Chapter 26

When eight o'clock came, fully dressed in jeans and a simple blouse, Mary was now fully awake, feeling a little crappy, exhausted, and restless.

She was suddenly apprehensive about seeing Tyler today. However, she planned to go to work as usual in order to try and gather information about what the company was doing amid the lockdown. Obviously, the meeting would be online, and yet, here, she was not even sure how to start her day. But what does that mean for the vigorous issues between Tyler and her, anyway? What are they? Of course they were civil to each other, but she knew it was more than that.

She had no clue, and by the time she dragged herself out of bed, she heard Eddie call out her name from the door.

"Miss Mary, um, sir, Mr. Johnson is waiting."

"Thank you, Eddie," she shouted back.

She hastily got herself together, hand-combed her hair, threw on some makeup, tied her hair in a loose ponytail, and raced down the stairs."

"More coffee, Miss?"

"Yes, thanks, Eddie."

When she landed at the bottom of the stairs and passed the dining room, "I see you’re in a rush, Miss. Your coffee has been brewed as we speak," Eddie added before she could answer.

"Oh, thank you so much, Eddie," she mumbled with a small smile, then walked out. Behind her, "Running late this morning? Miss." The chef chuckled, opened the oven, and took a handful of fresh cookies.

"Yes, Lendy. I’m afraid I am."

"But the boss wants to see you. He told me to send you in as soon as you got here," added Lendy.

Her heart begins to race. She was expecting to be summoned to his office soon, but the moment she stepped through the kitchen, her ankle throbbed.

"Ankle's OK? Miss Borthman?"

"Yap! It's just a little pain. But I can walk. So no worries."

"Aww, good, no need to be concerned. The boss won't kill you. You'll get to the library as soon as possible with the help of Mighty Eddie."

"Thank you, Lendy. And thanks for the coffee and the cookies, and by the way,” she smiled. "Eddie, can you take care of Girly? She needs milk and vitamins. I promise you, that cat hates me." She turned her head to the butler and smiled.

"She didn't hate you, Miss Borthman. Don't worry. I'll take care of her."

"You are my knight in shining armour, Eddie." She added and ook the coffee from Lendy's hands and giggled, "You too, Lady Lendy, you are the best, and remember this: if someday I marry a prince, I'll steal you from Mr. Johnson." She added a wink that made them chuckle with her. Eddie just smiled back, thinking about how the mansion had changed from a quiet, boring, calm household to one full of laughter and sunshine.

However, Mary was not excited about going to work, especially while still walking with a painful ankle. But she also does not want to make things obvious by being tardy. For now, she just wanted everything to be normal. At least until she has gathered all the important papers, accounts, and schedules from her boss. She made a mental note to call Ashton and ask for his assistance with her frozen Outlook email. She didn't even know what happened to her email.

She slowly raced to the office and waited for the man to open the door. When the door cleared, she entered and grumbled under her breath, "Ashton?... Yes, you're here. Thank God."

"Good morning, Miss Borthman. I came here to make sure your network was safe. Anyway, the printer is connected, wifi is on, everything is done."

"Thank God. By the way, I have a problem with my Outlook emails. Can you have a look?"

"Oh, it is done. Mr. Johnson told me to fix it for you earlier."

"You are an angel. Thanks, Ash," she added, looking around. The boss was not here yet. Thank the gods. She thought as she smiled at the IT guy. She was relieved to be alone with her thoughts again. "Are you going now?"

"Yes, Miss Borthman. My job here is done."

"Aw! Fancy some coffee?" She gestured at the coffee in her hand and smiled.

"No!" Mr. Johnson's voice roared from the door in his comfort room. "Ashton, you can go home now. We will be busy here. I'll call you when I need you."

Mary raised her brows and glanced at the wall panel where he came out of the hidden door. She looked at Tyler and sighed as she put the coffee on her table situated near the door and nodded her head to Ashton, who seemed embarrassed. "Bye, Mary..." He bobbed his head at the boss, then closed the door behind him.

Now, Mary wondered what Tyler's behaviour would be towards her. The last time they spoke was in a verbal brawl. But something told her that he might play it cool, especially at work; after all, she did not want to appear overwhelmed in front of his "oh-so-respected" boss.

When the office doors finally opened, she was greeted by another typical workday scene as the man mentioned her need to bring her notebook, which is so typical of him. She found him ignoring him again; he was perfectly adorned in his pristine suit as he grumbled. "Miss Borthman, did you arrange my meeting online?"

"Yes, sir. 9 o'clock."

"Good, get me all the papers that need signing, and the Korean contract and the Japanese; I need to see their offer."

"Yes, sir,"

"And I need coffee now!"

"Yes, sir," Mary added, and she went back to her table. Alright, they were back to their boss and secretary relationship, and yes, it was better this way, but why does it feel too awkward now? And was she disappointed? Yes, maybe. The man didn't even look at her, like he didn't even want her here. Hmp! She didn't care; she was here to work and nothing else.

A lie. Obviously. But her biggest fear was another heated argument and that things would get out of hand between them. Maybe after their sexual encounter in the cottage, the man had managed to get her out of his system. After all, he was back to his old self. But Mary desperately wanted to know more about what he and Elizabeth were doing. But that conversation could not take place here. She heard him arguing with her the other day, and from what she gathered, Mr. Johnson was not happy about it.

She paused when she reached her table. Her palms sweated as she gripped the phone's handle tightly and ordered a cup of coffee from the kitchen staff.

Upon finishing, she settled into her chair and heard Tyler mumbling while seated at his desk. He was hunched over some documents while he talked on his mobile phone.

Tyler lifted his head, locked eyes with her, and signalled for her to check his laptop. She went to his table, opened the laptop, went to the apps, and logged in.

As she waited for him to finish the call, his elegance sucked her in. His slender fingers were scribbling something down on a piece of paper, and his hair was combed back neatly. She focused on his full lips as he continued to speak.

No wonder her mind was amused. The man was indeed beautiful to look at—those lips who tasted her down there, those tongues who...

Shit! She needs to stop thinking about it. The man was certainly over with her.

But she went from being furious to lusting for him in a matter of seconds.

Then she shook her head to quell such thoughts and straightened.

"Thanks, be seated in front; note something necessary. I believe you can hear our conversation clearly," he finally said, hanging up the phone and turning to look at the laptop. He never looked at her as he talked, and it somehow enraged Mary. He surely knows how to ignore her. The man had been doing this to her for two years, and yet it didn't bother her, but now it irritated her. She doesn't want to be ignored, and yes, he was doing it.

Nevertheless, Tyler's demeanour was calm and relaxed, much more comfortable considering what took place last night.

"No problem," she said with indifference. The same professional voice she had been using for two long years made Tyler look at her and raise a brow eyebrow, but she was looking at her tablet, so she didn't notice it.

He rose from his chair and walked over to the door, locking it before he headed back to his desk and sat down.

The action makes her nervous.

He cleared his throat and studied her.

"Mary..." he exhaled deeply. "I want to talk to you about what happened and about what you've heard."

"Mr. Johnson, the meeting will start any moment now. This isn’t the time to discuss this." When she was nervous, it was because what she was doing mattered and she felt the need to get it right. Yet that was also the courage she needed to overcome it and move forward at a good pace. Hearing him and his grandfather talking about her on the veranda last night was something she never expected. They were planning a wedding that involved her. Jesus! Does she look like a property?

"You’re right, this isn’t the time or the place, but it can’t wait. I need you to know that it’s not what you think. My grandfather and I are decent businessmen, and we would never exploit anyone, especially you."

Oh really?

What did he even mean by that, anyway?

"I'm sorry? I didn't get you there. Is this about—"

"Yes, Miss Borthman!"

Hmp, so she was right then: "Mr. Johnson, OK, so did I just mishear everything that you two were saying?" She could feel her anger boiling up again.

"No, it’s just that there’s a lot more to it than that. Just know that whatever we’re doing is legitimate. It was his last wish to see me settle down with someone he thought was good for me and to keep Elizabeth away from the picture. I'm rooting for two birds with one stone here. You should know that everything will be under a contract and you will be compensated accordingly!"

I don't care about the money, Tyler! I care about how you feel about me! Hell! She wanted to scream but didn't dare to voice it out loud. "Are you serious? We are already married."

"I know, Miss Borthman, we just have to make them official and let the world know... My grandfather would be happy. He adores you so much."

"And you two planned this without even asking me beforehand?" She inquired and tried to breathe in without murdering the man, who seemed so relaxed and was not even affected by their discussion. Yes, she heard them talking about a grand wedding, and they didn't even tell her about it. She didn't even know that the old man knew about her and Tyler's marriage before, and yet here they were talking about announcing their marriage in public. How unfair was it? They have been cats and dogs, and now the public will know about her?

How about her feelings? How about her freedom?

"Come on, Mary, any woman would be glad to be married to me."

"And I'm not that kind of woman."

"I know, that's why I chose you," he added. Maybe it was too foolish for him to even plan this and confide in his grandfather about it, but he was indeed killing two birds with one stone. Right? He thought to himself.

Just as Mary was about to question him further, the phone rings, and he lets out another deep sigh. He was irritated by the interruption.

"Mary, please, I don’t want there to be any tension between us."

Tension? Fuck you, Tyler! I couldn't even take away those massive bulges in my mind, and you want us not to have any tension? She pondered irritably.

"Just trust me, my grandfather and I aren’t doing anything ruthless and unfair on your side," he added with haste as the phone continued to ring. He picked it up and started talking, leaving her with so much more to say.

How could he be so annoying? She remembered every plan they had, and nothing about them sounded good.

Being accidentally married to him was crazy enough because of her stupidity, and now he planned to make out in public?