Hate at First Sight (12 page)

My Monday morning started with an awful headache. Usually people called it a hangover, but I preferred not to think about the amount of alcohol swirling in my blood. Last night was a mistake … one of many I’d made since last Sunday.

My brain refused to think, let alone work or make any serious decisions. I asked my secretary to make a cup of very strong coffee for me, and went to my office. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, closing my eyes. Even though I was wearing sunglasses, the colors of my surroundings still seemed to be too bright and annoying.

A stack of unsigned papers was on my desk, but I didn’t have the slightest desire to read them. I looked through my schedule for the day and breathed a sigh of relief — no important meetings planned.

“Your coffee, Sir,” Shelli said, entering the office two minutes later.

“You are my rescuer, Dear.” I took a sip of what tasted like the best coffee ever and forced a smile, trying to seem polite. “Don’t put me through to anyone. I need ten minutes to make an urgent call.”

“Anything else, Sir?”

“No, thanks Shelli. I will let you know if I need you.”

My secretary’s best quality was her unobtrusiveness. Shelli was one of those women who did her job perfectly well and never asked any unnecessary questions. She was married and had two kids, about nine and fourteen years old. We had already been working together for five years, and that was the longest of my relationships with women.

I sighed and cursed mentally. Women … they never brought anything but troubles into my life. And the last example wasn’t an exception. Megan….

There wasn’t a minute that I stopped thinking about her. Every damn thing around me reminded me of her. Since the moment I saw her and Jeff kissing, my mind couldn’t get rid of that picture. I kept recalling it, again and again. And no matter how much I drank to make my stupid mind shut up, nothing helped. That’s why I felt like a walking zombie today, and it was Megan’s fault.

I didn’t know what happened after I left, but Owen kept calling me every hour or so, making me regret being his best friend and employer. The only thing that saved me from a long talk with him was his honeymoon that wasn’t going to end any time soon.

I finished my coffee, and when I thought it was just about time to start working, my father called.

“Hi, Dad. How are you?”

“Not good, son. The pain in my back is getting worse, and I think I will have to go to hospital for treatment.”

“Oh, no. I’m so sorry to hear that. Does Mom know?”

“Yes, I called her last night, and she said she would be home by tonight.”

My mother and her sister Andrea, my aunt, were the owners of an art gallery in Paris,
and that’s why sometimes my father had to spend weekends alone. Mom had been a business woman for as long as I could remember. But that fact never affected her relationship with my father. They were still crazy in love with each other.

“Do you think you will be able to replace me at the meeting next week?” my father asked.

“What meeting?”

“In one of our London’s branches.”

“Sure, no problems,” I said, a second before my mind realized the irony of the situation. I was going to London — the last place in the world I wanted to be now.

“Is everything all right, son? You sound exhausted.”

This is not the word, I thought to myself, before saying, “It’s just the wedding. It almost finished me off.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose tiredly.

“Why don’t you go to Cheddar? It’s beautiful there at this time of the year.”

No freaking way …

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I was there a few days ago, and I think I have had enough of that place for the rest of my life.”

“Oh, well … then go somewhere else. I’m sure our company will be fine if you take a vacation.”

“I will think about it, Dad. Maybe you are right, and I really need to take a vacation.” Or maybe it was the last thing I needed right now. Work had always been the best distraction. So I doubted I would be able to stop working any time soon. Apparently the wound I needed to heal was bigger than my heart expected.

The red light flashed on my phone.

“Yes, what happened, Shelli?”

“Miss Annabel is here to see you.”

Oh, God … not now!

“Do you want me to tell her that you are busy?”

Yes, that would be great, but….

“No, please let her in.”

“Hey, Sweetheart!” Annabel sang in her usual sweet manner.

“Hi,” I replied icily, not even bothering myself with her reaction to my words. She hated people who didn’t like her. And I hated what she did to my friend. So there was no way our relationship with her would ever be the same.

“What’s wrong with the mood?” she asked, taking a seat at the small sofa near the window. As always the length of her skirt left much to be desired. I could hardly call it a skirt. It looked more like a belt.

I crossed my arms, watching her. “Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Do you really think that you can come here as if nothing has ever happened?”

“I don’t understand….”

“Uh, please, Annabel. This is not funny at all. You almost ruined Owen’s wedding!”

“
Almost
is the key word here,” she said irritably, and I couldn’t believe we were actually discussing the topic.

“Okay, you know what? I’m sick and tired of everything you do. So would you be so kind as to leave my office and never come here again?”

“But, Aiden, we’ve been friends since childhood! You can’t just kick me out of here!”

“I can, and I will.” I pushed one of the buttons on the phone, saying, “Shelli, would you please accompany my guest to the exit?”

Annabel shot me a murderous look. “It’s not just about what I did, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is it about Owen’s sister? Megan, right?”

My jaw tightened. “What about her?”

“You have a crush on her. I could see that from the very first moment I saw you two together.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“What did she do to make you so angry?”

“It’s time for you to leave, Annabel.”

She smirked, going slowly to the door. “No one is perfect, Aiden. And neither is she.”

No shit?

“I’ll remember that,” I muttered after her.

Two hours later I was still freaking angry, and not even work could help me switch my thoughts from Megan. Annabel was right, she managed to get too deep under my skin, and I didn’t know what to do to make myself feel better.

And that was when Owen called. Again.

I looked at his number, hesitating for a few moments, before I picked up the phone, ready to hear whatever he was going to tell me.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Where the hell have you been for the last two days?”

“I’m glad to hear from you too. I thought you were too busy enjoying your honeymoon.”

“Well, I would have probably been able to enjoy it, if it wasn’t for you and Megan running away, hiding and scaring the hell out of me!”

“I’m sorry, Owen. It wasn’t supposed to be like that.”

“Exactly! I told you to be good to my sister, and now….”

“Slow down, man. Okay? It’s not my fault that your sister and I … well, I didn’t do anything to upset her.”

There was a short pause, and then Owen said, “I guess you  haven’t talked to her after the wedding, have you?”

I didn’t answer.

“Don’t you think it would be better if you at least tried to discuss whatever happened between you two?”

“Bad idea.”

“Well, I hope everything is going to be fine. With or without you two talking to each other.”

“Don’t think about it too much, Owen. Enjoy the sun and the company of your beautiful wife. And let time do its magical job, and clean up the mess we’ve made.”

“I will follow your advice, but if you need someone to talk to, you can always call me.”

“I know. Thanks, man. Have a good time in Hawaii.”

I hung up the phone and got back to the papers I needed to read. I had already had enough pointless talks for one day.

The week passed in a blur: home, work, home; a glass of whiskey here and there, and a few boring parties that I had to attend, being a part of what people called
a swell society
. Every time I saw another beautiful girl staring at me, I left. I didn’t need any more drama in my life. Sex had never been a problem, but right now I felt like I didn’t need even that.

Something was obviously wrong with me. I couldn’t imagine anyone but Megan to make love to. And she wasn’t with me, and I still couldn’t move on and forgive her for the damn kiss. Even for me I looked like a lost puppy, and it sucked….

Today was one of the most important days of my life. My boss had gone to New York, and I had to prepare a presentation of her financial report for the meeting of the O’Brian’s founders. And I was as nervous as never before. My palms were sweating, and I couldn’t remember the names of the founders. I didn’t want to look unprofessional, so I had to get a damn grip on myself and show the best of my financial expert talents.

“How are things with the report going?” Josh was standing at the door. His encouraging tone and smile didn’t help a thing.

“This is going to be a disaster,” I said, frustrated.

“Okay, let’s see what you have already done by now.” He came to my table and stood behind me. “Let’s watch the presentation.”

I opened the file and crossed my fingers, waiting for Josh’s opinion. He was a smart guy, and one week working with him was more than enough to see it. He was always there for me if I had any questions, and I was sure he would never say anything just to seem polite; it wasn’t easy to win a compliment from him.

“Great job, Megan. Really,” Josh said after a while. “I like the way you showed the differences between last year’s incomings and what we have managed to gain during six months of this year.”

“Do you think they will like it?”

“I’m sure they will. Don’t be a coward. You know what to do. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

“I still can’t remember the founders’ names.”

“You can make notes for yourself. I always do that.”

“Don’t you think it will be embarrassing if I start looking through the notes to find the right name?”

“I think it will be more embarrassing if you get their names wrong.”

I looked at him hopefully. “I can do this, can’t I?”

“Everything’s gonna be all right. Do you want me to go with you?”

“Oh, no. Thanks, Josh. It’s my first serious assignment and I need to do it on my own.”

“Okay.”

“Wait … what can you say about the owner of the company?”

“Mr. O’Brian? Well, he’s a very good man. Strict when it comes to his business, but really nice when it comes to his co-workers and personal communication. You will like him.”

At least something good about the whole meeting thing, I thought to myself.

A few hours later I was ready to face the founders of the company, and my presentation looked really good. I went to the boardroom to make sure that I hadn’t forgotten anything I needed. The printed reports were in their places, along with the bottles of water, notebooks and pens.

Josh stopped by a few times to make sure that I was okay and didn’t need any tranquilizers or help. I needed both actually, but it was the worst time to admit it — the founders had already begun to take their places.

Ten minutes later all the seats were taken, except for one. We were still waiting for Mr. O’Brian to join us.

I looked at my watch. Of course the owners of the big companies had every right to be late, but I already didn’t like the way the meeting started.

“I’m awfully sorry for being late, gentlemen and … lady.”

I think my mouth hit the floor the moment I looked at the person standing at the threshold.

“What a pleasant surprise, Miss Brawley,” Aiden said, taking his seat.

My knees trembled. “Indeed,” I mumbled, trying not to lose my balance. What the hell was he doing here?

Angry
was not the right word to describe what I felt. I was furious. I was so freaking furious, I wanted to slap Aiden in the face and leave the room, not bothering about getting fired. I couldn’t stand breathing the same air with him; I hated him more than ever and I….

“Who’s going to show us the reports?” Aiden asked.

“Miss Brawley is our new financial expert,” the secretary said. “She has prepared a presentation.”

“Great. Then why don’t we ask her to begin?”

Now, he was going to talk to me through the secretary? Fine by me, asshole, I thought to myself, meeting his stare. The coldness of his eyes surprised me. As if it was me who left him a few hours after we spent a night in one bed.

I took a few sips of water, smiled pleasantly at everyone, except for Mr. Impossible, and started my speech. It lasted no more than thirty minutes, but it felt like forever. I could feel Aiden’s gaze on me. And once or twice I forgot what to say next, because our eyes met. Thank God, he and I were the only people who noticed that, and the rest of the founders didn’t pay attention to anything but the diagrams and numbers on the screen.

When my speech was over, I answered a few questions and was just about to leave, when Aiden stopped me.

“You forgot to mention one very important thing, Miss Brawley.”

“Did I?” I stopped right in front of him, waiting for whatever he was about to say next.

“What about your own vision of the situation of the market? Do our products meet the requirements of our customers?”

He really wanted to know my opinion?

“I think that in general things are going well, but I think we need to create a greater variety of products. It will attract new customers, and the old ones will have a reason to come back to our shops.”

“So you think our old list of products is not good enough to keep attracting new customers?” Aiden was obviously after something I was missing. “What about the quality of the technical support services we provide? Are they satisfactory?” I didn’t think the last question had anything to do with the agenda, but apparently the topic of satisfaction bothered Aiden a lot.

“It’s hard to say, Mr. Murphy, as I didn’t have enough time to read the full list of the services you provide.
Your company
I mean.” Aiden smirked at my response, but no one else noticed the irony of our conversation.

“Maybe if you spent more time studying the services that I, I mean
our company
provides, you would be able to see the true value of the things we do.”

“Maybe,” I said, gathering my papers. “I promise to look through the list by the next time we meet. Have a good day, gentlemen.” I turned on my heels, and headed for the doors, feeling Aiden’s eyes on my back all the way there.

The moment I left the boardroom, I rushed to my office breathing heavily. I was afraid I would faint, and I didn’t want anyone to see me like that. I was sure I looked like a person who had just seen a ghost.

I closed the door behind me and took off my jacket, dropping it to the table. Then I went to the window and opened it, trying to catch my breath. Aiden had that weird effect on me, I felt like I was suffocating.

I couldn’t believe it was actually him owning the company that I had been dying to get a job at for months. My thoughts were in a mess. I sat in a chair and hid my face in my hands.

“This is not happening, this is not happening,” I muttered, feeling the wild beating of my heart. I hoped I wouldn’t have a heart attack.

“Megan, are you there?” Josh called from behind the closed door. “Someone wants to see you.”

Ugh, not now….

“I’m coming,” I said, looking into the mirror. My appearance left much to be desired, but I hardly cared, as the only thing I wanted at the moment was to get away from the office as soon and as far away as possible. I wasn’t going to quit or anything, but I needed some time to get over the shock I felt the moment I saw Aiden.

I put on my jacket and went into the hall.

“Who wanted to see me?” I asked Josh.

“Mr. O’Brian’s son. He said he liked your presentation and wanted to discuss a few more things with you.”

“Can I ask you something? It might sound stupid, but … is Aiden Murphy Mr. O’Brian’s son?”

“Yes.” Josh smiled. “No one knew he was coming to the meeting, but apparently his father couldn’t make it here today.”

“Why do they have different names?”

“As far as I know, Murphy is Aiden’s mother’s name.”

“Oh, okay. So where is he?”

“He’s still at the boardroom.”

I nodded silently and went to face the devil.

“Come in,” Aiden said, as I knocked.

“You wanted to see me, Mr. Murphy?”

“Yes, Miss Brawley. Please, take a seat,” he said without even looking at me.

My pulse accelerated. If that was even possible, considering that I could barely control myself.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, getting down to business. I didn’t feel like talking to him, but I didn’t want to lose my job either.

Aiden’s eyes slowly moved across the lines of my jacket and blouse, and I felt like I was naked, because he obviously liked what he saw.

“Black silk always looked good on you.”

“Did you ask me to come here to discuss my outfit?”

“It was one of the reasons,” he said, smiling at me. “I didn’t know you got a job in one of our companies.”

“Neither did I.”

“I’m sure you already regret working here.”

“No. Why would I?” I crossed my arms in a defensive gesture. “Sleeping with the boss had always been a huge advantage when it came to getting a good job.”

Aiden’s smile vanished. “I’m not your boss, Megan. And I’m not going to take your job away from you. So you shouldn’t be worried about pleasing me in order to keep your place.” The familiar sparkles flashed in his eyes. “Unless you want to do that just for fun.”

That was enough. “Why don’t you go to hell, Aiden,” I said, rising to my feet.

“Not so fast, Sweetheart,” he said, catching me by the hand. “I have a few more questions for you.”

“If you are going to keep laughing at me, I’d better go and read the mentioned above list of the services your company provides.”

“What about my own services that you used so willingly?” Aiden took a step forward, and I got trapped in between his body and the table behind me.

“And here I thought you didn’t mind me using them.” I met his stare without hesitation. The situation was getting on my nerves, and I badly wanted our conversation to end.

“You can’t even imagine how much I missed you, Megan.”

And before I could stop him, Aiden put my arms behind me and kissed me on the lips.