My Wife, My Man?

Chapter Twenty-two

"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness." Friedrich Nietzsche

Funny

If there was ever a word Jack could use to describe that one encounter with Perli, it could be the word funny, but he could never admit it. He remembered it like it was just yesterday. That exchange down the office corridor had left him drenched in dirty water. Before then, he had occasionally seen her around the building. From afar, he had observed her. He knew she was one of the new staff the HR had hired when he was away; David had mentioned it while praising her work ethic.

"She is a hard worker; not like those other girls, you know."

He had scoffed at David's praise, knowing his business partner and friend was easily impressed by anyone. However, he could never deny it. There was something particular about Perli that caught his eyes. Perhaps it was her constant smiles that somehow added a touch of beauty to her face or the diligence she put into her work, just like David had said. Then again, it could have been that she had the tendency to talk to herself out loud. The more he thought of it, he felt sure it was the last reason.

He found her weird.

He knew little about her, and he hated how that probed his curiosity. It had merely been two months since she started to work for their company and a month since his return from his time away, yet he found himself always aware of her presence.

He hated that.

He hated how he could get lost thinking about her. How the scent of her perfume, though faint, swept past his nostrils and had him turning his gaze towards her. How the shy smiles she gave to him whenever their eyes met felt like the sun on a cold day. But above all, he hated how frighteningly familiar she looked. He could never place a finger as to exactly where they had met. Maybe it wasn't her he had met, but someone who resembled her. The confusion that was caused in his head troubled him. Hence, he didn't like her and always responded to her greetings with silence and frowns.

Then came that day, the fatal encounter. He was heading for a meeting with his assistant when he was startled by a sudden splash of water on him as he turned down the corridor. There was, after deep gasps, a sudden silence that allowed the dripping of the water to echo. Anger boiled in his veins as he wiped the dirty water he had tasted off his face.

"Sir, I'm- I'm so sorry!" It was her. She took a step towards him to attempt to clean his wet suit.

He raised his hand. That alone halted her movements and, for a moment or two, had her holding her breath.

He looked between her and a male co-worker who had been there with her. Meeting her eyes, he saw glimpses of anger as she side-eyed the male employee. It made him curious about what had transpired, which led to the water being thrown. However, at that moment, he felt too angry to ask about the issue.

"John," he spoke to his assistant, who was behind him, but his glaring eyes never left Perli. "I want this woman fired and out of here." The calmness in his voice was contrary to the anger in his eyes.

Perli's eyes widened. "But Sir—"

He didn't want to listen to her. All he ever wanted was a reason — the tiniest reason to get her out of his life. Her presence had begun to torment him, arousing weird and foreign feelings that disoriented him. Hence, he didn't hesitate to have her fired on the spot. He could finally have her out of his sight, mind, and life. But it was funny how life had other plans. Months later, he was housing her as his wife.