Husband With Benefits-Chapter 38: A Mistake

Nora looked down at the small note in front of them and marveled. When Demetri had first started teaching her, she had been surprised by his handwriting. The man was so organized in everything that it had come as a shock to see his handwriting. To say it was atrocious would be an understatement. She’d even joked that he must have been really thankful that people hardly wrote anything these days, preferring the typed word. Of course, he hadn’t found it funny. A case in point was the note he seemed to have left her on the breakfast table. She had no idea what was written on it! It was like he’d written his own hieroglyphic language. As she squinted, trying to read the note, she heard the doorbell ring. Well, that was odd. No one really came to this house unless she ordered some takeaway, which was rare.

***

"What did you say?"

"Exactly what you heard, Nina. We are set to fly in less than an hour, and we do not have the most important thing required for the conference," Assistant Ma whispered.

Nina could feel herself breaking into a cold sweat and whispered, "Can’t you ask them to send it here? Or directly there?"

"Those are confidential documents! Do you think sending them by post is going to be acceptable to the boss? And even if they were willing to cooperate and send them here, they would first have to send someone to his house, retrieve the documents, and come back here. We do not have enough time for that!" Assistant Ma sighed.

"Then what are we going to do?" Nina asked, worry evident on her face. "Maybe we can ask Mr. Ian Frost to go to the house and retrieve the documents. He hasn’t reached here and might be able to..." Nina trailed off as she watched Ian walking into the airport lounge with his own assistant trailing behind him. There went their last hope.

With each passing minute, their problem was escalating. There was no choice but to confess to the boss that they were missing some crucial documents.

Before they could call each other out, they heard Ian Frost greeting them and almost jumped out of their seats. Hurriedly they greeted the man before giving each other the stink eye. They should confess to Ian and hope he could save the day, but Ian Frost had already turned to his brother.

"Demon."

Demetri nodded to Ian before turning back to his file. Ian shook his head and threw himself next to Demetri, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he did. He’d had a rough night last night and then rushed here. Since they still had time before their flight could be cleared, maybe he should grab some shuteye in this private lounge.

Ian had barely closed his eyes when he heard Assistant Ma’s voice," Excuse me, Mr. Frost. There is a problem..."

Ian’s eyes snapped open as he heard this and looked at Ma with interest. That was unexpected. Before the perfect assistant could say more, Demetri’s phone rang. Now this was not surprising anymore. Okay, it was still surprising but not shocking. Somehow, somewhere, their brother seemed to have found a girlfriend. Of course, their brother could have probably used some voice technology to fend off phone calls but that would be rather extreme for Demetri.

As always he answered, "Hmm?"

Ian did not even try to overhear what the other party had to say and simply stayed still. There was no point in trying. They’d already heard the voice. Now they needed new information.

Whatever the other party said, Demetri replied, "Yes... It said I will be out of the country for the next few days... yes. Thank you." and disconnected the call. Now, even though Ian could not hear what the other party was saying, he could guess what Demetri had said. He had probably informed someone that he was leaving the country. Hmm. Another first for Demetri. All these out-of-character things for his brother were now making him doubt the existence of this mysterious girl that had appeared out of nowhere next to their brother.

He then turned to Assistant Ma and questioned sharply," You ordered them to take the Security Portfolio to my address?"

"It was a miscommunication. I asked them to send it to you directly. I did not want one of the interns to open it mistakenly in order to bring it to me. I meant that they should address it to you directly. It was only now I realized that the portfolio was missing. And then I contacted the company. I am so sorry, sir. I’ll go and get the documents and get a commercial flight later..."

"And reach Country B after 3 days? Ours is probably the last flight that will leave today with the weather conditions outside."

Assistant Ma looked at the sky outside and sighed. It was true. There was no sunlight to speak of and the clouds cast deep shadows all over. And with the history of unstable weather conditions in the country, the airport could very well cancel all outward-bound flights for safety reasons.

Assistant Ma sighed. He’d not even paid attention to the unstable conditions. The security portfolio was key to the arrangements for their hotel in country B, which was preparing to host dignitaries worldwide next month. It contained detailed security procedures, emergency response plans, and new surveillance systems that were critical to ensuring the safety of guests and staff.

"Then..." As Ma tried to think of a solution, Demetri stood up and spoke, "Proceed towards boarding. The file will be here in twenty."

A sigh of relief passed through his lips even as Ma was punished for his carelessness, "Docking your bonus this month, Ma."

Assistant Ma nodded gratefully for that. Demetri Frost was not one to fire people recklessly, but he was known to demote them if he was truly angry. Whoever the other party was that had received the documents and agreed to bring them here, had saved him from becoming an on-field salesman probably! With a grateful voice he offered," Sir, I can pick up the documents..."

While Demetri shook his head and made his way out of the lounge, the others started to proceed towards the private boarding bay, ready to board the flight with less than thirty minutes left.