Meeting Mr. Mogul: A Billionaire Contemporary Romance (38 page)

“If we are going to talk about—” I started but trailed of when he interrupted.

“Yes, we are going to talk about that again if that is the reason you are going to quit,” he pointed out. His eyes hardened as he continued to stare me down.

“How—?”

“She has made her decision, William. Leave her alone already.” Alexandra suddenly appeared beside him, tearing my gaze away from William.

I watched her with almost hate on my eyes. I can’t believe she told him. I told her to keep it a secret, but she told him. Why did she do it? What does she want from this?

I couldn’t help the sudden rage that consumed me. I abruptly stood up from my chair and walked towards them. I stopped a foot from the siblings and glared at them in rage.

“I don’t know what you two want, but I have had it! I tried to be reasonable with you and not quit the job in front of your face as I did with him,” I paused and pointed at William as I turned towards him. “And I have had enough of your excuses already! It’s not like I wanted any of this!” I snorted in disbelief and glanced back at Alexandra, then slowly back at William. “You two have a meeting in an hour. I’ll call Mark and Kevin to ready the car,” I continued in clenched teeth before I slowly turned back around to my desk like I hadn’t just blown up in front of two Maxwells.

“Thank you, Andy,” Alexandra replied softly. Her voice had an amusing tone to it.

“I’ll have my resignation paper when you get back from your meeting, Ms. Maxwell,” I stated before I picked up the phone on my desk to call Kevin.

“I’ll sign it when I get back,” She nodded and slowly walked towards her office. “Call me when the car is here,” she added before going inside.

I nodded in reply as the phone line got through. “Kevin, Ms. Maxwell has a meeting at two,” I stated softly.

“Got it,” Kevin replied abruptly before ending the phone call.

“Are you going to sit there and pretend like this didn’t happen?” William asked in disbelief as he suddenly slammed his hand on my desk.

I jumped in surprise at his outburst. “Yes, didn’t you see me just now?” I asked him in the same tone and looked at him like he just asked an insane question.

He stared me down as he gritted his teeth together. “Just tell me the truth, please,” he commanded angrily.

“Why are you so desperate about the truth? Why do you really want to know?” I asked and gestured at his unprofessional manner.

He only continued to stare at me when I didn’t go straight to the point. “Okay! Fine! You want the truth,” I started in defeat, almost yelling the words aloud. “I quit this freaking job because of you! I don’t want you in my life anymore or anyone that can be linked to you. I have had enough! I don’t want to see that stinking, dead blue eyes, and your slick dirty blonde hair. Plus, how you wear that weird suit every day, and that inhuman, earthy cologne, what is with that?” I paused to snort and catch my breath. “And then, there are those awkward greetings, and your shitty smile. And then, you have this weird way of staring at me like I’m some— See! You’re doing it now!” I continued breathlessly and paused to gesture towards him in emphasis.

He kept his eyes on me. It was hard, yet soft at the same time. Then his face suddenly softened. And like time had stood still, he slowly reached his hands out to cup my face, catching me off guard. I didn’t have time to react or gasp as his face closed in. The next thing I felt was his warm lip on mine.

“Please don’t leave,” he whispered in desperation as he let go of my lips and pressed his forehead on mine. His warm breath fondled my face.

Then, I knew he had me. This is not how I wanted things to play out.

When I regained my consciousness, I quickly pushed away from him. I was glad that there is a table between us. “What are you doing?” I whispered in shock.

“I’m asking you not to leave,” he replied without shame.

“You’re not asking me to…” I started but trailed of when he cupped my face again for another kiss. But this time I was prepared.

I ducked my head down, making the kiss land on my forehead rather than my lips. I dodged his next assault. The situation wasn’t anything better. My skin tingled as my heart raced from the contact of his lips on my skin. When he let go of me, I quickly pushed myself away from him.

“Would you stop doing that?” I grumbled breathlessly.

“Are you sure you want me to stop?” he asked smugly as he stared me in challenge.

I pursed my lips and glared at him. He continued to stare at me with that smug look when I didn’t give him a reply. From my lack of words, he found leverage in the situation. I watched his eyes glint in hope. He was about to say something when Maggie interrupted us. If she hadn’t spoken, I wouldn’t know she was present.

“Mr. Maxwell, your car is ready downstairs,” she said calmly, like she hadn’t witnessed what happened a few seconds ago.

“Thank you, Maggie. I’ll be right down,” he replied to her, but he kept his eye on me. “Don’t go anywhere. We aren’t finish yet.”

“Yes, we are,” I countered in annoyance and kept my eyes on him.

He walked backwards towards the elevator as he continued to keep me under his gaze. I didn’t let those deep, tantalizing blue eyes affect me. So I continued to stare back. I didn’t know how long I was going to hold it until Alexandra’s office opened. He looked startled at the sudden sound of her door closing.

“Are you going? I had Kevin do an errand. I have to ride with you to the meeting,” Alexandra said as she walked passed William towards the elevator. “Come on, Mark is downstairs waiting,” she called when William didn’t follow her.

I didn’t glanced in their direction. In my peripheral vision, I felt his eyes on me. I didn’t bother checking when I heard the elevator door closing. I let out a huge sigh of relief like a thick cloud had finally vanished around me.

“Are you okay?” Maggie’s voice me jump on my seat.

I looked up and felt my face flush in embarrassment. “I’m okay.”

“When did you and William… I’m sorry for asking. It’s not my place to ask,” she started but paused out of shame.

“Oh no, it’s okay. We are not really in that kind of relationship. I mean we aren’t intimate. We aren’t in any relationship whatsoever.”

“But you two are seeing each other?” she probed shyly

“We were… We had a few dinners and stuff.” I admitted and looked away from her amused expression.

“Right,” she snickered in understanding. “A word of advice. Let him fall for you first before you fall for him,” she whispered in enthusiasm as a smile plastered on her face.

I turned towards her in wonder and smiled in reply. I didn’t know what to say to her after that, so I kept my mouth shut and turned back to my work.

We were both silent until we talked about preparations for the event this weekend. It would be my last formal job before quitting. I had at least done a great job. Since Maggie had taken the desk job, I was left to do the errands. Maggie had given a few meetings to attend today.

The first on the list was something I didn’t expect. My face broke into a smile when I realize who I would be meeting. I was to discuss with the owner of the bar Blackjack about the drinks to be served at the venue.

It was noon when I reached the bar. I was hesitant when I stood outside the entrance. All of a sudden, a wave of nostalgia hit me. It had held some fun memories, especially when I had bartended for a few days.

“Andy? Why are you standing there? Come on in,” Jack suddenly appeared behind me, making me jump in surprise.

“Jack! Hey! I didn’t see you there…” I gave him an apologetic smile when I regained my composure. “I just got here, actually…”

“Right, I watched you stand here for at least five minutes now,” he snorted but his face didn’t have a hint of humor.

My silence confirmed his words. I didn’t know how to approach him again when I hadn’t seen him for weeks. I avoided Terry’s offer for weeks. I thought an apology would clear that tension.

“If you’re going to apologize about not coming here often, don’t. Terry told me everything,” he stated in conviction. I looked at his back, eying him in shock. I can’t believe he read me without looking at my face.

“That silence only justifies that my thoughts were right,” he added after a short silence on my part.

“Sorry,” I whispered shyly in reply.

He led me to the back room to his office. The last time I was in this room was when Alexandra had offered me a job. It was the day when all the decisions I’ve made backfired. I grimaced from the memory as I sat down on the same chair that I sat on when Alexandra talked to me. The sense of nostalgia was slowly giving me a headache.

Jack was very professional the whole time we were inside his office. We talked about the event and every detail that Alexandra had instructed me to tell him. The whole time his face held no expression other than to crunch his eyebrow together.

“Well, I think that’s about it,” Jack said in finality.

“Yup, that would be all,” I nodded in reply. I glanced at my watch and slowly stood up, ready to say goodbye. “I think I should be going. I have another meeting.”

“Okay, I’ll walk you out,” He nodded and gestured towards the door.

It was slightly awkward as we walked out of his office and walked the short distance towards the main door. We didn’t say anything to each other. Before steeping out, I turned around to say goodbye, but Jack spoke up before I could.

“Andy, I’m sorry if this sound so intruding, but is it true that William and you are a couple?” he asked seriously, curiosity thick in his voice.

I looked at him with wide eyes. Though I may have expected it, I wasn’t sure if he would actually do it.

“No. My god. No, we aren’t a thing,” I denied as my voice rose at a higher octave.

“Oh, right. I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable by asking,” He gave me a small apologetic smile and a slight nod.

“It’s alright. This isn’t my first, anyway. I’m not saying I’m used to it now.”

“Well, then, have a good day. Please visit anytime. It doesn’t have to be within store hours,” he changed the subject, relieving me from my misery.

“Sure. I’ll try,” I replied with sincerity and slowly back away from the door.

With one last wave of goodbye, we separated ways as he got back inside. I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered how awkward Jack looked when he asked me about my relationship with William. It was like watching my own father’s reaction when we talked about dating.

As I reached the bus stop, I was in luck when the bus arrived at the same moment. I sat on one of the chairs in front, which was mostly empty. I reviewed a few things for my next meeting. I was going to a pastry shop to order specialized cupcakes for the event. And on the ride there, I wasn’t aware of the black car that was beside the bus. When we reached a red light, the bus stopped beside the black car. I was preoccupied with my thoughts that I didn’t realize the window of the car beside me rolling down.

“Hey! Andy!” I faintly heard a voice calling my name.

At first, I didn’t bother looking around and assumed that it wasn’t me. But when the voice continued to call my name, I was starting to get alarmed and glanced around until I found the source sound.

“Hey! Can you hear me?” William asked. The clear glass window between us muffled his voice.

I stared him for a second before opening my mouth for a reply. Yet as I do so, no words had come out.

“Where are you headed? You can get out. We’ll drive you there,” he shouted in command.

Behind me, I noticed the people who were inside the bus looked in his direction. I regarded them shyly before looking back at William with an annoyed look.

“Go away. I’m alright here,” I mouthed in reply.

“What? I can’t hear you!” he shouted even louder as his voice becoming clearer.

“Stop shouting,” I mouthed wide and slow, with my eyebrow scrunched together to make my intent clear.

“I really can’t hear you!”

“Would you shut up?” This time I didn’t hold in my voice and shouted aloud.

William looked at me with his lips pursed, like he was hiding his amusement. Though from his eyes, I knew he was enjoying the moment. “We aren’t finished talking!” he shouted. He didn’t care who heard our conversation.

My eyes wide grew wide at his words. Did he plan on talking about this in public? I signaled him to shut up, acting out like I was zipping my mouth.

“If you don’t get out of the bus at the count of ten, I will scream to these people here about what I really think about you!” he warned at the top of his lungs as he gestured towards the other passengers in the bus, who were still looking at him.

I give the people behind me a quick glance before giving him an annoyed look. “Are you kidding me?” I mouthed in outrage.

He smirked at my expression, unaffected by my anger. I couldn’t believe he found the situation funny. And now I’m thinking why the bus hadn’t moved an inch. I looked away from him and studied the obstruction in front of us that stopped the flow of traffic. I watched people in an orange vest stood in the middle of the street.

“You know I have time to convince you…” He warned. His face was smug when he knew he was going to win.

With a frustrated sigh, I quickly stood up from my seat and told the bus driver that I was getting off. He looked at me weirdly but didn’t question my request. He opened the doors without a second thought. I jumped down from the bus and walked around towards the black car beside it. The back passenger door was already opened before I got there.

“Good choice. But I would have loved that you stayed stubborn and allowed me to shout my confession and apology with sincerity. It would have been a great revenge for you,” William said as I got in the car.

“Yeah, that would have been a good plan except I would also be embarrassed in the process,” I countered in clenched teeth as I try to distance myself from him.

“So, you still won’t forgive me for the betting thing?” he asked after a short pause when I remain distant to him.

“I’m thinking about it…” I whispered in reply and looked out the window.

“Uhm…” he said in understanding, as he remained silent.

After the obstruction in the road cleared, I told Mark, who was driving as always, the location of my next appointment. The drive was short and very suffocating. I thought it was my fault the dark atmosphere. William had tried to start a friendly conversation but I just had to ruin it. I couldn’t look at him straight in the eyes without feeling hurt and sad.

The car slowed down as we finally reached my next meeting. When Mark parked the car in front of the pastry shop. I was about to say goodbye but he had his back to me as he opened the door on his side of the car. I studied his actions for a second before it settled in.

“Where are you going? You’re not going in there with me,” I asked in frustration, as I remain rigid in my seat.

“I’m the employer. You can’t say whether I can or cannot meet the people who I’m going to hire for this event,” he stated in a professional manner.

I snorted at his arrogance and felt familiar towards his actions. It was a side of William that I knew well enough, which wasn’t voluntary. I opened the door on my side and quickly got out. I didn’t even bother to give William another look.

I marched towards the pastry shop without waiting for him. As I entered, I notice his long strides to catch up to me. I went straight to business and asked the attending staff about my appointment. She was very welcoming as she asked me to wait while she called her boss. By this time, William had entered the shop and quickly made his way beside me.

“So, why are we here again?” he whispered to me in question as he leaned slightly to my ear.

I glanced up and moved away from his close proximity. “I’m here to make an order for cupcakes and maybe a cake for this Saturday,” I replied swiftly, emphasizing on the ‘I’m’.

“Okay, you only have to place an order and be done with it,” He nodded in understanding and stated to himself.

“Ms. Maxwell wanted to have the cupcake and the cake customized for the event,” I explained in context, feeling a little heated up. The annoyed feeling hadn’t evaporated one bit since he showed up.

“Oh! Mr. Maxwell! I don’t know you were coming here personally!” Suddenly, a young-looking, blonde haired girl interrupted our short staring contest. She jumped out of nowhere and made her way towards William and looped her arms around him.

Startled at her sense of familiarity, I watched her with wide eyes, as she talked to William with a seductive tone. Was it my own imagination to hear a flirtatious tone in her voice?

“Miriam, how have you been?” William asked softly as he stood his ground, looking unaffected by her sudden greeting.