Is this destiny?

~ Los Angeles, White corp. HQ ~

Friday

11:53 AM

JoAnna and Emma are on the skybridge, heading to the tenth floor where main reception for the White corp. HQ is.

Dr. Frederick Arthur is one step behind them, chatting while trying to keep Emma\'s attention on him.

Emma and Sarah arrived in the medical research lab where JoAnna works around 10:30 AM.

JoAnna introduced Emma to the senior staff as a person who came to evaluate their lab for the purpose of hiring them to do some research, and they already saw Sarah several times before so there was no need to introduce her. Also, after the White corp. company meeting where Sarah held her presentation, everyone in the company knows who she is.

Their plan is fairly simple. The goal is to provoke Beatriz who so far seems professional in everything other than being mean toward JoAnna. They suspect that there is something going on between her and Dr. Arthur, a senior researcher in the lab. JoAnna has a hunch that Dr. Arthur is a womanizer, and they want to use that in order to provoke Beatriz. They gathered in the lab today with an objective to be friendly with Dr. Arthur and to see if he will take the bait and start flirting, which should rile up Beatriz. Simple, right?

Dr. Frederick Arthur is a man in his mid-forties, single. And JoAnna\'s suspicion is correct that he is always open to an adventure with ladies, but he is not interested in anything serious. He enjoys his single life and he is careful not to compromise himself at work. He keeps a professional distance with Beatriz when they are at work while in private, the two of them are in an on-off casual relationship for more than five years. Beatriz is aware that Dr. Arthur engages in relationships with other women, and she told him more than once how she is OK with it. But secretly, she hopes that he will commit to her, and that he will stop seeing others.

Dr. Arthur observed JoAnna when she arrived her first day at work and no matter how attractive she is, he didn\'t make any advancements toward her because he suspects that she is not a simple person. She joined as a Chief Researcher out of the blue and has the freedom to manage her own work hours. That tells him that he should not play around with her. Due to that, he is always polite toward JoAnna and maintains a respectful professional relationship.

He observed Sarah as well who comes to visit JoAnna occasionally. He likes them young, but Sarah is a bit too young. Also, she seems to have some background as well. Considering that both of them have the same last name, he didn\'t make any move toward Sarah either.

Today Dr. Arthur met Miss Emma Ronin, a young lady who came to find out more about their facilities and expertise and… she is easy on the eyes and friendly. She smiled at his jokes and he is confident that she looked into his eyes more than necessary.

Sarah saw that Dr. Arthur\'s attention is on Emma, so she bailed out when she got an email from Benjamin who asked about her input on the latest script he is working on.

Emma grumbled internally when she saw that Sarah left, but continued keeping on her polite expression while nodding to Dr. Arthur and counting seconds until lunch time when she will leave with JoAnna and hopefully not play this role of a clueless girl who does not see that he is flirty. Emma made sure to keep everything within polite-professional boundaries.

JoAnna noticed that Dr. Arthur is interested in Emma and also that Beatriz is steaming. She gave herself a silent thumbs-up and she made sure not to leave Emma and Dr. Arthur by themselves, just in case if the man gets some ideas he should not have toward her friend.

Dr. Arthur also noticed Beatriz\'s displeasure, but he ignored her. It\'s not the first time. He knows that she will sulk for few days and after that she will welcome him again.

Looking at Beatriz and Emma side by side, his choice is obvious. Emma is more than ten years younger, her brown hair with red highlights sets his heart on fire and her bright smile can light up the room while Beatriz is… grumpy and mostly complaining about something.

Back to present…

In the main lobby of the White corp. HQ...

"Thank you, Dr. Arthur for your time today.", Emma shook his hand and turned to JoAnna.

She paused at the super-long handshake from Dr. Arthur which turned into him clasping her hand between his.

"No problem, Miss Ronin. It was my pleasure. Can I interest you in a lunch or a dinner? We can continue our discussion about the lab…", he offered enthusiastically.

Emma smiled awkwardly while looking at their hands. Why is he not letting go of her hand? "Thank you for your offer, but I have all the information I need. If I have more questions, I will reach out to Dr. Hill."

"We can exchange phone numbers, and feel free to call me anytime. I will gladly answer any questions you might have.", Dr. Arthur persisted.

Emma exhaled in frustration which was bubbling inside her. Why is he still not letting go of her hand? "That…"

"That won\'t be necessary.", an icy voice came from behind Emma, interrupting whatever she wanted to say.

Emma turned toward the familiar voice and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Charlie.

With four intimidating bodyguards by Charlie\'s side, she understood why Dr. Arthur paled.

Charlie\'s gaze was locked on Dr. Arthur since he noticed Emma and JoAnna walk into the lobby.

Charlie had a meeting with Jeff earlier that morning and was talking with Steve and his assistant on arranging the next one when he observed his wife-to-be who was followed by an unknown lecher who is old enough to be her father and not ashamed to devour her with his eyes.

When Charlie saw that the lecher is holding onto Emma\'s hand, Charlie could not hold back any longer. He left his assistant and Steve behind and headed to rescue his future wife.

Emma wanted to greet Charlie, but she saw that his mood is off. Is he thinking that she is flirting with this man? She sighed internally.

"Is there a reason why you are holding onto my wife\'s hand?", Charlie asked Dr. Arthur threateningly.

Emma swallowed hard when she heard that Charlie addressed her as his wife. From fiancée to a wife in a matter of days and she didn\'t say \'yes\' to any of those! But this is not the time for this argument. She knows that much.

Dr. Arthur let go of Emma\'s hand like he burned himself. "I am sorry. I was not aware that Miss Ronin is taken."

Charlie moved close to Emma and put his hand around her waist.

"You are now.", Charlie said through his teeth to Dr. Arthur and then looked at Emma.

He took a deep breath while trying to adjust his mood. "Lunch?"

Emma glanced at JoAnna. The two of them were supposed to have a lunch together.

JoAnna gave a signal that it\'s OK. She can always go up and surprise Jeff. He loves JoAnna\'s lunch-surprises.

JoAnna wanted to explain the situation to Charlie so that he does not have any wrong ideas but based on his behavior she concluded that Charlie saw how Dr. Arthur pursued Emma and that she was not interested. Anything she had to say would be redundant, so she let them leave without delaying them.

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