“Rosy, what are we going to talk about that you can’t say over the phone?” Eric went directly to see Rosy.
She was inside the conference room of her office.
With her expression, she was not in a good state.
She was holding a big problem in her hand.
“Eric. Thank you for coming on very short notice.” Rosy uttered sincerely.
“Come on! What is this, Rosy?” Eric was not used to Rosy acting this way.
Rosy was always direct and didn’t want to waste time.
She had always high energy for work and was always finished ahead of the deadline.
Her professionalism was unquestionable.
“I… Eric, I…” Rosy started to stutter making Eric see the big picture without her telling him.
“Rosy…” He sounded calling her full attention.
She was completely disordered.
Before Rosy could talk again, her tears couldn’t help to flow.
“Eric, sor… sorry,” Rosy uttered very dispiritedly as she moved a folder to his side.
Eric quickly opened the folder and looked at it.
It was a report about Rosy’s dad’s funds withdrawal from Eric’s company.
The amount was so huge that even though Rosy tried to deposit it back it couldn’t compensate even the half amount.
Eric was in disbelief.
These were the funds for some minor projects.
It was in minimum amount but if they put it all together, it was a huge amount that could knock down the entire company.
“Eric, I tried to persuade dad but he avoided me when I got here. He was not in the house. Mom told me he was seen in different casinos with his young girlfriends.” Afraid that Eric would get her wronged, Rosy quickly explained in detail.
When she came back, her mom was crying hysterically.
She didn’t know why.
Then her maids were the ones to report everything to her.
She didn’t know what happened to her dad.
When she went to Capital Z, everything was all proper.
How come all of a sudden everything had changed?
Her dad who was so noble became somewhat she didn’t know.
She was dying to talk to him and know the whole truth but her dad didn’t want to see her.
He was not answering her call.
He was completely avoiding her.
Eric suddenly threw all the documents on the floor and then banged the surface of the wooden table.
Seeing his reaction, Rosy trembled in fright.
She knew Eric was angry.
Very angry.
Eric trusted her father a lot.
He looked at him as his real father.
Eric idolized him as a great man and a successful businessman.
In his expression, he was disappointed, stunned, and enraged with the change.
He felt betrayed by the person he trusted the most.
“Rosy… he got the funds secretly. Why did he have to do that? If he wanted money, he could ask me directly. I can give him everything.” Eric sounded a little bit calmer now but his tone still carried a great disappointment.
“I… I don’t know Eric. We haven’t talked yet. He had said nothing to me. I completely had no idea about his doing.” Rosy answered very disappointedly.
Embarrassed by what her father did to Eric’s company, she wanted to solve it in secret but her entire savings and investments could not cover everything that her father stole.
“Please forgive him, Eric. I will make sure that I will pay what he stole from you.” Rosy said sincerely. She was very apologetic and ashamed of her father’s actions.
Eric looked at Rosy. His eyes were serious and bottomless.
“No, Rosy.” He strongly refused. “Keep your money.”
“But the company needed those funds to accomplish the projects. You will go bankrupt for this.” Rosy insisted full of worries for Eric.
Eric was thinking while he put his hands together on the surface. “I will settle it. I still have many personal investments.”
“But… Eric, please let me help you.” Rosy could not just sit back and relax while Eric was striving to get some funding.
“No. I will not accept your help. It’s not your fault. Keep your savings. I will handle it.” Eric strongly insisted back.
Rosy wiped her tears.
Controlled by her instinct, she quickly stood up and hugged Eric behind.
She couldn’t help it.
That is one of the reasons why she loved him.
He was responding to everything.
She loved him even more.
“Thank you very much, Eric. I don’t know what to do. I can’t find my calm. Thinking about that I am very suffocated. You give me air Eric. You just don’t know how much I appreciate your presence in my life. Thanks a lot. I love you.” Driven with overwhelming happiness from how Eric treated her, Rosy couldn’t help but express how grateful she was to him but it was too late for her to realize that she said too much.
The feeling for him that she held inside her for too long was spoken out loud.
It should have remained unspoken words.
When she finally realized it, she blushed in shame.
The air seemed to turn to freeze.
She wanted to detach herself from him but she couldn’t move.
Eric was unmoved too.
The silence in the room was deafening.
An intensifying awkwardness invaded the atmosphere.
“Hmmm… Rosy?” Finally, Eric sounded along with his heavy exhale.
Hearing his voice, Rosy regained her senses.
She quickly took off her arms around him.
She stood up trying to stabilize herself but her cheeks were still blushing.
“Ahem!” Eric coughed.
Obviously, he just wanted to break the awkwardness between them.
They had been for so many years together but this kind of awkwardness never happened between them before.
Because of her sudden confession, they felt uneasy with each other.
Rosy hated herself as she felt very stupid.
How could those words come out of her mouth?
If only she could take back what she said without any hesitation, she would.
“Hmmm… Eric, I want to get some coffee outside. I will see you again later. Okay?” Rosy quickly excused herself to get rid of her shame.
“No. Rosy. Sit please.” But Eric was quicker to refuse her excuse.
Rosy froze. Eric didn’t want her to leave.
Are they going to talk about the matter with their hearts?
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