Infatuated

chapter 5

Eliza's outfit ⬆️

                                                                                        ~ ELIZA ~

My heels clicked down the spiral steps of our townhouse as I walked towards the living room
Em craned her neck and wolf whistled at me  "Damn you look hot"

"Why thank you" I fake bow "gotta make a good impression"

"Don't worry about that, everyone at the meeting will practically be drooling over you, except for my dad, that's just" she shudders "ew"

I laugh "which car d'you wanna take?"
I open the small cabinet where the multiple car keys are hung

"The Audi of course, how is that even a question" she says as she grabs the car keys

I dial our drivers number on the telephone in the foyer and tell him not to come in today,
you see, the Black Audi R8, not to be confused with the matte black one or the "shiny" one, is Emily's baby and even though she loves being chauffeured everywhere, she loves driving her baby even more, which makes it off limits to any driver except for her and occasionally me

Em starts the engine and we're off

Being the 'city that never sleeps', it's actually refreshing to see empty streets on the upper east side, it made the ride quick and we got to the office just in time

MASS co operations owned about 2 blocks worth of buildings in the heart of New York making it the biggest corporate management company not only in the country, but in the world

I stare at the large painting in the lobby dedicated to my parents, and to think, all of this started because a couple had a dream

I sigh

"Ellie, come on we're gonna be late" I follow Em into the elevator as I try to calm my nerves

I've tried to keep a chill front but if I'm being totally honest, this, being CEO is my dream job. I want to turn the company back into what it was meant to be, before all the shady business deals and meetings

And it's pretty nerve wracking thinking about the fact that two total strangers are also gonna be judging me

DING

The elevator doors opened as we made our way towards the meeting room
I took a deep breath
Em put her hands on my shoulders "relax, this role was made for you, now go be the boss your parents raised you to be"

The door opened and I was immediately greeted by Em's dad
"Mr Aruna, great to see you again"

"The pleasure's all mine, you've grown into such a beautiful young woman" he pulled me in for a hug and I smiled, after my parents death Mr and Mrs Aruna really took care of me, they're basically like my parents

"Hey da-Mr Aruna" Emily corrected
"Good morning" he replied and I held in a laugh at their conversation

Someone cleared their throat "You must be Miss Montgomery" a deep voice spoke, a voice that seemed all too familiar

I looked up as my eyes filled with recognition, it was him

Alexander

~ ALEXANDER ~

I walked into the tall office building and entered the meeting room

Austin said he'd be here soon but knowing his dumbass he probably overslept

"Mr Spectre I assume, good morning" Mr Aruna exclaimed as he strolled into the room

"please, call me Alex" I shake his hand

"well Alex, great to finally meet you, I'm guessing your other endeavours are the reason you haven't been able to attend the previous meeting?" he says as he sits down in his chair

"you've guessed correctly, I've been busy with the clubs but I've been keeping an eye on Spectre Industries in the mean time"

"so I'm guessing you're all caught up with everything going on at MASS" he questions

"yes, I hear you've appointed a new COO" (Chief Operating Officer)

"indeed I have, none other than my very own daughter" he exclaims proudly

"ahh I see" his daughter seems educated by the looks of it, he doesn't seem like the type to just hand over positions in the business like that

"and when is Mr St Claire coming"

"he's on his way here" I lie, I shoot a quick text to Austin telling him to hurry up and turn my attention back to the man sitting in front of me "so, Mr Aruna"

"call me Mark"

"Mark" I correct myself "when will your daughter and Miss Montgomery arrive?"

"they should be here any moment now"

DING

As if on cue the elevator sounds and two women are seen walking out of it, Mr Aruna steps out of his chair probably going to open the door to greet them as I stay seated

I hear murmurs and then the door finally opens

I try not to make it noticeable but I'm pretty sure my jaw just dropped, its her

Eliza

A million things are running through my head, mainly questions about what she's doing here
she can't possibly be the new CEO

well, could she?

I see her friend Emily next to her too, I put two and two together and realise that Emily is Emily Aruna, Mark's daughter AND the new COO of Aruna Inc

Eliza hasn't noticed me yet so I make my presence clear
I clear my throat and stand up as she looks at me "you must be Miss Montgomery" I extend my hand waiting for her to shake it
recognition clear in her facial expression

I look down at my hand her eyes following mine

"Oh right" she says as if snapping out of a trance. She shakes my hand and I can almost feel the chills

"Eliza, Emily, this is Alexander Spectre, the new CEO of Spectre Industries" Mark introduces

"Spectre huh"

"Have you guys already met?" He asks in response to Emily's remark

"Nope, this is definitely the first time" Emily states holding in a laugh

"well, lets all take a seat" I tell everyone, keeping my eye on Eliza

She looks gorgeous
and by gorgeous I mean hot, the top she wore enunciated her curves and left little to imagine as I tried not to stare at her

ample area

"Is everybody here?" Emily asks, breaking the tension in the room

"we're just waiting on Aust-" I start to say when the door bursts open

"I'M HERE, I'M HERE GUYS" A breathless Austin shouts

"and I'm guessing you must be Mr St Claire" Mark chuckles

"you've guessed correct, and call me Austin" he winks
"sorry I'm late, there was TONS of traffic and the elevator was busy so ran up the stairs to make it here on time" he explains
I gotta give it to him, his lie almost seemed believable
except for the fact that there was no traffic this morning, but Mr Aruna seemed convinced

I look at Austin as he takes in the room, and the people present

A grin forms on his face "well well well, isn't this a lovely little reunion"