Chapter 3: I Relented! I Gave In!
"Safe!!" I exclaimed in relief as I reached the entrance of my workplace. Swiping my card in the staff check post, I hurried towards my department.
Throwing my suitcase I sat on the chair with a thump. It was not that hot but I was sweating profusely.
With the back of my hand, I wiped my sweating forehead.
"Here take it."
A soft and smooth voice spoke near me. I stopped what I was doing and looked at the man beside me who was giving me a smile that reached from one ear to the next.
"Liam, take it."
He smiled as he handed me a white tissue paper. That smile looked too frank and harmless but deep inside I could see something hidden. I did not know what but I knew one thing.
'THIS MAN IS DANGEROUS.'
Seeing me lost in my thought with my eyes staring at his hand he raised his eyebrow in an arc.
"Not taking it??" His voice was as smooth as ever but it could send a shiver down my spine. It was ominous.
"Ahh..T-thank you.." I bowed down nervously as I took it with my slightly trembling hands. The incident of the smell of the cologne had not left me yet.
I wiped my forehead, unconsciously wiping the only one place. It must have looked abnormal in his eyes because as I was about to turn away a strong hand grabbed me by my wrist almost scaring the shit out of me.
"Are you sick?" He asked with concerned eyes but they looked like a trap to me.
"N-No, I am fine.." stuttering I released my hands from his grasp. "I am fine, just the heat got to me." I lied wanting to not talk with him anymore. I did not want to associate with him considering how scary and dreadful his smile looked.
He was about to say something but the boss called me from inside the office.
I neither hated nor loved my boss but today my respect for him went from 0 to 100.
"Liam, report to the office in a minute." One of the employees who came out from the manager's office informed me. It was a girl in her late twenties who dressed up as a high school girl in short skirts and cute crop tees even when coming to the office.
The topmost button of her white shirt was open revealing a red spot on her collarbone. It indicated what she was doing inside the office so early in the morning.
'If you are gonna mess around in the workplace at least do not be so brazen about it.' I thought looking at her walking around with her hickey being shown to the entire workforce.
"Thanks, Ronnie." I thanked the girl who came out of the office as I gathered the files in my hand but she did not even give a glance at me….not that I was thirsty for attention.
I was glad she ignored me like a bug.
"Hey, Chris..." She said sultrily in her nasal tone, making it as soft as cotton as she greeted the man who was seated next to me aka Mr. Friendly smile.
She bowed down to meet his eyes at his level but she intentionally pushed forward her big and bouncy chest, her deep cleavage visible on her chest covered by a thin pink cotton shirt.
"Hey.." Chris solemnly replied to her greetings like he did not even care about it. As for her seduction, he did not even care about it.
Oh right, this Mr. Friendly smile was a drop-dead handsome man with a tall and athletic build. Even in the simple white shirt and black suit, he wore he looked like a supermodel who walked straight out of a fashion magazine.
The whole of the female colleagues in the office was simping over him while the man himself did not give a damn about any woman and Ronnie was one of them who was chasing after him, not romantically but as a physical attraction.
Why would he even give them attention when with a snap of a finger he could get any woman he wanted?
Seeing me lost in my thoughts Chris snapped his finger right in front of my face.
"Huh!!.." I woke up from my daydream and looked at the zoomed-in face of the handsome man, his high nose bridge almost touching mine.
Unconsciously I suddenly jerked my head hitting his nose bridge with mine.
"Owie….." I scrunched my nose in a frown because it hurt like hell.
"Hahahaha…..you are too funny Liam." Chris smiled which must have been one of the few sincere smiles he showed at times.
And I hated that smile more than the other smile he showed because that smile reminded me of Robert, the way they squinted their eyes was almost similar.
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"Eww…..What's with that intimacy…you look so gayish.." Ronnie wrinkled her brows in disgust looking at us, it would be better to tell looking at me.
She was angry since she could not gain attention from Chris while I got all of his unwanted attention.
This was another reason why I wanted to avoid this man. He attracted the attention of all the people and when he avoid attention to me I become a part of it too which I do not want.
"Hurry it up, Liam." The boss called me from inside the office.
I hurried off to the office without noticing the chilly gaze in the eyes of Chris that seemed to follow me inside the office.
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I knocked at the door and asked for permission to enter.
"Come in."
I entered the office and greeted the man who was sitting on his chair. He was a middle-aged man with a wife and two children.
"Have you brought the file?" He asked me tying his tie on his white shirt that had a red lipstick smudged on the collar.
I had seen him and his family going on vacations and trips much time but this man was a lecherous guy.
'Tsk..poor lady.' I felt bad about his wife who came to deliver him lunches at times who seemed to be the caring and loving type of woman but her husband was adulterous.
I placed the files on the table letting him take a look at the proposal I had written.
"This project is good." He nodded his head.
Before I could rejoice for the success of my hard work, the man cut my speech in between.
"But we won't be doing this anymore!" He threw the file on the desk, making it land with a thud.
"Huh!!But why not? I-I don't get it.." I asked flustered with the change in the scenario just like this. It was not fair when I had worked so hard for this.
"Don't ask a question, young lad." The man angrily flared up at me as if all this was my mistake.
Throwing a new file at me he said in a solemn tone.
"This is our new contract that the company has made. We have decided to sign it with the RK Company."
RK Company was a newly established company in the USA which was growing rapidly in the business and stock market. The CEO was a young man of unknown origin and unparalleled talent in handling business.
But there was also another rumor according to which the CEO was a cold-blooded mongrel whose glare alone could freeze your whole being.
He was a stone-hearted monster or so they said.
Handing me the file he added, "And this is your job. Go and meet the client and make sure they sign it."
Wait….
What??
I was a marketing agency but it was too much for me to do. Going head-on with a business tycoon and negotiating with a big shot was not my best point.
"But I am not sure I can do it." I tried to refuse the job although I knew doing so might cause me to get suspended or fired that was better than going out of my comfort zone to do something I have never done.
"You know the consequences of refusing me, don't you?" The man was threatening me with something I knew.
"I do..but still I don't want to go."I refused him with all I had.
"You have no choice. If you don't I will make sure to make your records bad to the point even if you landed a job in another company, you won't get it."
If I went with the proposal and could not get the contract from the other side, that would still be bad for me and even if I did not go, the manager was hell-bent on making life difficult for me.
"Ronnie, I have done your work." The man dialed a number and said in a sly and slippery voice.
'Oh, so Ronnie was the one who had to do this.' I understood where I came in from. I was made a sacrificial pawn because Ronnie did not want to do the hard work.
With a deep sigh, I made my decision.
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I stood in front of a building with anxiety messing up my head. Fifteen minutes ride away from my own company, A building with RK written in big red words could come in sight.
"I can do it!! Fighting!!" I cheer up myself and walked inside the building where I was greeted by the reception with a friendly and easing smile.
"I am here for a meeting with the CEO." I took out the appointment letter and handed it to the well-dressed female receptionist.
Checking the details of the letter, she smiled at me as she showed me to the office lounge.
"Sir is busy, he will be here in a moment. Please wait patiently." She walked out of the room leaving me alone. I stood up from the sofa and walked towards the window enjoying the view I saw from there.
It was new and it felt good.
The sound of foot clacking on the marble floor and the door opening grabbed my attention and I turned around to greet the so-called stone-hearted CEO of RK company.
The first impression was the most important thing so I decided to greet him humbly without even looking at his face.
"Hello, sir. I am fro-..." Before I could complete my sentence a wide and black wall blocked my vision, a word entered my ear, the same voice that had haunted me for the past two years like a ghost, making me freeze on spot.
"LIAM!"
Before I could react to the call, I was caught in a warm yet strong hug, as two big and sturdy arms surrounded my thin body.
The same scent of the cologne filled my nose.
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