THE BILLIONAIRE'S CRYBABY
Chapter 108: LOYALTY

Chapter 108: LOYALTY

"Sir Ace! You’re still here," she said, recovering from the shock of his presence.

"Yeah, I am. And you took forever to get a glass of water. And—- And your mind is still wandering about. Tell me something Marilyn, are you sure everything’s really okay?"

"And you? You’re supposed to be in your office. Don’t tell me you’ve forfeited work to roam about?" She replied defensively and daringly.

The words were out when she realized despite their closeness, she was still speaking to her boss.

"Sir Ace," she quickly added, and forced a smile on her face.

Ace went from confusion, to astonishment, and then resignation. She was hell bound on avoiding his questions, and being weird.

"I don’t need to explain to you why I’m still around. But if you must know, I thought to say hello to my wife. Is that so wrong?"

She quickly averted her gaze, at the mention of his wife. Her heart began to pound loudly against her chest.

Could he have already figured out Mrs Fay wasn’t in her room? She wondered in her mind.

"And what’s that?"

She lifted her head, but still refused to meet his gaze.

"What, my lord?"

He hissed between his teeth, and rolled his eyes. "My lord? Seriously, my lord? Marilyn?"

"Sir Ace," she swiftly responded.

"What are these on the tray?"

By memory, she began to recite as if programmed. "Bottle of water, glass cups, fruit juice— "

"And?" He asked, as the confusion at her recitation spread from his slanted brows to his furrowed forehead.

"No—" she was saying, when an inaudible gasp formed in her throat. "Chicken!"

"Yes, chicken. And?"

And? She began to search her head, trying to remember what else was in the tray.

He had her so confused, and barely able to remember what was, and wasn’t, anymore.

"I see you’ve wandered again. I’ll help you out. It’s ice cream. A bowl of ice cream. Why do you have chicken and ice cream from–" his eyes squinted as he tried to read the brand name. "Good wings. Why’s there chicken from good wings?"

She didn’t have time to form a lie in her head. Opening her mouth, she began to spew the first thing that came to mind. "Cam!" She said in a raised voice.

"Cam? What does Cam have to do with chicken and ice cream?"

"Mrs Fay sent Cam to get her some because she was craving chicken and ice cream! Yeah, that’s why there’s chicken and ice cream on the tray." She smiled afterwards, proud of what she was able to come up with at the spur of the moment.

"Fay sent Cam to get her chicken and ice cream?" He repeated her exact words.

In his heart, he suddenly felt weird. He didn’t want to put a name to the feeling, because if he did, it would sound a little too much like jealousy.

And that was absolutely ridiculous right? He couldn’t possibly be jealous of Fay asking Cam to get her food, and not him. No, he couldn’t.

"Okay, say this is true, why didn’t she just ask Alice to make her some?"

"Because, Alice had already made something different for dinner. She was just really craving chicken and ice cream. Thankfully, when she called Cam, he was a darling enough to respond."

"Oh she called him herself?"

Marilyn opened and closed her mouth. Something about the way he posed that question made her rethink her next words. He didn’t seem very pleased that his wife called his driver.

Knowing Ace the way she did, she knew he was pretty possessive.

"Maybe you should have gone with another lie, Mar," a voice in her head said. Unfortunately, she agreed with it.

"Yeah, she did."

"Okay. I see," he nodded. He did in fact see that there was a brewing closeness between his wife and his driver. A closeness that needed to be nipped in the bud. But of course, it wasn’t jealousy or anything like that. He just didn’t want anyone to form an inappropriate narrative in their head. Unchecked closeness could lead to that.

That thought settled in his head as he turned around and began walking away without saying any other word.

Marilyn stood, waiting for him to disappear out of sight before she would continue all the way to Fay’s room.

As she watched him, she prayed silently that he didn’t decide to divert down the stairs. If he did, all their lies and plot would be for nothing.

The truth would come to light faster than it took light to travel.

When he walked past the staircase, she felt the breath she had been holding on to, slowly release itself.

Bobbing her head victoriously, she turned around and began walking to Fay’s room, when she heard her name.

Her heart jumped for the umpteenth time.

"I don’t get paid enough for these multiple heart attacks," she muttered.

"Yes you do. You absolutely do," a voice in her head countered.

"True, but still–" slowly, she turned around. "Yes sir Ace?"

"Could you please tell Alice to make me some coffee? I may spend a little time in the office," he said.

"Right away Sir."

He nodded, and continued on his way, and so did she.

Stopping by Fay’s door, she knocked.

Leighton, who was caught in the magnificence of Fay’s room, heard the knock and froze.

It could be Ace. If it was Ace, she would be in a position where she not only had to open the door, but also lie to his face.

She wasn’t the best of liars. She could put on a good show when necessary, but that would require a certain level of preparation she now needed to go off.

Adjusting her blouse, she jutted her chin, and straightened her back. Waiting for the knock to sound again before she answered, she stood with her head held high.

But instead of a knock, the door opened, and Marilyn stepped in.

"Marilyn?" She held onto her chest as she breathed out heavily.

"I’m sorry Miss Leighton. Did I scare you?"

"Oh no," she waved a dismissive finger. "I was only worried it was Ace. And please, it’s just Leighton."

"I have good news," she said, as she walked over to a small table, and placed the tray on it.

"What’s that?" Leighton asked.

"Mrs Fay is home. But, she’s downstairs. You won’t believe I still stumbled on sir Ace when I came upstairs. Apparently, he was making his way here when he changed his mind last minute. And to think that Mrs Fay almost followed me up. What could have been?"

"Well thank God she didn’t. Is she free to come up now?"

"She should be. The coast is clear. Sir Ace has gone to his home office."

"Alright. Thank you so much for having Fay’s back, Marilyn. You and Alice are such gems to her."

Her cheeks became inflamed as she averted her gaze. "It’s really nothing, mi– Leighton. Mrs Fay is easy to love and be loyal to. Despite the harsh hands life has dealt her, she still managed to stay grounded. She’s a phenomenal girl, and I’m honored to know her." She held her chest, her smile wide enough to envelope the room.

"Oh my! That’s such a beautiful thing to say about anyone. Now I’m even more rooted in my belief that come what may, she’ll be fine and long as she has you two by her side."

"Thank you for also stopping by. It shows just how much you still love her. Please excuse me." She bowed her head slightly, and walked out of the room.

As she shut the door behind her, she made sure to lift her head, to avoid surprises.

Thankfully, the coast was clear. She bounced from foot to foot as she made her way down the stairs.

"Marilyn? What’s the excitement for?" Fay asked when she made it down.

"I’m here to tell you that the coast is clear. You can now go up."

"Thank you so much, Mar." She went in for a hug.

Marilyn wrapped her hands around her, inhaling her scent as she hugged her back.

She was beautiful, and smelled like heaven. There was no sane person that wouldn’t move the world for her.

"Thanks Alice!"

Fay called behind her shoulders as she took the steps. She arrived at the top, and her eyes trailed towards the director of Ace’s office.

Second day without seeing him, yet she felt his presence at every turn in the house.

"I hope you’re fine," she muttered, and continued to her room.

She paused in front of it, and smiled. "Leigh!" She squealed with excitement as she opened the door, and found Leighton sitting on the edge of her bed.

"My fairy!" Leighton jumped to her feet, and went in for a hug.

"I can’t believe you’re really here!" Fay burst out with joy, as they hopped from side to side whilst still hugging.

"It’s so good to see you, munchkin. Come, let’s catch up." She dragged her to the bed, and they sat side by side.

They talked, laughed, and shared secrets. Before either of them could remember to check the time, an hour had flown by, and it was closer to midnight than it was to the night.