Tasting All My Mates by Alexis Dee

397-Subtle Hints
"And this is the resting area for Lazio and me." Valerie said, pointing at a cozy small room in the corner, "Now you will also be
able to enjoy this luxury." She joked because the room had a pretty good view. "Anything bothering you?" she asked when she
finished showing me around.
I was a bit baffled, responding slowly and unreasonably. There were a few things that caught my eye, but I couldn't really tell
what they were.
"You guys rest here?" I asked with a weak and awkward smile on my lips. I entered the room and found a cozy mattress near the
window, with flower pots and lanterns around. It didn't seem like a normal room, something you will see in an office building. It
looked like a honeymoon suite.
"Yeah! Why?" She tugged the strand of hair behind her ear and asked me. Her eyes were weird, too. I mean, they were
gorgeous, but the way she would stare at me was as if she was looking down upon me. It could only be me and my insecurities
making me think that way.
"Together?" I gave a nervous laugh, trying to make it sound like a joke.
"You know! You haven't even seen your office yet," she forced a huge smile across her lips when breaking the concentration
from the room and walking me to the office she had prepared for me. She had talked about it nonstop.
When she reached the office and saw a big lock on the door, her smile faded.
"Why is there a lock here?" she frowned, talking to herself. My office was on the third floor with the other employees.
However, hers was on the top floor, with Lazio's office near the resting room they had prepared for themselves.
"Did you like the building?" Lazio appeared after finishing the meeting. He asked me with a smile covering his lips. In response to
him, I only nodded faintly.
"What is the matter? Why are you two standing here?" he asked Valerie, who was searching her bag inside out for the keys.
"Her office is locked." She complained, still looking around for the keys.
"Yeah, I asked Mr. Oliver to lock it. She will be in my office with me," Lazio announced while wrapping his arm around my back
and standing pretty close to me. This was the most romantic thing he'd done in a long time.

"Your office?" Valerie smiled, though it was more of a forced one.
"Why? Is there a problem, Miss Valerie?" He asked while tilting his head. I could not tell exactly what I was hearing in his voice,
but it rather seemed like playfulness.
"No! It is your office. You get to make the decisions here," she responded to him in a bit of a sad tone. It irked me the way she
stole his eyes.
"Let's show you my office." The sweetness in Lazio's voice sounded fake, but I didn't question it at the moment.
"And Valerie, bring us coffee," he ordered, and he walked me with him to the top floor. The instant we entered his office, he
unwrapped his arm from around my back.
"Since you are new and my secretary, you should stay in my office." His voice sounded cold now that we were alone.
"Did you notice?" I asked, looking around his big room. There was a small bar in the corner, too. He had made his office a little
home. No wonder he spent most of his time in the office these past few months.
"Did I notice what?" He put the file down to look my way.
"The way Valerie acted when you touched me?" I sat down from across the table and watched his face change expressions.
"I don't know what you are talking about. Did she look jealous?" He questioned me, but it didn't seem normal. There was a hint of
curiosity, and enthusiasm when he wanted to know from me what Valerie gave off when watching us this close.
"I don’t know." The topic no longer held interest to me. I denied answering him and probably helping him in some way.
"Anyway, if you have any problems, you can ask me. Since you are new, I am not going to dump a lot of work on you. Just do the
typing, fill in the numbers, and then you are done," He said, gesturing at me to sit at my desk and get to work. My desk was
placed next to the window on the side, with a laptop opened and ready to go.
"Okay!" I got up from the chair and walked over to my own desk. I started working instantly, otherwise, my head would explode
from questioning every little thing. I think the problem was me. I used to be so confident back then that I never noticed what
people around me were doing. But now that I was just a flesh and bones creature, my entire attention was on the surroundings.
That's when Valerie walked back inside with two coffee mugs in her hands and a very sad look on her face. I sneakily watched
Lazio and was surprised to see his face light up after seeing her.

"Hm! What took so long?" he asked, taking the mug from her and walking behind her to stand there. "Take a look at this," he
said, then hunched over and tapped his finger on something in the file.
"What am I looking at?" she asked. Lazio was standing behind her, his hands on the desk, and he was caging her.
"This is our new project," he whispered, and she turned around in shock. The way he stepped back and tilted his head, shoving
his hands in his pants, took all of my attention.
She then shook her head, trying to hide the big smile, and turned to me, only to pass a quick glance before she returned to
looking at him.
"This is beautiful—," she paused, "a beautiful project, I mean," she finished, and the two stared into each other's eyes before
Lazio looked the other way and sneakily itched the back of his neck.
"That will be all for—," he was talking to her when his phone started ringing and a much confusing look took over of his
expression.
"Maynard?" he said as he read the name of the caller ID.