Eternally Seduced(9)

Three o'clock came sooner than expected and before I knew it, Megan was  taking us to another conference room, a bigger one, with a white screen  already rolled down in the front of the room and a projector plugged in  and ready for our use. The only lights in the room were directed towards  the stage, leaving the rest of the room  –  and our audience  –  shrouded  in darkness.

George was up first. He used an image slideshow for his presentation and  because he was uber-creative, it worked for him even though Charli had  specifically asked for a video insert. Arian followed shortly, and her  PowerPoint presentation had a very professional video insert, the  hypocrite!

Then it was my turn.

After a quick Sign of the Cross, I went up on the podium, clearing my  throat several times. I spent a few seconds letting my eyes adjust to  the brightness of the limelight trained on me from the ceiling. It  almost felt like I was talking to myself, which I liked just fine.

I knew that aside from George and Arian, Charli was there, too, as our  supervisor. But I was totally clueless about the identities of the three  other managers, and it made me nervous. I wished I had remembered to  ask Charli about them before the presentation.

Taking a deep breath, I started on my presentation.



Why Hana Kimi?

Before you ask that question, let me share a couple of things first.  Slam Dunk, Boys over Flowers, and Coffee Prince are just a few Asian TV  series that were imported to Europe and became huge blockbusters with  their niche markets. Fans loved the sports angle in Slam Dunk, the harem  of beautiful-looking guys found in Boys Over Flowers, and the idea of a  girl pretending to be a guy in Coffee Prince.

Hana Kimi has all of those so maybe the question should be, why not Hana  Kimi? It was already adapted for a TV series in Taiwan and it was an  instant hit. With the right formula, I have no doubt that its success  can be duplicated for a Western audience.         

     



 

The series is about a girl who so idolizes a high jumper she once saw  performing that she decided to transfer to the same school he's in  –   even if it means hiding her true gender to enroll in an all-boys'  school.

In her new school, Mizuki  –  the heroine in the series  –  meets an entire  cast of good-looking guys, all of them with potential to have their own  storylines. As for the requisite twist, Mizuki actually becomes the  roommate of her idol and crush Sano. You can just imagine the ba-dump  ba-dump moments that it could create!

Another great thing about this series is that it has 23 volumes in  total, and with English translation already provided by Viz Media, TV  networks can then choose whether they want a short series and focus on  their favorite scenes  –  or they can go long and maximize the series'  potential. It's all up to the client, but either way  –  it's a win-win  situation for Kastein, Inc.



And then it was over.

It was the longest 15 minutes of my life, and my knees were still  quaking underneath me. Someone flipped the light switch and suddenly, I  heard people getting to their feet and clapping, with Charli even  beaming at me. She was so sophisticated I never even thought she knew  how to grin, much less beam!

Still a little dizzy at the realization that my presentation was indeed  over and that I had survived, I quickly stepped down from the podium and  relinquished my space to Charli.

Fanning myself with my presentation script, I let my gaze roam the room  absently and froze when I encountered a pair of lazy gray eyes studying  me with such intensity I found myself catching my breath.

Constantijin was here.

His unsmiling face made me nervous, but even so I couldn't help feeling  gloriously alive at just the sight of him. It was exactly like that  ba-dump moment I was talking about earlier.

Unnerved by his impassive expression, I forced myself to listen to  Charli, who was just thanking us three for the presentation and saying  that all our recommendations were worth considering.

"Arian, your presentation was lovely, but next time I hope you add more  statistical data  –  such as what Yanna shared about Hana Kimi's  performance in Japan and Europe."

Ha! Take that, Arian!

"George, your presentation was also lovely but for now  –  please stay  away from extremely graphic yaoi series. I don't think the American  mainstream audience is ready for it yet."

I gave George a thumbs-up, who was doing his best not to look disappointed.

"And Yanna, you did a great job. I can see how much passion went into  your project, but next time, I do hope you have a better video to share  with us."

Arian, you selfish girl, you!

Charli beamed again. "Since this went so very well, I'm delighted to  tell you that you will be presenting the same recommendations to the  executive managers next."

Her announcement, made out of the blue, had me gulping and I could see that even Arian was feeling queasy at the thought.

But Charli didn't seem to notice our silent panic. She thanked our  audience, making a special note of Constantijin's presence. Apparently,  he didn't have to be here at all.

Afterwards, the two other executives talked to us one by one. There was  Martha, the finance department head and Lawrence, who led the production  department.

At the end of the line was Constantijin. He took his time talking to  George and Arian, never once glancing my way. It hurt and angered me,  but I knew I couldn't flounce off like I wanted to.

When he turned his back on Arian, forcing the other woman to close her  mouth and retreat, I gave him my best polite, I'm-not-bothered smile.  "Sir."

He didn't smile in return.

"I have a few questions about your recommendation." The curtness of his  tone made me straighten. Oh God, was that why he seemed to be in a bad  mood? Did he hate my presentation?

Constantijin was already leaving and I had to half-run so I could walk  next to him. I made sure I was lagging a few inches behind at the same  time as a way of showing respect for his position.

"What questions do you have?" I asked nervously.

"Later," he answered in a still-brusque tone, which only made me tense even more.

He pulled me into his office, which actually had its own reception area.  My eyes widened when I saw a familiar gray-haired woman sitting behind  the table next to the door of Constantijin's private office.

She smiled when she saw me, utterly unruffled. "Hello, Ms. Everleigh."

"H-hi," I stammered, wondering if I could die right this very moment. Oh  God! How the hell had I managed to forget what happened between  Constantijin and me and … and her?

"Yanna," Constantijin barked from his inner office.

Giving the older woman another embarrassed smile, I hurriedly went  inside. God, what the hell was eating him anyway? Surely my presentation  wasn't that bad?

"Close the door," he barked.

This time my temper was near to bursting. "You don't have to shout at  me, you know," I muttered as I closed the door. When I turned around to  face him, I didn't have any time to react.

Constantijin was on me in an instant, his lips taking mine in an  open-mouthed kiss that sent my senses reeling. As he sucked on my  tongue, I was barely aware of him twisting us around so that I had to  walk back as he moved forward and forward. When I hit something from  behind, Constantijin lifted me up and brought me down on his desk.

Releasing my lips, Constantijin pushed me down, leaving my legs to dangle from the table.

"What---" I tried to protest but his brooding look shut me up. There was  something in it, something more than anger or frustration.

Then I felt him rolling my underwear down my legs and I yelped again, "What are you doing?"

"I saw you." He threw my panties away.

I tried crawling away from him, but it was too late. He leaned over me,  his weight pressing down on my body and imprisoning me in place.

"You were flirting with that boy."

It took me a while to understand what he was talking about.

I gasped. "Are you talking about Dra---"

"Don't you dare say his fucking name in my presence!" he growled and bit my lip as if in punishment.

I groaned, not out of hurt but because I was even more aroused, his  movement causing his rock-hard cock to rub just the right way against my  naked core.

"Why were you flirting with him?"

This time, I understood what I had seen in his eyes earlier  –  what I now  heard from his voice. He was jealous. Constantijin Kastein was jealous  –   because of me. It was stupid of me, I knew that, but somehow the  realization made me happy.

I knew that him being jealous could mean nothing. It could just mean  that he was extremely possessive, that he thought I belonged to him. But  right now, I didn't care. Right now, all I could think was that he had  to care for me  –  even just a bit  –  for him to feel so jealous and  affected over an entirely casual conversation in front of a vendo  machine.