Eternally Seduced(11)

She grimaced. "You're too nice, you know that, right?" She said it like  being nice was a disease and most times, it meant exactly that in Alyx's  book. Ever since we were young, she had kept on scolding me for letting  people take advantage of me because I was  –  like she said  –  too nice.

I shook my head. "I'm not. I'm just … " Falling head over heels for my boss, and that was my problem.

George was still throwing me sly looks when I reported to work the next day. I ignored him, of course.

I worked immediately on improving my presentation since the new  snowflake on my monitor screen told me that our meeting with the  executives was set for tomorrow. Again, my fixation on my work caused me  to forget all about lunch. It was already two in the afternoon when my  stomach growled, my internal alarm clock for hunger.

The cafeteria was nearly empty when I got there, but my inner senses  went haywire immediately, telling me even without seeing that he was  here again. Still uncomfortable about how fast and hard I was falling  for the Netherlands' #1 Playboy, I quickly turned around to escape.

But it was too late.

Constantijin was suddenly in front of me, as if sensing my intent to avoid him.

"Yanna."

I firmly repressed the lovesick sigh begging to be let out. Hearing him  say my name with his Dutch accent was even more of a turn on now,  especially when he looked at me like I was a lollipop he wanted to lick  all over.

"Good afternoon, sir." Just looking at Constantijin made me feel  restless, my body throbbing for his touch. Today, he wore a pale pink  polo together with a pair of well-cut trousers, his blazer nowhere in  sight. His clothes made his muscular physique even more apparent, and it  was all I could do not to stare hungrily at his body, knowing that  every inch of it was wonderfully hard.

Like his cock.

God, what was I thinking?

Constantijin's eyes shone with amusement, and I knew he had guessed correctly the direction that my thoughts had taken.

"Let's have lunch together," he said.

I quickly shook my head. "Oh no, sir, I don't want to impose---"

He said very gently, "It's just lunch, Yanna."

The delicate tone he used confused me. Was he saying I was overreacting?  Even more confused and not a little irritated, I nevertheless found  myself following him to one of the half-moon-shaped booths.

He snapped his fingers and a waiter appeared by our side on cue, ready  to take our orders. This was a self-service cafeteria, but I supposed  rules like that didn't apply to CEOs. I opted for Japanese this time and  he followed my lead, both of us ordering bento boxes and separate  appetizers.         

     



 

We sat at opposite ends of the booth. We couldn't sit next to each  other, not when he was my boss and I was his employee. Also, we weren't a  couple  –  yet.

I colored at my thoughts. Playboy, Yanna, playboy. Playboys like  Constantijin didn't do the couple thing. I had to remember that.

The waiter returned not more than a minute later, our appetizers ready,  sashimi for him and kani salad for me. I split my chopsticks just as he  reached out for them.

"Oops?" I said with an embarrassed smile. Was I supposed to play damsel in distress with my chopsticks?

He laughed. The sound made my toes curl. Something about Constantijin  Kastein enjoying my company  –  with my clothes on  –  had butterflies  fluttering their wings in my stomach.

"Itadakimasu," I said, feeling shy all of a sudden.

"Itadakimasu," he said in return, eyes still gleaming with laughter.

We ate our meal in silence, and I did my best not to look like I was in  the middle of another gastronomic orgasm as I enjoyed my bento box,  which consisted of yakimeshi rice, chicken teriyaki, and miso soup.

Constantijin broke the silence with a casual question. "Do you eat sashimi?"

I nodded, surprised.

He deftly picked up a slice with his chopsticks. "Here, taste it." His silver eyes danced with wicked laughter.

"Constantijin." I glared at him.

But still he kept his chopsticks-held salmon in the air, patiently waiting.

"What if people see us?"

"They won't," he said so confidently I looked at him suspiciously.

"Why not?"

"Because I had my bodyguards bar the door."

He what?

Constantijin murmured, "Now please. Taste it."

I finally opened my mouth.

As he fed me the piece of salmon, which was delicious with its icy  freshness, he said softly, "Next time, I'll be feeding you my cock."

Oh, oh, oh, why did this man always know exactly what to say to turn me on?

I drank a mouthful of water after, trying to use the time to calm myself. "Constantijin, don't."

"Don't what?" he asked with such wide-eyed innocence it tempted me to smile.

"I still have a presentation tomorrow so please … no distractions?"

Constantijin said immediately, "I'm sorry. That slipped my mind. Are you nervous about it?"

Relaxing a little, I admitted, "Yes, kind of."

The rest of the meal  –  and the day  –  passed uneventfully, and tomorrow  came before I was prepared for it. Megan took us to yet another  conference room, also larger than the one we went to before. More and  more, I was beginning to realize that Kastein, Inc. was all about  presentations, considering the gazillion conference rooms the company  seemed to have.

This conference room could comfortably seat forty, but only half of its  seats were occupied. Constantijin sat at the very center, in front of  his team of executives, looking gorgeous, sexy, and utterly out of my  league. It made me feel like I had only dreamt about the times I spent  with him.

The order of the presentation was the same. When it was my turn, I  virtually used the same spiel, only this time, my presentation lasted a  bit longer because of the video and additional data I had included.  Constantijin never took his gaze off me, but I could also see in his  face that he was listening intently  –  even proudly. That gave me such a  huge dose of confidence I became even more enthusiastic with my  presentation, cracking jokes, and getting my roomful of executives to  interact.

Afterwards, Charli took over and led the round of applause our audience gave us.

Then --- and this was really a surprise --- Charli had us come back on  stage. Before I knew it, we had an impromptu panel interview about our  series recommendations.

"The characters are kind of young," a male executive said. "How do you  propose to attract adults, parents, and so forth, to watch it?"

That was a tough one. From the corner of my eye, I saw a tiny smirk on  Arian's face. Grrr. That witch! "Well, I could have the advertisement  for the teaser start with a line like 'Remember how it felt when you  first fell in love'? Because no matter how old we get, we never forget  our first love, first kiss, even our first heartbreak, no matter how  much we try to forget it."

The crowd thankfully laughed at my quip.

I continued, "And that's what Hana Kimi is all about. Everybody likes to  reminisce about those lovely firsts, and this series gives them that  opportunity. Even better, it gives people with bad memories something  better to replace them with."

The executive smiled. "Good point."

I wanted to look at Constantijin and see if he approved, too, but I  dared not. Instead, I thanked the executive shyly and looked at Charli  for confirmation. She gave me a thumbs-up sign.

Charli took over the stage again when the panel interview ended half an  hour later. "Now, didn't I tell you I hired a great marketing team for  us?" she boasted, and everyone laughingly agreed.

George and I happily hugged each other when Charli officially ended our  presentation. Both of us looked for Arian to congratulate her, but we  need not have bothered, not when she was already getting the best  congratulatory message from none other than Constantijin himself.

Arian drew close to Constantijin as she spoke, her breasts heaving with every deep-throated laugh she released.

"Oh my God, the bitch," George muttered.

I shook my head. "Not really. I mean, they're both single."

He looked at me like I was insane. "But you like him!"

I struggled with that. If George could so easily see through me, could  others do so as well? Finally, I mumbled, "It's just a dumb crush."

Or at least I hoped so.

Tuesday to Thursday were peaceful and utterly boring, with Constantijin  nowhere in sight. Through the office grapevine, I learned that he had to  fly back to his home country for a get-together with his family.

On Friday, I took advantage of the no-office-attire rule to dress up in a  black knee-length dress, made distinct by its high collar, bell-shaped  sleeves, and scooped back. I felt like I had been neglecting myself  lately  –  or at least ever since I saw Arian flirting with Constantijin  and him not doing a thing to stop her.

Should he have stopped her? Did I have the right to care? I hated how I  constantly thought about these questions and hated the fact even more  that I didn't know the answers to them.