His Personal Secretary | ✓

Chapter 29

Cali was sitting on the sofa, waiting for me, when I stepped into the apartment. "There you are! Where were you? I've been calling you all day!!" she exclaimed, getting up on her feet. "Why didn't you pick up your phone?"

"I'm sorry Cali, I didn't have my phone with me," I apologized quickly. "I thought I left it here, but I guess not. I must have left it at the office."

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah, let's not worry about that now. I have something very important to ask you." It was more important to ask her whether she took the money than to waste time remembering where I put my phone. I could just get another one if I can't find it. It's not like I can't afford it.

"You do?" she asked in surprise. "What a coincidence, I also have something to ask you."

"Oh then you can ask first," I said, letting her go ahead.

She shook her head. "No it's fine, you can go. I already waited this long, it won't hurt to wait a little longer. Ask me what you need to ask."

I've been holding in the urge to ask her the moment I saw her. Now I can finally ask. "Did you take money from my father?"

Her eyebrows bunched together in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Aren't you getting sued by the company for breaking your contract?" I asked.

"So you knew!" she accused. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just found out about it today. I didn't know about it, I swear."

"Sure you didn't," she said, sounding skeptical of my words.

"No, I really didn't. I really didn't Cali."

"Whatever, forget it," she brushed it off. "Right now, I need you to explain to me exactly what you meant when you asked me about taking money from your father."

"I went to talk to my parents again. It was my father who cut your contract. He said that he offered you money when they sued you and that you accepted it."

"That's ridiculous!!!" she yelled angrily. "I never did that. I only met your father once. Once."

"He showed me your bank statement," I said. "It showed a deposit of money in your account."

"That never happened," Cali denied. "I'll log on to it right now and prove it to you." She ran to her bag on the sofa and took out her phone before coming back.

We stood shoulder to shoulder as she unlocked her phone, open the Internet browser and go on the homepage of her bank, Bank of America. I watched her as she typed in her password and press the login button. While I waited for it to load, I silently prayed that my father was wrong, that I was wrong. I prayed that her account would not show the deposit that my father spoke of.

It was done loading. Cali gasped when she saw it. I felt like my heart cracked when I saw it.

On the page, it showed exactly what I saw on the paper my father handed to me earlier. It was exactly the same. He was right. I couldn't believe what was happening. The shimmer of hope that it was all a lie disappeared just like that.

"I-I don't know what happened. I didn't take the money," she stammered to explain herself. "There must be a misunderstanding. Y-you have to believe me Christian!" Her eyes were pleading and desperate.

"How am I supposed to believe you when the evidence is right in front of our eyes?!?"

"Christian-"

"I thought you were different than all the others. I thought you were with me for me, not my money. I shouldn't have trusted you. You're just like the rest of them," I said

"No Christian, you have to believe me," she begged. "I really didn't do it."

I did believe her, but that was before seeing what was on her phone- the proof that a deposit was made. And not just any deposit, a deposit of the same amount I saw on the piece of paper my father showed me. This took out the possibility that the paper was fabricated, coming to the conclusion that Cali did take the money. Even if this reality was hard to accept, it was the truth. There was no point in denying it.

Cali was quiet. "Do you not believe me?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"I really want to but-"

"So you don't."

"I want to," I said, defending myself.

"It's not about if you want to or not. It's about whether you do believe and it's clear to me that you don't. A relationship is all about trust, Christian. If you can't trust me, then why are we even together?"

"So are we breaking up?" I asked. "Look at me Cali."

She looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "We broke up the moment you started to doubt me." Her eyes were shaking with emotions I could not read.

Before I could say anything else, she grabbed her bag and went into her room. A couple minutes later, she came back out dragging a suitcase. The same chipped and old suitcase she used when my mother told her to leave. The same suitcase I saw when we first met at the elevator. "I don't want to make things hard on you, I'll move out."

And just like that she went out the door and out of my life.