Archer twisted his lips in annoyance as the woman looked at him from head to toe.He had arrived here and asked for Madison's name but the hostess halted him and regarded him like a criminal."What did you say you are looking for, sir?" she asked with disdain dripping all over her voice."I have a reservation under Hales," he said.He met her gaze on, daring her to challenge him."Hales as in Madison Hales?" she asked, she looked at Archer again with that condescending smirk.Probably asking herself how he was able to do such."And who are you to have such a reservation?" she asked.Her body language inched for a fight. "You are not in a position to ask me such meaningless questions. Now, I will assume the name is written there. Can I go?" he barked at her.She jumped like she wasn't expecting it, she frowned and pointed to the far corner of the dimly lit room."There is your table, enjoy." she drawled, "Or not," she whispered under her breath. Archer heard her but he chose not to
He raked a hand through his tousled hair, letting out a heavy sigh. Madison placed her hand under her chin and observed him closely."So?""I don't know. I can't seem to figure out what's going on."Madison frowned, concern evident in her eyes."Do you believe her? Maybe there's a reason behind her behavior."Archer scoffed, a bitter edge to his tone."Believe her? Hell, no. Hell would freeze over before I believe anything that comes out of her mouth.""Archer, come on. You've been together for a while. There has to be some trust. Do you think she is telling the truth, even a little?"Archer shook his head. "Madison, you don't understand. One side of me wants to believe her. The way she was acting in my office, it's not normal. But the other part of me, the skeptical part, thinks this might just be another one of her manipulative games."Madison bit her lip, trying to make sense of the situation. "Why would she manipulate you? What would she gain from it?"Archer stopped eating and
The next day at work, Archer called for an emergency meeting with the team leaders.Eric, Lola, and Charles sat in the conference room waiting for him as usual. Eric was red-faced as he chewed on his fingernails.Lola sat stiffly beside him and refused to acknowledge his existence and Charles, the most level-headed colleague he had ever met,He had his disgust for Eric so vivid on his face like a painting. Eric sighed, he should have known they would be mad at him for admitting the things he did yesterday.But still, he didn't expect it to hurt this much. Eric knew he wasn't close to them, but he prided himself on being one of the best here and being alienated didn't look too good for him.Archer entered the office and Eric felt his scowl deepen. Of all the people to be worried about, Archer was the catalyst.After everything went down, he didn't see Archer for the rest of the day. He had been expecting to be fired for what he did."Archer," Eric started to say."Sit down," Archer no
Archer felt a lot of things from the news but shock was not one of them. He waited, maybe it was a late reaction to hearing it from the smugest person.But still, he felt nothing. Archer was expecting a more imploding bad need but this caught him by surprise.He glanced at Ferguson who was still staring at him with a scowl on his face, Archer cocked his head to the side to meet his gaze.They locked eyes for some time till realization dawned on Archer, this time he couldn't resist the scowl on his face."You think I gave it to him?" he all but yelled.Ferguson shrugged, "I didn't say a word.""But you implied it, didn't you?" Archer asked, he looked around the room and the other man looked bored.Madison looked like she would rather be anywhere but here."I cannot believe this. When I brought in millions of money, you were the happiest person in the room. But now you are accusing me without pointing fingers because I saved this company.""What exactly did you save this company from? Y
Archer took a cab to Jack's company. His phone kept vibrating with text messages from Madison.It was filled with urgent messages about how Ferguson felt disrespected and why Archer left the meeting abruptly.Archer didn't answer any of the messages, he was angry, and sparring with Ferguson would make him more angry.How dare that man sit in his high chair and lecture him? Calling him a lowly employee and whatnot.Archer forced himself to calm down.He stood in front of Jack's building, his hand tightened into a fist. The thought of Jack brought nothing but anger to him.To confront him, Archer needed to be calm. There is nothing he will achieve if he barges in there with anger.He strolled into the building and went straight to the place he knew Jack would be. "Hello," he greeted the assistant."Hello? Do you have an appointment with Mr Callaghan?" she asked in a preppy tone."No, but please tell him Archer is here to see him.""I am sorry sir, we don't operate that way." she shook
Jack's jaw dropped alongside his pen as he stared at Archer. He waited for Archer to burst into laughter and say he was joking.But such a reaction wasn't forthcoming from him not that he has known Archer as someone who jokes."What?" Jack asked.Archer narrowed his eyes, was this jackass pretending not to know what he was talking about?How was it possible that they were in a relationship no matter how dysfunctional it was that he had no idea his girlfriend was pregnant?"What did you just say?" Jack asked.Archer scowled at him, "Let's stop the pretense, shall we?""I have no idea what you are talking about." Jack said, "I didn't know she was pregnant."Archer thought he heard him mumbling, "Hailey is pregnant?" or something along those lines."Stop lying," Archer snarled."I am speaking the truth, I haven't spoken to her in a while.""Since when? Are you not joined at the hip?""Nor recently.""And why should I believe you?" Archer questioned.Jack kept quiet, "Because if I knew s
Archer got back to the office, all moody. His mood went from downright mad to furious.He didn't want to deal with anything right now. The words Jack uttered to him pissed him off to no end.He stopped short when he saw Eric nervously pacing in front of his office, Archer sighed and ran a hand through his hair as his scowl deepened.Eric was the last person he wanted to see right now.Eric stopped pacing when he saw Archer, he cleared his throat and approached him."Archer, hey," Eric stammered, his hands fidgeting with a stack of papers. "I was just, uh, waiting for you."Archer shot him a glare that could freeze time. "What do you want, Eric? I've had a long day."Eric bit his lip, choosing his words carefully. "I, um, wanted to talk about the project. I know you asked for those reports, and I—""You know what, Eric? I don't have time for this," Archer interrupted."I understand, but I thought maybe we could discuss it," Eric replied, desperation creeping into his voice.Archer narr
Archer's footsteps crunched on the sandy beach as he approached the secluded spot where Hailey sat, her nerves increased when she saw him approach.She could recognize that build anywhere. Archer's hands were in his pockets as he gently walked on the sand.The sound of people laughing and partying around the bonfire made Archer smile. He had never come to the beach before.He has no family and no friends, and When he asked Hailey, she said she hated it because of the sand.The distant sound of waves crashing and people yelling made it a lot easier especially knowing that she pleaded for days before Archer agreed to meet with her.Hailey knew it was his favorite place to be even though he hadn't been here before. She remembered all the times he would talk about going to the beach but she would refuse.It was a miracle Archer agreed to come.In his defense, he wanted to address the elephant in the room. Hailey looked up, her eyes meeting Archer's as he stood before her.She smiled at h