A Ruined Marriage: Me, My Baby and My Dear Ex-Husband

CHELSEA

After pulling up to the business that I worked for, I jumped out of the car, hastily locked the doors, and then practically rushed to the front entrance of the building.

My chronic tardiness is the primary factor in my decision to avoid wearing shoes with heeled soles.

As soon as I'm on the elevator, I bring my attention back to my breathing again. When I finally do glance up, I see that the one and only friend I have here, Levi, is gazing at me in an odd manner.

"Hey, are you okay?" It was obvious that this made him amused. My current state made him laugh and I just sneered at him.

"No, this makes me feel sick, really, and I wasn't even running, you know." I got up and left.

"In any case, why are you in such a hurry? If you're going to be late anyhow, it's not like Mr. Brinsley is going to make a big deal about it. Relax now.”

Levi is right. I might be as late as three hours, and that man wouldn't give a damn about it.

According to Mr. Brinsley himself, I remind him of his late daughter, which is sort of a bummer since it means that he is easier on me than he should be considering that I am his personal assistant.

‘Should I worry about somewhere or something?’

On the other hand, there are occasions when I am filled with gratitude when I see how he responds when another person is late or makes a mistake.

‘His daughter, I pray that she finds eternal rest.’

"That does not mean that I will show up late every day. I have a job to do," again I sneered at Josh, looking at him annoyingly.

After a brief exchange of farewells, the elevator doors eventually opened to my level, and I proceeded to make my way to Mr. Brinsley's office from there.

I rapped on the door, and when I heard a rough "Come in". I entered the room and closed the door behind me after.

When he glanced up, his grumpy expression transformed in an instant, and a broad grin took the place of his previous scowl.

"Chelsea! It is wonderful to see you again.” He exclaimed excitedly.

"Likewise Mr. Brinsley. Good morning," I retorted as he grimaced at the fact that I had been calling him by that rather than his given name, Maxwell.

I like to have a professional demeanor at all times.

"We will be having a meeting tomorrow morning with a special company from North Cardova, and I'm sure that they are already here in Mouringham. Because of this, it would be very helpful if you could arrive a little earlier than usual to have the meeting room and papers prepared." He gave an explanation and I nodded on to it.

"Of course, Mr. Brinsley, this will be well noted. Aside from that, is there anything else?" I asked.

"No more, thank you. I have arranged for all of the paperwork that need to be filed away by the end of the day and placed on your desk. I also provided you the names of the persons who are going to attend the meeting, as well as what you need to convey to them.” While he was still gazing at his computer, he made this long statement.

"No problem, Mr. Brinsley. I’ll work on it right away," After that, I walked back out the door and went straight to my desk to begin working.

“North Cordova…” The thought of that place suddenly gave me chills.

…..

Before I could actually send an email to the company's members, it took me nearly a couple of hours to complete filing those piles of paperwork away in the appropriate folders.

As I perused the list of names, I saw a few that seemed to be rather recognizable until I came across the surname that I was all too acquainted with.

[Mr. Ludington]

I continued trying to convince myself that it was another Mr. Ludington, not the one I know. But when I saw the sign next to his name, I realized it had to be him.

Mr. Brinsley only places those signs next to people who are the owners of a big firm, and out of everyone in North Cardova, I only knew of one other person named Raphael Ludington who was an owner of a company.

‘Raphael Ludington.’

That indicates that he is now here in Mouringham, and that he will most likely see me here for the next few days.

“So what should I do now?”

Putting my thoughts to the side, I immediately finished what Mr. Brinsley advised for me to update them about the meeting tomorrow to one of the emails. I copied and pasted it to the rest of the emails since it would be too much effort for me to write the same thing over and over again. Tomorrow's meeting is at ten o'clock.

“Okay!” After I had done sending the email to each and every one of them, I checked the time and saw that it was getting close to four.

I was ready to let Mr. Brinsley know that I was finished, but just as I was about to do so, I received a notification on my phone that one of the members of the firm had answered back.

“Already? That fast, huh?” And here I was under the impression that I was a workaholic but someone might be more workaholic than as I am.

After sitting down again, I refreshed the website and then selected the first option that appeared on the screen. The guy's only response was, 'thanks'.

It was far more convenient for me to send emails to all of the firms using Mr. Brinsley's work email rather than my own, and he didn't seem to mind that I did so.

Before letting out a big sigh, I first glanced through the email that the responder had sent.

Raphael. Naturally, it must be him.

After making the decision not to respond, I stood up and made my way back to the office of Mr. Brinsley.

This time, I didn't knock before walking in, and when I saw that he was on the phone, I closed the door behind me before continuing in.

"Yes, you have my total understanding. If it is all okay with you, I will go into more depth regarding that issue at the meeting tomorrow. Alright! See you shortly." He hung up the phone before he even glanced in my direction.

“Oh Chelsea, how did things work out for you today?” As he finished swiftly typing something, he posed the question.

“Everything worked out well, Mr. Brinsley. I have put all of the documents in the appropriate folders and sent the necessary information to Mr. Jenkins and the others in preparation for tomorrow. I quickly stopped over here to see if there was anything more, I could do for you before I had to leave to pick up my kids,” I explained.

"I regret to inform you that I do not have any more work for you to help me with today. Concerning the meeting, all you need to do while it's going on is take notes on the significant matters that are being discussed and jot down any questions that attendees may have. But before you go, would it be possible for you to stop by the coffee shop down the corner and pick up a cup of that delectable drink that you bring in on occasion?” He asked.

"Maxwell, you are aware that there is no need for you to ask me for anything, right? You give me more than what I'm meant to have on my paycheck anyhow, not that I'm complaining about it, but you give me more than that.” I pointed out.

"Give me a moment to get your drink," I uttered. I smiled at him and then turned and walked away.

I grabbed my wallet on the way out while trying to conceal the grin that formed on my face as I thought back to the way his eyes lit up when I addressed him by his first name.

It makes me feel a little bit awful that I bring up their late daughter in conversation with him. When I finally made it to the door of the café, I found that I was a little out of breath.

My fitness level is fine, the problem is that I fatigue quickly. And I think I know the reason why.