Under My Boss’ Table

I was calming down a bit after my reasoning, when I heard a voice:

“Elvira, are you busy?”

I shuddered and turned around. Alexandra, our office manager, was looking at me.

“N-no… I’m not busy.”

“I’d like to talk to you.” The woman said thoughtfully. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time and I think the time has come to do it.”

“About?” I was surprised by her.

“About Edward.”

I was silent.

“By the way… this hairstyle suits you very well.” Alexandra smiled awkwardly and pointed at me with her hand. I nodded gratefully. “So… I’d like to warn you. I like you very much and you should not suffer for him, as has already happened once.”

“Did it happen once?” I repeated stupidly. “What are you saying?”

“You do not know?” In turn, my colleague was amazed. Following my negative response, she continued:Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“Edward already had an affair with a colleague… And she suffered a lot.”

I was shocked.

“Uh… an adventure? Are you confusing something, Alexandra? From what I can tell, he was always loyal to his wife…”

“He really was for a while.”

“And what do I have to do with it? I have nothing with him.”

Alexandra laughed briefly.

“You have no idea how notorious you both are. The whole office is judging you. Do not look at me like that!!! You have nothing to worry about. This has happened before. So listen…”

And Alexandra, looking around her, began to tell a story in a whisper that gave me goosebumps.

About five years ago, a woman of heavenly beauty named Lisa worked in the office. She was a couple of years older than Edward, but she looked great for her age. She had been with the company before when Edward arrived.

A spark flashed between them instantly. They constantly locked themselves in Edward’s office, apparently for a meeting, but from the sounds coming from there, it was clear to colleagues that they were fucking to the point of exhaustion.

Lisa began to look even better, fire and passion for life burned in her eyes. As for Edward, he was recklessly in love with her, even though he had recently married Sofia. His intense passion lasted only a month…

Their relationship came to an end when Lisa was hit by a car. An accident. The fool threw herself under the car. Since then, she has been disabled and has lost her memory. Naturally, she left work without recognizing Edward.

However, the driver of the car claimed that he saw Lisa being pushed under the wheels by someone of short stature and in shapeless black clothing. This person was never found, as if appearing out of nowhere and then disappearing.

Edward quickly recovered from the forced and sudden separation of her lover, but this also hit his family. He never loved Sofia like he did then. He showered her with expensive gifts, took her abroad, tried not to stay at work a minute longer than necessary. Everything about it reminded him of how much he had once wanted Lisa. He seemed to have completely forgotten about her existence.

“Sorry to interrupt.” I said. “And Sofia, did she know about their connection?”

Alexandra replied:

“The fact is that it is not clear. She behaved normally before the accident and afterwards seemed to flourish. Rumor has it… that she was the person who pushed Lisa. Eh… such a good woman she was…”

“I don’t understand.” I said thoughtfully. “Sofia doesn’t seem like a person capable of such a thing!”

“Oh.” Replied my colleague. “She may well. She is a very dark horse. No one knows who she is, where she came from and what her past is. I think you understand that it is better not to talk about this. I will go to work. Take care, Elvira.”

Alexandra left quickly, leaving me in utter confusion. What the hell did I just hear?

I sat down and looked at Edward’s office door again, but with some apprehension. I didn’t know if I had any reason to believe Alexandra.

Ten minutes passed and the door opened. I quickly turned my gaze back to my monitor and gave it a serious and thoughtful look, like I was at work. I tapped my fingers on the keys. With my peripheral vision, I saw that Sofia was on the threshold of my office. Everything inside me grew cold…

What did she want from me?

“Excuse me, do you have a paper and a pen?” She asked kindly. I winced and took what she asked for from my table. I handed it to Sofia without looking at her. She wrote something, put the piece of paper on my desk and left…

I looked with great reluctance at the note Edward’s wife had left me. It said: “In five minutes at the exit. Very important!!!”

“Damn!” I thought. My heart sank to my heels. It definitely smelled like fried…

Edward walked out of his office and looked around. He met my gaze and immediately looked away. He locked himself in his office.

Something was happening!

Five minutes later, I left the office and went outside. Sofia was waiting for me, covering her stomach with her hands. She came up to me.

“Elvira, right?” I nodded in response. “Well. I think you know who I am. I have a question for you…”

She pulled a paper out of her purse, folded in four. Unfolded it. I saw the photo taken on the boat on the Neva that unfortunate night.

On deck, all the team that was there was visible. In the middle, one could clearly see me and Edward, who was holding me by the waist. My face looked a bit scared and angry at the same time, and Edward was smiling calmly with the corners of his mouth.

“The point is this.” Sofia broke the awkward silence that ensued. “Edward told me he was going on a business trip alone. Apparently, you went with him. What is it between you two?”

“I…” My throat went dry. I felt like I was trapped by a dangerous beast. “We have nothing.”

“Come on.” She said casually, putting the photo back. “I am not stupid. Either you answer me honestly, or I will have to press you in other ways. And lately I have become so aggressive due to these hormones…”

There was nowhere to retreat. I risked lying to her again, when a saving voice sounded behind me:

“Sofia! I thought you were gone. Are we going home?” Edward approached his wife. Then he looked at me with a cleverly played surprise. “Elvira? What are you doing here?”

“She just came out to deliver a piece of paper that I forgot with her.” Sofia replied in my place. “With a list of products. By the way, thank you.” She nodded towards me. I mumbled something like goodbye in response and walked back to the office without waiting for a response from any of them.

Fuh… Looked like I got lucky.