Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Rumors
“Don’t need to be shy,” Aubrey said, quickly passing her a piece of tissue. “You won’t be the first woman he slept with, and you won’t be the last. It’s just life.”

“Thanks for letting me know,” Amelia said politely, even as her heart sank to her shoes at Aubrey’s words.

Just as she expected, her boss was a secret playboy. He was wealthy and good-looking, not to mention a knight in shining armor. Amelia couldn’t say she was surprised to hear that he had game when it came to charming ladies. But nevertheless, she had to quickly clarify matters.

“But I’m not upset about it, because nothing happened between us,” Amelia said firmly. “We have a professional boss-and-employee relationship, nothing more.”

“Professional boss-and-employee relationship?” Aubrey raised an eyebrow and her voice, pointing an accusing finger at the plethora of breakfast goods on the table. “All this breakfast food for a mere staff? You’re not even his boss; he is yours. Not even my boyfriend buys me such a spread when I have bad days!”

“Maybe you should get a better boyfriend then,” Amelia retorted before she could stop herself.

Aubrey stared back at her, stunned.

Amelia quickly added, “You deserve someone who would treat you like a princess. We all do.”

Aubrey let out a delicate little sniff in agreement. She held out her phone and snapped a photo of Amelia’s breakfast spread before she could even react.

“You have a point,” she said. “I’m going to show this to him and demand that he treats me better!”

“You do that,” Amelia said because she had no other way to respond. It wasn’t as though she could stop Aubrey from taking photos. If she acted more secretive about this, tongues would wag faster. Hopefully, everyone would see that this was just a meal.

When she found out how much it all cost, she would pay him back and assuage her conscience.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it. If you can’t finish your food, you can let the rest of us know, or put it in the pantry for us to share,” Aubrey added with one last covetous stare before flouncing away, her blonde curls glinting underneath the light.

Amelia heaved a sigh of relief, but then she sensed multiple pairs of curious eyes staring in her direction. She quickly sank back down against her chair and decided to start work. All her appetite was gone after that minor confrontation.

Hopefully, things would blow over soon when people found something new to fixate on.

***

Unfortunately, Amelia’s hopes were quickly dashed when she entered the toilets. She had been fielding a variety of glances the whole day, from curious to judgemental, and some were downright hostile. However, no one had actually dared to say anything to her face― possibly because her table was right outside Matteo’s office.

In the toilet, it was a whole different story altogether. Just as she was about to emerge from the cubicle, she heard a group of women walk in, gossiping loudly. It was impossible to miss a familiar name.

“Hey, did you hear about the new hire that came in last week?”

“The one that replaced Ronan? I’m so sad he’s gone. Where will I get my eye candy from now on? The new girl is nice enough, but I want to see my hunky muscles!”

“Yes, I’m referring to that woman,” Amelia could sense the person rolling her eyes. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t think she’s eye candy. Mr. Montgomery clearly does.”

“I heard she’s Mr. Montgomery’s newest fling,” someone said in a hushed voice, but it was still loud enough to echo throughout the restroom. “I saw the photo of the whole spread of breakfast food he sent her.”

“Ain’t nothing platonic about it, that’s for sure,” another voice chimed in. “Everyone knows buying this kind of breakfast food means that he spent a very good night with her!”

“They must have worked up an appetite then.” A mean chuckle sounded from outside. “There’s enough food to feed an army. See for yourself.”

Blood drained from Amelia’s face. Was this what everyone was thinking of when they were looking at her? They all thought she was warming Matteo’s bed!

“Guess what, I have even more shocking news!” A more excited voice chimed in. “One of my cousins was working in the auction house last night, and they said Matteo Montgomery arrived with a blonde woman on his arm who changed her outfit halfway. Do you think it’s her?”

“Could be, could not be.” The next voice that responded sounded highly doubtful. “Who knows?”

There was nothing for it. Amelia waited but the group of women didn’t seem to be leaving. Instead, the conversation turned to why men preferred blondes over brunettes, and Amelia felt this close to tearing her hair out.

There was nothing for it. Amelia could not spend so much time stuck in the toilet― with her luck, someone would notice she was missing and spread rumors that she was slacking on the job.

She opened the door. The group of women immediately fell silent, and Amelia met their eyes. Good. None of them dared to say whatever drivel they just mentioned to her face. She walked slowly to the sink and began to wash her hands, willing them not to tremble.

However, peace was short-lived. One of the women with long black hair whirled to glare at her, deliberately blocking her way out of the door.

“Excuse me,” Amelia said politely, but she refused to move.

“Out with it, did you sleep with Matteo Montgomery?” She demanded, “Is that why he replaced Ronan with you instead of someone actually competent?”

“That is a question you should be asking Mr. Montgomery, not me,” Amelia said, trying to be patient. “And I did not sleep with him either.”

“A likely story,” another woman scoffed, her bright red bob shining like a lollipop. “No man would buy so much food for a woman he had no feelings for.”

“Like I said, you are free to ask Mr. Montgomery about his decisions,” Amelia insisted. “I need to go, excuse me―”

There was a beep of a phone. Another woman gasped out loud.

“Stop with your lies!” she snapped before showing her phone screen to Amelia. “Here are photos of you leaving his house in the morning!”