The week was nothing out of the ordinary for Fiona if several facts were not taken into consideration. 

ONE - She is the boss’s wife. 

TWO - People are now questioning her credibility, luckily not on her face. But that doesn’t make things anything better.

THREE - Every single goddamn person is on the lookout for gossip.

FOUR - At the same time, they try not to talk about Justin too much in front of her in case she snitches on them. (Yeah, right! Like they even speak with each other) 

FIVE - She has become the number one topic of gossip at her workplace.

The conclusion is that her work life is as excellent as it can be. Note the sarcasm!

On the other hand, her Grams didn’t spare a single chance to know about her new married life. Fiona could not think of any other way but to tell her dearest grandmother that she couldn’t have picked up any better guy for her. If only Fiona could herself believe this statement, which she was feeding to her grandmother. 

With the rate she was making things up, Fiona was confident that by the end of the year, she would be considered as one of the best liars in her city, if not the universe. All thanks to her dearest husband.

Justin was his usual ignorant self, which worked perfectly fine for her because now she is completely immune to him treating her as a non-existent person. It is only at the workplace where he gives her a brief acknowledgment for the benefit of others.

However, today, Fiona was late to work due to the long queue in the café ‘Sip & Dip’, where she goes to have her daily dose of caffeine. She was rushing towards her desk when Adam stopped her.

“Hey Fiona, could you please forward this file to Justin? I really need to get to the top floor for a meeting.”

“Umm, sure. But isn’t he busy with the interviews?”

“Yes! But he asked me to hand it over to him promptly. Interview or no interview. Plus, you are married to him. Use that to your advantage.” Fiona agreed, rolling her eyes.

She proceeded towards Justin’s cabin instead of going to her desk, but not before stopping by his secretary. She observed that a lot of candidates were sitting nearby. Some were nervous, while the others were confident.

“Hey Judy, is Justin busy with the interview? I need to hand this file over to him.” Fiona asked his secretary politely with a smile.

“Hold on a second.” Judy gave a kind smile to her.

Justin was in the middle of questioning the guy, along with James, who was sitting in front of him when Judy called him. He shouldn’t be as surprised as he was when his secretary asked if Fiona could come in. Until now, Fiona had never tried to contact him in the office or anywhere. She never once made an attempt to show the world that she is the wife of the CEO of the company. It’s commendable.

He normally asks his secretary not to disturb him during any meetings or situations like the current one, but he has made an exception for his wife. Justin had specifically instructed Judy to inform him if Fiona needed him under any circumstances. Big or small, he is immediate to be contacted in case she needs him or if she is in any trouble. It was secondary whether or not she required him.

He was yet to come forward and talk to her. The least he could do was make himself available to her in case of an emergency. Plus, he hadn’t seen her in the past two days. According to a note she left on the key counter at their home’s exit door, Fiona was staying at her best friend’s house. She did mention that in case any one of their grandmothers or parents called, they had a date at a new Thai restaurant. She even recounted every possible detail of their date night if their grandmothers or parents called (like he would pick up the calls as he has been ignoring his Grams for weeks now) to match their stories. She undeniably thought this through thoroughly so that their family wouldn’t suspect anything.

He clearly was an ass to make her lie on both their behalf, as he was still avoiding his grandmother’s call on purpose, and now she was the one who had to face the thunder for him. 

So when Judy called, he saw it as a perfect opportunity to see her with his own eyes and ensure that she was okay. It would definitely calm his nerves down. He knew that she was safe—much more than when she went on a solo expedition in the Hummington Town and bumped into Oliver.

After he hung up the phone within a few seconds, Fiona walked into his cabin and stood in front of him. James was looking at her with interest, wanting to know the reason for her arrival. She greeted James with an uneasy smile and took a slow, deep breath.

“Adam asked me to hand this file over to you.” She told him in a soft voice. None of them would have been able to hear her if it hadn’t been pin-drop silence in the room.

“Thanks,” Justin replied with a poker face, attempting to disguise his smile, but his eyes twinkled. Their situation was far more awkward than anyone could have ever imagined, and it only became worse as time went on. It is a miracle that people were not questioning or suspecting them.

Fiona was ready to turn and walk out of the room when she heard her name called by a voice. Much to her dismay, she recognized the owner.

“Fiona. What a surprise?” He made his presence known.

To say she was taken aback would have been an understatement. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, praying that she was hallucinating. After a few seconds, she turned around to face him.

“Noah! Um, hey.” Fiona looked uncomfortable. She wanted to vanish from this place in an instant.

“I was not aware that you worked here. It is indeed a small world.” Fiona responded to him with only a hesitant smile, praying to get out of this room as fast as she could. She certainly needs to borrow the invisibility cloak from her non-existent boyfriend.

“Do you guys know each other?” Justin asked them curiously.

“Yes, we do. Both of us go way back,” Noah answered, giving her a sideways knowing glance while looking at to be his potential boss. However, Justin’s eyes were fixated on Fiona, like he was scrutinizing her every move. Fiona, on the other hand, was looking down. The floor seemed to be much more appealing to her than the people she was surrounded by in the room.

“We were in the same university. Anyway, I should take your leave.” Fiona said, and she hurried out the door, only to be stopped by Noah once again.

“See you around, Fiona,” Noah told her with a glint in his eyes. He was unaware that Fiona was his potential boss’s wife. Whereas Justin was concerned, he didn’t like the look on Noah’s face. There seems to be something off about him. Furthermore, his connection with Fiona appears to be much more than just that of a batch mate.

Fiona exited the room with her face held high, without a second glance or a word. He doesn’t deserve her time or energy; therefore, she won’t waste it on him. She is past that zone where part of her life revolved around him.

As if her life wasn’t already challenging enough, another twist had to be thrown into the mix. She wanted to barge into the room right at that moment and tell Justin not to hire Noah, but what right did she have? 

If Noah did get the job under any circumstances, she knew that she had to leave Carter Enterprises rather sooner than she thought or liked because Noah knew her too well. It is not their history that is going to wreck her work-life, but the fact that it won’t even take him a day to notice that her married life is all for a good show, which both Justin and she were presenting it badly. God only knows why no questions are being raised.

Three days had gone by then, and she still didn’t know whether Noah was hired. It was selfish on her part to wish for anything like that, but she was not perfect. So the hell with her not being cool about working with her ex.

When she entered the ground floor of her office, she felt someone grab her hand and drag her to the lobby corner.

Fiona had not anticipated it being Noah of all the people. “What the hell, Noah? What are you doing?” 

She tried to wiggle her hand free from his grasp, but it was futile as his grip on her was too tight for her liking.

“Nicely played, Fiona. What shit did you feed your husband? I was the perfect candidate for the job, and yet he did not pick me. If it was our history, then maybe he is not man enough to hire me or that he doesn’t trust you. That’s it, right? He thinks that if we work together, then your feelings will come back.” Noah’s hold was getting tighter, but she was relieved when she heard that he didn’t get the job.

“Perhaps someone is better than you, after all. And whereas, my feelings for you? News flash, Noah! They are long gone now, so get rid of that misconception out of your mind.”

Noah’s grip was tightening by the minute, and it was becoming unbearable.

“Noah, leave my hand. You are hurting me,” she hissed at him. 

“Really? I don’t think so. I won’t leave unless you tell me what nonsense you told Justin. He appeared to be impressed during the start of the interview, but after you walked out of the cabin, there was something which shifted in him.”

Her words only made Noah angrier than before, and his grip on her tightened. “He is the boss, Noah. He is much more experienced than you. He might have got a whiff about your so-called perfect attitude.” 

Pain shot through her hand. “Noah, you are hurting me. Let go of my hand.”

“Hurting! Am I now?” He asked her with a smirk. He tried to twist her left hand even more. 

“Is it still hurting?” With a sardonic grin, he asked her.

Fiona’s eyes welled up with tears, but she refused to shed them in front of him. “Damit, Noah! When the hell did you become like this? Physically abusing a girl. This isn’t you. Let go of me.” This is not the Noah she knew. Apart from their painful history, he has always been gentle with her, or any girl for that matter. Something flickered in Noah’s eyes, and realization stuck with him.

“What’s going on?” 

They both turned to look at James. His hands were clenched, ready to strike Noah.

Fiona was immediately released from Noah’s grip, who took a step back.

“Fiona, are you okay?” James asked her in concern, but she only nodded in response. She was breathing quite heavily. If it weren’t for James stepping in front of her and catching her shoulders, then she would have definitely lost her balance and fallen on the floor.

After ensuring Fiona’s safety, James turned around to have a word with Noah. He asked him with a hint of anger in his voice. “What are you doing here, Noah?” 

“I wanted to know why I wasn’t chosen for the job,” Noah asked with confidence.

“And you were going to get your answer by physically manhandling one of our employees? You must know that she is also the CEO’s wife, so imagine what Justin will do when he finds that one of the former candidates tried to assault her.” James tried to scare Noah off. It appeared to work, as Noah looked terrified.

“All I wanted to know was why.” He asked, trying to look tough.

James was infuriated at Noah and was holding himself from punching him in the jaw. “We don’t owe you an answer. But one thing about which I am certain is that I am glad we didn’t hire you because after the scene I just witnessed, you have got no place in our company. Now, you should leave the premises, or I will have to call the security on you.”

Once Noah exited the building, James turned his attention back to Fiona, who was rubbing her left hand. 

“Fiona, what the hell was that? Shit, your hand is bruised.” James took one step forward and took her hand in his, and inspected it.

“I am fine, James.” She tried to assure him, but she couldn’t say anything else as he interrupted her.

“Has he ever hurt you before?” He asked her, worried. The irony is that instead of her husband, his best friend was concerned about her. She felt like laughing at this situation but refrained from doing so. 

Fiona answered him truthfully. “Physically, no,”

Before James could ask her anything, a sudden ring went on his phone, reminding him of a meeting.

“I have to leave now for a meeting, but this conversation is not over. Meet me on the rooftop after the break. Fiona, I am asking you as your friend here and not Justin’s.” He politely told her, and then he left Fiona in a state of angst in the lobby’s corner.