded.

"So when will she be back from her trip?" Lauren asked.

Stanley shrugged. "I don't know. It could be tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month or even next year. Like always, she did not inform me when she will be back."

"My lawyer has started working on the divorce papers, I will present it to her when she comes back."

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

A few days later.

Stanley smiled proudly as Lauren snuggled closer to him. He knew she was very tired so he let her sleep. They were up till midnight cuddling and watching movies.

The two of them left for the UK on Monday for work-related matters.

From Tuesday to Friday, they attended meetings, went over notes from the meetings and reviewed contracts together. They also paid a visit to Stanley's subsidiary companies in London.

The duo were meant to return home on Friday but Stanley postponed their trip to Sunday.

So, he and Lauren spent the whole of Saturday enjoying themselves. He took her to amazing places in the UK and he also took her shopping despite her reluctance.

While Lauren slept, Stanley caught up with some work on his laptop and when it was almost time to land, he woke her up.

He started by caressing her hair but she just snuggled closer to him which made him chuckle.

"Wake up my love, we are about to land." He whispered in her ear.

Lauren slowly opened her eyes.

"Really?" She asked and he nodded. She couldn't believe she slept all through the flight.

"Sorry I slept all through." She apologized shyly.

"You worked really hard on this trip and I kept you awake till midnight so it's fine. You have nothing to apologize for." He assured as he helped her buckle her seatbelt.

"Hope you were not bored?" She asked concerned.

"No!" He caressed her cheek.

"I spent the first few hours watching you sleep and then later did some work on my laptop."

They landed and made their way towards Stanley's car.

"I don't see Issac, will you be driving yourself?" She asked him.

"Yes, I will. He contacted me this morning. His wife gave birth at midnight so I gave him a short leave."

"Wow, Congratulations to him." Lauren smiled.

"Yes. I was meant to inform you but I don't know how it slipped my mind. Sorry about that." He said to Lauren who nodded.

"No problem" She assured.

"We can go visit him and his wife on Tuesday or Wednesday, " Stan said.

"Sure, I'll fix that in your schedule."

Stanley and Lauren waited until their bags were loaded into the car before they hopped in.

They engaged in funny and random conversations until they reached Lauren's apartment.

Lauren travelled with one box but she came back with two extra. Thanks to Stanley who could not stop buying dresses, shoes and jewellery for her.

He helped her take her luggage in.

Lauren closed the gap between herself and Stan and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thank you for pampering me and thanks for all the stuff you bought for me." She said sincerely.

Stanley stole a kiss from her before he replied. "You're welcome, my love." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"We just came back from a trip so we will take tomorrow off to rest as usual. But I'll be coming over to see you. Let's say, at noon. What do you think?"

"I'll be expecting you." She smiled.

"Take care of yourself, I'm only a call away if you need anything."

Lauren nodded.

"Take care of yourself too and drive safely." She tiptoed and gave him a kiss on his lips.