Office Diaries - Chapter 80

Liam gripped his pen so hard in between his hands that it was not surprising when the poor thing snapped into two and the young president placed it back on the table with an audible sigh.

“And may I ask who pissed you big time that you had to do that to the poor pen?” Ken asked and Liam scowled at his friend’s amused expression.

They were seated in front of each other in the president’s office, discussing the recent development of one of their products when the president suddenly fell silent.

“As if you don’t know,” the boss countered making Ken laugh. “What the heck’s so funny? Is my suffering that entertaining? What kind of a friend are you?” he snapped and the vice president cleared his throat before he answered.

“Who’s not going to laugh? Man, I’ve never seen anyone who’s as slow as you when it comes to getting your lover. You’re like a high school kid. It’s been what? One? Two weeks after the gala and until now you haven’t even confessed to your ȧssistant!”

Ken’s words made Liam’s brooding worsen.

“It’s not like I didn’t want to confess. It’s Marian’s fault. She wouldn’t give me the time of day!” All his frustrations coming to the surface, Liam rested his head on top of his table.

On the day on the gala, after Susie’s blunder, he had noticed Marian’s withdrawal. He knew his ȧssistant had been sick but that night she appeared to have worsened and so he made sure they left the party earlier than planned. The president wanted to confess on their way back to her apartment, but his ȧssistant chose to sleep on their ride home, giving him no choice but to cancel his plans once more.

As soon as they reached her apartment, the young president tried to talk to her once more. But one look at his weary ȧssistant made him stop and let the other go and rest for the night. He reckoned he’d just do that when Monday came, but it’s already two weeks after the gala and until now he hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about anything not related to work. If possible the Ice Queen had returned with a vengeance that no matter what, Liam couldn’t make his ȧssistant entertain him.

“Have you tried asking her out for a meal?” Ken prompted.

Liam gave him an “are you kidding me” type of look which indicated that of course, he had tried that. It was the norm, right?

“Er… How about trying to have a small talk with her? Do you know? Like just say something— anything under the sun that would break the ice,” Ken suggested.

Liam raised a brow. “Bro, have you seen Marian lately? How am I supposed to break that ice?”

Urgh…

Ken too imagined how Marian James was lately and he smiled sheepishly. She gave new meaning to the title “Ice Queen”. She was so cold and solid that she wouldn’t even break even with an atomic bomb thrown at her.

“What did you do by the way? Why is she like that?” Ken asked curiously.

“Why are you asking me that? How would I know?” Liam countered with a frown. “I honestly have no idea. She was just like that suddenly. I can’t even ask anything else that’s not work-related.”

“Oh, man…”Ken gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder as he scratched the side of his head as he too thought of something. “Did you not really do anything that upset her?”

Liam shook his head. “I’m a hundred percent sure I didn’t. I haven’t even gotten the chance to confess.”

With another frustrated sigh, he raked his hair with his fingers. At the age of twenty-seven, he found himself at a loss as to what to do.

“I think Jay’s wrong. I think Marian doesn’t like me…” He had sulked as he pondered this dreadful thought.

Meanwhile, at the cafeteria during lunch hour, the object of the president’s frustration sat with a frown as she looked at the full plate of meat buns in front of her. Her gaze then turned to her junior’s which was similar.

“Are you going to eat that?”

Jay raised a brow as he pulled his plate of meat buns away from her. Marian had been eyeing his food again today.

“Yes I am— and no, I’m not going to give you so don’t bother asking,” the secretary said sternly knowing what would happen next.

For the past few days, Marian had developed a habit of taking his food during lunchtime. He noticed that she had acquired a healthy appetite for eating anything that’s on Jay’s plate – and by that meant that regardless that she also ordered the same food would insist on eating what Jay was about to eat, switching their plates much to his chagrin.

Despite having a bigger stomach for food, eating more than she usually did however, Marian’s body still seemed to lose weight— or did she gain some? Jay was confused. In his eyes, though, she seemed to be very fragile these days that he had urged her continuously since last week to visit the hospital for a checkup.

“It’s not that I’m going to leave you without something to eat. I’ll just trade with you,” Marian stated sulkily as she tried to grab Jay’s plate but the younger one already had it out of her reach.

“Big Sis, what the heck are you doing? We ordered the same frigging food! Eat your own!”

“Why are you angry?” Marian asked, her huge doe eyes filling with suspicious moisture that Jay closed his eyes for a few seconds and counted to ten for patience before he sighed and handed his plate to the other reluctantly.

The secretary watched as delight filled her face. She pushed her own plate towards him and started attacking his meat buns. Curiously, the younger man studied her.

“Big Sis, have you visited the hospital already?” he asked. If his friend was suffering from some food-stealing malady or something more serious, he wanted to know.

“You’re such a Mr. Pissy Pants. You won’t give me food but you ask about my health. Funny. Ha-ha,” Marian retorted making Jay eye her as if he wanted to pinch her stuffed face.

Marian, on the other hand, continued to munch on her food, but after several minutes stopped and looked at the secretary with a confused expression.

“Jay,” she called and Jay decided to humor her. His worry over her was greater than his annoyance after all.

“What?”

“Do you remember what I told you before?”

“Which one?” the secretary asked. For the past few weeks, his big sis had told him loads of things and most of them were crap.

“The thing about dreams feeling so real I told you before? Or that power of mind thing, when things people think hard about all the time come true,” she said and he nodded hesitantly.

Where this conversation was going, Jay had no idea, but he was sure as hell wanted to know. Most times, she would say something really outrageous in that serious way of hers which he found amusing.

“What about it?” he prompted, waiting for the punch line to come.

“Well, you see, I’ve been having really wet dreams and you know, when I went to the hospital yesterday I found out something.”

“You have nymphomania?” Jay prompted and Marian glared at him. “Sorry, sorry. Continue please,” he said and she pouted before speaking again.

“As I was saying, I went to the hospital and found out what’s wrong with me,” she said and Jay lost his smile.

His worry brimmed to the surface once more. “So there really was something wrong with you?” he asked in concern and she shook her head.

“Not really ‘wrong’ per se,” she said.

Last week, Jay had been very worried upon learning that she was really sick, vomiting in the morning or every after meals, sweating cold, being constipated and nauseous in the afternoons. The younger thought that it was his fault that Marian drank a lot of medicine when she really didn’t have to, throwing her digestive track into utter chaos, making her sicker.

“It’s not overdose?” Jay asked and she chuckled as she shook her head.

“I’m pregnant!” she announced and Jay’s jaw dropped.

“Y-You’re what?” He couldn’t believe it. The last time he checked, the president still hadn’t gotten his gears together and hadn’t confessed to her yet. “Does the father know?” he asked and was confused when she frowned at him.

“Jay Co, haven’t you been listening to me?” she asked irritably. “There’s no father. I thought of sėx too much I got myself pregnant,” she deadpanned and Jay got more confused.

“W-What?”

“Jay Baby, I think…” Jay watched as the Ice Queen placed a hand over her still flat stomach and braced himself to another out of this world statement.

He was right.

“I think this is an immaculate conception…”