Love’n’Lust

Morning.

Belle’s face was buried in the pillows when she heard the sound of a vibrating phone. She lifted her head to see a missed call notification on the screen of the phone.

She saw Alex’s name on the screen and immediately knew the phone that just rang wasn’t hers, it was Ben’s. The door to the bathroom opened so she closed her eyes because she didn’t want him to think she was going through his phone.

Ben walked round the bed to near where she lay. He took his phone from the bed and left for the changing room with it. After he left, Belle opened her eyes and lay there in bed debating if to ask him about Alex because she remembered seeing a call from her once before when he was with her.

When Ben returned from the changing room, he was dressed in a grey suit, his tie loose and unknotted. Belle had closed her eyes again to pretend to be asleep till she saw how he struggled with his tie.

She went and joined him where he stood in front of the mirror. Placing her hand over his, she stopped him from trying to arrange the tie himself.

“Why do you bother wearing a tie if you can’t knot it.” She told him before starting to knot it while it was around his neck.

“I usually have someone to do this for me,” he confessed.

“You were going to leave without letting me know?” She inquired.

“Surely not.” He looked at himself in the mirror after she was done knotting the tie.”Even if I did, that would be because you looked too tired to be woken up.” He pulled her to himself unexpectedly.

“Don’t do that, you are going to make my headache intense.” She scolded him.

“So I can’t come close to you?”

“I didn’t say that,” she rolled her eyes.”After all, it is your fault I was drunk yesterday.”

***

Ben’s office.

“Sir…” His assistant walked in holding her pad while reading from it.

“Who am I meeting next?” He asked her.

“Uhm…” He saw her scratch her head while stuttering.”I don’t know if you want to meet with her, but she fixed an appointment like everyone else.”

“Then let her in. What company is she from?”

“None we’ve worked with. I think it’s actually a personal meeting she is here for rather than business.”

“She fixed an appointment?”

“Yes sir.”

“Let her in then. I have to meet with everyone scheduled before 12 p. m., I have somewhere else to be at.”

“Okay, sir.”

“You have your time with Mr Larkson now,” the assistant informed the last person waiting outside.

Ben saw the door knob turn right before someone walked in. He immediately got irritated by who he saw walk in.

“What are you doing here, Alex?”

“I fixed an appointment so I could see you here since you won’t take or return any of my calls.” She took her time walking to his desk and taking one of the seats opposite to him. She kept her purse on the other.

“You don’t even want to know how I have been since I left the hospital. Are you still angry with me?” She asked calmly and innocently but Ben wasn’t buying any of it.

“You are still alive because Jenna’s wedding is coming up and I know she wants you to be part of her bridesmaids.”

“Wow, I made you that angry?” She blinked some tears away.

“I don’t have the time for this. There are other persons I have to meet with today, I can’t be doing this with you.”

“What am I, unimportant?” She sniffed but didn’t get a sympathetic reaction from him.”I hate you.” She stood from where she sat.

“Leave my office,” he told her and saw her eyes widen in surprise at his words.

“I actually thought I could comfort you a little coming here. I know how things are at home, Jenna told me about aunt… but you seem fine,” She picked up her purse.”I’ll leave now.” Alex turned and started to leave while Ben sat and watched her walk out of his office.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Alex stood in the elevator, her eyes red and teary, she sniffed in an attempt not to cry. She remembered seeing him dancing with Belle at the club and it got her angry. The elevator stopped at the ground floor but instead of walking out, she closed the door to go back upstairs.

Ben’s assistant was arranging some files on her table when she heard footsteps from a woman’s heels. She looked up and saw Alex walk by. Not giving any attention to it, she continued with her files but suddenly stopped.

“Shit,” she slapped her forehead.

“Ma’am?” She ran after Alex who walked in fast strides.”Ma’am!” She called again when she finally caught up with Alex in time before she could walk into Ben’s office.”You can’t go in there, Mr. Larkson would not be happy with me if I let you walk into his office again.”

Alex looked at the assistant from head to toe and hissed afterward before opening the door to Ben’s office.

“O my god, I’m fucked.” The assistant muttered to herself before walking in after Alex.

“I’m so sorry sir, I did try to stop her. She just wouldn’t listen to any of the things I said.” Ben heard his assistant apologize with fear in her voice.

“Excuse us,” Ben dismissed the assistant who was happy to leave. She was mostly glad that Alex was the last person Ben had an appointment with for the day, else she would have walked in while Ben was meeting with someone else.

After the assistant left and closed the door behind her, Alex turned her attention from the door to Ben who said nothing to her. She saw him continue with his computer like she didn’t just walk in.

“What do I have to do, Ben?” She asked him in a dull voice. When he didn’t answer, she walked to his table slowly. Leaving her purse on his desk this time, she went behind the table where he sat and put her hands on his shoulders.

“What do I have to do for you to pick me over her?” She bent and asked directly in his left ear.”I swear I’d do anything, anything at all. Do you like thin now? Okay then, I could become thin if you want…”

Belle got out of a taxi. She walked into the tall building with a woven basket in hand. She had gotten bored back home so she made some sandwiches for Ben and decided to come surprise him.

When she got upstairs, she went to the only desk present there. It was Ben’s assistant’s desk but she wasn’t there. Belle had wanted to ask if Ben was busy or if she could see him but after she didn’t see her, she decided to go see him.

Standing outside his office, she laughed, remembering the first time she was there to interview him. Hoping he wasn’t busy with anyone in the office, she opened the door and walked in to see Alex behind the seated Ben.

Alex’s arms were around Ben, and her lips were near his neck. Not knowing how to react, Belle stood frozen for less than a minute.

Ben stood and went to her. His hands on her shoulder got her out of her trance. She blinked and looked in Alex’s direction.

‘The Ben I know isn’t pleased by girls like you,’ she remembered Alex’s words when their eyes met and Alex smiled deviously at her.

“Are you okay?” She heard Ben ask.”You are here, did something happen?”

Belle shook her head.

“I made some sandwiches, and I thought I should bring some to you but I see you’re busy so I will just…” Belle trailed and turned to leave which made Alex smirk but Ben held her wrist and stopped her from taking another step. Alex’s eyes caught rage when he stopped Belle from walking out of the office.

“I’m not busy,” he told Belle.”She was just about to leave.” He looked at Alex who still stood behind his swing chair.

“I’m not going to leave, I was here before she came.” Alex declared.

“Alex…”

“You can’t keep doing this to me, Ben, you seriously can’t. I’m not going to leave so she can stay. We are not even done talking.”

“Don’t leave me no choice than to call someone to take you out. I’m very sure that would be embarrassing for you, and you don’t want that.”

“…” Alex looked at him for some seconds then diverted her eyes to Belle. She angrily picked up her purse. Belle heard her hiss when she walked past her before leaving.

Ben closed the door after her and took Belle to one of his office chairs. He saw that her face had turned sour so he asked.

“Are you angry about her presence here just now?”

“No,” Belle replied honestly, taking out the packaged sandwiches from the basket. She wasn’t angry but she surely didn’t like to see Alex in his office.

“You should let me know next time you plan to come to my office.”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“What if I wasn’t here? I was just about to leave,” He told her and she understood his point.

She took her second bite off her sandwich and looked at him as he ate her sandwich like it was the best meal in the world. She smiled but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

“I’m glad you are hungry,” Belle said and he stopped chewing, realizing how he had been so indulged in her sandwiches.

“I haven’t had these in a long while.” He kept the half-eaten sandwich and picked up one of the bottles of water she also came with.

Belle waited for him to be done with drinking before asking what she had in mind.

“How close are you and Alex?” She asked just when he was about to bite off of another sandwich. He paused with the sandwich still in his hands.

“Not very.” He replied and continued with eating.

“Really? She seems like, you know, very close.” Ben heard her and couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He noticed the jealousy in her voice.

“Well, she’s a very close friend of Jenna’s. We all went to the same high school and basically grew up together. She used to come around a lot; family friend.”

“Oh.” Belle nodded. She then bit her lips, contemplating if to ask the other question she had in mind but she made up her mind to.

“Did you two ever… did you two ever date each other?” She fumbled with her fingers as she asked but heard Ben laugh.

“No.” He responded after laughing, picking up another cut sandwich. He wondered if she didn’t know she was the first person he was willing to be serious with.

“Surprising,” Belle inhaled.”You know, she acts like an angry ex.”

“She’s not. I have no exes.”