Chapter Seven

Donald's POV 

You know that bad feeling that you get in your gut before something bad happens, almost like a premonition of sorts?

Yeah, it's true.

I just confirmed it after Rose confidently sat her down on his very expensive leather chair, her lips raised in a pout as she dialed Mr Warrens, the accounts manager for our banks.

To spite me and show me who's the boss, she placed it on speakerphone so I could listen in. 

Mr Warrens was a very busy man but not to people who paid half of his monthly wages. He picked up on the third ring. “Ms Waters, it's a pleasure to hear from you!” His sugary sweet voice rang out from the phone, sounding as excited as ever.

He should be, whenever you hear from your clients, it usually means there's a paycheck involved.

“Mr. Warrens, it's a pleasure to hear from you too. I reckon you're a very busy person like myself so I'll go straight to the point and not waste any time.” She peeked at me from beneath her lashes, her victorious smile obvious. “I'd like to check in on one of my accounts, actually.”

“Of course!” He said eagerly. “Which is it? I'm sure I could check-in for you. If you could just give me the name.”

“Uh….” Rose smiled at me, pretending to search for the card meanwhile it was in her hands all the while. “It belongs to my husband though but he gives me from time to time to get stuff you know?” A light laughter escaped her lips. “Can you check how much is left in the card?”

“Hold on one minute, ma'am.” There was a brief pause which lasted about a minute or two before Mr Warrens came back online. “Uh, I'm afraid to tell you but it's maxed out. It's just $20 and some change left in there, ma'am.”

Rose was out on a good show, gasping to show how surprised she was but I could tell from her eyes that she knew all along. “Wow, that's crazy. I'll see to it and some cash will be transferred to it as soon as possible. Thank you!”

She hung up shortly after, waiting for me to react.

In truth, I was too stunned to do anything.

The last time I had checked that account - it wasn't so frequent- I had over seven figures in there. I rarely bought anything expensive except some splurging here and there, but even at that, I think I would have known if that huge amount left my account.

I raised my head, still in awe. “That's not possible. $20, $20?!” I laughed. “Hell no!”

“Aww, do you think I was making that up? If you don't believe me, you can call Mr Warrens and ask him yourself.”

“What did you do?” The words escaped through clenched teeth. The thought that my hard-earned money was just gone like that was difficult to comprehend. “I know I didn't touch it, so it had to have been you.”

“You can't prove that.” She flipped her hair to the side. “But as it stands right now, you don't have enough money and there's no way in hell I would agree to the divorce now.”

“You took the money, didn't you?” I asked, ignoring what she just said.

It wasn't hard for me to connect the dots, after all, I was the fool who trusted her with my bank details including passwords to different accounts, both on my mobile phone and at the bank. It would have been so easy for her to quickly swap out the morning when I was busy since I rarely ever checked my personal mail except when it was for work.

“What are you talking about?” She shifted on her seat, batting her eyes in an innocent look. 

“Don't play dumb with me!” I snapped, gradually losing hold of my temper. “Gosh, how was I so stupid? You have the passwords to my bank apps and login to others, so it just has been pretty easy for you.”

“You don't have proof, so quit yapping.” She sneered.

I started at her for the longest, sad and at the same time defeated but I refused to let that show on my face. “Whatever, I may not have proof but I do have something. You might have taken away the compensation money but that doesn't change the fact that the contract expires in a month, and I can still divorce you if I want.”

As fast as lightning, her expression changed quickly. “What, why?”

My stony features didn't change one bit as I stared her down, keeping mute. 

My silence only served to irritate her further. “Why must you divorce me, huh?” She screamed like she didn't know that the reason was standing just outside the door. My eyes must have betrayed me, glancing in that direction because she followed it, understanding dawning on her features. “Oh, I get it now…it's because of David, isn't it?”

“If you're just figuring that out then you must be slower than I thought,” I muttered.

Either she must have not heard my comment or let it slide, either way, she didn't react. “If it's about David, I can guarantee you that nothing happened between us. Do you hear me, Donny? I did not cheat on you!”

I only kept staring, refolding my arms over my chest. Was she expecting me to believe her lies or did she think I was that much of a fool that I would suck it up like a milkshake?

Before I could say what was in my mind, there was a sharp knock on the door.

“Enter.” 

I had barely said a word when the door opened and my assistant/secretary walked back inside, casting nervous looks on Rose's way. “S-sir…”

The poor girl was shaking like a leaf and I knew it was partly to do with Rose being here. “Whay di you want, Luna?”

She bowed, why I had no idea. “Your two o'clock appointment is here to see you.” 

“So soon?” I glanced at the digital clock on my desk, surprised to see that it was already two o'clock, an hour and a half gone by since Rose walked in here.

I guess time flies when you're unhappy too. 

“Who is it?” I rubbed at my temples, feeling s headache come on.

“Can't you tell her to get out?” Rose cut me off. “It's rude how she walked in here, especially when she knew we were having a conversation.”

Luna almost jumped three feet in the air when Rose talked, slightly petrified. 

I faced Rose squarely. “Don't talk to her like that, she's my assistant not a slave.”

“Isn't she being paid with money from the company?”

“Yeah, so?” I shrugged.

“Then it means she's my employee and I can talk to her however I like.” She looked from Luna to me. “Unless, there's another reason why you're being sweet on her?”

It sank in late, but when it did I tossed a disgusted look her way before facing Luna. “You should go. Just tell whoever it is that we're going to have to reschedule, but put an incentive on it.”

“Okay, sir!” She turned to leave, avoiding Rose's path by a mile.

“Thank you, Luna! I owe you one.” I called out to her.

The doors closed again, leaving us alone.

Rose was the first to speak. “So you have nothing to say huh?”

I thought it over, weighing the pros and cons before I responded to her. The truth was, even if I did decide to stay with her, it would never be the same as it was before.

The sense of distrust, not to mention malice and anger and a deep-seated resentment too would fester in both of them. To avoid all that bitterness, it's best if they just cut ties now.

“No. I don't care whether you slept with David, I went out.”

Her nostrils flared and she got up to her feet, snatching her bag off the table. “Whatever, you're never going to have a divorce from me though. Don't forget, the contract might have an expiration date but there's an extension term too. Just like you can decide to cut the marriage short, so can you decide to extend it and I just might extend it…unless you pay the compensation.”

“That's what I wanted to hand over to you but you've spent it!” I growled, a second away from wringing her pretty neck.

“Oops, not my problem!” She giggled, glaring at me in the next second. “If I were you, I'd think twice before trying to screw me over!” 

With that, she huffed and puffed stomping on her way out. She jerked the door wide open, slamming it closed hard.

I sighed, watching her as she left knowing I was stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea.

With one last option left, I picked up my phone scrolling through my contacts until I got the number I wanted.

He picked up almost immediately.

Exhaling roughly, I spoke into the phone. “It's me, Donald. I'm going to need $1 million and if possible, I'll need it in the next five minutes.”