Chapter 18 Guilt

Before I can push the handle of the door, it opens from the other side. Danner stands in front of me, staring straight at me. My guilt comes up, I dare not look him in the eye. "Loraine? What is it?", he asks strangely. I walk in and throw my bag on the side table. "What should there be? I'm just very thirsty." On my way to the refrigerator, I see that the dining table is occupied with a number of dishes. Danner knows I love Italian, so he placed a generous order. I fetch a bottle of water from the freezer, put it right up to my lips and empty it in one hit. Dordrich taste has been flushed, but my guilt is not. "Hey Danner, that's a surprise. Of course, I'm hungry too." I still can't look him in the eye. Silence. I sigh and cover my face in my hands. "Loraine, what's wrong? Something's wrong with you." Ooohhh gosh! Danner knows me like no other, so he's right to know that my head is full. But how do I tell him I just had a hot moment with Dordrich in the elevator? Knowing Danner makes a big fuss, he won't make it easy for me, I have to think of something soon. "The ring. I'm very disappointed. You know how excited I was about it and what I had in mind. Now that's over." It works, thankfully. "Honey, you now have a beautiful diamond ring to show off. Your fiancé took good care of it," he jokes. We laugh about it, and he also sits down at the table. As usual we have a nice time eating, chatting about business and friends. After our stomachs are full, we walk with a drink to the back terrace, where we lie in each other's arms on a stretcher. "Aziel has been appointed to accompany me to China", I slip out. And yes, here it comes! "Who decided that?" Danner's thunderous voice sounds. He turns me around so I look him in the face. "I was clear about Aziel, Loraine. Aziel isn't going anywhere alone with you. Done!". I hold my hands up in surrender. "It wasn't my idea, Danner. But Aziel is our best man when it comes to negotiating with Chinese businessmen. No one in the company has as much experience as him and he's very familiar with our corporate culture. I don't have anyone else to replace him. Please try to understand me". I look at him pleadingly. "Then it must be that Kaylah who raised this. I know she doesn't like me, but I don't accept that she undermines me." He takes his phone out of his pocket and presses Kaylah's number. Before he can say anything, I hear my secretary. "Danner! I was expecting your call. Yes, I've assigned Aziel on the trip to China and it's all business. There is no room for third-party sentimental matters when it comes to such important missions. Solve your problem privately and leave the company out of your nonsense". This time I totally agree with that Kaylah, business is business and a tough entrepreneur like Danner should understand that too. "You think you're smart, Kaylah? Okay, then see how I deal with it." And with that, he ends the conversation. " Will you always get so worked up when there's a man around me? How are you going to keep this up? Your jealousy will eventually kill you if you continue like this. There will be times when I have no choice but to go out in male company", I tell him. Danner's anger isn't over yet. "As long as it's not an ex, I don't have any problem. But I know that Aziel, that's a smooth fish. As soon as the moment arises, he ll take his chance. I don't trust him at all", he hisses. "But you're engaged to me. Don t you trust me then?" Immediately after this question, my guilt stabs me. Didn't I cheat on him an hour ago, with Dordrich, his arch-rival?! The thought of our brief meeting in the elevator already makes my nipples stiffen, the wonderful feeling when he had them in his mouth comes back. I clear my throat to bring myself back to the conversation with Danner. "I trust you, but I also have to protect you. You are no match for these hyenas like Aziel. That Kaylah overestimates herself if she thinks she can enter a psychological battle with me". Oh My! This is exhausting. I think I'll pull out of this and let the sides fight their thing. As long as my company is not harmed by this, everything is allowed. Danner is my fiancé, I'm not holding him back in whatever he's up to. Kaylah is a strong personality, she can handle him, she has proven that many times. I turn back and lie comfortably against Danner's chest again, enjoying my liqueur and the soothing view. I can hear him using his phone again and having a conversation but keep my distance. My eyes fall on the ring on my finger. I don't think this will impress the Chinese, they are used to luxury, their wives probably also have a collection of diamond rings. The ruby would definitely grab their attention, the way it's cut, the striking color and then my sexy slender fingers. Crying over spilled milk, time to think of another strategy. I've got two days to come up with that. It won't be easy because I've been working on this one for weeks, focused on the ruby. Maybe I can get some aspirations from social media. I hit the Facebook icon on my phone, let the notifications roll out, and start reading the latest comments about Danner and me. Most of it is compliments and congratulations. But then I see Dordrich's name again, there are some commenters who insist on associating him with me. And then I read that some accounts are making a bet that Dordrich and I will be engaged within five years. I quickly press another notification to hide it all from Danner's eye. Because that will definitely give him a heart attack...