Chapter 13

Chapter 13

As Aliza was about to enter inside her quarter, Charles stopped her holding her hand. "Liza" he called her softly. Titillations crawled her nerves at the adorable address. It was the name with which her father and mother used to call her. Emotions rushed on her like a whirlwind accompanied with wetness in her eyes. Aliza turned back gulping a quaver in her throat.

Charles held her face tenderly in his hands, bent his head and attached his lips to her. Aliza pulled her rims together in tightness and crumbled her dress in tight fists. Charles might have noticed her discomfort. He chuckled softly, pulling his head away and observing her. "Relax my love, open your lips for me." He called in a tone that was heard more like a melody. "Sir?" Aliza asked Charles in surprise with trembling lips.

He grazed the soft lips of her with the pad of his thumb. "Liza, do you think we are still walking in the balloon of professional relationship?" He shook his head to her with an extension of his brims. "You can call me Charles when we are alone. Drop the barrier of a boss and PA between us and see me as a person fallen in love with you. Maybe you can call me your boyfriend?" He asks.

He then brings his hands around his neck and removes a chain from there. Moving closer, he bends his head and locks the chain around Aliza's neck. "From today forward you are mine and this chain is a symbol of our union." Aliza looks at Charles unbelievably as if everything happening around her is a beautiful dream.

Charles looks down at her in an untold adoration and softly pats her cheek with the tips of his fingers to bring her out of the stupor. "This is not a dream. I have indeed fallen in love with you, my Angel." He pushes away the hair out of her face and tucks it behind her ears. "Do you like your gift?" He asks in curiosity, raising her head by her chin with the tip of his forefinger to meet his eyes.

Aliza promptly replies with a quick nod. He pulls her to his chest and kisses her hair, bending his head. Enclosing her round face in his warm hands he tilts her head up and then runs his tongue on her lower lips. This time Aliza did not take time to respond. She quickly opened her rims and Charles' tongue galloped into her mouth without any reservations.

******

It was ten days before Christmas Aliza bought gifts for her uncle, Andrew, Charla and Stella too. She was the girl with the kindest heart. Though Stella never spared a penny for Aliza she loved her like her family and forgave her for everything. Aliza bought one more gift too. It was for her boss.

She thought for a very long time on what gift she could present him. Charles had everything in the world. He was the richest billionaire in the world. What could someone give him that he doesn't have? After innumerable ideas crossed her mind Aliza finally settled on something that her boss would hopefully accept. "How many times will you bring out the gift from your bag and then place it back before giving it to him?" Charla asked Aliza in sarcasm.

Aliza gave a meek smile and walked as usual to the cafeteria for lunch. Ten minutes after their chat a handsome man walked towards them. He kissed Charla on her cheek and greeted Aliza. "He is my son, Larry. Larry, she is Aliza, my colleague." Charla introduced both of them to each other. "Larry works in San Francisco. He came here for Christmas and spent some time with me." Charla said with a proud smile to Aliza. "Nice to meet you Aliza." Larry extended his hand for a formal shake.

*****

Aliza came to know very recently from Athena the cook of Charles that he loves pineapple cake. Soon after she came home from work she cut the pineapple pieces and made a cake for Charles. Tomorrow is Christmas and there is no dilly dallying. With a cake in her hand and a Christmas gift on the other Aliza was quite pensive when she rang the calling bell to meet her boss and give him the present. A butler opened the door. "Is sir available?" Aliza asked Rick the butler in anxiety. "Yes he is madam but he is in a hurry. He is going to his parents' house for a Christmas party."

"Oh, I will come tomorrow." Aliza replied and was about to move out when Charles walked to the visitors hall tucking his cufflinks. "Who is it, Rick?" Charles asked the butler when his eyes landed on Aliza. "Liza, please come inside." He greeted her. Aliza took out the gift from her bag and extended it to him with uncertain hands. "Sir, a small Christmas gift for you from me." Like a four year old boy receiving his first birthday gift Charles opened the gift box in enthusiasm.

It was a coffee cup. For a few moments he kept looking at the cup intensely and then he lifted his eyes to Aliza with a warm smile. "I like it very much. Get me morning coffee every day." Aliza relaxed and let out the beat she was holding. Her boss liked the gift and she was very happy about it. She opened the lid of the cake. "Sir, a pineapple cake for you, Merry Christmas." She greeted him. "Thank you Liza, to you too." He took out a piece of cake for himself and extended another to the lips of Aliza.

"Wow, this is very tasty." He complimented her and tips his finger up. "Wait a minute, I bought something for you." He rushes inside like a school boy to show his prize to his parents. He placed a huge carton in the hands of Aliza. "Open it." He tells her eagerness. Inside was a Hermes bag that caught Aliza in surprise. "Do you like the gift?" Aliza nodded in joy with an extension of her lips but suddenly went to tribulation. "This is a very costly gift sir, I cannot take it." Aliza was about to return the offering when Charles stopped her. "Do you know it is misbehavior to return back a gift someone had fondly brought for you?" He told her softly. "I got it in a sale, it is not very costly." He lied to her and brought her closer to his chest. The next second his lips were on her.

Aliza couldn't sleep the night thinking of Charles's sporadic touches, his tantalizing kisses and his hot maneuvers. She was aching with need, wanting his presence beside her. The next morning she woke up with puffy red eyes when there was a knock at the door. Athena, Charles's cook, was at the doorstep. "Sorry Aliza for waking you up so early in the morning. I'm burning with fever today. Though I reported being sick, I am worried about our poor master. On Christmas day I do not want to starve him. He doesn't even know how to make a toast and will keep fasting the entire day. Can you cook something for him today on behalf of me?" Athena requested her.

"Sure" Aliza assured her in a promising tone. She hurriedly rushed to the washroom, completed her nature duties and walked directly inside the huge world class kitchen from the back door. Half an hour later she had set the dining table with baked croissants, toast, scrambled eggs bacon and a jug of freshly made pineapple juice.

"Wow, Merry Christmas, smells delicious, who made the breakfast today?" Charles voices calling out to no one as soon as he sat at the dining table for breakfast. Aliza was knocked out in fear rushing to the dining hall. Wasn't the breakfast tasty? She couldn't hear him completely. "Sir, I made breakfast since Athena is not alright. Is something wrong? She asked with anxiety. "Where is your plate?"

"I will go and eat in my quarter sir." Aliza replied with a professional. "Stop calling me sir. Next time you call me sir, I am going to kiss you." Charles challenged and for a moment Aliza thought what was stopping Charles from what he confronted. He served her everything she prepared on her plate and did not allow her to leave until she finished the breakfast.

Eighteen months later it was again a busy day. Meetings were lined up one after the other in Richmond industries. It was their step in a new business field - this time it was their establishment in a clothing line which was soon going to be named 'Appeal'. Charles was busy instituting advertisements doing business shoots with hot models and to say Aliza was bothered was just a euphemism. With the growing time their intimacy increased and in some corner of her heart Aliza wanted Charles to propose to her soon. She smiled to herself, the invitation of thought itself brought goosebumps in her system as she opened the file of 'Appeal'.

But she did not know that the person who was going to come and knock at her door the next day would make both of them skip a beat of their heart.