“Seems like a pretty wise decision. You make a really good first impression for this company.”
“Aww, thanks Mel! But I don’t think the company needs a better impression than the road of pride.”
“The road of pride?”
“Yeah, you must have noticed the road you came here on. Both sides were full of extraordinary buildings, remember? All of those buildings… Mr. Hawke’s masterpieces… like he is forcing his guests to take a tour in his art gallery, you know?”
“Wow…” I was speechless. He must have more talent than I gave him credit for.
“I know, right? Well, you tell me about yourself,” she said and for the next fifteen minutes we talked about each other.
Stacey was four years older than me, even though she looked like the same age as me. She graduated from the same college and that gave us more common things to talk about. But no matter how much I enjoyed our chat, I was aware of t
he time so we said our goodbyes for now and I bought Kellan his lunch.
The moment I was out of the elevator, a shattering noise made me startle, cursing followed it. I wasn’t sure of going in his office, but I hurried my steps anyway. Tentatively, I opened the door and came face to face with the chaos.
Kellan was sitting in an armchair in front of his desk, his head was in his hands as he leaned down with his elbows on his knees. The files, the papers on his desk were everywhere; his study lamp, cup, and a vase were shattered in pieces on the floor. But my only focus was on him, he looked so vulnerable, rocking back and forth on his chair, I wanted to console him for whatever was bothering him. His hair was messy just like that night and I could feel its softness on my fingertips. This was my weakness… the romantic in me was sucker for these kind of things. The very moment of a very powerful, grumpy and moody asshole turned into someone weak, in distress. That romantic super woman in me had the urge to protect, save and fix him; I couldn’t help but sit on the arm of the chair. Putting the tray on the coffee table in front of him, I hesitantly touched his hair before whispering, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he whispered back.
I snorted, “So this is how you work when you have a project, hmm? You create chaos in the middle of the day? Good to know since I am working for you.”
“Funny little thing, aren’t you?” he said sourly, but I caught a ghost of a smile on his face.
“C’mon… tell me what’s wrong.”
“I’ve been working on this project for two months… yet I have nothing to show for it. And in one week, I have a meeting with these guys, I need to show them something. But for the first time in my life I can’t draw or think of any ideas,” he explained, the frustration was clear in his voice.
“Oh my goodness, was that the reason for this destruction?”
“Sorry, if the downfall of my career wasn’t important enough for you,” he snapped.
“Will you stop being a Debbie Downer? I saw your small art gallery as I drove here, okay? I saw your talent, you have nothing to be worry about. You just need to brainstorm, find an idea and start to draw, got it?” I told him confidently, I really believed in his talent.
“You’re making it sound so easy…” he whispered, leaning into my touch. I didn’t know if he was aware of what he was doing, but I liked that… it touched something in me.
“This is the music academy project, right?”
He nodded and frowned when I stood up to leave his office, “Wait here, okay? I’ll bring something from my office. Also, eat your lunch. We’ve got work to do,” I told him over my shoulder. A smile took over my face when I noticed the excitement in his eyes were back.
Grabbing my notepad from my desk, I hurried back into his office, giving no explanation to him as he watched me with interest.
“Will you tell me what are you doing, Miss Crown?” he teased me.
“As your assistant, I’m saving your ass, Mr. Hawke,” I replied sweetly and started to share my ideas.
“Well, since this is a music academy, I thought the buildings could be music related. You know the clefs in music? Treble, bass and c-clef? They have unique signatures and we can use them for different parts of the academy. Like keyboards, strings, brasses… all of them will be able to get their own buildings,” I explained, waiting for him to say something… anything… but he kept watching me with a strange expression.
“Look, I know this isn’t a great idea, but I’m just trying to help, okay? Like giving you something to begin with. I’m sure you’ll work from here, right?” I said, feeling defeated that he didn’t like any of it.
Standing up, he walked toward me, stopping behind me, leaning so close I felt heat radiating off him, his breath on my neck.
“I think this is a pretty good idea, Miss Crown,” he whispered, causing tingling sensations on my body as goosebumps broke out on my skin.
“Thanks… Mr. Hawke,” I forced myself to be formal as my mind recalled his body on mine.
“Mr. Hawke… I really like how that sounds from those lips of yours,” he chuckled, nuzzling on my neck.