Office Diaries - Chapter 102

Michael Chen brought Ria to a posh Mediterranean Restaurant and they were immediately greeted by the staff there and were escorted towards a table intimate for two. Clearly, the CEO was known at the place and she was right.

As soon as they were seated, the manager, followed by the maître d’ immediately came to them to serve them in person. Since Ria wasn’t familiar with the food, she let Michael order for the two of them and was glad that she did.

The food and the ambiance were all lovely, and Ria found herself relaxing and simply having fun. Outside the office, the stoic young CEO was actually a charming host who had penchant for intellectual banter over meals.

Her Eros, her dream lover was just sitting across from her and making her smile with his anecdotes. Being there, eating with the witty, handsome, and brilliant Michael Chen felt like a dream come true for her and she found herself falling in love with him deeper and deeper.

“Ms. Davis, after this project, is there anything you want to have as a reward?” Michael suddenly asked her and Ria was startled away from her daydreams.

She almost blurted out “YOU” but stopped her mouth from speaking nonsense just in time. Even if she knew the CEO could be nice, they were not that close for her to suddenly say something very personal.

Or so she thought.

“Ria,” Michael suddenly called her name and she immediately looked up to stare at his handsome face.

This was personal, right?

For several seconds, they remained silent as they looked at each other’s faces as if the both of them wanted to memorize what the other looked like.

Ria was in awe. Gone was the cold man at the office. In place was a man closer to the one who made love with Ria every night in her dreams and she found her heart racing.

When Michael took her hand in his and held it tight, Ria didn’t find it odd nor did she try to take her hand away. It just felt…right.

“Ria, I…”

Michael started, clearly wanting to say something to her, but his voice trailed off, his warm eyes turning into slits. His face turned rigid as he let go of her hand and sat up ramrod straight in his seat.

Ria wanted to ask what was wrong but stopped as her nose was ȧssailed by a strong flowery scent from behind her.

Turning sharply to face its source, she was met with the sight of a tall, beautiful woman in her late forties.

“Mikey,” she practically purred what must be the CEO’s nickname and Ria turned to her boss who suddenly turned as hard as stone.

“Mother,” he replied stiffly, acknowledging the woman who now turned her attention to Ria.

“What a surprise to find you here,” Michael’s mother stated, although her voice told Ria that she wasn’t surprised at all and she found out why.

“That’s a wonder since you have your snotty little secretary put tabs on me,” Michael hissed under his breath and Ria could feel the tension between the two suffocating her. “What do you want?” he asked and the woman showed a look of mocked hurt.

The old woman placed her carefully manicured hand on her ċhėst as she put on a pitiful expression. But the hard glint in her eyes contradicted her actions.

“You don’t have to be so hostile my darling son. I was merely trying to see how you have been lately,” she drawled the words like a lazy kitten, but one might think there was another meaning behind her words.

Ria felt worried and lost. She had no idea what to do as she was suddenly in the middle of two people with strong personality who obviously didn’t get along. Since the CEO was showing obvious hostility to the former Chairman of MCA, she didn’t know what to do since she was with him. They were dealing with a very private matter, and Ria was not a member of their family to interrupt and stop the tension building up between them.

“If you’re asking about the company then it’s doing fine,” Michael snapped and the woman shrugged.

“I’m not questioning your work Mikey. I’m just worried since you have been spending a lot of time at the ad agency; you might neglect our other businesses.” The madam seemed to realize that her son was not touched by her acting so she decided to drop the pretense of sadness and tried a different route.

Ria had to admit that even if Mrs. Chen had a huge personality problem, she was a great businesswoman and was respected in that aspect.

“They are all doing fine. If that’s all, please leave,” Michael snapped acerbically as he met his mother’s gaze with his hard, almond eyes.

He really looked furious that even Ria felt like hiding under the table in fear. Just what happened between these two? Based on the rumors she heard, Mrs. Chen was on very good terms with her son and that they were very close.

So what was this animosity?

“You don’t have to be rude. That’s not how you treat your mother in front of your wife,” the woman said which made Ria gasp in shock.

Wife?

“I’m sorry,” she replied hastily. “I’m not his wife. I’m his employee,” she added in panic and the woman turned to look at her face with her brow raised.

“Oh…my mistake then. Sorry,” she said lazily as she nodded to their direction and turned to leave. “Be sure to come home and visit sometimes,” she added with a purr as she left.

Completely shaken, Ria sat dumbfounded in her seat. It was a good thing that they had already eaten else the food would go to waste. Her appetite had completely left her. In her stomach was a cold dread, churning. She felt sick but fought the urge to vomit.

Wife? She’d never in a million years guess that Michael Chen was a married man. Due to her huge crush when she saw him at the competition a year ago, she investigated everything possible about him and knew that he was still single. But���

But his mother knew he had a wife but didn’t know who the wife was. So Michael Chen probably had a secret wedding since he obviously didn’t get along well with his mother.

“I’m sorry for that,” Michael told her, and Ria nodded as she swallowed.

She didn’t know why but she started to shake.

“Ria…” Michael whispered as he tried to take her hand once more, but she retreated, putting her hands out of his reach and he frowned as he searched her face.

Ria smiled but her lips were trembling.

“I…I…” she stammered as she hesitated, but then went ahead and asked what she wanted. “Y-you have a wife?” she asked casually as if it was nothing, but deep inside she was scared and hoping that it wasn’t the case.

Michael’s eyes widened in surprise, and then his face went blank, devoid of any emotion and Ria knew that in a few seconds her heart would break into pieces.

“Yes…”

Ah���

Ria was already expecting this answer, but she was still shocked. Pain stabbed at her heart. She thought they had something between them the way he treated her and spoke to her earlier. But as it turned out she was wrong. It was just her being presumptuous.

Michael Chen must just be trying to be nice to her since she had roped in a huge client. He couldn’t be flirting with her, right? She didn’t want to believe he could be a vile man who’d cheat on his wife. She refused to even think about the situation like that.

Her heart and her mind that had been floating in a dreamlike state since they arrived at the restaurant finally got splashed with the cold reality. It was a good thing she realized this in time. As much as she liked someone, she would never try to take a man from his wife. She’s a woman too. If something like that happened, she would be more than devastated.

She placed a polite smile on her face as she retreated emotionally and physically far away from her boss. He was her lover in her dream, but it didn’t mean it could be a reality.

Ria tried her best to deviate the topic from personal things. Even if obviously the man still wanted to explain, she refused to make him. It was none of her business. She made it clear that night, regardless of the pain in her heart, that there could never be anything between them more than a professional connection.

She was totally relieved that after a few attempts, he seemed to decide to humor her and stayed on a neutral topic. The evening ended with that and she refused for him to take her to the mansion citing wanting to drop by to a store on the way to buy personal items.

She quickly hailed a cab while the man didn’t leave immediately and she saw him watch her taxi drove away. He looked at her direction with what seemed to be a very sad gaze, and she didn’t know why, but the pain in heart only increased. Tears blurred her vision until they gradually trailed down her cheeks.

It was then and there she decided to forget her feelings for him from now on.

Goodbye.