Married to my suspect

I dropped the sausage I'd packed along with my suitcase and turned on the engine. I let it warm for a while and switched on my phone, glancing at the time. I'd taken longer than I'd thought, since it was thirty minutes after seven now.

My phone came on, and I started dialling her number when the text that had been sent popped in. I opened the text from Danielle and read it. I nodded after reading it and started my journey to the office.

Rather than going up with my elevator, I made the choice to use the general elevator and went in with three other employees, all having gone quiet in my presence. I nodded in thanks when one of them pressed the floor for my office, and could both see and feel their relief when they got to their floors. I also relaxed when there was only me remaining in the elevator, and I came out when it got to my floor.

Not seeing Danielle in her seat, I went into my office and Danielle jumped when the door opened. She turned back with her hands on her chest, the file she had been putting on my table, dropping to the floor and the documents in it pouring out. She bent to pick up the documents and I went to join her.

"I thought you weren't going to be here until late." She asked.

"I definitely said I was going to be here early enough so we come in together. Besides, this is not my first rodeo." I responded, picking up the documents that were at my side.

She shrugged and stood up, and I stood up after her, the file in my hand. She made to collect it from me, but I dropped it on the table myself. "That doesn't mean you don't need rest. What time did you eventually come in?"

I shrugged and went to sit down and dropped the sausage I'd packed in a foil paper for her. "Is that why you left without eating anything? Eleni was making something and I snagged a bite for you."

She opened it and glanced at me. "What is it?" She sniffed it. "It looks like sausage. Did she really make this?"

"Yep. Almost burnt the kitchen down while making it, but it tastes good. Will you go down to get breakfast?"

She shook her head and closed the foil. "I'm not really hungry. I'll grab an early bite, with Lucas." She added that, and I could tell she was gauging my reaction.

"Alright." I'd guessed as much after she had spent that much time talking on the phone. As long as whatever floats his boat doesn't meet Danielle, my mind could be at rest when she was with him. Besides, he claimed to be her friend. "You should eat this, though." I said, gesturing to the food.

She picked it up. "Thanks for bringing me this." She started walking out. "Also, I figured you would be out this morning, so I rescheduled your morning appointments to afternoon and the ones that couldn't, tomorrow." She turned to me. "I'm not going to reschedule it so you might as well rest. If you need anything, I'll be outside." She finished and closed the door."

I smiled. That had been a direct order, so I might as well obey it. But before then, I opened the file she had dropped and looked up as a knock sounded on the door. Danielle entered. "I forgot something." I looked at my table, confused on what it could be, as she walked closer to me.

"Did you drop the sausa…?" My voice trailed off, and I stared at her in surprise. "What are you doing?"

She balanced the file I'd just opened in her arm. "I'm not done yet. I'll probably be done at noon. I'll also take it as a verbal instruction that no one is to disturb you." I stared open-mouthed as she walked back out and closed the door gently behind her. The file she had just taken was an important one, our consolidated financial reports after the merger, and while those could wait until later, I could have as well gone through it and then rested.

DANIELLE'S POV

It took special gravy to be stubborn, and it took the same to be a workaholic, unfortunately, my husband embodied both. I had fully expected Jonathan to come in late, even though I had guessed his late might have been before ten, not coming in before eight am.

I dropped the file on a shelf near me and opened the foil paper that had the sausage. Since I didn't want to bother with a fork and knife, not that I had either around, picked it up and took a small bite.

I hummed and took another bite. I vaguely remembered Eleni talking about a dish like this the last time I'd bought a sausage to cook. I guess it was this. Not surprisingly, it tasted really good. I finished the rest with gusto and went to wash my hand, glancing at my boss's door as I came out of the restroom. Hopefully, he takes my advice to rest. If he couldn't tell, I could, and it was painfully obvious he needed it. He looked really exhausted, I'd never seen him like that before.

I'd drafted a plan of the things I needed to do, and so far I'd been able to cross out just one item from that list. Jonathan's arrival at the office early was probably going to ruin a few of my plans, but there were some things I could still do pending him needing me, and I was going to do just that.

I returned the call I hadn't, sorted the mails that had piled up as well as drafted some replies to them, and I was working on the meeting for the next board meeting when the intercom buzzed. I answered it and Jonathan's voice filled my headset.

"Can I have my documents back now?" He asked, his voice serious, but I wasn't affected by it in any way. According to my wall clock, he had spent the last three hours, hopefully, resting.

"I'm on my way." I responded and grabbed the file I'd taken earlier, as well as some of the ones I'd worked on. I knocked on his door and walked in. I kept my eyes on him until I dropped the file on his table. His eyes raised to mine from his phone when the file hit his table, and I could still see the exhaustion in it.

I frowned, resisting the urge to put my hands on my hips. "How do you feel now?" I asked him.

He smiled. "A little better, thanks." He opened the file. "Can I get a cup of coffee, please. With extra shots."

I looked at him. "Alright. Coming right up. How about your appointments?"

"You've put them on my calendar, right? How many is set for today?"

"You are meeting with five people. Three are meetings less than thirty minutes, but the other two will be longer. Will that be okay?"

He nodded. "Thank you. I may need you to accompany me to some meetings, so I'll call for you."

I hesitated. "I'm taking an early lunch." I reminded.

He looked at me for a few seconds before replying. "I didn't forget that. If you're not available, I'll go with Marissa. Just let me know when you're going. How long do you plan to take?"

"Forty minutes at most. We're just grabbing lunch and catching up. Maybe we can all have dinner together sometime later." I threw that out and, as expected, Jonathan didn't respond to that.

"If I'm out when you're ready to go, just leave me a text. And don't forget the coffee."

I knew I'd been dismissed. I nodded and went to the break room to prepare the coffee I'd been asked to. I delivered it and went back to working on some reports. When it was five minutes to twelve, I finalized the minute I'd been working on and went to knock on Jonathan's door. I entered and saw him poring over a file. He looked up immediately when I closed the door and checked his wristwatch.

"Is it already time for lunch?" He asked and I nodded. "Alright. Have fun." He said, and I turned to leave when his voice stopped me.

"Can you quickly get me another cup of coffee? The same as the last one?"

"Alright. Sure." I responded and cocked my head after I'd left the office. Sure, people drank coffee when they needed energy, but two within the space of an hour, even that was strange for him. I made the coffee and had just delivered it when my phone rang. I nodded my goodbye to Jonathan and picked up the call, closing the door behind me.

"Hey. I'll be down in a sec." I said into the phone, pressing the elevator call button.

"Take your time, baby girl. I just got here, and I'm waiting for you at our usual spot."

"Alright. Thanks." I replied and cut the call, entering the elevator and pressing the button for the first floor.

Should I have tried to reschedule the appointments better, so Jonathan wasn't packed with them? Should I have given Marissa a list of things Jonathan would want if she goes with him, since this would be her first time going out with him alone since she was hired? I shrugged, they will both be fine. Besides, I was just going to pop in and pop out, not enough time for him to leave without me.