The Devil's Harem

Chapter - 106

"Chief, are you alright?" Sitting beside Karen, Hazel was the first to reach out to her. She handed over the tissues to both Karen and Jennifer.

"I am fine," Karen said, taking the tissues. Then she turned towards Jennifer, and wiping her dress, she apologised to her, "I am sorry. I don't know what happened all of a sudden and..."

"It's alright," Jennifer grabbed Karen by the arm and stopped Karen from wiping her dress, "Is there something bothering you?" Jennifer asked. She was not bothered about some water spilling over her. She was more concerned about the unusual behaviour Karen was exhibiting, not just today but for some days now.

"I am fine, just a bit tired," Karen said as she smiled at Jennifer and stood up. She looked at the other ladies, "I will just be back," Karen said and excused herself from there.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Aaw...Aaw...Aaw... What are you doing? It's hurting me. What will people think?" Alex jolted her hand aside and rubbed his cheeks vigorously.

"Awww... you are worried about your image?" Margaret asked, putting on the sweetest smile she could put on her face. Though she was looking at Alex, her entire attention was on what was happening at the other table. She could hardly control herself back from bursting into a burst of laughter when she watched Karen spray the entire mouthful of water on another woman on the table.

Alex, on seeing her smile that sweetly, was left awestruck. Averting his eyes from her, he couldn't help but comment, "Don't smile like that. It's embarrassing."

"Fine... Fine... I won't embarrass you in front of others. You are so inflexible." Margaret said, making faces. But then she saw Karen walk away from her chair, "Wait here. I will be right back," Margaret didn't wait for Alex to reply and walked away, shuffling his hair.

Alex just sat there as he watched her walk towards the restroom. If everything turned out fine in the end, it wouldn't be a bad thing, he thought. However sceptical he was of Margaret right now, there was no denying that she was very special to him.

'Well, I should get to the bottom of it soon and be done with all the mess in my life. It's finally time for me to grab hold of things important to me now and not live in the shadows of my past,' Alex thought and could not keep himself from smiling.

"Did you see that?" Hazel said as she pointed toward Alex and Margaret.

"There is definitely something between them," Ellaine pointed out once again.

"Look at that silly grin on his face. He is completely smitten by that woman," someone among the ladies said.

"I am itching to have him spill out everything."

"Let's not pry into his personal life. It's his life. He can do whatever he wants with it. It won't look good on our part," Jennifer poured water on their growing curiosity.

"Yay... Yay... Yay... our chief in waiting," Ellaine, with her arms forward, bowed slightly, making fun of Jennifer.

"What nonsense" Jennifer tried to brush it off. But the smile on her face gave her away.

"Don't shy away. Everyone here knows that if Chief were to get promoted tomorrow, you are next in line to take her place," Hazel said.
Everyone else at the table nodded in agreement. And to be honest, none of the ladies was against it. Unlike others, the ladies in the PR department were very fond of each other, and while Karen was a bit strict with them, Jennifer was gentle and caring. But the most important thing was that they both cared for them. And whose better to lead the pack when you have someone like Karen and Jennifer.

Also, everyone knew about the special relationship Karen shared with Jessica. Karen was one of the few employees who joined Jessica from the very beginning and gave it their all to stabilize the company during its budding years. So, now that Theation was on the right track, it was only a matter of time before Karen, along with a few others, moved up the hierarchy.

"Aren't we discussing the relationship between Alex and that lady?" Jennifer tried to divert the topic. Jennifer did not want to talk about her rumoured promotion when Karen was still their boss.

"Ohh! we almost got off the track," Hazel slapped her forehead and said, "Thanks, huh..."

"Though I would really advise not to intrude on his private space," Jennifer still persisted.

"Fine... we won't do that".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the washroom,

Karen stood in front of the mirror, continuously splashing water over her face. She could not get that smiling face of Alex and the scene of Margaret squeezing his cheeks out of her head. They looked so happy, and Karen felt helpless. She did not know how, why and when she began to feel this way for Alex. It's not like they spent a lot of time together, but just those few meetings and the time spent together left something engraved on her heart.

'Can you really fall for someone in such a short time?' Karen had no idea, and the relationship with her husband, though not something pleasant from the beginning, has eventually started to take a toll on her. Even the thought that maybe her failing marriage was the reason behind her attraction towards Alex crossed her mind. But there was no denying what she felt for Alex.

"You look frustrated," She heard someone from behind.

"Because I am," Karen replied nonchalantly but was startled when she looked up and saw Margaret in the mirror. She hurriedly turned around only to find Margaret standing behind her, smiling.

"It's nice meeting you again," Margaret greeted Karen with a sweet smile.

"You know me?" Karen asked, not sure if Karen had got the right person.

Hearing Karen, Margaret looked surprised, "Don't tell me you don't remember me. We met at Alex's house the other day," Margaret said and then slowly took a step forward as she whispered, "I know that was not the best of first impression, but it was one hell of an impression. I am sure of that." Margaret winked as she looked straight into Karen's eyes and stepped back, grinning.

"No, I remember you. I am just surprised that you remember me," Karen clarified. Margaret was right. Their first meeting was not something you could get out of your head that easily.

"Well, I tend to remember everything about my rivals," Margaret mumbled softly.

* * * * *

A/N: You can always vote your pick down below.

Karen

Margaret