Arranged marriage : Married to an unknown man

Ariana

Mrs. Miller, Kevin, and I were eating our lunch; talking about random things and interests when three women came to our table, one of them was Katherine, the receptionist. The other two, I didn’t know who they were. One had short blond hair and the other had short red hair. They both wore a tight-fitted knee-length pencil skirt and tight-fitted shirt.

The one with blond hair placed her manicured hands on the table and bent a little towards me.

“So, you are Ariana Jones, the new P. A. Well, hello, My name is Bianca Wilson and this is Diana Morgan.” She said while pointing at the red-haired girl. “And this is Katherine you must have met her in the morning.”

“Hello,” I greeted three of them. Then Diana came forward.

“So Ariana, do tell us how you got this job? I mean, you did an unexpected thing that no one else was ever able to do. Many females applied for the post but always got rejected. What did you do that Mr. Knight appointed you as his P. A?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. What should I tell them? I didn’t even come for an interview here.

“What she did or what she did not do to get this job is none of your business, Diana. Concentrate on your work.” Kevin replied sternly. I didn’t know what to answer, my mouth felt dry, I picked up the glass of water and started drinking.

“Oh come on Kevin, we are just curious that how did she do it. So Ariana, did you seduce him to bed and after that blackmail him by being pregnant and asked him for work?” Katherine’s accusation made me choke on water. I started coughing. I placed the glass back on the table and cleaned my mouth with tissue that Mrs. Miller offered me.

“What nonsense are you talking about Katherine?” Mrs. Miller replied angrily.

“Oh really? If we are wrong then why won’t she tell us what she did to get this job?” Bianca asked, laughing bitterly.

“Oh, come on Bianca, it’s clear that she did blackmail him for something. But Ariana, tell me how did you seduce him by the plain and ordinary look of yours? You look hideous in your outfit. How can you wear such clothes at work.” Diana asked, eyeing me from head to toe.

I felt like crying, my vision started to get blurry but I held back my tears. They accused me of things that I could never do even in my dreams. How can they judge anyone without knowing them? What is with people, why they think so low of me? First Scarlet, then Xavier, and now these three.

And what will these women say when they’ll get to know that I am married to Xavier Knight. What will they accuse me of then?

“Enough! You don’t have any right to judge anyone.” Kevin spat angrily as he stood up by pushing his chair roughly.

“Ariana are you done with your lunch?” He asked me. I looked at him and nodded my head. “Then let’s go,” he said.

Mrs. Miller and I stood up and made our way to the exit. But I stopped in the middle. I didn’t know what came up to me but I walked back to where those three women who accused me were standing.

“Excuse me,” I said to gain their attention. They looked at me with raised eyebrows. I took a deep breath and exhaled. Then I did what I had never done before.

“Sorry to burst your bubble but I never slept with Mr. Knight and do not intend to do so. And about my clothes, I wear what I feel comfortable in and my boss who appointed me didn’t complain about my outfit. And about how I got this job, please go and ask Mr. Knight about it because I didn’t blackmail him to get the job. Do you really think that anyone can blackmail the richest and powerful man of the USA with these cheap tactics? Well if think so…I’ll advise you to come out of the parallel universe.” I said confidently and moved back to where Mrs. Miller and Kevin were standing, leaving those vile and evil women behind standing with their mouths wide open.

My heart was beating at a faster rate because what I said a few seconds ago surprised me too. I had never talked back to anyone. They had called me worst and I was unable to defend myself back then. But today I couldn’t keep calm when these women questioned my worth and insulted me. But One thing confused me, why did I defend Xavier? I didn’t know what kind of person he was but still, why did I defend him?

“Woah! Ariana, that was really hot. You shut their mouth very easily. We are friends from now on.” Kevin replied enthusiastically and extended his hand forward for a handshake. Well, he seemed to be a nice person, we could be friends. But is the handshake necessary? It’d be rude if I didn’t shake his hand. And I had to do it if I had to make friends. I shook his hand briefly; smiled and said ‘friends’.

“Well done, Ariana. They needed to be set straight.” Mrs. Miller said proudly.

I felt great. I didn’t do anything wrong. I thanked both of them, then we headed back to work.

My day went into working continuously as my boss gave me more workload and also made me go up-down to Sean and Daniel’s floor several times. I used stairs to carry a little workout and also it didn’t make any sense to use the elevator every time to go just one or two floors down.

I glanced at the clock, it was five in the evening. Everyone leaves at five but I had to leave at six because my boss said so. I waited for my day to end. I felt hungry; I love food and I don’t starve myself. I need food from time to time to make my mind function properly. I decided to bring light snacks to eat in the middle of work.

When the clock struck 5:50 pm, I stood up from my chair with files in my hand and headed towards my boss’s office. When I entered his office, I found him engrossed in the work.

“Sir, all the work is done,” I said placing the files on his desk.

“Put these files on the shelf to your right.” He said without lifting his eyes from the file he was studying.

“Anything else sir?” I asked after I had placed the files in their place.

“No. You can leave.” He said, again without lifting his eyes. I sighed silently and left the office greeting him good night. I said good night because I knew that I’d not see him at the penthouse. I’d be asleep by the time he’d come back.

Before heading out of the building, I said good night to Daniel and Sean to which they greeted me back happily. At least they didn’t treat me like my boss. I left the building greeting good night to the guards.

I didn’t take the bus immediately because I had to shop for good clothes. So, I went shopping nearby and purchased two pairs of pants, four formal blouses, two formal-looking jumpsuits, and two pairs of shoes. I don’t need many clothes because I can always repeat my outfits.

I was really hungry, I couldn’t wait to reach the penthouse to have dinner. So, I called Mrs. Molly not to cook dinner for me as I would be eating outside.

I grabbed a burger, fries, and chicken nuggets takeout from a small Diner, then I took the bus; sat comfortably, and ate my food on the bus. I was exhausted when I reached the penthouse building. So, when I entered the penthouse I first drank water in the kitchen and headed straight to my room.

I went to the bathroom washed my face; changed into nightclothes that is full-length pajama and a t-shirt. I laid on the bed and started thinking of the day.

Well, the day was indeed a different day for me. I started working in the USA’s topmost company as P. A of the richest man in the USA who is my husband too. I took a risk by manipulating Xavier’s coffee. I made two friends, Kevin and Mrs. Miller who are my first friends ever too, and the most important thing: I stood up for myself against false accusations.

At the end of the day, I was proud of myself because today I did what I hadn’t done ever before.

At this moment I had a satisfying smile on my face. My face hurt because of smiling like a fool but couldn’t help it. In my 25 years of life span, I was never satisfied with myself…. but now I was.