C11 A Little Jealousy

Chapter-11: A Little Jealousy

Zaiden Storm

I was standing near the private elevator, waiting for Aria to come to the office. I would step into the elevator once I would spot her. After all, it was fun watching her run before the elevator door closed.

She was smart, yet so foolish.

A smile formed on my lips, remembering her. She was indeed unique.

I glanced at the wristwatch, to see it was time for her to step into the office. When I looked at the direction of the reception, I saw Aria bumping into a guy, with whom she was talking now.

I waited for her to end the conversation and come to me, but she was busy indulging in talks with him. I clenched my fist when she was laughing at his words. It was as if she was enjoying talking to him.

I motioned for one of my employees to come here.

“Good morning, Boss,” Stella greeted me and I gave a curt nod.

Putting my hands in my pocket, I asked her, “Who is the boy Ms. Anastasia is talking to?”

She followed my gaze and said, “Oh, that is Liam Oliver, the new intern here.”

I had heard that an intern would be joining the company, and he was the one. I didn’t like him at first sight, now that he was flirting with Aria. Not liking the sight in front of me, I got into the elevator and pressed the button to my floor. Just as my eyes met with Aria’s and she was running towards my direction, the elevator door got closed in front of her.

Aria was so dumb. How could she never guess my emotions? How could she expect us to be close if I didn’t like her? I started liking her ever since my dad and I were impressed by her interview for the post of managing director.

When she learned about my secret of being in the Mafia, I didn’t want to hurt her. In fact, I wanted to make her a part of my life and that was the first step—her knowing my biggest secret. It sucked to be labeled as a murderer in her eyes. She was so scared that I would kill her that she even went to resign from her post.

Even if she didn’t learn about me being in the Mafia, I would still never let her leave.

After I told Lance that I liked Aria, that was when he left me alone with her and decided not to interrupt because he knew that I would handle Aria in my way. In the beginning, when she joined the company and wanted to make me her friend, I told her to be professional because I didn’t want to be friend-zoned by her.

I had to go slow with her until she started liking me. I didn’t want to get rejected at once and then create an awkward situation in the company.

I got into my cabin and started to get into work, trying to keep my mind distracted from the thoughts of Aria.

___

I heard faint knocks on my door. Knowing who it was, I cleared my throat, and said, “Come in.”

The door opened and Aria came inside, with a bright smile on her face. “Good morning, Zaiden.”

I loved hearing my name from her mouth.

“Good morning,” I replied and noticed the flash drive in her hand. It was in my drawer, where there was… my eyes grew wide in horror. Did she see that file as well? If she did, why didn’t she ask me anything about it yet?

“I am here to keep this back from where I took it,” she announced and came to my side, opening the drawer and keeping the thing back as if there were no other files inside.

Was she not noticing it on purpose because she already knew about my donations? She was keeping it a secret, wasn’t she?

To be sure, I decided to ask, “Aria, did you take this from the drawer yesterday?”

She nodded her head and smiled. “You know, Zaiden, usually people use pen names in their writing career, but some people, like Den, use his pen name for donation.” As soon as she said that, I looked at the screen of my laptop, not wanting to meet her eyes with mine.

She knew it. She knew that I was Den, yet she stayed quiet.

“Why are you saying that all of a sudden?” I asked innocently since she was playing dumb as well.

She replied, “I just felt like saying.” With that, she decided to walk out of my cabin. “See you during lunch break. I will be waiting in the cafeteria, Den,” she mumbled my pen name faintly, but I was able to hear it. She winked at me and got out of the room.

My breath hitched at what just happened. She winked at me, letting me know that she was aware of it all. She knew the secret my family didn’t even know. Seems like someone was getting better at keeping secrets.

I chuckled and continued focusing on my work until it was time for me to go on rounds of the office to check whether everyone was working properly or not.

I got up from my seat and decided to check on different floors. Everyone greeted me and stood up after seeing me, but I just gave a curt nod and told them to continue doing their work.

Once I was on Aria's floor, I spotted her talking to that familiar brunette once again. She was laughing, and he was grinning like an idiot. As much as I wanted to knock him unconscious for flirting with the woman I like, I managed to control myself.

Today was Liam’s first day in the office as an intern and I couldn’t hit him. Not that I cared about my impression, but Aria would hate me if I did that. I could warn him, though, to stay away from Aria.

Making a mental note to warn Liam, I decided to head back to my cabin.

___

It was lunchtime.

I didn’t want to eat in the cafeteria, but Aria told me she liked eating there and to meet her during lunch there. She said that she would be waiting, so I had to go.

I was heading to the cafeteria and decided to text Aria.

Zaiden: Where are you?

She replied instantly.

Aria: I am organizing a few files. Give me five minutes. Are you at the cafeteria yet?

Zaiden: On my way.

Aria: I will be there soon. See ya! :)

I smiled seeing her text.

She was so dedicated to her work. Without her, I wouldn’t be able to handle the Storm Fashion Industry so much smoother. She was the type of person who would take all the workload so that I wouldn’t be under much stress. Even if I scolded her, she would prove her point and apologize if she made a mistake.

When I would point out the mistakes of other employees in their work, they would get angry, but Aria would always ask for my opinion on how to polish her work after I started pointing out her mistakes. How could I not like her?

I got into the cafeteria and decided to wait for Aria at the entrance. As I was standing there, I saw Liam inside the cafeteria, having his lunch. He was sitting in one corner, all alone.

Now was the perfect time to warn him to stay away from Aria and not even look at her in some other way other than a senior. Even Aria wasn’t here, so I could warn him quietly.

As I was about to walk towards him, Aria called out my name, “Zaiden.”

I turned back at that instant and saw her running to me, with a worried look covering her face. Before I could ask what had happened, she pushed me, making me fall with my back hitting the cold floor.

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