“What did you hear?”Stephanie had a hard time calming down since she returned from Acrosoft. She couldn’t shake off the feeling that Jade might have overheard her conversation with Jake. She really wished that was true, but she couldn’t get over the way Jade had looked at her when their eyes met back at the conference room.She would have cared less had she been able to sign that contract, because she’d have proven that she was more capable than Jade, but not only had she missed that opportunity of signing the contract, but she might have also given Jade some leverage over her.What if Jade told Cale about it? She wouldn’t know what to do if that happened. That would be the end of her.Right now she could only hope that Jade didn’t hear a thing about her sleeping with Jake.Jade looked with mockery etched in her eyes. It was fascinating seeing an unnerved Stephanie. This was the first time she was seeing Stephanie in such a nerve wrecking state and she wouldn’t lie that she wasn’t enjoying every bit of it.Jade’s continued staring blankly at Stephanie and her silence was making anxious. Stephanie was trying her best to compose her but she was failing miserably at it. Her fingers trembled lightly as trepidation engulfed every bit of her.”I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Jade feigned ignorance as she stared her down. Although it would cause her immense pleasure seeing Stephanie suffer, she didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to be an hypocrite by judging Stephanie for what she had done.She didn’t think it would be right to torture Stephanie with this secret, because that would be hypocrisy. Frankly, she was guilty of same crime, since she had slept with the same man for money too. Thinking about it made her heart clench tightly.But come to think of it, it seemed Stephanie was always entangling herself with every man she had encountered. Could this be mere concidence or was it a deliberate act? She looked at Stephanie with a calculative look. She sighed inwardly as she dismissed that thought.There was no way it could have been delibrate, after all no one knew about what had happened between herself and Jake.Stephanie searched Jade eyes for a clue that she might just be messing with her or maybe she really didn’t hear a thing, the latter was what she sincerely wished for.She deeply stared at Jade but she couldn’t get a clue out of her. Her face was expressionless. She couldn’t arrive at a definite conclusion if Jade had really heard something or not. From the look on Jade’s face, it would seem she had no clue what she was referring to.Stephanie let herself relax a bit.”Never mind” She sighed before turning to leave. Jade lips slightly curved upwards as she watched Stephanie turn to leave. She shook her head in pity. She understood the feeling of being haunted by a dirty secret, since she had one herself.Stephanie suddenly stopped on her tracks and slowly turned to Jade, who in turn raised a brow in confusion. She didn’t like the way Stephanie was suddenly staring at her.”Jade I hope you aren’t trying to be smart with me?” Stephanie said in a threatening voice.Jade was stunned when she felt a tight grip around her wrist. Her eyes flashed red at the sudden surge of pain that shot through her wrist. She lowered her eyes to find Stephanie tightly squeezing on her wrist.”I’d let go if I were you” Jade said coldly as her eyes turned murderous. Stephanie shuddered under Jade’s fiery gaze. She slowly let go of Jade’s wrist and suddenly turned to leave without apologizing. Something was wrong with the way Jade looked at her. She could swear that she had never seen it before.”Oh..I think I remember something now” Jade said dramatically stopping Stephanie on her tracks. Her body stiffened at the words that followed.”I think there was a part when you were pleading for the contract to be signed and…” Jade trailed off to mess with her. She had no intentions talking about this, but if Stephanie wanted to do this, then, she’d do her the honors. The last thing she hated was being intimidated or looked down on.”And did I almost forgot the part where you had slept him for that too” Jade walked closer to her with a sardonic smile on her face.Stephanie felt a chill run down her spine when Jade’s expression turned deadpan suddenly, with her eyes, cold. It was as if that cynical smile on her face a while ago was a figment of her own imagination.She took a step back with every step Jade took close to her. She could see anger written in Jade’s eyes.Jade continued walking close to Stephanie till her back touched the wall. With the heels she had on, she had an advantage in height over Stephanie, which made tower over her.Stephanie was shocked when she saw light flash through her eyes and a deafening sound echoed through the emergency exit. She felt her cheek burn by intense heat as it slowly swelled. She slowly raised her hand to her cheek as her eyes glistened with tears. It was at this point that she realized that Jade had just slapped her.She opened her mouth to say something but her throat was burned and dry and it hurt more than her cheek. It felt like she had been hit on her throat and not on her face. She involuntarily shut her mute mouth when Jade’s gaze intensified.”Let this be the last time you’ll ever put that hand of yours on me or anything that belongs to me. I’m warning you Steph. You really shouldn’t push me, cause I don’t know what I’ll do next. The next time it might just be your head against the heels or the wall. That I might act like a pushover does not mean I don’t know how to fight back. Make sure this never happens again” Jade warned in a calm but grave tone that made Stephanie shudder in trepidation.”I wonder if you were taught any manners at all?” Jade glared at her in a condescending manner. she sighed in annoyance before turning to leave while wriggling her wrist.Jade’s hand on the door knob paused as she turned to Stephanie who was fuming in anger even though she still hasn’t gotten over Jade’s actions yet.”And if you must talk about your cheating act next time, make sure there’s no one by the door” Jade advised her turning the knob to open the door. It wasn’t her fault she had overheard them. They weren’t being discrete about it, and she wouldn’t have said anything about it, had Stephanie not provoked her.Jade would never have believed that her last words to Stephanie would happening right this moment. She was utterly surprised to find Cale standing by the door with a death look in his eyes. His hands were tightly clenched into a fist, as he stared coldly at the person behind Jade.Jade looked from Cale to Stephanie who looked catatonic to find Cale standing there.”I’m not at fault” Jade shrugged nonchalantly before walking past the dumbfounded man. “Excuse me” she said.It seems today was ‘world door listening day.’Seeing Cale standing in front of her, staring at her with those judgmental and hateful eyes was the last thing Stephanie expected.She didn’t plan for things to turn out this way. From Jade getting to know about her sleeping with Jake, to Cale finding out about it, were unexpected. This was not what she had planned at all.The plan was to get the contract and prove that she was better than Jade. That has always been her goal. But why did things turn out to be this way?If Stephanie had a wish at the moment that would be for time to go back a couple of hours, so she could correct all that has happened. She’d never give Jade the opportunity to step on her or ruin her. Never!It was supposed to be her turn to get back at Jade, but it seems like history was repeating itself.Stephanie stood fixated to the ground, like she had been glued to it. She looked at Cale with fear and body, she quivered when she saw the angry and digusted look he was shooting at her.She could see his bulged veins as he tightly clenched his fist. His eyes were red and murderous. A certain dark aura was emitting from him as he looked at her like he could wring her neck without flinching.Stephanie opened her mouth to speak but she couldn’t form the words as her lips kept quavering uncontrollably. She tried taking a step but her feets felt numb under Cale’s deadly gaze.She impatiently waited for him to say something…anything at all, but he just continued staring at her murderously. She felt her stomach churn when he turned and walked away without a word.Stephanie felt a tear roll down her cheek. This was unexpected. She didn’t know why Cale’s silence was tearing her heart apart. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably as she tried to hold in her tears.’Damn you Jade!’ She cussed with all her heart. She blinked back the tears prickling her eyes and composed herself. She didn’t want her colleagues to see her crying by the door, that would only add embarrassment to the already piled up list. She had only one question on her mind. How had Cale showed up there of all places?It must be that wench!”I hate you Jade!” She said through gritted teeth, as she rubbed her cheek which was still burning.Cale was greatly aggrieved by what he had discovered. When he spotted Jade walking out of the elevator on the fifteenth floor, he was certain she was heading for the Vice president’s office. He quickly followed her so he could talk to her and try his best to convince her about the contract before things got out of hand. He was surprised when Stephanie suddenly pulled her into the emergency exit.He ran over to stop Stephanie from escalating things and ruining his plans, but what he didn’t expect was hearing that conversation between Jade and Stephanie, which came as a shock to him. Cale was furious over the things he had heard.But was he angry because Stephanie had cheated or because she had tried to mess up his plans? He was yet to figure that out. One thing he was certain of after listening to their conversation was, Stephanie wouldn’t be able to secure the contract. It was common knowledge that the infamous playboy, now CEO of Acrosoft doesn’t mix business with pleasure. What a stupid move Stephanie made. She might have had a chance had she not messed things up for herself.’But what about Jade?’ he was banking on her capabilities to get the contract. If Jade was able to secure the contract, he has to look for a way to convince her into passing it on to him. He only needs some time to coax her in to doing so, thankfully they had been given a week to sign the contract. With that in mind Cale hurried up to Jade, as this was his priority. He’d know what to do about Stephanie later.”Jade!” He called as he continued in long strides towards her.Jade continued walking without paying attention to the man who was calling her name across the hall way.She wondered why this annoying couple took the company premise as their play ground where they could always call and pull people at their will…how annoying.Jade stood in front of the elevator waiting for it’s arrival. She creased her brows when Cale held her already wounded wrist, all thanks to his girlfriend.’What is wrong with this people?’ She turned and glared wickedly at him, and he instinctively let go of her hand when he met her cold gaze.Cale wasn’t surprised by Jade’s hostility towards him, especially when he knew he was to blame. He had recently noticed her of attitude after the incident at the hospital. She has changed into a different person. When be heard someone being slapped earlier, he had thought that it must have been Stephanie who had slapped Jade, but suprisingly that was not the case. That had confirmed how much this girl has changed.”I’m sorry” He instantly apologized. Jade turned and looked ahead nonchalantly.”Jade how did you meeting at Acrosoft went?” Cale asked with a small smile.”Shouldn’t you be with your girlfriend now?” Jade replied without meeting his gaze before walking into the elevator which just arrived. She didn’t have the energy for another question and answer session. All she wanted was to quickly grab the signed documents which she had forgotten on her desk due to her being overly excited, and head back to the Vice president’s office.Cale had a distorted look on his face when Jade reminded of Stephanie. He knew she was mocking him and he deserved that.Cale followed her into the elevator. He turned to face her when she refused acknowledging his presence.”I’d appreciate it if you can move away from my sight” Jade said indifferently, but Cale didn’t budge as he remained still.”Jade what has come over you? You’re acting strange and it doesn’t suit you. I’ve apologized and I’m trying to change what else should I do?””Get lost” Jade blurted out taking Cale by surprise.”Jade you were never like this. You used to be a nice, forgiving and ….””And stupid” Jade completed his statement, this time she was looking at him.”If you’re looking for who to vent on, then you should be with your fiancee right now, or do I look like her?” Jade was getting pissed by their continous harassment. She was the one who had suffered at their hand, whose heart was broken, who was betrayed…she was the fucking victim. Yet they still wouldn’t let her be.”You asked what I wanted you to do so I can forgive you right?” Jade asked, while cale nodded.”Yes””You and your stupid girlfriend should stop bugging me. Stop calling my name, stop touching me, stop talking to me, Stop showing up at every place I go, stop breathing, and, just, stop, living” Jade spat out in a fit of anger. Cale couldn’t believe this was Jade. He had never heard her cuss or heard swear but now…Jade also didn’t know where she got the confidence from. She still didn’t believe that she had raised her hand to someone’s face, and now she was wishing death upon Cale. Since was all fired up, she’d better use this opportunity and vent out.”Jade” Cale called out softly after a short moment of silence, Jade looked at him and sighed.”Do you know what I regret the most?” Jade asked staring at Cale while he shook his mind.”It was the time I spent with you. How I stupidly believed Stephanie was your cousin even when I had reasons not to. I regret being sincere and open with you, helping you achieve all your goals and staying by you all the way. I hate the fact that you didn’t deserve me, but I was too blind to see it. I hate that I have to come to work and find you and your lover and I’m expected to act like nothing happened. I hate it when the both of you show up in my face and still compete for the same air with me like you’re doing now. I hate it all.” Jade paused and took a deep breath.”I hope you understand how I feel now, so please stop showing that face of yours in front of me” Jade said before turning her to look ahead, leaving Cale in stupefaction.Jade was about stepping out of the elevator when she saw her supervisor standing there, obviously waiting for the elevator.”If it isn’t the new staff of Xenox” Mr Alan, Jade’s supervisor cheered with a broad smile, making Jade smile shyly as she walked off the elevator.Cale stared at them in a daze as couldn’t make sense of Alan’s words. He also walked out of the elevator when he noticed the door was about closing.Alan smiled at Cale too. “How do you feel to have lost to an intern” he teased. Cale looked at them like still didn’t understand what Alan was saying.What does he mean by he had lost to an intern?..Ouch, my head is hot, what a stressful day and with this episode, my head is ache….
WATCHOUT FOR EPISODE 34
