I put my phone aside, hoping I could stop thinking about what Emma said, but I was wrong.
I found myself going over to meet her when lunchtime came. I knew nothing constructive would come out of our talk, but I refused to run away from the issue. Besides, I did not believe she would let me off the hook just like that if I did not show up. So, I decided to just meet up with her.
I spotted Emma drinking a cup of coffee at a table beside the window right after I came through the café’s door.
She gave off a charm of elegance from the way she dressed and carried herself. She was inarguably a beautiful woman.
I took a deep breath to calm myself down before walking toward her and sitting down.
“What would you like to have?”
Emma spoke before I could greet her.
“I’m good. I don’t have much time, Ms. Jones, so let’s cut to the chase.”
I had no intention of talking to her over a cup of coffee—I was not in the mood. After all, she was Michael’s official girlfriend.
“I see you’re a forthright person. All right then, let’s get straight to the point.”
She was taken aback by my candidness, but she quickly composed herself and smiled.
“Ms. Garcia, I know that your relationship with Michael is somewhat extraordinary. But, I think you know I’m his girlfriend, right?”
Of course, I knew she was his girlfriend, but still, hearing those words from her made me feel uncomfortable.
I listened to her without any expression as if she was talking about someone totally unrelated to me. “I don’t see why you need to tell me that, Ms. Jones.”
I fixed my apathetic gaze on her.
“You don’t need me to call you out on what both of you are doing, don’t you, Ms. Garcia? You guys might be keeping it a secret, but I know what I know.”
Emma looked at me in the eyes without the slightest hint of perturbance. To be honest, it was unnerving.
Michael and I had already tried everything we could to keep it under our hats. We pretended as if we did not know each other. However, Emma could still tell with just one look.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ms. Jones. Mr. Shaw is just an employer to me.”
I tried to sound as natural as I could without taking my eyes off her.
Michael and I had made a deal to keep our relationship hidden from everyone. Even if Emma guessed it correctly, I would not admit to it.
“Is it just me overthinking, or you not wanting to admit it?”
The smile on her face faded away when she found out I was inexorable. Her gaze hardened as I felt her breaths of enmity engulfing me.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Jones. If this is why you asked me out, then I don’t see the point of me staying any longer. I still have work to attend to. See you around.”
I stood up and got ready to leave.
“Ms. Garcia.”
Emma shot up on her feet and glared at me.
A frown broke out on my face as I turned toward her again. Yes, I had a guilty conscience, but I was also angry.
“Is there anything else, Ms. Jones?”
I tried to sound polite since I did not wish to get into a fight with her.
“You’d better stay away from Michael if you don’t want anything to happen to you. He’s my boyfriend. I will not let any woman go near him.”
Emma made no effort to conceal the hatred she felt toward me.
“Say this to Michael, not me.”
I stared at her for a moment and then turned to leave.
It was clear as day that she asked me out just to warn me to stay away from Michael.
I knew I had to cut things off between Michael and me, but he was the one who refused to let me go, so there was nothing I could do.
If Emma could just talk to Michael and ask him to leave me, then I would not be caught in an unpleasant situation like this.
My heart was in a mess on the way back to the company. Although I looked composed back there, I knew I was on the losing end from the very beginning. There was no future for Michael and me.
Just as I was occupied with thoughts, a loud honk blasted from behind. I frowned and moved aside impatiently, but the honking did not stop.
I whipped my head furiously, getting ready to lambast the driver, but I held my tongue the moment I saw the familiar Ferrari.
Ronan got off the car and walked toward me.
A playful smile spread on his lips as he came closer. “What a coincidence, Anna.”
Ronan looked surprised and delighted to bump into me on the street, but I was not in my best mood.
“What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I’m meeting Michael for golf,” Ronan said with a smile on his face.
That explains the casual outfit. I had to say people of his class led very different lives from ordinary folks like me.
“I see. Off you go then. I need to get back to work.”
I did not feel like talking to Ronan after what happened.
“Where’s your company? I’ll send you over.”
It was really kind of Ronan to offer to send me back to work. He had always been this helpful. Back then, he would always insist on sending me home.
“It’s fine, I can go back on my own. I just had lunch, so it’ll be good for me to walk a bit.”
I turned him down without hesitation. My colleagues would start making assumptions if they saw me in a luxury car.
After the brush I had with Tiffany, everyone at the company kept their distance from me. Although it was not my fault, they clearly ostracized me and talked bad behind my back. I did not want to further aggravate my predicament.
“Are you sure?” Ronan asked again.
I could see the disappointment on his face when I rejected his offer.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. You should get going too. Don’t keep Michael waiting.”
I turned him down with a resolute but polite smile.
Ronan knew I could be very uncompromising, so he just waved me goodbye and got back into his car.
