He just said 'meeting' he didn't say like a dinner or anything," I said adding air quotes.
I was having a video call with Kate, seeing as I didn't have an idea on what to wear. For the past hour, I hadn't come to a decision on the outfit to wear for the meeting.
"Go to my wardrobe and search for a nice dress," Kate said. "Or do you want to wear the yellow sundress I recommended?" She wiggled her brows.
"No. I don't. It's too revealing." I cringed.
She palmed her forehead in frustration. "It's just off shoulders, Belle." She sighed. "Why are you–shoot, I have to leave Mr. Vincent is here. I'll call you later," she said and hung up.
I groaned and fell back on my bed, which was covered with a pile of clothes. "What am I going to do?" I groaned again and shut my eyelids closed for a second.
I heard the distant sound of sound ringtone, so I flicked my eyelids open. I grabbed my bag and fetched for my phone. I finally found it and checked the caller ID. It was my mum.
I swiped up and placed the phone on my ear.
"Hi mum," I mumbled to the phone.
"Belle, how are you?" she asked, her voice cracky.
"I'm okay, how are you and Crystal?"
"We are both fine. How was your interview?" she questioned.
I wanted to sigh in exasperation and throw my phone across the room. Recalling the interview spilt my mood even worse than it had already been. All I wanted to do was curl into a ball, lament on how stupid I was, and regret my missteps. Why did I decide to go early for the interview? Why didn't I listen to the redhead? Why did my stupid self choose the wrong elevator?
The interview went horribly wrong, I to wantd to say but I stopped myself and said, "It was alright. I got hired."
"Honey, that's good news, I'm happy for you." I could hear her smile from the phone.
"Thanks, mum." I smiled too. "I'll come and visit you sometime."
"Okay, dear. Crystal says hi."
"My regards. Mum, I have to leave now."
"Bye."
"Bye." I hung up the phone and I sighed.
Yes, the relationship with my mum was weird, I didn't actually care. She was my mum and I loved her and I will always. I just couldn't wait to see them both.
I checked the time on my phone, it was 3:07 PM.
I jumped off the bed and strolled to Kate's room.
*
"Aha! I finally found it," I said to myself, grinning ear to ear like a fool.
I stared at the dark purple dress. It had a shiny fabric and it was just perfect for the meeting. It had straps, but they were thin, which I didn't actually mind. I wore it and it fit me. It was right above my knees too and I smiled back at myself in the mirror.
It was still 3 PM, so I had a quick shower and changed to the dress. Slipping into my black flats, I redid my hair and let it flow down my shoulders. I put a little of Kate's makeup on my face – a little mascara and shiny lip gloss–
Happy with the sight in front of me, I hummed the beat of a rap song that I heard on Kate's phone.
Flagging down a cab, I headed off to TE. I entered the building and went up to Mr. Bossy's office. He was all dressed in his dark blue Armani and a bow tie, gelled hair, and perfect CEO.
"Good afternoon, sir." I smiled at him and he eyed Kate's dress and a muscle by the side of his lips twitched.
Holy crap! He almost smiled. My subconscious was doing cartwheels in her room.
"Good evening Ms. Greene." He said and it was clear that he was in a good mood. "Shall we?" He offered his elbow and I blinked.
Mr. Bossy CEO is offering me his hand!
"Ms. Greene." He arched an eyebrow.
"Right," I said and I linked my arm with his and we went to the elevator.
We got to the reception area and I spotted a black and sleek Audi SUV in front of the building, that wasn't there when I had arrived.
A man in regular clothes,came down from the car, nodded at Mr .Bossy and opened the back seat door.
"Good evening sir," the man said. "Good evening ma'am." He smiled at me.
"Evening Tyler," Mr. Trevelyan said.
"Good evening." I smiled back at Tyler.
We both entered and Tyler started the ignition and drove us out of the parking lot of TE.
All through the drive, my arm was still linked with Mr. Trevelyan.
"Sir?"
No response.
"Mr .Trevelyan?" I said again and he looked down at me.
"My arm," I said.
"What?"
"My arm." I shifted my arm, so he will get the message.
"Oh. Your arm." He unlinked his arm from mine.
"Thank you." I smiled and I avoided his gaze.
*
We arrived at a fancy restaurant with the name 'Cuisines.'
"Ms. Greene, these people we're meeting are of high importance and any single mistake, the contract is out. Okay?"
Oh, so it's about a contract.
"Ms. Greene!"
Oh no! Warning! Mr. Bossy is back by unpopular demand.
"Yes sir." I nodded, shrinking back. "No mistakes."
"Good." He commented. "Now, we shall leave." He left the SUV and I followed suit.
We entered the restaurant and he led me through the back door, to a bar.
What?
We walked across the bar through another door, that eventually led to a conference room.
Oh.
Sitted in the conference room, were three English people: two males and a female.
"Mr Harrison, Mr Thompson Miss Elena." Mr. Trevelyan nodded towards them.
"Mr Trevelyan." They all nodded towards us and I smiled back and we took a seat.
"Sorry for the delay. We were held up by traffic," Mr Bossy said.
"No problem, Mr Trevelyan."
"Shall we begin?"
During the meeting, the only thing I did was to nod and smile when necessary.After the meeting, lunch was provided. I ordered some Chinese rice and salad. Mr.Bossy's phone rang and he picked it."Trevelyan," he snapped. "Yes... It has been finalized... The contract is sealed... What? I'll get back to you." He hung up. "Ms. Greene, it's time to leave." He snapped at me and I flinched. "I'm sorry. There's an emergency. We have to leave," He said to the English."It's alright," Mr. Thompson said with his English accent.Mr. Trevelyan stood up abruptly and left the conference room and I followed suit, leaving my food behind. I contemplated snatching the food and gobbling it down, but
Okay, fast forward to the next day.I woke up with a jolt, disoriented. I realized I had fallen asleep on the couch with Kate. She was on the couch, arms and legs stretched out wide. I noticed a string of drool by the corner of her mouth. I shook my head and screwed my eyes shut for some seconds to clear my vision.I stood up groggily and walked to switch off the TV. I fetched my phone and checked the time. It was still 3 AM."Kate," I mumbled tapping on her leg."Jordan, give me my ham," she mumured, stirring a bit before falling back to sleep.I chuckled and went off to my room.*
In the days passed, I thought Mr. Trevelyan would loosen up and tone down on the hostility, but I absolutely thought wrong.Mr. Trevelyan became a lot more adverse and hostile as time withered away. It was like a whole new cycle of ours – I would go to work late, he'll yell at me, and I'll stagger into my office with tears in my eyes."You're lucky. I'm really starting to think you're his favorite.""What? He just said that to reprimand me. Nothing more." I let out an unladylike snort. I? Mr. Bossy Pants' favorite? I couldn't even dare to dream.Susan and I were at the cafeteria and like always, she was helping to cheer me up after the usual back-and-forth with Mr. Trevelyan."But he could just have fired you there and then. There was this lady, that used to work as his PA. She brought his cof
You know that feeling when someone's telling you something and then you just want to look into their eyes and say, "I don't really give a crap"That's exactly how I felt when he told me. I mean, it's not my company, I'm not the CEO. But I asked so it's not really his fault."Eric, I want you to inquire about what just happened." Mr. Bossy Pants said into the phone. "They said that..? Till when? Next month? Alright....yeah yeah, thanks." He hung up and looked at me. "Isabelle, the dinner is canceled go home," he said, and with that, he went out of the balcony.Okay, to get this straight, two things made me shocked and surprised. First, is because he called me by my first name. And second is because he just left me there, just like that
Marry me?I stood frozen on the spot, jaw agape a fraction, dumbstruck, dumbfounded, dumb-everything as I gaped at the grey-eyed man that sat in front of me.Marry me.The two words sunk in, right into the deep part of my brain. My subconscious knew better to not bother giving me false hope that I just needed hearing aids. The air around felt chilly and nipped at my skin as seconds dragged into minutes. Minutes that felt like hours.I stared at my boss.He stared at his employee. I wasn't sure how long this continued but Mr. Trevelyan was the first to give up. He let out a sigh heavily. "You don't need to give me an answer now," Mr. Trevelyan said, "I'll give you
"Kate," I said, dead in my tracks. And I felt it. The feeling of deja vu. It wasn't like this had happened before. It was the chill that swept through my bones that made me feel like that. I felt like I was back at Mr. Trevelyan's office –even though the scenery was different– I felt... intimidated –and I hadn't even seen him yet.I wasn't scared of what he'll do or say when he sees me. Hell, I wasn't even scared that there was a high –very very high– chance that he'll fire me, for not going to work (when he obviously should have days ago). I was scared of what he came here for. He came for business. To crack a deal, like the businessman that he was. A deal that could change the whole story–"Huh?""Kate, my boss is here," I said, still looking at the Range Rover i
"So he just came here to scold you because you skipped work?" Kate said, pacing my room back and forth. I puffed up my cheeks a little and pressed my lips together.I hesitated for a moment. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to tell her or not. I usually told Kate everything and we never kept secrets from each other. I wanted to tell her but I couldn't. My chicken self just couldn't. I wanted some time to think about what to do. On one hand, was Kate and on the other was my asshole of a boss. It was all too much–too too much–to take in. It was like I was in the middle of a tug-of-war with my boss and Kate opposite each other. I was torn, conflicted, tangled up like earphones in the pocket of jeans, and frus-fucking-trated.I bit my lip, contemplating what to do.To tell Kate?
Kate blinked in surprise. She looked partly confused yet surprised at the same time. Desperation filled my eyes. I wanted Kate to figure all out, even without spilling the beans. I stared at her and she stared at me as seconds stretched to minutes. "You what?" Kate finally said after a moment of silence passed.I blinked and averted my eyes from her piercing brown eyes. "I-I'm getting engaged in two days," I repeated. Make her suspicious. Make her figure it out. Spill the beans without actually spilling it.With my peripheral vision, I saw her confused expression contort into a frown. "How? Why? So fast? What the shit? I mean, he has you forever, so why?" She asked, as if he was right there.I nibbled on my lower lip and turned to see if he was actu