50 Thinking of Marriage

“This is my office. Sorry if it’s a little messy…” Adrian said as he led me into his office.

Although he mentioned that his office is messy, his office is anything but. It was clean and well organized. As I was looking around the large room, Adrian had shrugged off his doctor gown and placed it on a coat hanger. I turned around and saw him putting on a grey suit that matched his pants instead.

“Switching modes?” I asked.

“Yes. Maybe you’ve already figured but my main job here is managing the business. I do work as a doctor sometimes, but I rarely get to do that anymore…” Adrian said with slight regret in his voice.

Adrian had a different vibe now that he was in a suit instead of the doctor uniform. It was a pleasant change. I wondered how he juggled between the two hats, and I had a feeling that I was about to find out.

“I have a couple of meetings today with the management team and then late in the afternoon a VVIP patient is coming in,” Adrian explained his schedule for the day.

“So…what am I supposed to do here? What can I help you with?” I asked enthusiastically.

“You don’t have to do anything. Just keep me company,” Adrian said about a short moment of thought.

“Is it really that easy?” I asked as I cocked my head to the side.

…..

“Yes, you just have to keep me company. Your job is simply that easy,” Adrian reaffirmed with a smile.

“Isn’t there something that I can help out with? I’ll feel quite useless and guilty if I’m not doing anything useful” I said, meaning it. After all, I’m being paid quite a hefty sum to be here.

“If that’s the case, you can help me with some work and attend some meetings with me. How’s that?” Adrian suggested.

“Sure. I’m happy to do that,” I quickly agreed.

“Then let’s go…” Adrian said as he led me out of his office.

The management meeting was held in a large meeting room where senior looking men and women sat at a long meeting table. When we walked in, everyone was already seated as if they were waiting for Adrian. There was an unoccupied seat at the head of the table and clearly that was where Adrian was supposed to sit. The question was, where do I sit, or should I stand to the side?

“I’ll grab you a chair, Elena,” Adrian whispered to me.

“No, I can do that,” I quickly protested.

“Don’t worry. You don’t even know where to grab a chair from,” Adrian said reassuringly as he patted my shoulder and left the meeting room.

Once again, I could feel the eyes of the various people on me. They probably wondered who I was and what was I doing here when they’re about to have a meeting with Adrian.

“Here you go,” Adrian said when he returned.

I watched as he placed the chair next to his own and gestured for me to take a seat. Nodding my head to him in thanks, I sat down on the chair and Adrian took the seat next to me.

“Before we start, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Elena. She’ll be helping me out starting today. I figured that if we’re thinking of marriage, it might be beneficial for her to know more about my family business,” Adrian said as he addressed everyone in the room.

Thinking of marriage?!

My eyes widened at his words of introduction as my head whipped around to face him. Adrian glanced over at me and smiled a little wickedly. I don’t remember agreeing to this. Weren’t we just playing at being boyfriend and girlfriend? I can’t believe he just said that so casually…

Things are progressing a little fast…

“Hello everyone. It’s an honor to meet you all. My name is Elena,” I introduced myself politely before offering everyone a perfect smile.

I could tell that everyone was frankly very surprised at this sudden introduction. Well, so was I. Thankfully, I was dressed up quite nicely for the role and wouldn’t bring any shame to Adrian and his ultra-rich family.

Everyone expressed their greeting and soon the room settled down again and the meeting went ahead. I could understand what was going on in the meeting quite well. They discussed business performance of the various hospital branches and future expansion plans. Adrian was clearly in charge and dictated the direction of the conversation. I had to admit that I was impressed at how well Adrian dealt with the questions directed at him and how he politely treated his managers.

“Was it boring for you? It must have been…” Adrian asked before answering his own question for me.

“Not at all. I actually found it very interesting. I have a degree in business, but I’ve never really worked before…” I said before trailing off.

I never worked before because right after graduation, I married George just like how my parents wanted. I never got the opportunity to do any real work but that wasn’t something that I wanted to bring up right now.

“You’re still young. You can start working anytime so don’t worry,” Adrian replied without probing into my personal life.

I offered him a small smile in thanks, and we dropped that conversation. The meetings that Adrian had lined up for the day were over and we headed back to his office. Since I had been seated almost all day, I hadn’t realized until now that my right ankle hurts a little with every step that I took. It didn’t really bother me since I could still walk but I wondered if I sprained it or hurt it somehow when Adrian helped me avoid the oncoming trolley from earlier this morning.

When we arrived back in his personal office, I sat down on the sofa in the middle of the room as I watched Adrian walk over to his worktable.

“What’s up next?” I asked curiously.

“A VVIP patient is coming to our hospital. He’s a politician. I’m sure you’ll recognize him when you see him,” Adrian replied casually.

–To be continued…