Chapter 227 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“But I thought you were trying to matchmake us?” Celsie asked in confusion.

“I wasn’t. I just wanted to spend some time in his company because I really liked him, and the only way I could do that was through you. He would never agree to meet with me alone or hear me out,” Anita said with a sniffle.

“But just yesterday you said he couldn’t offer you anything and that you preferred the CEO,” Celsie reminded her with a frown as she watched Benne who was now looking different heading for the car.

“I didn’t really mean that. It’s just my mom… She is very controlling and I was really trying to stay away from him so she doesn’t harm him, but I just don’t think I can do that anymore. It hurts to live without him. I can’t do that anymore” Anita said and broke down in tears again.

Benne who had gotten to where Celsie was, opened his mouth to say something, but Celsie raised a finger to her lips to shut him up. The last thing she wanted was for Anita to hear Benne’s voice in the background.

“Uhm… This is a lot to take in at once, can I call you back when I get home? I’m still with my boyfriend so I can’t talk right now,” Celsie said weakly, making Benne raise a brow as he watched her.

“Sure. I’m sorry I forgot you were with him. Let’s talk later. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I feel a lot better now,” Anita said with a sniffle as she quickly hung up the call.

“Is everything okay? Was that Sonia?” Benne asked as he watched Celsie’s face intently.

“No.”

“Who then was it?” Benne asked patiently as he looked down at Celsie. Although he had known her for only a short time, he could read her face well enough to tell when she wasn’t okay, and he could see that something was wrong.

“It was Anita,” Celsie said with a shrug, making Benne’s frown of concern transform into a scowl.

“What did she want this time? Another hangout?” He asked in disapproval.

“No. She wants you. She says she is still in love with you,” Celsie said flatly.

“In love? Me?” Benne asked with a scoff as he pointed to himself.

“Yes, you. Benne Handy, not Benedict Delgado,” Celsie said as she watched Benne’s face carefully.

Benne chuckled, “She must have found out something.”

“How? She didn’t sound like she knows anything. She just sounded like she wanted me to know about her relationship with my driver, and what led to your break up,” Celsie explained.

“And what did she say led to our break up?” Benne asked disinterestedly.

“She said she loves you but her mother wasn’t in support of the relationship, and she threatened to…”

Benne yawned dramatically, “I can’t believe you bought that silly story. Trust me, I know Anita. She is trying to blackmail you emotionally. She probably found out about my identity or my relationship with you, or even both.

“You didn’t even let me tell you everything she said,” Celsie said with a slight frown.

“Because I don’t care about any lie she must have told you. And trust me, when I say she doesn’t and has never loved me. Her mother had little or nothing to do with our breakup. So do me a favor and don’t let her get into your head, please.” Benne pleaded as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

“But what if…”

“There are no what ifs, Celsie. I told you already, you are all I want. And even if she is saying the truth, nothing is going to change. Let her know that you are dating me now and you can’t be of any help to her, period.”

“If you can’t do that, I will do so myself. So please make sure that the next time you speak with her, you ask her to back off,” Benne said with finality in his tone.

Without saying a word Celsie sighed as she got out of the car and handed him the car keys.

“Celsie?” Benne called softly before she could walk away and he placed both hands on her shoulder, “I know this is a lot for you right now, and so much seems to be happening at the same time, so let’s not add Anita to the list, okay? Let’s just go home, have fun together, and after work tomorrow we take the weekend off as planned, okay?”

Celsie gave him a nod, and Benne kissed her lightly on her lips as he led her to the other side of the car. Once she was seated and her seatbelt was in place he shut the car door and went around to get into the driver’s seat while trying to figure out how Anita had discovered the truth.

Was it the private investigator? Benne wondered. He needed to keep an eye on Anita.. Seeing how much she upset Celsie, he needed to begin to take her more seriously.

Benne spared Celsie a concerned glance as he drove, and he couldn’t help wondering what was going on inside her head. She had been silent since he began to drive, and with each second that passed, he felt more and more uncomfortable.

As annoying as he found everything to be, he knew that he was also to blame for what was happening between Celsie and Anita right now. If only he hadn’t lied to her that he liked someone else in the company, Celsie wouldn’t have assumed that Anita was the lady he had talked about, and she would never have gotten into this awkward relationship with Anita just to help play cupid.

Now Anita was being a pest and he needed to come up with the right way to squish her before she caused too many problems for him. How shameless could a person be? How unreasonable? What was the reason she was telling Celsie all of this? He was certain it was just to make Celsie feel guilty and to cause misunderstanding between them. What he couldn’t understand was what she stood to gain from it, since they both knew that he was NEVER going to get involved with her again, whether or not things worked out between him and Celsie.

“Should I just fire her?” Benne asked after a while, even though he hated to mix business with pleasure.

“On what ground?” Celsie asked, turning to look at him. Even though Anita made her feel very uncomfortable, she knew that it wouldn’t make sense to let him fire her just because of her insecurities.

“What if I say because I don’t like seeing her?” Benne asked, and Celsie smiled.

“We both know you are more reasonable than that. I hate that I let her get to me this way. I’m sorry,” Celsie murmured.

“You don’t have to be sorry. Just tell me what I can do to help you feel better? I don’t like the way you’re feeling right now. Should I give you my black card? I read somewhere that women love to shop when they’re upset,” Benne said, making Celsie giggle.

“Don’t make me a materialistic person,” Celsie chided with a smile, “I already feel better merely by being with you like this. So don’t worry. I’ll be okay, I just need to clear my head,” Celsie assured him.

“Alright. I should help you clear your head then,” Benne said with a wink as he turned the car in a different direction from the house.

“Where are we going to?” Celsie asked in surprise at the sudden turn.

“Somewhere I think you’ll like. You’ll see,” Benne promised her with a mischievous smile.

Celsie gazed at him as he drove the car, and different thoughts ran through her mind while she watched him. After some time she cleared her throat, “Can I ask you a question?” She asked curiously.

“Sure. Anything.”

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