Chapter 21
Chapter 21- Mistress?Belongs © to NôvelDrama.Org.
"Where did you go? You don't usually carry a purse around…" Akari asked Marissa while cutting the carrot into fine sticks.
Marissa was stitching Ariel's skirt hem. The little girl was sitting on the countertop, stirring the spatula in a bowl that had candies.
She seemed to share her mom's passion for cooking.
"Are you ready, princess?" Citra peeped inside and then waved at Marissa. They all were ready to go to the park along with Flint and were waiting for Ariel.
Marissa kissed each kid's forehead, "Don't let Abi run around in the park."
She called behind them and closed the door with a smile.
Akari had placed half of the carrot sticks in a steel bowl and was now doing preparations for carrot sauce.
"Are you avoiding my question?" she asked Marissa who was tossing all the aprons in a tub to get them washed.
"No, silly. I was waiting for the kids to leave. And about your question?" she picked a carrot stick and started nibbling on it, "In that office… I felt uneasy and …" she drew in a long breath, "this man … Dean… for a minute, he didn't seem confident enough. Sometimes he acts like a manager and then the next minute he sounds like the boss's messenger."
She started filling the huge glass jars with white flour, "I found him quite confident, and I think he likes me," Akari couldn't seem to hold on to her excitement.
"Yeah," Marissa started rolling the empty paper bag, "That I can see. It was pretty obvious."
"By the way, what did that cleaner lady tell you?" Akari took a whiff of the mixture and slowed down the flame of the burner.
Marissa gave her a tightlipped smile and placed the jar carefully in the cabinet, "She was praising the owner. She said that they care for their employees and keep offering different perks to them. The best employee gets a vacation or a good bonus or the best salesman can get a scholarship for their kid. The benefits are endless. To tell you the truth, I was pretty impressed by the details." Akari curved down her lips and checked the burner again. The sauce needed the perfect temperature for the preparation, "Can you pass me some honey?"
"What are you planning to do with Mr. Amir?" Marissa who was taking out the honey jar, got frozen by the question.
"We won't tell him anything, Akari. Let's get that contract first. Once we get enough money, we can dumb it on his sorry a*ss."
Akari had a thoughtful expression on her face, "I hope he doesn't come back."
Marissa took a look at her employee's scared face who was also her very close friend, "Don't worry. Next time he is here. Let me deal with him."
Akari nodded and got back to work. She needed to prepare honey soy glazed carrots for one of their old customers.
Marissa kept emptying groceries in their respective jars when both of them heard the knock. Akari's face got pale, "It must be him."
Marissa felt sorry for the poor girl. Something needed to be done against that man, for doing something so inappropriate.
She went to the door and took a sigh of relief when didn't find him on the door.
"Dean?" the MSin assistant cum manager was standing there carrying a dossier in his hand.
"Hello, Ms. Marissa. Sorry for coming unannounced." He smiled broadly.
"That's not a problem, Mr. Dean. We did the same yesterday when visited your office. Please come inside," She moved aside to let him in.
However, the moment he and Akari saw each other, Marissa could feel sparks in the room.
"Hello," Akari placed the spatula on the counter and walked up to Dean.
Marissa closed her eyes in frustration. Her employees knew better never to put a dirty spatula directly on the counter surface.
"Marissa. I brought the contract for you. The rest of the nineteen already signed it and you were late due to that misunderstanding,"
That uncertain feeling again settled in the pit of her stomach. He was here to get the contract signed.
Does he do it for every person they do business with? Her eyes landed on Akari's flushed face. Or was he doing it as an excuse to meet Akari?
This has to be the latter one. He was here due to Akari.
Marissa offered him a stool by the counter and then brought beer cans from the refrigerator. While they were engaged in the conversation, she took the time to go through the contract details.
They were not only paying well but were also ready to provide some space for her food court in their office. She was allowed to display her brand name too.
This was such a lucrative offer, all Marissa wanted was to grab the opportunity.
She thought for a minute and signed the contract. This was not the final one as they were ready to offer more, once she would pass the food trial.
"Here is the file, Mr. Dean."
"Thank you, Ms. Marissa Aaron." He bent his head in acknowledgment.
"Please call me, Marissa," Dean who was casually observing her signatures gave a friendly smile,
"In that case, please call me Dean."
There was some commotion outside the kitchen and Marissa quickly opened the door. The kids were back from the park and Dean saw Marissa's face lit up when she saw the kids.
"Damn. She is a mom and looks so young," And beautiful too.
He whispered to Akari when he saw the small girls with fascination but kept the last part to himself. However, nothing in his wildest dreams prepared him for what he saw at that very minute.
The three-year-old guy who entered the kitchen following his sisters looked exactly like the CEO of MSin Industries.
"What the hell is going on here?" he thought to himself. And then he started thinking about Rafael's desperation to get the contract signed by Marissa.
How he asked Dean to use Joseph's name in every meeting with the caterers. My God! Were these Mr. Sinclair's kids?
Wasn't he already married to Valerie Sinclair?
Was Marissa his mistress?