The Devil's Harem

Chapter -105

In the restaurant,

Alex brought Margaret to the restaurant in front of his company. The food here was delicious, and above that, he knew about the place. Going to a place you know about can save you from embarrassment. Trying out a new place with your date was a bad, bad idea. If the food turns out bad, your date might end up taking you as a cheap niggard even if you didn't mean it.

So, Alex brought Margaret to what he felt was a safe place. Alex ordered the food while Margaret just went along with his choice.

"So, how long are you going to work here?" Margaret asked as the two of them settled in comfortably.

"At Theation?" Alex looked at Margaret, "I don't know, but I don't think it will be long," Alex said.

"But didn't you love working there?" Margaret was a bit surprised to hear Alex, "Why the sudden change of heart?" Last time, he was very much in love with that place.

"I do like it there," Alex nodded his head, agreeing with Margaret, "But things change. Now I think it would be better to just help my father and live a life I want to, instead of trying extra hard to excel." Alex told Margaret.

"What does that even mean?" Margaret asked. In the end, what does he want?

"To put it simply, I went to work there to learn how things work in a big company. Not because I wanted to work there, but because I thought it might be of some help if one day, I were to join my father," Alex tried to make Margaret understand, "But now I just want to enjoy whatever I have and prioritise other things in life." Alex said as he smiled, looking at her, and he put his hand over hers and gave it a little squeeze.

Margaret was taken by this meaningful gesture. Everything has been vague between them all this time. They did try to cross certain lines at Alex's place, but neither of them has come forward to express their feelings for the other in a straightforward fashion.

Margaret was still not over with the butterflies fluttering in her stomach when she saw a few familiar faces walk in. They were Alex's colleagues with whom she had that embarrassing moment with.

Looking at them, Margaret had a thought. She turned towards Alex, "So have you like discussed it with your colleagues? You are very fond of them, aren't you? Especially your manager." Margaret tried to pry into something.

Alex nodded, "Yeah, everyone here is good to me. You know what is being said about Theation outside. How it's a living hell for men and other stuff. Well, I never felt like that till now," Alex told Margaret. By this time, their order was also served. As soon as the food was placed in front of him, Alex attacked it without regard. He was famished after skipping his breakfast.

Margaret, on the other hand, was not satisfied. She didn't get the answer she was hoping for, "What about your manager?" Margaret asked again.

"She is alright," Alex only said these words before getting back to munching the food.

But this was enough for Margaret. She knew something was wrong between him and that manager of his. Because the last time he talked about her, there was this spark in his eyes, almost eulogizing that lady. But today, he was rather plain and cold talking about her.

"Karen is strict with everyone, but with me, no. With, me she is patient". Alex suddenly said. He didn't look away from his food but continued, "She is a strong woman, a different type of strong, but strong," then he suddenly looked up at Margaret, "Just like you, but her circumstances are a bit different." Alex told Margaret with a wry smile.

This stumped Margaret. The spark was gone, but the emotions were still there, maybe even more than before. The gloominess the mere mention of her name could bring to him was astounding. It was as if he was trying to get over a heartbreak, and every mention of the ex would be like scratching old wounds.

"You like her, don't you?" Margaret suddenly asked. She truly liked Alex, but she could not have him while he had someone else in his heart.
"Why do you ask?" Alex asked with her brows raised. He wondered why she would ask her such a question.

"Just like that". Margaret shrugged as she looked at him, hoping for an answer.

"I do like her," Alex said, taking a sip of water. Surprisingly he was very calm about this. He did not panic or fluster under the questioning gaze of Margaret.

"But there is nothing that can happen between us," Alex tried to assure Margaret, "She is my superior and a married woman at that. I have a lot of respect for her, and maybe that's my way of liking her."

"Are you sure?" Margaret tried to confirm with Alex, "If you like her, you can always..." Margaret tried to act generously. Giving Alex an opportunity to pursue Karen. But Alex stopped her before she could complete her words.

"Shhssh... Shsshh... I am quitting because I need to confirm something. I can't tell you what it is for now, but believe me, it is very important to me, to us," Alex said as he gently put his hand over hers and looked into her eyes lovingly.

'Something important to us? What could that be? Don't tell me... Isn't it rocket fast?" Margaret's heart skipped a beat as she listened to Alex. While Alex got back to enjoying his food, leaving Margaret thinking, what could it be?

"Did you like the food here?" Alex changed the topic as he asked Margaret.

"Yeah, well, it's not on par with what I serve at my restaurants, but it's fine" Margaret nodded as she elegantly took a small bite of her food for the first time.

"You own a restaurant?" Alex was surprised to hear that.

"No," Margaret shook her head in denial.

"Hush..." Alex sighed in relief. If she did, it would be unreal for her to live right next to them. To be fair, their locality was good, everyone was well off, and it was mostly peaceful, but there weren't many multi-millionaires there.

"I own a chain of restaurants," Margaret calmly completed her sentence.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!" Hearing her, Alex choked on his food. He hurriedly gulped down the glass of water in front of him, and with watery eyes, looked at Margaret in astonishment. First the mall, then the club, and now a chain of restaurants? He was beginning to think that Club Rosaro was not the only club she owned. How rich was she?

Looking at the astonished look on his face, Margaret could not hold it in. She bent forward and squeezed his cheeks tightly, "You are adorable."

Karen, on the other hand, would occasionally steal glances at Alex. She tried her best to concentrate on her food, but witnessing Margaret with Alex, she could hardly do so.

"Puff---" Just as Karen looked towards Alex's table, she found Margaret squeezing his cheeks. Shocked, she splurted the water she was drinking on Jennifer.

"Ahh---" Jennifer cried out in shock.

"Chief, are you alright?" Hazel asked, giving some tissues to both Karen and Jennifer.

* * * * *

Author's Note: Valentine's day special!