Toby frowned at once and looked at his assistant with contempt, causing the corner of Tom's lips to twitch.
Why is the president looking at me like I'm an idiot? Have I gotten something wrong?
As the thought crossed his mind, he noticed something. There were bite marks and scratch marks on the exposed collarbone beneath Toby' slightly opened bathrobe collar.
Tom might not be as experienced, but he was no naive little boy either. So he understood how those marks came to be and what they meant at once, and he couldn't be any more mortified.
Kitten and scratches? Clearly, the president was referring to a human rather than an actual cat. As for who specifically, who else other than Miss Reed?!
In other words, Toby and Sonia probably had another round in the morning, and the man was so sated that he even answered the door with a smile.
If that was the case, Toby' smile wasn't directed at him at all. In fact, it was because the president hadn't managed to put it away, having just finished making love to Sonia. He encountered a rare occasion where he saw Toby smiling.
The most embarrassing part was that he had assumed his boss' smile was directed at him, thinking Toby was happy to see him.
What did I say? How is that possible?! Thank goodness I didn't look touched, or things would get really awkward…
As Tom thought mortifyingly, Toby' monotonous voice came. "What are you here for?"
Tom looked up only to find Toby' smile had been replaced with nothing but impassiveness and impatience, precisely like every other time he showed up at Toby' door.
Sure enough, this was the treatment a subordinate like him deserved. Everything that had happened earlier was just his imagination.
While sneering in his heart, Tom pushed his glasses and answered deferentially, "Have you forgotten, President? You asked me to bring the car over and also bring some breakfast over in the meantime."
With that, he handed a bag to Toby, who quirked a brow, clearly having only remembered that he had indeed said so the day before.
He took the take-out bag from Tom and wanted to shoo him away when the sound of footsteps came from behind him.
Sonia had come out after putting her clothes on. "Good morning, Tom." She smiled at the assistant as she stood behind Toby.
"Good morning, Miss Reed," Tom replied with a smile.
"Have you had breakfast? Why don't you join us if you haven't?" she asked while wrapping her arms around Toby'.
Toby instantly narrowed his eyes, looking menacingly at his assistant as though saying, 'I'll mangle you if you dare say yes.'
Because he did it covertly, Tom, who was only slightly shorter than Toby, noticed while Sonia was oblivious to it.
Thus, she didn't know she had put the poor assistant in danger either.
However, Tom knew, and the smile on his face stiffened by the second, so terrified that sweat began gathering on his forehead while he cried on the inside.
Ah, Miss Reed, do you even realize what you're doing to me?!
Though Tom knew Sonia wasn't implying anything but only asking out of courtesy and didn't know how upset Toby would get, he felt overwhelmed with stress right then. Alas, his boss was glaring at him like he had murdered his boss' father.
C'mon, boss, really? Miss Reed is just asking if I want to join breakfast. Why do you make it look like I'm trying to steal her from you?!
Tom snuck a glance from the corner of his eyes only to find Toby turning grimmer by the second. Then, he looked at the smiling Sonia and sighed inwardly before saying with a forcibly kept smile, "I'm good, Miss Reed. I've eaten before coming over. You and President Fuller go ahead. No need to bother yourself with me."
President Fuller won't look at me like I'm his arch-nemesis anymore when I answer like this, right?
At that, he snuck a second glance at Toby from the corner of his eyes, and sure enough, his boss' countenance turned much brighter, no longer as grim.
With that, he heaved a long sigh of relief.
On the other hand, Sonia, still oblivious to the two men's silent interaction, wasn't surprised at all that Tom turned her down.
If anything, she'd be shocked if Tom actually agreed to her offer.
"In that case, I won't force you then," said Sonia as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
Tom heaved a sigh of relief at once. "But I appreciate your offer, Miss Reed. Alright, I won't keep you and the President from your breakfast any longer. I'll be waiting in the parking lot."
"See you." Sonia nodded with a smile.
With that, Tom took another glance at Toby, only leaving with assurance when he saw that his boss was affirmatively no longer upset.
After Tom left, Sonia closed the door and returned to the living room with her arm wrapped around Toby'. "Is it me, or is Tom spooked? Did you sense it?" she asked as she gazed at her beloved's side profile while walking.
Toby averted his gaze in response. No way would he admit that Tom was afraid of him just now, would he? At that, he coughed and answered composedly, "No, I didn't sense anything."
Sonia didn't concern herself with the abnormality either and just nodded. "Guess it's just me, then. Oh, well. Let's eat. I'm hungry."
Toby hummed a response and put the bag on the table before pulling the chair out for her.
It was only after she sat down that he opened the bag and took the food out one by one.
By the time they finished breakfast, it was already past eight, and Toby led Sonia out of the apartment, entered the elevator, and headed to the parking lot.
However, right as they arrived at the parking lot, Toby stopped abruptly in his tracks.
"What is it? Why are you stopping?" Sonia turned around to look at him.
Toby let go of her hand and rubbed his temples. "I left the flash drive I used to copy some files last night in the study. Wait for me in the car while I get it."
"Alright, go on then." Sonia nodded in response.
With that, he returned to the parking lot elevator and headed upstairs.
Meanwhile, Sonia looked around and only strode over to Toby' car after finding it.
As soon as she got close, the car door opened, and Tom got out of the driver's seat to open the backseat door for Sonia. "Please, Miss Sonia."
"Thank you," said Sonia with a smile before entering.
After closing the door, Tom returned to the driver's seat, only to hear Sonia's voice the next second. "Tom, can I ask you something?"
Tom looked over his shoulder at Sonia at that. "Feel free to ask me anything, Miss Reed. I'll definitely tell you anything I can."
"Alright, I won't keep you guessing then." Sonia smiled. "I want to know what you and Toby talked about last night. He acted pretty strangely when he came back inside. I tried asking him, but he wouldn't tell me. Has something happened in Fuller Group?"
"I, um…" Tom hesitated, for he hadn't expected Sonia to ask about this.
What am I supposed to say?
Sonia pursed her lips when she saw Tom's hesitation. "What's wrong? Can't you answer it?"
"It's not that…" He scratched his head.
However, Sonia continued to stare at him. "Why won't you answer me then? Is it confidential company stuff? If it is, you can pretend that I never asked. It's fine."
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Same story i read about Jarred and Amber Reed...