Ch 14: Unpleasant Emotions

Recap:

Nic's mouth twitched. "Yes, I forgive you."

"YAY!!" Cess jumped up and down, clapping her hands. "THANK YOU!! And this time, just you wait and see, I'll never put lactulose in your coffee again!"

"Thank you." He said dryly, and went to sit in his chair. Then he abruptly stopped mid-way, muscles tensing. "Wait." He turned to stare at her. "What did you say?"

"Oh, yeah..." Cess mumbled, unable to look him in the eye. "Oops?"

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"Oh, come on, Nic... you have to admire the girl's persistence." Sophia smirked as she helped herself to some of the sandwich in Nic's hand.

Nic pursed his lips as he watched her, but refrained from commenting.

"And, from what you told me about the other day, you kind of did deserve it."

"Whose side are you on?" Nic sat up in his chair, annoyance etching his features. "That girl is nothing but trouble! Since the moment I met her I knew that she was a spoilt little princess. But this is just the limit! If she ever goes anywhere and she doesn't like what someone has to say, will she go around playing stupid pranks on them?! I was lucky that I decided not to wear the suit she'd put itching powder in, otherwise I'd be suffering that discomfort, too! The next time she doesn't like something I say, maybe she'll decide to unleash a pet snake on me, or maybe let ants down my trousers?!"

Sophia snorted, as she finished off the sandwich and made herself comfortable on his knee. He settled back to allow her on, head resting on top of hers.

"Well, that would be pretty funny," she turned her head to grin at him.

Nic glared at her.

"But, seriously, why don't you two just make up? You both have to work together for the next few months, so you might as well get along. Otherwise, what are you going to say to her father?"

His jaw hardened. "I'm going to tell him of his daughter's behavior. Enough is enough. I'm a very busy person, and I don't have time to babysit anybody. I'd thought that the daughter of a man like him would be responsible and mature, not a bratty little child!"

Sophia's eyes widened at his outburst, as she just stared as his face, speechless. Suddenly her eyes caught on something behind Nicolas, causing her eyes to widen even further. She jumped up from her seat.

"Cess!"

Nic jolted around, only to see a pair of emerald green eyes shining brightly at him, before the figure blurred as it ran back out the office door.

Sophia spun around to face him, furious. "Sometimes, Nicky, you're really too much!"

She ran out of the office, after Cecilia.

For the first time in a long time, Nic felt the weight of guilt settle deep in the pit of his stomach. Leaning his head back in his seat, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh - only to have those large green eyes flash through his mind again, lashes wet with unshed tears.

"F*ck!" He sat up abruptly, running his hands through his short hair.

But even open, his eyes seemed to see only her.

Her, as she begged for forgiveness, sweet and sincere... her, as she fought with him, desperate to prove herself his equal... her, as she trembled beneath him, lips parted, eyes wide... her, as she laughed and smiled in excitement when she'd obtained his forgiveness... and then lastly, when he had destroyed that smile... her wounded eyes staring at him with betrayal...

He stood up, smashing his fist on the table in frustration.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" He paced, rapidly. "She can not be affecting me. She can't! A woman like her... she can't mean anything to me!"

The soft smile she had given him as she'd left his office a few hours ago, flashed through his mind.

"Why?" He murmured in despair, pressing his head back against the wall. "Why can't I stop thinking about you? What have you done to me, Cecilia Knight?"

***

"Why, Cecilia?" She whispered to herself, silent tears falling down her face, as she curled herself into a tighter ball. "Why do you care what he says? Why do his words hurt you so much? Why does the smallest gesture from him mean so much to you?" She wiped her tears frantically, only to find fresh tears replacing them mere moments later. She looked down at the pills in her hand that she'd gone to give to Nic and pressed them to herself tightly. "Why am I so worried about you, Nicolas Freire? Why do you consume my thoughts? Why can't I bear to see disdain in your eyes for me? Why couldn't I tolerate it when you said those things about me?" She closed her eyes, tears squeezing out from underneath her lids. "What have you done to me?"

"Cess?"

Cecilia sat up, wiping her tears immediately as she came out from beneath her desk. She smiled brightly at Sophia.

"Sophia! What are you doing here?"

"Are you ok?" She searched Cess' eyes.

"Me? Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" She let out a light laugh.

Sophia looked unconvinced. "Maybe because you heard the horrible things Nic was saying, and you were hurt?"

Cess stopped, and just stared at Sophia. Unwittingly, the image of the both of them sitting together so intimately came to her mind. An unpleasant emotion rose to the surface.

"Yeah, well, I didn't see you objecting," she spat, bitterly. Suddenly she put up a hand to her mouth, unable to believe what had just come out of it.

"What?" Sophia stared at her, shocked. "Cess, you can't think that I agree with-"

"No, look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. You've been a lovely friend to me, ever since I've come here." She said, sincerely. "I'm just a little stressed out, is all."

"Well, you know Nic. I'm certain he didn't mean what he said..."

"It's fine, everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I'm sorry I... interrupted... you both." She forced a smile. "And you know what they say. Eavesdroppers always end up hearing something they don't like. So it serves me right." She rolled her eyes, sighing dramatically, making Sophia crack a smile.

"Hey, do you have some time, now?" Soph queried, suddenly.

"Sure, why?"

Sophia hooked her arm through hers. "Because we never did get lunch, so lets get some food now. Besides," she whispered, conspiratorially, "you never did tell me how you did it all. You never know, some of it might come in useful if Nic ever annoys me in the future."

Cecilia grinned back at her, before launching into explanation. "Well, I found out that Nic has a separate machine that only makes coffee for him and that it's kept in his private kitchenette area. When no one was there, I threw away most of the sugar packs and only left a few behind that I had slightly ripped and put lactulose into..." The two made their way out of the building, giggling.

***

"Where have you two been?"

Sophia rolled her eyes as she turned to face her boss.

"We were at our delayed lunch break, since I was busy working throughout lunch. We've only taken an hour and a half, instead of two hours, so you should be thanking me." Sophia raised an eyebrow.

Cecilia watched Nic's eyes soften to an impossible degree as he looked at his P.A., and felt her stomach twisting.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't be working through lunch when I don't need you, and disappearing without a word when I do." He raised his own eyebrow, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't give your employees so much work that they are forced to work through their lunch hours!" Sophia put her hands on her hips, brows furrowing.

"Ok, ok!" Nic put his hands up, as his lips curled. "Far be it from me to deny a hard-working employee their basic human right to food!"

Cecilia watched the interaction as if from afar, feeling incredibly invisible. She decided to just leave them to it, and quietly turned around to go.

"Miss Knight?"

She stopped in her tracks, tensing.

"Yes?" She asked, without turning back around.

"Could I speak with you for a moment? In my office."

Without checking to make sure she was following, Nic made his way back down the corridor. Sending Sophia a farewell smile, as she peered at her in concern, Cess followed him.

Reaching his office, she knocked before entering.

"Please close the door behind you."

She followed his instruction in silence, before looking down at the floor.

"Earlier... I mean, what you heard..." He cleared his throat. "I mean, what I said... that is to say... what was said, was not-"

"It's ok, Mr Friere." Cecilia lifted her head, abruptly. "Please just forget about it. I already have. If that's all, I'll be leaving." She turned to move towards the door.

"What makes you think you are allowed to go?"

"Excuse me?" She slowly turned around. "Allowed to go?"

"You're currently at my office, working for me. Therefore, you are currently my employee and I am your boss. It may be a little unconventional, but it doesn't make it any less true that, right now, you are my employee." He announced, looking at her down his arrogant nose.

"What?" Cess' eyes widened.

"As your boss, have I given you permission to leave? Have I said that I have finished speaking?"

"You-" Cecilia felt her blood quickly boiling.

"What I was about to say is that you shouldn't have entered my office earlier without knocking. Not only did you do that, but you purposely eavesdropped on a private conversation."

"I-"

"And, most importantly, you also disrupted the time I was spending with someone very close to me. As such, you deserve punishment."

Cecilia clenched her fists tight, certain she was about to burst a vessel in her brain. "How dare-"

"You will be staying behind after hours today, for as long as I deem necessary. Seeing as you've just had a lunch break, you won't need another break for the rest of the day. I expect to see you in my office at 6pm sharp. Please continue with your work, for now."

He flicked a finger at her in dismissal, as Cecilia fought down the scream that was building in her throat. At that moment, she was wishing it was poison she had put in his coffee, not just lactulose.

With jerky movements, she opened the door and slammed it shut after her. Marching down the corridor, steam coming out of her ears, she muttered under her breath menacingly.

"Just you wait. You've not seen anything yet!"

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AN: Hey! Sorry, it's a little late. But what are we all thinking about Nic, now? Jerk? Yay, or nay? Who are you guys shipping Cess with?

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