He glanced at the others around the table who were waiting for him to stand up so they could also leave, “You can leave,” Benne told them, and they all got up and started walking out.??
“Is there a problem?” Benne asked after the last person left the office, leaving them alone. He knew he was keeping Celsie waiting, but that was what she deserved for trying to frustrate him. He needed her to realize that although he deserved to be punished, the punishment she had chosen was like a double-edged sword, and was going to affect them both equally.??
“Uhm, I heard from my mother concerning what she did with the private investigator…” Anita started, and Benne tilted his head to the side to look at her when he remembered what Harry had said. He had almost forgotten about the private investigator because of his issue with Celsie.
“…I’m sorry, and I want you to know that I didn’t have a part in it,” Anita concluded.
“If she had found out something interesting about me, how do I know you wouldn’t have used the information to your advantage? You are only denouncing her now because it didn’t pull through, aren’t you?” Benne asked coolly.
“No, sir! I never would have…”
“I’m not interested in your response. If that’s the reason you wanted to see me, then you shouldn’t worry about it. I have no business with you. My business is with your mother and I will handle it accordingly,” Benne said as he pushed away from the table and stood up.??
“Let’s not have such an awkward conversation next time,” Benne advised before walking out of the office.??
He had a grin on his face as he walked over to where the car was parked, and he couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled through him when he saw Celsie’s face.
Celsie had a scowl on her face as she listened to Benne’s not-so-silent chuckles as she turned on the car’s ignition, ready to drive them back to the office. She couldn’t understand how Benne could find the whole exchange funny. Anita was a very petty person, and if for nothing this exchange had strengthened her resolve to win Anita on every level. Since Anita wanted the CEO she was going to have him wrapped around her little fingers and show the bitch who owned the man.
“Miss Miller, why do you seem so upset?” Benne asked in amusement when he noticed the way she was glaring at him through the rearview mirror.??
Celsie cleared her throat, “I’m not upset.”
“Then do you mind explaining to me why you’re glaring at me?” Benne asked again.??
“I’m not glaring. That’s the way my eyes are,” Celsie muttered as she drove out of the parking lot, and Benne chuckled quietly. He couldn’t believe that he had fallen for such a crazy woman. How she managed to look so calm yet do and say crazy things was beyond him.??
Benne took out his phone from his pocket when it started to ring and received the call when he saw that it was from Harry, “Why do you keep calling me?” Benne asked dryly making Celsie look at him through the rearview mirror as she wondered who he was talking to. She briefly wondered if this was how Benne felt each time he was the one driving the car and she was making a phone call from the backseat.
“Why do you think? Because I miss you, of course. You should know that you are the closest to a girlfriend I have,” Harry said in an equally dry tone as he looked around the beauty parlor where Jade was now having her manicure.
“Here I was thinking that you were calling to inform me that my sister is pregnant for you,” Benne said with an eye roll.
“You’re just foolish,” Harry said with a chuckle and cleared his throat when he remembered that he had actually called for a different reason. “What’s happening with Celsie? She called me earlier on,” Harry said, and Benne glanced at Celsie through the rearview mirror.
“She did? Why?” Benne asked even though he could roughly guess why.
“She wanted to get your schedule. And she also asked that I change her driver. What did you do?” Harry asked.
Benne sighed inwardly. Was this girl possessed? Why was she making things complicated for him? She was the same person who had asked that he shouldn’t tell Harry that she was aware of everything, and she had asked him not to quit his job, yet she was also the one calling Harry to fire him. What did she want?
“Miss Miller wants you to change her driver?” Benne asked out loud so that Celsie would hear him, and both their gaze met in the rearview mirror.??
“Yes, she did,” Harry confirmed.??
“Didn’t you tell her what I said the last time? If her driver goes, she goes too,” he reminded Harry.
“Well, yes. But the thing is I promised to fire you the moment she asks me to. I didn’t expect that she was going to do so considering that you’re both in a relationship now,” Harry complained, and then Benne finally understood what Celsie was doing. This was part of Harry’s punishment.
“Well, I didn’t ask you to make such a promise. Deal with it,” Benne said and hung up the call.
Immediately he hung up the call he dialed another number, and Celsie glanced at her phone when it started ringing. She raised a brow when she noticed that the call was from Benne. Why was he calling her when they were in the same car?
She met his gaze in the rearview mirror and he raised a brow, as though asking her why she wasn’t taking her call. Celsie narrowed her eyes as she reluctantly reached for her phone and received the call.
“Hey! Can you call me back? I’m with the mean CEO right now,” Celsie whispered into her phone, convincing Benne beyond reasonable doubt that she was not just crazy, but very crazy.??
After his phone call with Harry, Benne had decided to give Celsie a call since that was the reasonable thing to do next as he was keeping up the front. What he hadn’t expected was that she was going to play along in this manner, “It can’t wait. I need to speak with you now,” Benne responded, still gazing at her through the rearview mirror as she tried to keep her attention focused on the road.
“Well, I’m driving and I can’t talk while driving. Besides, my boss is here,” Celsie pointed out in a whisper, as she spared him another glance through the rearview mirror.
Benne looked outside the window and cleared his throat, “Miss Miller please park the car by the roadside I need to receive an important phone call,” Benne ordered, making Celsie sigh. Now this was crazy. What was he trying to prove? That he had authority over her and could get whatever he wanted when he wanted it? What did he want to say that he couldn’t keep until the next one hour? She wondered as she looked for the next available parking space by the road and drove over there.
“Excuse me,” Celsie said as she unlocked the car and got out to give him privacy to receive his phone call, “What’s so urgent that couldn’t wait?” Celsie asked once she was away from him and stood behind the car with her back resting on the trunk of the car.
“Do you want me to stop being your driver? I just received a call from Mr. Harry asking me to quit my job,” Benne said, even though he knew that wasn’t what she wanted. He was gradually beginning to figure out what she was doing but he didn’t want her to know it. Two could play the game.
“Well, you can call him back to say you’re not quitting. I already made it clear that you’re going to remain my driver,” Celsie reminded him.
“So why then did you tell him you no longer wanted me to work for you?” Benne asked, pretending to be ignorant. Since she wanted to be crazy, he had to show her that he could do crazy too.
“You can always ask me this when we meet. If that’s all you wanted to talk about I…”
“Hold on! That’s not all,” Benne quickly cut in before she could hang up the call.
“What else?” Celsie asked impatiently.
“Did you mean it when you said you were missing me earlier and wanted us to see a movie later? Or were you just messing with me?” Benne asked curiously, making Celsie glance towards the car.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.