Love and Lies

Chapter 14

The next day at the company, tensions simmered just beneath the surface. I tried to focus on my work, ignoring the lingering discomfort from last night's encounter with Alex. Kevin, however, was oblivious to the undercurrents. He approached me with a friendly smile as we prepared for another day in the lab.

"Morning, Samantha! Ready to tackle those herb samples?" Kevin asked cheerfully, his enthusiasm infectious.

"Morning, Kevin. Yes, let's get started," I replied, grateful for his upbeat demeanor.

As we worked together, Alex's presence loomed over us like a dark cloud. He watched our interactions closely, his expression unreadable. Several times, I caught him glancing in our direction, his jaw clenched.

Around mid-morning, Alex called for a brief team meeting. We gathered in the conference room, and he began discussing upcoming projects and deadlines.

As the meeting concluded, Alex motioned for Kevin and me to stay behind. The rest of the team filed out, leaving us alone with our boss, who wore a stern expression.

"What is the status of the cough medicine? Is it ready yet? It needs to be exported in two weeks," he informed us, his voice clipped.

"Sir, the production is done, and the packaging has started. By the end of next week, it will be ready for export," I replied, trying to sound confident.

"Yes, sir, the product is almost ready to go on the shelves," added Kevin with a smile on his face.

"Samantha and I can look into the other details tomorrow," Kevin said helpfully.

"Kevin, it's your job to oversee the importing and exporting of the products. Samantha will be in the lab with me for some testing," Alex said firmly.

"Okay, sir, I'll keep that in mind," said Kevin, his smile faltering slightly as he nodded and left the office.

"Well, that was awkward," Kevin finally said, breaking the silence with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah," I replied, my mind racing with conflicting emotions.

As the day wore on, I couldn't shake the feeling of being under the devil's watchful eye. Every time I glanced up from my work, I found him observing me from across the room, his expression inscrutable. What is up with him?

It was time for lunch when Kevin entered my cabin.

"Hey, want to have lunch together?" he asked me with a smile.

"Sure, why not," I replied. I didn't actually have any plans today, so I could have lunch with Kevin. I could get to know him better.

"Wait a second, let me get my bag and we can go," I said, grabbing my bag.

We decided to go to a restaurant that was twenty minutes from the company. It was an Italian restaurant. When we entered, the place wasn't full, but it looked quite expensive. We found a seat, and Kevin pulled my chair out for me. The menu was presented to us as soon as we settled. Everything on it looked pricey. I ordered some chicken Alfredo while Kevin opted for a Fiorentina steak.

As the waiter went away with our orders, Kevin spoke, "So, how is it working in the biggest medicine company in the city?"

"It feels great. I can learn a lot from it," I replied with a smile.

"So, I heard you were working overseas before joining here?" I asked him.

"Yes, I was working overseas. Due to some family matters, I had to shift here," he said.

Soon our food arrived, and we were lost in deep conversation. Kevin was a really funny guy. He was 26 years old and happily married with a son who turns one this year. His wife was a stay-at-home mother, taking care of their son and Kevin's sickly mother. I had to lie to Kevin, saying that I was married too, and that my husband's name was also Kevin and we were happily living in the city. I felt bad lying to him, but I didn't have any option but to do so. Kevin was going to become a good friend of mine.

After we finished our lunch, we headed out of the restaurant when Kevin pointed towards the window side of the restaurant. "That's our head scientist, right?" he said pointing towards the window of the restaurant.

I turned around, and it was indeed the devil, but he was with a girl. For the first ever time, I saw him smiling like that. Really, he was smiling at her. Who was she? Was she his girlfriend? As if feeling my stare, he looked in my direction. I immediately looked down to avoid meeting his eyes.

"I guess he has a lunch date," said Kevin, smiling.

When I looked up, the devil was still staring—or I would say glaring—at me. The girl suddenly said something which made him turn his attention to her. He seemed to be agreeing with whatever she was saying. I turned to Kevin and saw he was already looking at me.

"I think we should go. Lunch is about to be over," he said.

"Sure," I replied.

When we arrived back at the company, Kevin was busy recording the delivery of herbs, while I didn't have much to do since the devil was not here, so I didn't have any testing to do. My thoughts went back to him and the girl he was with. I had never seen him with any woman; she seemed close to him. I couldn't stop thinking about them. I felt a pang of jealousy as I thought about them being together. Stop it, Samantha, it's none of your business. He can date whoever he wants. I need to stop this feeling. Just a few more months and all this will be over.