Chapter 342 Alone Time
Oscar went to the office after breakfast. On his way there, his headache got so bad that he nearly jumped a red light.
Fortunately, he made it to work safe and sound in the end. For some reason, fate seemed to have set him up to bump into Isabella the moment he stepped into the office.
“Hey, good morning, Oscar! What a coincidence, right? Have you had breakfast yet? I just so happened to have an extra packed. Do you want it?” offered Isabella unabashedly. The woman was as cold as one could be in front of others. However, when talking to Oscar, she was the complete opposite.
Oscar gave Isabella a grim look before reminding, “As part of the company, you should know that we’re now inside working hours. Please don’t act as though you’re above the rules just because my mother favors you. Do respect yourself and others while at work.”
Even though Isabella did not appreciate Oscar’s tone, she already got used to being treated that way by the man.
Isabella was convinced that she had to be brazen in order to win Oscar’s heart. I need to make him feel as though I’m always around. That way, he’ll constantly be reminded of me. I know I can win him over one day if I just continue to be persistent.
The more Oscar gave her the cold shoulder, the more Isabella wanted him. Isabella did have feelings for Oscar, but more than that, she wanted to show the man that she could dominate him just as she did any other male.
Eventually, Isabella’s overconfidence would lead to disappointments in her love life and have her tripping over her own ego.
Following closely behind Oscar, Isabella noticed the pale look on the man’s face. “You don’t look so good, Oscar. Are you sick?” Isabella then reached out and tried to touch Oscar’s forehead, but he instinctively evaded her hand.
Without a word, Oscar stepped into his personal elevator and gestured for Isabella to stop following him.
After the elevator door slowly closed itself in front of her, Isabella angrily stomped her feet.
The woman then quickly recollected herself and glared at her onlookers before strutting into the public elevator as if she was a proud peacock.
When the others saw Isabella press the button for the floor Oscar’s office was on, they could not help being impressed by the woman’s doggedness. Had it been anybody else in her place, they would have given up by then. To the others, Isabella’s can-do attitude was nothing short of an inspiration.
However, what other people thought mattered not to Isabella, for she grew up always getting what she wanted. She was never forced to do or accept anything she disliked, and one or another, she always got her way. Isabella believed she was allowed to take any measures to get the things she wanted, so she took it upon herself to win Oscar over.
To her, Oscar was not a person but a challenge to be completed. Only after accomplishing the feat would Isabella allow herself to relax. Otherwise, she would become the joke of the company for all her acts of desperation.
Isabella was too proud to ever allow something like that to happen.
After walking out of the elevator, Isabella headed straight for Oscar’s office but was quickly stopped by the man’s secretary, Linda. “Mr. Clinton is not feeling well right now, Ms. Walker. He wishes to rest in his office without being bothered by anyone, so I must kindly ask you to leave,” informed Linda.
Isabella gave the secretary a look before responding, “Linda, in case you’re unaware, Mrs. Clinton herself said that I could enter Oscar’s office whenever I want and that I could inform her if anybody tried to stop me. Is that what you want, Linda? Do you want me to report your behavior to Mrs. Clinton and get you fired?”
However, the secretary was unmoved by Isabella’s threat. “I’m only carrying out the duty Mr. Clinton assigned me, Ms. Walker. If you insist on reporting me, there’s nothing I can do about it. That being said, I don’t think you would trouble Mrs. Clinton with something as trivial as this.”
With a hardened face, Isabella took a deep breath and recomposed herself before suddenly giving the secretary a hard slap to the cheek. The smacking was so loud that it attracted the other employees’ attention.
“Who do you think you are? You think you’re allowed to talk to me like that?” sneered Isabella.
Concerned, the other secretaries hurried over to check on Linda, whose cheek had already turned red because of the assault.
“Whatever it is, I’m sure you can talk it out. You don’t have to get physical, Ms. Walker,” reminded one of them.
After looking daggers at her colleagues, Isabella ordered, “Get out of my way.”
Still, they remained by Linda’s side, standing between Isabella and Oscar’s office.
“What’s this? Are you guys trying to stop me from seeing Oscar? You think a useless bunch like you have a chance with your boss?” mocked Isabella, thinking that she was better than everyone else. The woman was determined to ridicule and berate those who dared to stand up against her.
Covering her hurting cheek, Linda continued, “This is a workplace, Ms. Walker. If you’re unable to keep things professional here, I’m afraid I’ll have to take the necessary measures to stop you from disturbing others. Now please go back to your station.”
Isabella then started pushing and shoving her colleagues to get through. The commotion eventually instigated Oscar to step out of his office.
When the man glanced sternly at them, Linda and the other secretaries quickly stood aside and greeted him, “Mr. Clinton.”
Still suffering from his headache, Oscar knitted his brows tightly as he commanded, “Go pack your things, Isabella. You don’t have to come back here tomorrow.”
Isabella was so shocked that she stared at Oscar with her eyes wide open, but the man ignored her and turned to his secretary instead.
“Linda, if anybody is causing trouble, just get security to throw them out. If you can’t manage something as simple as that, then you shouldn’t work here either,” warned Oscar.
“I understand, Mr. Clinton.”
After Oscar returned to his office, Isabella hurriedly sneaked past Linda and the others while they were still distracted. When Linda realized what had happened, it was already too late.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, Oscar. What right do you have to fire me? It’s not fair! I was just worried about you,” voiced Isabella after setting her breakfast on Oscar’s desk.
“Get out,” ordered Oscar while rubbing his forehead.
“No. I’m not leaving until you explain yourself.”
Oscar then lifted his head to scowl impatiently at the woman before pointing at the door. “Get out.”
When she noticed how pale Oscar seemed, Isabella immediately dashed to the door. “Linda, quick! Go get some medications! Oscar is sick. And get some water too while you’re at it.”
After that, Isabella hurried back to Oscar. “You’re sick, Oscar. You need to get some rest. Or better yet, let me take you to a doctor. We can’t let your condition worsen.”
Oscar tried to push Isabella away and have security remove her, but unexpectedly, he was too weak to put up any resistance.
Before long, Linda returned with medications and was stunned to see how sickly-looking Oscar was. “Here are the meds.”
Clumsily, Isabella tried to feed Oscar the medications, but even when sick, the man refused to cooperate with her. Isabelle then decided to put the medicines inside her mouth and drink a mouthful of water before force-feeding Oscar with a mouth-to-mouth approach. Witnessing the domineering behavior, Linda was utterly dumbfounded.
“What the heck are you staring at? Get over here and help me carry Oscar. Can’t you see that he’s severely ill?” questioned Isabella rhetorically.
Linda wanted to help, but she had a different idea. “I should call for an ambulance.”
“You think I don’t want to send him to the hospital? It was Oscar who insisted that he didn’t want to go, so help me get him over to the bed. If he gets better after some rest, then we won’t have to call for an ambulance. If not, we can always call for one by then,” uttered Isabella.
Working together, the two eventually managed to get the sickly man into bed. Even though Oscar usually looked healthy and strong, he was weak all over when sick.
After tucking Oscar in, Isabella took a wet towel and placed it on the man’s forehead. Then, she pulled his blanket up and stayed beside him as if she was his worried wife.
Linda breathed a sigh of relief when she saw how sincere Isabella was, but at the same, she worried that Oscar would develop feelings for the woman. People are the weakest, both physically and mentally, when sick. That must be why Ms. Walker went through all the trouble to care for Mr. Clinton. If she gets her way, we’ll all be in trouble.
Just thinking about Isabella’s overbearing attitude was enough to send shivers down Linda’s spine, for she knew that Isabella would definitely give her a hard time if the woman were to become her boss’ wife. She probably won’t think twice about firing me if she has Mr. Clinton’s ear.
“You can leave us now, Linda. I’ll take care of Oscar.” Isabella shooed the secretary as if she was getting rid of a pesky fly.
“Should I call Old Mr. Clinton and Old Mrs. Clinton?”
“Linda, if you’re smart, you should know that you’re not supposed to do things that aren’t asked of you. Sooner or later, I will marry into the Clintons, so you would do well to remember never to go against me again. Mark my words.”
Isabella made it abundantly clear that Linda should listen to her.
After some thought, Linda decided to make herself scarce. The secretary looked worriedly at Oscar before closing the door behind her, knowing that she would be in trouble again for leaving him with Isabella.
Linda realized that no matter who she sided with, she was going to end up offending the other. This is not what I expected when I signed up to be a secretary.