Meeting Mr. Mogul(47)

"You don't believe that fact."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Andy. You wouldn't be sitting here with me if it hadn't crossed your mind."

I rolled my eyes at his arrogant reply and looked away from him. "Okay.  Maybe, at some point, it had crossed my mind …  recently …  but it's not a  good basis to have a relationship. And dating would be really hard after  that episode with the paparazzi."

"Well, wouldn't that make things easier? We've had enough publicity and  rumors of us being together. If another article comes out about us, the  decision whether to admit it or not would be in our hands."

I let out a deep sigh and placed my head on the table with my folded arm  underneath it. This was the most frustrating topic I've ever faced in  regards to having a relationship with someone. The last relationship I  had was three years ago, but it didn't work out in the end. He had  willingly left me without any rational explanation.   





 

Now, here comes a man, who used to be the person I loathed the most in  the world, rushing into my life like a freight train and abruptly  turning my hatred for him into something else. Even though we were just  on our first date, we were already talking about being in a  relationship. There was nothing remotely normal in this scenario.

"Mr. Maxwell …  William … How about we see how this goes, okay? I'll agree to at least three dates before entering into anything."

"How about this … " William stated and trailed off, "this can be easy for  both of us. You know that I like you. Do you feel the same way?"

His voice had a nervous edge as he asked his question. I eyed him  bleakly. I didn't know how to make him understand that I don't need this  kind of relationship right now. And I know if I admitted it plainly he  would get his hopes up. I'm not ready for anything at the moment.

"William. I like you … " I started softly, and trailed off as his face broke into a huge grin.

"Let me finish … " I continued and warned him, "I like you. And, after all  the crappy things we've been through, I somehow still like you. But I  can't do this with you. I can't promise you anything but a dinner after  work or lunches. I wouldn't be that girl who would show up at every date  looking pretty and classy because my first priority is my father," I  stated seriously, as I tried to keep my eyes on him.

His dejected eyes lit up with the last few sentences I said. Slowly, I  watched the sadness fade away and saw his breathtaking smile. "I didn't  expect anything much from you, Andy. I know what the conditions are  before I decided to want you. After all this time, I just want you and  nothing else. I'll agree to almost anything as long as you agree to be  mine."

My breath hitched as those words came out of his mouth. I didn't expect  him to have this side. I know he can be direct and stubborn but I never  thought of him as reasonable and thoughtful. This situation is bad. It's  like a dart straight to my heart. He just made me like him even more.

When no more words can be said, William asked the waiter for our bill  and paid. I remained silent in my seat and glanced at him under my  lashes as I toyed with the table napkin on my lap. After he was done  paying, he softly asked me if we should go, which I replied to with a  curt nod. I was at that moment incapable of talking.

The walk out of the restaurant was awkward between us, but William  handled it better than I. He had my arm looped around his while we  walked back to the car. As we drove off back to my apartment, he started  to ask me some questions that you usually read on any bio forms that  you'd fill up. He asked for my likes and dislikes, my hobbies, and he  even asked me about my passion towards art. Though I knew that he knew  about all this from reading my background file, but the way he was  asking with such interest made it less aggravating.

When the car slowed down as we approached our street, William's scripted  questions stopped as he shifted back to the topic we talked about in  the restaurant a few minutes ago.

"I'm allowed to take you out on another date, right?" he asked in assurance like he hadn't yet grasped that fact.

I chuckled at his question and replied. "Yes. You can take me out on  another date if only you asked me nicely. I'll let the first one slide."

When the car reached my apartment, I felt hesitant to go. But I felt  tired and the day had been long. I couldn't believe many things have  changed in just one day. I couldn't wrap my head around it. William got  out of the car to open the door for me. I gave him a small smile before  going out the car and leaping towards him.

"So, this is goodbye," I began after a few short awkward silence of standing by the door, looking away from each other.

"Ah, yes. I think it is," William whispered.

I glanced up at him, curious about how he looked right now. As my eyes  landed on his face, his eyes were already on mine. I felt the heat in my  body creep up towards my face.

"I …  Uhm … " I started, but coughed as I felt something in my throat.  "Thank you so much for today. The game this morning really means so much  to my father even though he didn't really show much of it," I said.  This time my voice was clear.   





 

"I think it was you who had more fun than your father," he commented with a snicker as he continued to look at me.

"Right …  yeah … " I agreed shyly and turned away from him, feeling another wave of embarrassment and blood rushing to my face.

"Well …  Anyway, thank you so much again. You should go now and have some  more rest. You still haven't completely recovered, you know," I reminded  him, changing the topic quickly.

"Right. Yes." He nodded his head in agreement and slowly took small  steps back to the open car door. "Then, I'll see you tomorrow," he  added, stopping his advance.

I nodded and said, "Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow. It was …  fun." I quickly  turned away from him, embarrassed at the admission of my feelings.

I took big steps as I walked from the front door towards the elevator  while keeping my head down. Since I knew for sure that there was someone  in the reception desk watching us. Before the elevator closed, I saw a  small glimpse of the poor girl's dumbfounded face as she looked in  William's direction. I chuckled at her reaction. Yes, he is very  handsome and mouthwatering.

That night, sleep hadn't come as fast as it usually did. I kept on  thinking about today and how the situations played out. I kept  regretting a few things I did today yet everything played out well in  the end. I don't know what the status was between the two of us but I  knew for sure that we weren't just friends anymore.

The next morning, I felt like I woke up in a Disney movie. Everything  around me was bright while the birds were chirping some tune-which was  odd since birds were rare in these parts. I had the sudden urge to do a  song number as I dressed up for work. As I got out of my apartment and  made my short trip to the bus station, I was also humming a happy tune.

When I finally settled down on the bus, I stopped humming as my phone  started to ring, breaking my cheerful vibe. I looked in my purse and  quickly took it out of the small pocket I usually placed it in. I  glanced down at the caller I.D. first before placing the phone to my  ear.

My eye grew wide as I looked at the name flashing on my screen. I didn't  think twice and clicked the answer button. "Ms. Maxwell. Good morning,"  I greeted quickly, my voice an octave higher.

"Andy, I'm glad you picked up," she replied with a jolly tone. "I'm back  for the week, so I'll be visiting the office starting today. Please get  me some non-fat latte with caramel syrup at the coffee shop across the  building, if you're familiar with it. And please place anything that I  need to check or sign on the table," she continued on after a short  pause.

"Okay, Ms. Maxwell. I'll get this done," I replied, feeling the sudden  importance of being her secretary. "Would that be all, Ms. Maxwell?" I  asked after a short pause, remembering how Maggie asks this to William  after he told her to do something.

"Yes, that would be all. Thank you, Andy. I'll see you later at the  office," she replied with much enthusiasm, like she was smiling.

Before I could reciprocate, the line cut with a beeping sound. For a  second, I couldn't really react to the situation. I'll finally be  working with Alexandra Maxwell for the first time since she hired me.  For a second my mind stopped thinking altogether and then a thought ran  through my head. Did William know about Alexandra's return?

I shoved the wandering thoughts about William and focused on my job. As  the bus stopped, I hurriedly made my way towards the coffee shop across  the street. I slightly cringed at the memory of the incident with the  cute cashier and the paparazzi. I mentally prayed that none of the two  were present in the vicinity.