It was not long ever since they came back from their successful business trip, and Vincencio wasn't even surprised to suddenly have a pile of work that didn't belong to his field. He had his hunch—he was being bullied. Everyone in the department pitied him, but with his undeniable diligence, he earned more respect than being belittled, which stirred envy from a particular man in the finance department, Mr. Gables.
"Since you love to work, here's more work for you, and you better submit it to me before your shift is done." With a firm and bossy tone, Mr. Gables dropped a pile of paperwork on Vincencio's desk.
"Sir, are you sure you're giving me this?" Vincencio was not even surprised, but he carefully wondered since it was not his job. "Aren't these works for the finance department?"
"Yes, but they were about the design budget, so better to sort them all." He smirked.
"Okay, if you say so." With a sigh, he flatly replied, and Mr. Gables didn't like his tone.
"What did you say?" he growled.
"I said that I'm going to do your work as well, Mr. Gables." With sarcasm, Vincencio responded.
"Manager for you!" He roared, making some designers look at them.
"Yes, Finance Manager Sir Gables." Again, with sarcasm, Vincencio repeated as he cleared for him.
"Good." With a smug look, Mr. Gables left, where Medina and the design department head's secretary, Samantha, heard everything.
Both ladies entered the cabin; Medina sighed while Samantha clicked her tongue upon seeing the piled paperwork that didn't belong to their department. Vincencio shrugged his shoulders while grinning.
"Seriously, that's not your work." Their department head's secretary, Samantha, whom he shared the cabin with, commented as soon as she saw the piled work added on his desk.
"I know." Vincencio grinned.
"And you're grinning because?" Medina curiously asked.
"Well, I will do it since I want to please our CEO and maybe be promoted faster than him." He smirked, making the two ladies chuckle at his comment.
"Well, if you put it that way, it's indeed a privilege to take advantage of." Samantha agreed as she went to her secretary's desk since they were sharing the cabin due to their workflow. Samantha handled the schedules of their department head and the project schedules, while Vincencio organized all the projects before giving them to the design team managers.
"I know, right?" He chuckled before glancing again at his wife's secretary and asked. "Medina, what can I do for you?"
"About that, the boss is looking for you, but seeing you're preoccupied, I'm going to tell her you're in your swamp again, which she's not going to like," Medina smirked as she eyed the pile of work on his desk.
"Hm, I can drop by before I start everything here." With a glance over the papers, he smirked.
"Go there already, Vincencio. It's better to answer the CEO's call than the other department bosses here." Samantha insisted on pleasing the big boss rather than the small ones, making them laugh.
"If you put it that way, I better come with you, Medina. And Sam just notified me if my real work comes," Vincencio reminded me. Samantha gave her a nod while grinning before going to her usual job, and as for them, Medina and Vincencio headed to the CEO's cabin before something went wrong.
***
Inside the CEO's office, Vincencio came inside calmly and rested on the couch while his wife finished her morning workload. But when she was done, Skylar's CEO's façade didn't soften as soon as she met Vincencio's eyes. She was glaring and furious over something she could not control yet.
"I heard that you're swamped again." With coldness in her tone, Skylar glared at Vincencio.
"Well, Mr. Gables threw some finance work on my desk again, which I think I'll be doing overtime tonight once more if I don't finish it before my shift ends," Vincencio calmly replied even though Skylar wasn't asking.
But once she got up from her seat, she went closer and grabbed Vincencio's chin to meet her eyes. She's pissed over the situation, but she could not do anything without her husband's approval.
"Say it, Vince. I'll make sure to get it done before you know it." With firmness, Skylar reminded him who was the boss of the company, although she knew what Vincencio would reply to her.
"I know you would, but don't. I don't want to use your CEO's power over some trivial matters like this. This is between me and my co-worker." With amusement, Vincencio calmly reminded Skylar not to interfere since she was the boss of their company and they were just employees who were having misunderstandings.
"Fine, for now. But if things escalate, with or without your concern, I'll use my power and slap him about my marriage with you." With her usual cold voice, Skylar warned her husband before capturing her lips.
"I know you would." Vincencio smiled in between their kisses before pulling away when they heard a knock.
"Come in." Skylar rolled her eyes and sat beside him.
"Are you two decent?" Medina peeked her head as she asked while covering her eyes with her hand.
"We're not even doing the deed yet." Skylar sighed as she answered, making Vincencio laugh.
"Great, your order just arrived." Medina grinned teasingly.
"Order? What order?" Vincencio got confused.
"Well, since Medina texted me about your so-called piled work, I have to eat early lunch with you." With firm annoyance, Skylar answered as Medina put two paper bags from Skylar's hotel and restaurant.
"Thoughtful," Vincencio sweetly commented, making Skylar slightly blush.
"Clingy and possessive," Medina corrected.
"Medina, get your portion and leave us." Skylar glared, and she shoved Medina's portion on her.
"Yes, boss." With a teasing chuckle, Medina let the couple enjoy their meal before leaving. "Enjoy your meal."
"Do you prefer Thai cuisine?" Skylar sighed over Medina but wondered carefully at her husband.
"I'm craving one today." He responded with delight, and they both started having an early lunch until Skylar muttered something.
"Can I just fire him for doing that?" After swallowing, Skylar wondered before continuing. "I can't steal you from your work whenever he got involved in your department's workflow."
"Wifey, again, don't overuse your power as the CEO; it may bite you back later on." With amusement, Vincencio chuckled over his wife's adorable frustration while they were eating.
"Tsk. Fine, I won't, but like I said earlier, I can't be stopped once it gets too much." Annoyed, Skylar gave up as she reminded Vincencio if things got out of hand around their department.
"Noted, Wifey. Let's eat before my time's up." Vincencio charmingly smiled, making Skylar blush a little. She was grateful that her husband loved their early lunch and spending time together, despite their marriage being a secret in the company.
***
Their job flows around the company smoothly, and as Vincencio said, he took overtime, which angered Skylar. Skylar was pacing back and forth while waiting at their house since there was still no sign of her husband's shadow on their lawn.
"Joey, is my husband still there?" Skylar quickly called Joey since he's always doing his night rounds in the company for security measures.
'Yes, and I don't think he'll go home.'
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Skylar quickly exclaimed upon hearing them.
'Calm down, Sky. Your husband is a very diligent employee, and he's doing this not to impress that ass but you. Everything is for you.'
"I know, hell; I don't want it if he's not with me or beside me, Joey. Bring him to me." Her anger has been mixed with worry that slightly wavers her composed tone.
'Skylar, both of you had stubbornness, and it shivers my spine.'
"Dammit. Tell him to pick up my call." With frustration creeping out, Skylar groaned before hanging up the phone call.
'Noted.'
"GO HOME NOW, HUBBY." With a quick dial, Skylar growled demandingly as soon as Vincencio picked up the call, but he chuckled.
'Ohho, she misses me, but sorry, Wifey. I can't. I have to finish this because I've gotten entangled with complications over the finance paperwork.
"Complication? How complicated?" With that notification, Skylar's attention was caught.
'I found out some files don't tally with the others, and since it's from the finance department, the company has been secretly losing money.'
"WHAT?!" Skylar growled again as she ran her hand over her hair. Her annoyance turned into a wildfire.
'I know that's why I asked Joey's expertise over this matter since you trusted him to handle security measures, and we found out it was inside. At first, the stolen money was minimal, but lately, it began to increase, and the finance department had no clue what they threw at me, or maybe they thought I wouldn't notice it.
"What a clever husband I married. Fascinating," Skylar thought amusingly when she heard him. Before she released her sigh, her tone went cold, and she firmly decided what to do about the matter they had found out. "If that was the case, then it was connected to the reports that I had been receiving lately. Fine, I'll give you an excuse tonight and make some copies of the file that you found odd. Get the original and give that to me tomorrow."
'Yes, boss.'
"One more thing. This is just for tonight's issue, but next time, I want you home with me. No overtime anymore." With a sigh, Skylar coldly reminded her husband.
'I will. Love you.'
"Love you too, and tell Joey to help you with it." She sighed, but she quickly grabbed her work tablet and rechecked the reports from the finance department's head.
'We're already doing it.'
"Take care, Hubby. I miss you already," she admitted before yawning.
'I know, I am too. Sleep now; I'll finish this.'
"I'm going to get the culprit tonight. They messed with the wrong company." With a sinister grin, Skylar went into her dangerous CEO side and found the culprit trying to sabotage her company. It was fueling her wrath.
***
"Have you heard the rumors about Vincencio and the boss?"
"What about them?"
"They're cheating on their marriage. Someone caught them being too close with each other when they were already committed to others."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yeah, somebody saw them on their business trip coming out from one hotel room, which I think they did the deed behind their marriage."
"That's something."
That kind of rumor was spreading like an epidemic in the company, and it didn't escape the diligent Vincencio's and their cold and intimidating CEO's ears. But they didn't have any reactions regarding that matter, only laughter, but since it was escalating and overlapping with Mr. Gables's jealousy, Vincencio was pushed to the corner.
"Like I thought you were, a cheater, a fuckboy, and a charming gold digger. I understand now why you've been around the CEO lately and pleasing her with these." Mr. Gables smirked as he placed the paperwork on his desk again.
"You're the one who's giving me work, and now you're using it against me?" With a calm voice, Vincencio wondered, making him furious.
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! YOU'RE ALREADY MARRIED!" He shouted, making everyone in the design department hear it.
"I am married." Vincencio got up from his chair and leaned over his desk, facing the man who had been jealous and bullying him with work.
"And you're cheating with the CEO, gold digger." He pressed without knowing that it would come back to bite him.
"How am I cheating when she's my wife in the first place?" With crossed arms, Vincencio's aura shifted coldly, and he grew intimidated as he asked directly.
"Lies." He gulped but didn't believe it.
"How is he lying when everything he said is true, thief?" Skylar's intimidating cold voice caught everyone's attention when she appeared in the commotion. "Vincencio Saison-Monsour is my husband. Get that in your mind, and Mr. Gables, come to my office, and the rest of you go back to work."
"And me?" With a teasing voice, Vincencio's question caught Skylar's attention and halted her in her tracks.
"Hm, how about a lunch date with me?" With softness and sweetness, Skylar thoughtfully wondered.
"Looking forward to it." With a grin, he responded but later wondered. "So, how about a restaurant with a nice view, or do you prefer street foods?"
"Surprise me, hubby." Skylar winked at him before walking out of the department with her usual cold façade, leaving the employees shocked.
"Go back to work unless you want the boss to say it again." With a charming smile, Vincencio snapped their shocked expression back to their work routine.
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