Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 42

Theo POV

The interviews started, and when a woman arrived looking like she was here to sell herself and not her product, I felt Bethany stiffen. I knew there was a story behind that reaction. This woman looked at Bethany with hatred in her eyes, but when she looked at me, I felt dirty, like she had just rubbed herself all over me and was looking at me as if I was her next meal. It was a total turn-off. An ex-friend, or the one who stole her boyfriend? It's definitely something. I have seen that kind of reaction many times from my sisters; I smell trouble when I see it.

But when a guy walked in, both looked shocked but more angry than anything once he recovered. His presentation was okay, but that was about all I could say, nothing that grabbed my attention. Most of them were mediocre until the last one, and we all sat up and took notice. He understood what we wanted to project perfectly, and it did not surprise me when Bethany told him he had the job without consulting us, but then we had put a tick on his name, which might have been all Bethany needed to see.

As we left, I saw the guy grab Bethany's arm. I headed over to them to see if Bethany needed my help, but he let go after they spoke and left. Then, the woman emerged from the ladies, and trouble was on the horizon. By the way, that woman. What was her name? Cynthia went towards Bethany as if she was going to kill her.

'So, this is where you ran off to. It was not a waste of time coming here. Now I have found you. She spat at Bethany.

'It's good to see you too, Cynthia. I hope you are doing well. Bethany was polite and showed little emotion, and that scared me a little.

'You have taken away my fun. But I will replace a way to make you pay for doing that.' The woman was full of herself, and I was interested in discovering what fun Bethany had stopped having. This was not a typical single fight over a lost love, but a long-lasting one, maybe over the years, with the vibe I was getting from Cynthia, and not just over something as simple as a man.

'Thank you for coming. Bethany politely answered, ignoring what the woman had just said and more or less dismissed her.

1 I guess I did not get the job, but that is okay; I got more than expected. Now I know where you are, I can make some new plans. With that, the woman walked away, flicking her hair as she left, as if she had just won a prize, and I did not like what I had just seen and heard.

'Are you okay, Bethany?' I asked as I reached her. Bethany's face was close to tears. I grabbed her arm, walked her over to a room, and pulled her in, closing the door behind me.

'Hey, sweetheart, don't let the vixen get to you.' I held her close to me and let her sob quietly into my chest, wondering what else I could do to help her. Bethany pulled away and wiped her face. I looked down at her vulnerable face, and my heart broke at the pain I saw there. If I was not already smitten, I was now; I felt the need to protect her with every part of my being, something I have only ever felt with my family; even that girl who broke my heart years ago did not make me feel like I did with Bethany right at that moment.

'Can you do me a favor?' Bethany hiccupped.

'Anything. I breathed out.

'Come with me tonight to meet someone, and can you pretend to be my boyfriend?'

What? In my wildest dreams, I would never have guessed she would have asked me that.

'Sure, I can do that. I kissed the top of her head, and she nodded.

I left that room and headed to replace Robson and discuss the interviews and any ideas we wished to push.

He was in his office and was expecting us to arrive. I had detoured to grab coffee and muffins, and Bethany headed to her office first to freshen up and compose herself, not wanting others to see her tear-stained face.

'Ah, coffee.' Robson said as he took a muffin and dug in. Bethany arrived as I sat down, her face void of any sign of the trauma she had earlier. She grabbed a coffee, sat down, took a quick sip, and looked up at Robson expectantly.

'You chose well. He will do a great campaign for us. I looked up the records and found his Dad has been on our list for just over a year now. He's not as desperate as some, but definitely a good candidate. I will see if he would be interested in being part of our research candidates.' I was not sure if I liked our patients being called research candidates, even if that is what they are.

'He gave a good presentation, was the only one with PowerPoint, and had already made a mini-ad. How could we not give him the job? The others may have done a good job in their eyes, but they missed the passion and the spark as he did and needed to prepare more than Mr Philips did. What he understood from his own experience was clear in how he wanted to give hope through the media. I said, and I meant every word, that this man should be the one to give voice to our research.

'Agreed, I look forward to seeing his final draft of what will be released.' I nodded and ate my muffin while waiting for Robson to dismiss us. Something else was still on his mind.

'Bethany, are you okay?' Bethany looked up at him and nodded, the sign of more tears forming in her eyes.

'I did not expect to see my ex-husband or sister here. Though it should not have surprised me, as they are both in marketing and if I had looked at the list of names of those coming to the interview, I could have been ready to see them!' What, that is who they were? My blood was now boiling, as was how that woman treated Bethany. I understood better about that woman's scorn and the tears. I felt Bethany was more upset over her sister than her ex being there. He grabbed her arm like he knew her personally, and I guess he did.

'I am fine. I had seen the list of names of the marketing companies and knew there was a chance they would be there. Cynthia has not changed and still thinks her body will sell the product. Bret gave a better presentation but lacked the passion we were seeking! Bethany was amazing.

Looking at the presentations rather than the person would have been hard. It is not easy to separate what you need for the job and a person's personal views. Could she work with either of them if they had been the best presentation? I cannot answer that I believe she would be able to separate the two, but that does not mean it would be easy for her.

Later that day, Mr. Philips came back with two suggestions for media release and permission to speak with Mr. Green and be there for the operation so he could give the other side of the operation, those waiting for an answer, to see if he made it through the operation. It differed from the side we had considered, and Robson liked his ideas but wanted to see anything he wanted to release first. Contracts have been signed, and the first release to the media will be Sunday afternoon.