Let It Be Me (Let It Be Me #1) (3 page)

“Something like that,” he replied, mysteriously, with an eyebrow raised and one side of his mouth curled up. 

“You must have a great view,” Kayla replied. She can practically imagine a modern house with an infinity pool where he can have his scantily clad models loitering around.

“I can bring you there sometime,” he invited, charmingly. “Then maybe have dinner afterwards?” His smile was showing his dimple.

Kayla was astounded. Did he just ask her out? Why? She was staring at his dimple when she stammered, “I’m sorry. No. Umm, no, thank you.”  

Alex’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you dating anyone?” he asked. “Married?” He looked at her fingers to check for any ring.

Kayla frowned. She wasn’t sure why, but his question suddenly irked her. She found herself clenching her fist.

“Is that the only reason why anyone would turn you down, Mr. Stone?” Kayla found the courage to shoot back. She didn’t want to be one of his women. Alexander Stone was from a different league, and she didn’t want to play.

His smile turned into a full-on grin. Kayla could almost read in his eyes, “Challenge accepted.”

Uh-oh.

“Would you care to dance?” he tried again.

That caught her off guard. “I’m sorry, I don’t dance,” she automatically said for the second time that night. But her mind betrayed her and suddenly started playing an image of her being in Alex’s arms again, swaying to a slow song.

“That’s a pity,” he said, moving closer. “I was hoping I could hold you in that lovely dress.”

Kayla almost dropped her wine glass. His face was just a few inches away from hers, and his nearness sent a thrill down her spine. She was suddenly hyper-aware of the man in front of her. She could smell his subtle perfume.

It wasn’t the first time a man would drop a line like that. Dave has tried several times no matter how many times Kayla has turned him down. Some of the other bachelors in the office have also tried, but she never conceded to any of their advances. A couple of her former clients have also asked her out, but she refused. 

But from Alex it actually sounded tempting. She felt slightly light-headed, and she felt her stomach tighten. Kayla blamed it on the dream she had of him nights ago.

Alex ignored her reaction, trying one more time, “It’s fairly easy, you know.”

“Let’s get one thing straight here, okay?” she said through clenched teeth, ignoring how her body was reacting. She had to say something before their conversation would get out of hand. She quickly looked around and hoped no one could even guess what their conversation was about. She’s never played that role in or out of the company. The firm had a certain image of her and her as an alluring seductress wasn’t it at all. She took one step back, and looked at him. “I think you’ve got me all wrong. I know you are one of our clients but I don’t want to be part of the deal.”

She must have gotten her message across because Alex’s face changed to a confused yet a bit arrogant look. 

“Okay, I’m sorry,” he said, after a pause. “But you really do look lovely in that dress,” he added.

Kayla bit her tongue. “Thank you,” she finally said. 

“Kayla,” Jenny interrupted, lightly poking on Kayla’s shoulder. “Bobby needs you in the other side of the room…”

 “Oh okay,” Kayla said. She noticed her friend’s expectant look. “Jenny, this is Alexander Stone. Turns out our firm is working with him on his mansion. Mr. Stone, this is Jenny, one of my colleagues.” 

“Alex will do,” he repeated, shaking Jenny’s hand. Kayla peeked at her friend, and it looked like her friend was about to faint.

“Okay, Alex then,” Kayla said slowly. “Jenny can bring you around to introduce you to our other colleagues.”

“That would be lovely, but I should be making a call now,” Alex said, quickly checking his watch, before flashing Jenny his Hollywood smile. “Maybe later?”

Jenny nodded enthusiastically and Kayla was silently telling her to quit it, since Alex’s ego was huge enough.

Turning to Alex, Kayla said, “Well it was nice to meet you, er, Alex.”

“Yes Kayla, it was definitely nice,” he said, emphasizing on the adjective that seemed like such an understatement. She didn’t catch the twinkle in his eyes.

She walked away with Jenny, willing herself not to look back. 

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” Jenny gushed when they have gone beyond earshot. “I can’t believe I just met him! He’s gorgeous!”

“I guess,” Kayla stammered. If only her friend knew what a cliché he was. She wondered if she should warn Jenny of Alex, but decided against it. Jenny would just have to discover for herself what kind of a man Alexander Stone was. She didn’t want to burst the bubble for Jenny.

Kayla hoped Alex got stuck working with Dave. Having Dave work on Alex’s house would be perfect. Dave would give Alex a dose of his own medicine.

The rest of the evening seemed like a blur. She had to entertain some clients on the projects she was working on or have worked on. It helped her not cross paths with Alex again. She caught him looking her way a couple times, but she didn’t give him any more time or attention. She didn’t even notice him leave. 

It was around twelve when Kayla decided she wanted to leave, as she has done more than enough entertaining for the night. These office parties were more work than leisure for her. 

She thought of sharing the cab back with Ryan and Jenny as they did take the same one getting there, but Ryan and Jenny had to leave earlier to pick up Trey from Jenny’s mom. Kayla couldn’t leave that early since she knew Bobby expected her to mingle some more with the clients.

She made her way to the elevator lobby. One of the hotel’s popular bars was on her way, and it was still alive with people enjoying the weekend. She scoffed at herself, thinking how much of an anti-social she was.

She was alone as she waited for the elevator to reach the top floor. She stepped in as the elevator car arrived and the doors opened. As soon as she entered though, out of nowhere, someone familiar quickly joined her. She tensed and stepped to one corner of the elevator, as far away as possible. With just the way her body was reacting, she knew instantly who it was.

“Why are you doing this?”

She looked to her right to see Alex Stone, all gorgeous and confident. He must have come from the bar, and she didn’t notice.

“Excuse me?” she asked, trying to be as polite as she could. She had to remind herself that he was still a client of the office.

“Why are you doing this?” he repeated. His voice was patient and soft. 

“Doing what?” she threw back, trying her best not to swoon with the way his voice was an ingredient for any girl’s fantasy. She tried to stow away the dream she had of him a few nights ago.

“Why are you lying to yourself?” 

Kayla knocked herself back to reality. “You have your illusions, Mr. Stone. We’ve just met a while ago yet you already think you know me.”

“Maybe I know more than what you think – or hope – that I know,” he answered mischievously, taking a step closer to face her. She instinctively tried to take a step back, but she was already trapped at the corner. “And I thought we already agreed on calling me Alex.”

“Mr. – Alex, you’re speaking in riddles and I’m a woman who wants everything straightforward.”

“Is that so?” he asked, with an eyebrow raised.

“Yes,” she bit out, no longer concealing her frustration. 

“Then you’d appreciate this.”

Kayla had no time to understand what he just said when he suddenly had his arm around her waist as he pulled her closer and brought his lips to hers.

Kayla was too dumbfounded to react. She wasn’t able to pull away because she was suddenly caught up in the heat she felt as his lips massaged hers – he tasted like scotch and mint. 

She had her palms on his chest, ready to push him away, but she didn’t find the strength to do so. Instead, she clung to his coat. Damn, it’s been too long since a man kissed her. And what a kiss it was. Every part of her body that touched his felt like it was burning, and the fire was spreading quickly.

But once she felt Alex’s tongue probe her mouth, she knew she had to stop it, no matter how difficult it would be. 

She moved back and slapped him on his cheek. Hard. 

Astonished both by the kiss and her reaction, she raised the hand that slapped him and touched her lips that were still sensitive from his caress. Her other hand had a tight grip of her purse.

Alex had his palm on his cheek a second after, rubbing it. He seemed surprised. “Okay, maybe I deserved that,” he said. “I’m sorry if I crossed the line – no wait, I’m not sorry at all,” he said, suddenly arrogant as he took his hand away from his cheek.

“I don’t care what you think, Mr. Stone,” Kayla said unsteadily, lowering her hand. “Think whatever suits you. As for me, I hope I’ll never see you again.” Luckily the elevator has reached the ground floor by then. And with that, she walked out as soon as the doors opened wide enough.

“Go ahead and convince yourself that,” he called as she walked away.

And she was still fuming as she got home to her apartment. She couldn’t believe his nerve! Who did he think he was thinking he was an expert on who she was? 

She shook her head as she was starting to think in riddles herself. Why did he have to leave her all shaken up?

And why couldn’t she forget the tingling she felt during their kiss?

Chapter 4

“All ready for the presentation?” Jenny asked Wednesday afternoon. They were at the office of the foundation. Brandon was hooking up the office laptop to the conference room projector. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Kayla responded, knowing that Brandon, Jenny and Bobby were relying on her. The team has worked hard finalizing everything for the past couple of days. She rehearsed the presentation all day yesterday until she knew it by heart. They’ve done their all. They all hope the foundation would appreciate their vision.

Jenny started looking around the room, peering up at the framed photos. 

Kayla walked to the front and looked out the glass curtain wall to run over parts of her presentation. 

“Uh, Kayla, I think you should see –“ Jenny started to say excitedly, but Jenny’s voiced was drowned out as Kayla heard voices outside the conference room – she identified Bobby’s voice. Jenny and Brandon sat as a small group of people came in led by Bobby.

Kayla wobbled when she recognized the man towering over the rest.

What was Alex Stone doing here?

“Kayla,” Bobby said approaching her with a proud smile, Alex in tow. “I hope I succeeded in keeping it a secret and that you haven’t spilled any parts of the presentation to Alex yet.”

“Oh of course not,” Kayla said, her heart thumping. The realization of what was going on was starting to sink in. “We were only able to chat for a short time, right Alex?” She really tried not to think about him since that encounter in the elevator, but whenever she was idle, her mind kept replaying the scene over and over again, especially the kiss.

“Yes, it was too short,” Alex agreed with a teasing smile. He was simply dressed in a button-down polo shirt and slacks, but he filled the whole room with his presence. 

“Wonderful,” Bobby exclaimed, oblivious to what was going on. “Well then, we should start with this presentation. All set, Kayla?”

She nodded as everyone sat down. Jenny distributed the copies of the booklets to everyone, stealing a wide grin towards Kayla’s direction over Alex’s head when she was at his side of the table. 

Bobby introduced the other two guests who happened to be Alex’s peers in his foundation. One of them was around the same age as Alex. His name was Benjamin, though she heard Alex call him Ben. He had sandy hair and a friendly face. The other man, Henry, was probably in his late forties. He had greyish hair, rimmed glasses, and a more formal attire. He reminded her of one of her college professors.

Standing alone at the front, Kayla took a deep breath as she got herself into the zone. She’s done presentations a handful of times. Having Alex Stone across from her shouldn’t matter.

Even if their kiss was threatening to replay in her mind right then.

Good thing she rehearsed more than enough as she breezed through the presentation. It helped that she truly felt passionate about the project. She saw them nodding at some points she made. She even saw Alex writing down some notes. They also asked some questions, which Kayla was able to respond to readily. Kayla ran through the cost estimates, ensuring they were within the foundation’s budget. The end of the presentation was marked by her playing a walk-through prepared by their animators. The three men seemed impressed.

Alex requested to have a bicycle path around the park, and to add a tree house and jungle gym within the playground. Thinking quickly, Kayla said it could be done.

“If there are any other questions?” Kayla asked them after some silence in the room.

Alex looked at his partners. Kayla couldn’t catch any of the words they mumbled towards each other. It took a while till Alex turned back to her with a smile. “Thank you for the presentation, Kayla. We are very impressed with your proposal. I think your team has exceeded our expectations.”

Kayla looked at Bobby to see him beaming at her. 

“Our foundation is looking forward to working with you on this project,” Alex continued. “Bobby, I think you can coordinate with Henry for the papers to be signed.”

“That’s great news, Alex,” Bobby said, standing up to shake Alex’s hand. This surprised Kayla. All this time she thought the project was a done deal due to Bobby’s affiliations with the foundation. She thought it was just a matter of them agreeing on the design. She didn’t know that the project was hinged on this presentation that she just gave. 

She was glad the design got their approval. She sighed with relief.

Everyone stood up as the excitement was felt around the room. She shook hands with Henry and Ben before she suddenly found Alex in front of her.

“Congratulations and thank you,” Alex said, shaking her hand. She knew she was still supposed to be mad at him, but she was still euphoric from the news on the project, and his hand on hers was comforting and thrilling at the same time.