Arranged marriage : Married to an unknown man

Xavier Knight

When XDS AUTOTECH was announced as the highest-grossing company of the year two times in a row, I was bombarded with phone calls from close business partners for greetings. I had been attending the calls non-stop and also after being announced as the topmost company of the year, our business partners now wanted to expand their contract tenure with us. Also, many new clients were adding up with us. All this had been keeping me busy.

I was happy being busy, after all, that’s what any business person would want from their business. I was proud of my employees, they surely did hard work that’s why our company was at the top. I truly appreciate their work.

And I, without any doubt, appreciate my P. A’s work. The way she had been handling work and keeping a tab on my schedule was incredible. She not even once committed a single mistake and also I never heard her complaining about being given extra work. She handled all her work with precision.

No single Personal Assistants I had before ever did their work to this precision.

When I ended the video call from one of the business partners, Ariana entered my office.

“Sir, Miss Sarah Park has arrived.” She spoke.

I looked up at her. Oh, the interview, I almost forgot about that.

“Is everything set for the interview?” I asked.

“Yes sir, everything is set.”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

I frowned.

What’s the problem with her? Why couldn’t she say my name? I knew I was the one who asked her to address me as sir but slip of tongue could happen, right? She could say my name by mistake. I know It sounds weird coming from me but I was longing to hear my name from her mouth. But she didn’t speak my name even once.

“Can’t you-“(can’t you say my name) I wanted to say that but I bit my words. I sighed out loud and ran my fingers through my hair frustratingly. I think I have to wait for her to speak my name. And I’ll wait.

“Whatever-” I huffed.

“Have you informed Daniel and Sean,” I asked standing up from my chair.

“Yes, I called Scott and asked him to inform them.”

“Then let’s go.” Saying that I walked outside.

As soon as we entered the interview room, Sarah rushed to me.

“Oh, Xavier it’s been ages since we met.” She said, kissing both of my cheeks. I was caught off guard by her action.

“Xavier, You don’t have time for me these days, do you?” She pouted and touched my arm with her hand.

“Sarah, you know I have an empire to run, I barely get time for myself, but don’t worry I’ll make it up to you,” I said taking a step back. She was standing way too close. This is the workplace, I didn’t want to give anyone a wrong idea about us. Sarah and I were friends since college. We had a drunken one-night stand in college and that’s all. She tried to advance her feelings towards me but I was never interested in relationships. I never slept with her ever again but we remained friends. In fact, I never slept with anyone after her.

“You better make it up to me.” She said playfully.

“Sure, now let’s start with the interview.”

“I came here to take three of your interview but only two are here,” Sarah said. I frowned and looked around to see Sean didn’t come yet.

“Where’s Sean?” I asked Scott because Ariana had asked him to inform Sean.

“Sir, I have already informed Mr. Peterson, he said he’ll be here in a minute,” Scott replied.

“He’s taking a lot of time. I even called him but he’s not picking up his call.” Daniel said annoyingly.

He never gets late for any work. What’s the matter this time. I turned to Ariana and asked her to bring Sean down as fast as possible. I sent her because I knew he’ll not say no to her. And also, whatever work he must be doing he’ll stop it that instant.

“Come on Xavier, let’s get you ready for the interview until Sean arrives,” Sarah said and walked to the stage.

Daniel approached me with a scowl on his face.

“What happened to you?” I asked.

“Why did you agree to give the interview to that bitch? You very well know I don’t like her and she even kissed my cheeks, now I have to wash my face with sanitizer.” Daniel said, scrunching his nose.

Daniel hated Sarah to the highest level. Even back in college he never liked her hanging with me. He even didn’t talk to me for a month when he got to know that I slept with her.

“Daniel, it’s just an interview. Besides, she has been trying to get our interview since last year so when she called this time, I couldn’t say no.” I explained. He still had a frown on his face. I rolled my eyes.

“Come on. Let’s get over with it.” I said and walked to the stage.

I sat on the single-seat sofa. Sarah’s assistant approached me to fix the collar mic.

She bent, showing me her full cleavage. I always feel disgusted whenever a woman tries to seduce me by doing these kinds of tactics. I turned my head but she bit her lips seductively and again came before my face and reached for my shirt collar to fix the mic. Goodness, I don’t want her to touch me.

So, before she could even touch me, I stopped her.

“Stop!”

She looked at me questioningly. I asked her to step back. She confusedly stood straight and stepped away which made me sigh in relief; her perfume was so strong that it started giving me a headache.

The door of the interview room burst open, Sean and Ariana entered. An idea instantly popped into my mind. I called Ariana on the stage.

“Excuse me, pass the collar mic to my assistant,” I ordered Sarah’s assistant.

She passed the mic to her, eyeing her with disgust. How dare she?

Ariana looked at me with a cute frown on her face. I smiled inwardly.

“Could you fix this mic on my collar?” I asked her softly. She looked at me with wide eyes then looked around. Everyone’s attention was on us but I didn’t care about others.

“Hey,” I whispered, bringing her attention back to me. She nodded her head and came a little closer. I was sitting so she had to bent a little; a whiff of sweet flowers filled my nostrils. The smell was not strong, it was light and so soothing. The smell I would love to inhale forever.

Although she was wearing a shirt that reached up to her collarbones when she bent down her shirt hanged down a bit, showing the milky skin of her upper chest area, which caused her face to turn red. I lowered my eyes, then looked up, only to find her standing straight.

“Uh, could you please stand up?” She asked nervously. I didn’t need to be told twice; I willingly acknowledged her request and stood up. She hesitantly grabbed my shirt collar to fix the mic. I couldn’t help but smile proudly at her. This small gesture of hers had filled tons of respect for her inside me. Pure respect.

Once my collar mic was fixed, it was the turn to fix the mic transmitter on my waist belt. She moved her hand here and there hesitantly in front of me thinking how to fix the transmitter. Then she frowned, obviously not knowing how to fix it. She scratched the back of her neck and kept on looking at her in amusement, anticipating her next move. Then she blew a tiring breath and spoke,

“Can you fix this transmitter yourself on the waist belt at your back?” She asked softly looking at me with hopeful eyes. I was trying hard not to smile but when she looked up at me with her black, glistening eyes, I couldn’t help but smile. She is so damn cute.

“Sure.” I took the transmitter from her hand and fixed it on my belt at my back.

“Thank you,” I said and was about to sit when she stopped me.

“Wait!” I raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

“Umm…your tie is a bit crooked.” She said, pointing at my tie. I didn’t look at my tie, instead, I looked into her eyes.

“Then fix it.” This came out of my mouth in a whisper, which in return, dusted all over her face.

She again hesitantly reached for my tie and started fixing it. She avoided my gaze but mine was fixed on her face. Her fingers unknowingly brushed on my neck, making sparks flow in my body.

“Done,” She said and stepped back. I cleared my throat and thanked her. She then walked down the stage and stood beside Scott.

I sat back on the sofa and then the interview started. I already informed Sarah not to ask personal questions because it was a professional interview so it was better to be kept that way.

It took an hour for the interview to end as many cuts were taken in between. Whenever there was a cut I would steal a glance at Ariana. All the time she was sitting stiffly on the chair in the corner with her eyes fixed on the stage. Her discomfort in the crowd was bugging me. I wanted to know why she acted that way in public.

After the interview ended, Sean walked out of the room immediately since he had to attend an important meeting. Daniel walked down the stage. I too was about to step down the stage when Sarah approached me, stopping me from going.

Ariana

I observed three of them giving the interview with such confidence. I wish I had at least a bit of confidence like they behold. I was enthralled looking at the way they were answering every single question without hesitation. I can never do that.

It took an hour for the interview to end. Till then, I sat on the chair beside Scott, not paying attention to anyone around. I knew they were stealing glances at me the moment I stepped down from the stage after fixing Xavier’s mic. I had no idea why Xavier asked me to fix his mic when others were there to fix it for him.

After the interview, Sean left the room to attend an important meeting, Lauren was not there so Scott accompanied him. GBN team started packing the equipment.

I stood up from my chair when I saw Xavier stepping down the stage but before he could step down, he was stopped by Sarah.

I looked at them when they were talking. Sarah was the kind of lady who matched Xavier’s standards. I, on the other hand, would never be able to match his style. Sarah was a confident, strong-willed, and fashionable woman who can grab men’s attention easily. She was suitable to fit into a high-class society.

Whereas I was weak, diffident, shy, meek, and lacked fashion sense. I didn’t belong in high society. Xavier would never consider me as his companion because I didn’t match his standards. I would only bring embarrassment to him.

For me, his concern towards me was more than enough. After my father, no one ever showed even a bit of concern towards me. And after a long time, I was getting it from him. I was happy with that, I didn’t know for how long it’d last but I was pleased. That’s why I was not dreaming of anything else at the moment. I wanted to cherish everything I was getting. May it be only his concern that I was receiving.

I knew I didn’t belong in his world but seeing him talking to Sarah; smiling and laughing caused a weird sensation in my stomach. The way she touched his arm made me feel strange. I was not liking her moves even a bit.

“Jealous, are we?” Someone whispered in my ear, making me jump. I looked in the direction of the voice to see Daniel standing there, grinning ear to ear.

“Daniel do you want me to have a heart attack? Why you always startle me? And who is jealous?” I asked him, putting my hand on my heart to calm it down.

“Sorry about that. And the jealous one is you.” He said, pointing at me.

“Jealous? Me? Of whom?” I asked him confusedly.

“Of them,” He said, bobbing his head towards the stage. I looked in that direction to see him pointing at Xavier and Sarah. I looked back at him.

“Why would I be jealous of them?” A laugh escaped my lips.

“Then why are you gripping the pen in your hand like you want to break it?”

I suddenly looked at my hands, I indeed had been holding a pen tightly. I immediately eased my grip on my pen.

“Oh, I didn’t notice that I was doing that,” I said, not looking at him.

“You can’t fool me, Princess.”

“I am not fooling anyone,” I said softly as I averted my eyes.

“Then look into my eyes and say it.” He said firmly. I instantly looked into his eyes but couldn’t bring myself to speak anything. He looked at me as if trying to read my eyes.

He shook his head and smiled.

“Princess, don’t feel like that. Sarah will not take him away from you. Xavier is…all yours.” He smiled.

I then looked at the stage, they were still talking, laughing, and smiling. He will never be mine.

I backed my attention to Daniel.

“He is…not mine,” I whispered.

Daniel’s smile dropped in an instant. He then gazed at the stage, lingered his eyes there for a few seconds, and then again looked at me.

“He’ll be…one day.” He whispered back. His eyes expressed hope.

But how do I tell him that I already lost all my hopes?

I sighed silently.

“Daniel, You have a meeting to attend in ten minutes, you should leave,” I said changing the subject. I didn’t want to continue with this talk.

“Yeah, I must leave.” He said as he looked at his wristwatch.

“Everything will be fine.” He said, tapping my shoulder before walking out of the room. I just smiled at him.

I looked around to see if anyone saw us talking but everyone was busy, no one must have noticed us talking. Bianca and Diana were talking to Sarah’s assistant, GBN team was busy packing the equipment. Xavier and Sarah were still talking.

I picked my iPad from the chair and started reading Xavier’s schedule. If he had any meeting then I would have to inform.

My focus was fully on my iPad, I didn’t know what was happening around me. A sudden gasp escaped my throat when someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me away making me bump into a hard body. I immediately recognized the smell. It was Xavier.

Then I heard the loud crashing sound.

“What the hell you think you are doing? Can’t you watch someone is standing here? You could have hurt her.” Xavier shouted on top of his lungs as he held me tightly.

I looked up into his eyes and found eyes filled with rage as he kept looking at my back which caused me to glanced at my back. I saw a heavy light stand lying on the floor near me. I could have hurt by that but Xavier saved me. But how did he manage to approach me so fast? Just a few seconds ago he was standing on the stage with Sarah.

“You should pack your things carefully. She could have been hurt if I wasn’t fast enough to pull her back.” He snapped again at the man who was picking up the equipment, making me flinch.

“Sorry, sir.” That man apologized.

“What sorry?-” Xavier was about to snap at him but I stopped him.

“I am okay. I am not hurt.” I whispered. He looked at me and his eyes softened.

“You sure you okay?” Xavier asked with concern as he released me from his embrace. I stepped back.

“I am perfectly fine, nothing happened,” I said softly, looking into his eyes.

“Xavier, that was just an accident. You don’t have to shout at him like that. Besides, the one who is at fault is her. She shouldn’t be standing there when she knew that wrap-up is going on.” Sarah said, coming towards us. She’s right, I was at fault too.

“And she seems perfectly fine to me,” Sarah said, looking at me.

“Yes, she is fine because I was fast enough to save her from any injury,” Xavier replied.

“Oh, come on, Xavier, you are acting as you saved her from death. And if she was even hurt, she would have had only a scratch.” Sarah said annoyingly. Xavier’s demeanor changed and he got angrier.

“Listen, Sarah, she is my employee, okay? And I care about every employee. My company is running successfully just because of my employees. I don’t want to see any of my employees getting hurt even a little bit.” Xavier said sternly.

He is right, I’ll always be only his employee, nothing more…

But I was glad that he cares for me. That’s all I needed.

“And one more thing Sarah. Never again talk about my employees like that or I’ll forget that you are my friend.” Xavier said in a dangerously firm tone, making Sarah and others gasp out loud. I was surprised as well. A few minutes ago he was smiling and laughing with her and now he was angry at her.

“You are threatening our friendship just because of your clumsy P. A? Where does she even stands, look at the way she is dressed, she looks like some cheap…”

“Enough Sarah! Enough! Don’t you even dare to complete your sentence!” Xavier’s voice boomed in the room. He saved me from humiliation.

“You can’t talk to me like this. You don’t know what power my channel behold. Don’t forget my channel has gained you so much publicity before, and it surely can ruin your reputation in no time.” Sarah threatened.

“I don’t care. My company doesn’t need any channel to make it popular. And you better pack your things and leave. I don’t want to see you here anymore.” Xavier seethed in anger.

“Let’s go,” Xavier said to me and walked outside. I didn’t look back and walked out with him.

“You’ll regret this Xavier.” I heard Sarah shout.

I felt bad. The interview was going on in a happy mood. Everyone was happy. But because of me, everything changed in just a few seconds. Just because of me a rift developed between these two. I felt bad for that.