Chocolate Umbrella

Chapter 6 - Chocolate Umbrella

CHAPTER 6

It looked like they would have a white Christmas this year. It was only a few days away from Christmas when a snow storm hit the town. It was exceptionally cold. The wind was blowing the snow off the ground and back up in the air. The wheezing noise it made through the window gaps sounded like a woman was weeping.

Being awoke by the noise, Alena tossed around the bed. She automatically snuggled up Emile's side of the bed, hoping to get some warmth from his body. However, she found herself alone in bed. She sat up and glanced around the dark room. Emile was not in the ensuite bathroom as it was dark and quiet there. She patted on the pillow next to her and it was cold. She then looked at the closed bedroom door and saw rays of dim light creeping in through the door cracks. She quickly got off the bed and snatched the night robe which was lying on the armchair next to her side of the bed. The heat weakly blew through the vent and she shivered as she put on the robe. It sure was cold tonight. She looked at the digit clock by her bedside table and it was 1:30 in the morning. This meant she only slept for an hour. She opened the bedroom door and wondered why Emile was not in bed yet. She tip-toed down the stairs and found Emile was still very much engrossed in his work in the study.

"Why aren't you in bed? It's one thirty in the morning!" Alena sounded annoyed. Though Emile usually stayed up late when he had to meet a pressing deadline, it was very unlikely that anything would be due just before Christmas. Alena assumed that Emile was just once again being a workaholic, sacrificing his health to his enjoyment in work. Alena shivered once again and rubbed her arms as if it would help to warm her up.

"I am almost done. Why aren't you sleeping? Were you reading?" Emile replied as he continued to type whatever he was typing. He then looked up from the screen and noticed that Alena was rubbed her arms, shivering, "are you cold?" He then looked at the computer screen once again, just to make sure his document was properly saved.

"No, I was actually sleeping. The noisy wind woke me. It's freezing." Alena yawned, covering her widely opened mouth with one hand and continued to rub her arm with the other hand. Absentmindedly, she walked closer to Emile and looked at the computer screen, trying to see what he was working on. She saw an excel spreadsheet with columns and cells in different colors. The names such as Mason, Conrad, those of the consulting team and the software engineering team, along with their salaries were neatly tabulated. What caught her eyes were some of the names highlighted in red. Alena instantly recognized what this was. Emile was working on a staffing plan. She was no longer sleepy but wide awake with the new information she just gathered.

"What's this?" Alena exclaimed, looking at Emile with concerns in her eyes.

Emile sighed a little and closed the top of his laptop, putting it into the standby mode. He walked out of the study and into the kitchen. He opened the cupboard, grabbed a mug and a tea bag. He quietly poured some hot water from the boiler and seeped the tea bag. He was still quiet without a word.

"Emile, are you hiding something from me?" Alena was now pleading, looking straight into his eyes, trying to read his emotions. She knew something had happened in the company and Emile had kept her in the dark.

"Here, have a cup of tea. It will warm you up." Emile handed her the mug and then rubbed both of her arms with his hands. Emile was debating whether he should spare her the gruesome reality, or just came clean with the truth. She saw the spreadsheet already. How much could she tell from it? He quietly thought.

"Please, Emile. What's wrong? Are you working on the staffing plan?" Alena was getting anxious.

Emile huffed out a small breath. He concluded that she knew. She saw the staffing plan. Nothing could escape from her now.