"What?" Linda whispered. She didn't know if it was because she missed him… or because she was afraid since she was late.
When did she start caring about offending Ezekiel? Just a month of working in his company! On her way earlier, she had helped an old woman cross the road. The woman was carrying heavy loads and looked confused. Linda waited with her, helped her find her driver, and even carried one of the bags. She didn't think it would delay her this much.
Still… being late wouldn't stop him from skinning her alive! Not long after, the secretary appeared at the door and nodded at Linda. "The CEO wants to see you."
She took a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair. She could hear her heart beating faster. She realised Ezekiel was taking too much of her emotions.
"I will go."
She prepared herself for the worst. Scolding? Suspension? Sacking? She had handled worse.
...
She knocked carefully on the CEO's office door.
"Come in."
The door opened before she could push it fully. Adam was standing there.
"Miss Linda," he said politely.
"Hmmm… will you really punish her?" she heard while stepping in.
Linda was surprised to see identical faces staring at her. Ezekiel was sitting behind his desk, and if not for his cold aura, she wouldn't have recognised him from Aaron.
Aaron was sitting across from him, relaxed, legs crossed. His smile widened the moment he saw her.
"Ahh…" he said lazily. "Our wife is here."
Linda froze and glanced at Ezekiel, whose face darkened instantly.
"You want me to throw you out?"
It was obvious. He hated that word. Wife…
Linda rolled her eyes.
"I'm single."
Adam unconsciously choked on his saliva.
"Cough! cough!… I'm sorry!" he quickly apologised, bowing his head.
Ezekiel glared at him. There was no way that cough was natural.
Aaron, on the other hand, burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Did you hear that, Zeke?" he laughed. "She said she's single!"
For some reason, Linda felt satisfied throwing Ezekiel's coldness back at him.
Ignoring Aaron, Ezekiel raised a brow at her.
"So," he started, "why are you late?"
The office went quiet. Aaron leaned back, smiling, enjoying the show.
Linda sighed nervously and lowered her head.
"I'm very sorry for coming late," she said softly. "It won't happen again."
Ezekiel didn't respond immediately, focusing on his laptop. After a few seconds, he spoke.
"Who do you think you are for me to pardon you?" He frowned. "Didn't they tell you I don't joke with late coming?"
Linda clenched her fists and looked down helplessly. She didn't know what else to say. The old woman had been alone. No one was helping her. If she had walked away and something happened… Linda knew she would never forgive herself.
If she had to be punished because of that… It was worth it. "I'll accept the punishment," she said quietly.
Ezekiel raised a brow. "No one cares about that here," he said flatly. "You'll be punished even before you say it."
"Come on," Aaron cut in, amused. "Forgive her."
He smirked. "Or don't tell me you're pissed because she said she's single, huh?"
Ezekiel shot him a murderous glare.
"Get out."
Aaron raised both of his hands. "Hey, hey. Easy, bro," he chuckled. "What about the reason why I'm here?" he asked lazily.
Ezekiel hesitated, warned him, "Say one more word, and I'll ban all your mafia territories in this country."
Aaron rolled his eyes. "…Okay, okay. I get you."
Ezekiel turned back to Linda. "Your punishment..."
"Excuse me, sir." A man in a suit suddenly entered and bowed. He glanced at Linda, then frowned.
"Why didn't you tell him?"
"Tell him what?" Linda asked, confused.
The man sighed and shook his head. "Boss, she arrived early. But she helped your grandmother cross the road."
The room went silent.
"Grandma?" Aaron frowned. "What was she even doing outside again?"
Linda's surprised face turned pale. She didn't even know. What if Ezekiel thought she did it on purpose to gain his favour?
"How did she get out?" Ezekiel asked in confusion. "Where is Mom?"
Adam looked confused too. "Madam isn't around. They said Grandma insisted on going out by herself."
"Hmmm," Aaron chuckled lightly. "Then we should be thanking Linda."
Ezekiel's silver eyes slowly moved to her.
Linda panicked. "I swear," she said immediately, "I didn't know she was your grandmother. I saw her struggling with her load and helped her!" She turned to the man with hope. "Did you see that I was rushing in?"
Her voice trembled. She didn't want Ezekiel to misunderstand her. She thought she would get used to the world misunderstanding her, but Ezekiel had done a lot for her, even if he counted it as nothing.
Adam noticed her panic and frowned worriedly. She looked too nervous… like someone afraid of being misunderstood again. He could only look away, because it hard to tell.
The man nodded immediately. "Yes. She almost fell when she got down from the taxi."
"Yes! Yes!" Linda exclaimed and sighed in relief, grateful the man spoke for her.
Then she froze.
"Taxi?" Aaron frowned and turned to Ezekiel. "Why is she taking a taxi to work?"
"Ahh… it's faster," Linda said calmly and rolled her eyes. Faster?! She had rejected the offer from day one.
"It's her own cup of tea," Ezekiel said and glanced at the man standing beside Linda. "How do you know about that? Where were you then?"
He scratched his head and glanced at Adam. "I was running errands for Mr Adam," he bowed.
Adam sighed and nodded at Ezekiel. "Yes, boss. This is the Laurence I was telling you about. He's good."
Aaron found the situation more interesting. "Ohh… you're the intelligent boy who discovered the waterproof headphones?"
Laurence bowed slightly and smiled. "My pleasure."
"You must know a lot about computers," Aaron said. That caught Linda's attention. She looked at him immediately.
Laurence blushed and nodded. "I went to a school of technology." Linda looked at him in approval. She looked like she had a lot to say. Aaron's smile deepened and he grinned at Ezekiel, who was already glaring at him.
Adam, who understood exactly what Aaron was doing, shook his head and looked at Laurence pitifully.
"Ahhh, well done, Laurence. Please take care of Miss Linda," Adam said. "Looks like she'll be needing you."
Linda nodded and smiled. She glanced at Aaron thankfully. She had been looking for someone who knew a lot about computers. Her hacking skills weren't perfect, and she needed a professional to deal with her stepsister, someone with too many connections and too much mouth. "Both of you, get out," Ezekiel said.