"I'm sorry Miss Adam, Mr Trusk would not be coming to the office today. He called in hours ago to cancel his meeting with his board."

Patricia let her eyes remain on the man speaking to her in the tackiest three piece suit she had ever seen, for a while. Peeping at his eyes through his glasses, Patricia recognized him as Angelo's secretary.

She held on tight to the welcome back flowers she had got for Angelo trying to calm herself as she did, not really sure she believed what she had heard.

"Really? "

She was pretty sure her informant in the company wasn't wrong when he had told her Angelo was confirmed to return to the office since his discharge from the hospital hat day. She had done everything necessary and made the best preparations to welcome him back. She had to be the first one especially since it was hard to reach him ever since the media circulated their photos around the internet.

"Well did he say why?"

"I'm but that's all I was told. I'm not permitted to give anyone more information about Mr Trusk or his family today, except members of the board."

"Oh ." Patricia asked pretending not to be dissapointed
"I see."  She forced a smile on her face. She wasn't going to push it. She trusted him, there had to be a reason why, and besides, she didn't have that kind of a relationship with his Secretary. She watched him leave, walking as briskly as possible and took a deep breath. She turned to the bouquet of flowers staring at them, and slowly caressing their petals with her fingers, lost in the thoughts of why Angelo suddenly had to cancel his schedule and she didn't know about it.

"Look at her."

Patricia paused for a while as soon as she heard the low voices from behind her. She didn't want to turn just yet, at least not until she was certain that she was the subject of their conversation.

"If being shameless was a person, it had to be her."

Patricia turned just a little bit, keeping it subtle so they didn't notice she was onto them. She could count about ladies in their mid fifties, staff obviously, standing right beside the huge water dispenser, starring at her, and failing to hide the disgust and disappointment on their faces. Patricia turned back quickly.

"She has no shame waiting on someone else's husband with flowers. I can't believe this."

"I agree. I even heard she didn't leave Sir Angelo's side all the time he was at the hospital. She's not even married to him and she's doing all this, even when he left her for an Atian woman. How can you be human and lose to one of those people? I would never," it was the tone of mockery in her voice

"It's Anna I feel for, I can't believe she has to tolerate seeing another woman in her husband's face all the time. It screams desperation, my tolerance would never allow it, super crazy."

"I heard she was Angelo's ex before he got married to Anna."

"She was?"

"Yes, my cousin at the hospital where sir Angelo stayed also told me that she also got into fights with Anna over Angelo."

The simultaneous gasps after the exaggeration threw her off completely.

"That sounds so sad."

"I'm just happy Anna and Angelo are finally getting along. If they came together for the company, it looks like it has become more than that. Do you see the way he looks at her? The way he looked at her the other day?"

"Oh my god, yes, I caught that," she snickered. "It was the most adorable thing ever. They gave me big butterflies I tell you."

"I heard Angelo was so mad when those pictures got out, he asked that they be taken down form all platforms."

"You know, I bumped into Angelo at the pharmacy on my way here this morning. He was trying to get some drugs, but he looked so healthy."

"Do you think they are for Anna? Maybe she's sick? Doesn't that explain why they both couldn't make it to the office this morning?"

Patricia let her fingers dance around the flower petals while she listened to them carefully.

"That could be a reason, I wouldn't be surprised if it was. I mean, it was about time they acted like a couple.

Patricia scoffed, those women were trying to get to her and she knew it. They were probably saying anything at that point to upset her, she didn't care what they thought or how they felt. She knew better than to let them get a reaction from her.

"Patricia." She turned immediately and let out a weak exhale, finally, someone she wanted to see.

"Sam." She forced a huge smile on her face as soon as she saw how the familiar face scurried quickly towards her. Just like Angelo, Sam was her best friend too, at a time in their childhood, she and Sam used to be way closer than he was with Angelo. She was sure that if there was anything she had to know, she was going to know it at that minute, he was going to make sure of it.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, lowering his gaze on the flowers.

"Oh," Patricia snorted playfully. "I just wanted to welcome Angelo back to work. I thought I'd bring him flowers." Sam looked at her for a minute and she could have sworn she recognized the look on his face. It was pity. If there was anyone that knew exactly how much Patricia felt about Angelo, it was Sam. He literally knew the both of them their whole lives, and it was safe to say he saw it coming, he saw all of it.

He exhaled.

"Patricia-"

"Not you too Sam." She rolled her eyes. "I'm hearing it, I've heard enough for one day."

"You just, this is an office,"

"I know."

"You can't be doing this here."

"I know." She looked at him so she could convince him that she knew what she was doing. She was getting ahead of herself. He exhaled weakly. "Look, bad timing, bad place, but I couldn't help myself. I can't reach him, and I'm worried."

"You should go home," she frowned.

"Angelo might not be coming to work today, he called in earlier, Anna is sick, and he's babysitting."

Patricia scoffed, lowering the flowers in her hands so they didn't block her vision anymore,

"And with everything that has happened, I don't really think people seeing you here, or seeing the both of you together, is going to make it easier for him, or you, or Anna?"

She was speechless and so embarrassed. She slowly turned around and could see how the ladies behind her were snickering at her. She couldn't stand it, she couldn't stand them, she slowly turned back to Sam.

"Fine," she said. "You could give me his address and I'd just drop this off at his house."

Weird how she never bothered getting Angelos address in the first place. Sam wasn't sure that was a good idea, he tried to say something but she didn't let him.

"Give me his address Sam, or I'm not going anywhere till I see him, you know I mean it."

Sam stared at her, taking note of the determination in her eyes and voice, if he knew one thing about Patricia, it was the fact that when she wanted something, she had to get it or she wasn't going to stop. He wasn't sure he could say no to her.

He exhaled, Angelo was going to kill him.
And he knew he had every reason to.