I Need Your Warmth (Original, English Version)

Chapter 1 - Allen Smith *

I rarely find women who are attractive to me. With my sister setting the bar, I have high standards. I can immediately tell what a woman's intentions are when one approaches me. I tend to distance myself from those kinds of women. I meet a few good ones, but some of them would display certain adverse changes when they learn about my company and my net worth. Typical. When I decline to spend money on them, they either get angry or disappointed. When I persist on not spending too much on them, they eventually move on to someone else.

It's been a while, and another woman caught my eye. She's bubbly the first time, but she seemed professional enough to hold herself back. I wonder why she's excited to see me? I should ask. She takes her job seriously. When I talked about my background to Lee's in-laws, she was intently listening on the side.

When Lee asked me to send her home, I thought it was an opportunity to get to know her.

"Isn't it too bothersome?" She asked as we walked towards Lee's house.

"Nah. I'm free tonight. Where do you live?" I asked, I stopped for a bit waiting for her to walk in step with me, but she stopped as well. A step behind.

She gave me her address. I gave her a look, but I don't think she gets what I mean.

"Walk side by side. Why are you walking behind?"

"Oh... sorry." She finally understood and took that one step. We continued walking.

"Why were you excited to see me?" I asked.

"Ah, that..." She shifted her work bag on her shoulder. "When I got assigned on the project, I learned the property is yours. I've heard you're not an easy person to meet. I've tried asking my contacts but I can't find a connection. I probably called your office twice a week to try and schedule an appointment. Failed on that. It's so good to finally meet you." She didn't glance at me while she answers my question. I kept looking at her.

"I see..." We paused the conversation as I get the car out of the drive. She got in and was quiet. When I started driving, I asked her questions again.

"Clara, right? What's your last name?"

"Regan. Clara Regan." She answered, staring straight ahead. I only managed to glance at her a few times.

"How long have you been working at Taylor Industries?"

"Only two years. It's my first job since I graduated."

I cleared my throat. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

"Twenty-three." She doesn't seem to mind me asking a lot of questions.

"Damn." I muttered, realizing she's older than me.

"Excuse me?" She asked, finally looking at me.

"Hmmm? Sorry. I didn't expect that you'll be older than me."

"I am?" She asked, looking unconvinced. I managed to look at her on a stoplight.

"Maybe just a few months, if not a year." I explained.

"I see. You're twenty-two?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Wow. I didn't think you're too young. I thought you'd be at least twenty-six or something. How old were you when you started your company?" There's genuine surprise and interest in her tone and I clearly saw her turning towards me. I smiled to myself. I thought she would simply keep on answering my questions without reciprocating and turning this into a real conversation.

"Sixteen. I was a nerd who had nothing to do but read articles and statistics. Lee happened to give me funds, then. Told me to use it well. I said to myself, hey, land appreciates in value. And I found some real estate that are in excellent locations. I started early."

"It must have been good..." Her tone carried a hope, and a hint of disappointment as well.

"How did you end up working as a business developer?"

"I just got promoted this month. This is my first assignment as business developer. It's a new project." She sounded proud.

"I like buildings and structures. Studying designs, styles, techniques... those fascinate me. And I like the idea of being able to turn a project proposal into an actual beautiful property." She explained.

"What did you study in school?"

"I majored in civil engineering, but I have studied architecture as well." Her tone and expression didn't sound good.

"Why are you suddenly unhappy?" I asked, we should reach her house within five minutes.

"Sometimes it's hard working in the office. When new ideas get proposed by the younger ones, the senior employees kind of resist and ask a lot of questions. I guess it's what they call the generation gap."

"We have that in the company, too. I keep the number of older employees to a minimum, and if we ever hire them, I make sure they understand that new methods, designs, and techniques are always introduced, with the advancement of technology these days."

She was silent after that. "I guess Taylor Industries is more diverse than your company. It's involved in various industries. Real estate development being one of them. It's a lot to manage."

"I would admit it's much easier to run a company that specializes in one or two industries." I admire Oliver for being able to grow Taylor Industries into what it is today, but I'm sure he went through a lot of trouble for it.

"That's true."

"Would you like to transfer to my company, then?" I asked, half-serious, half-joking. She looked a bit taken aback. She laughed after digesting it.

"No. In a way, I like learning new things from the other departments when I get assigned as a team member in a project."

"You'll be working with me on this project, though."

"Uh...?" She sounded confused.

"Though I gave it away, I like seeing developments being done on my properties. I would have to trouble you from time to time."

"I see." She nodded upon understanding it. I noticed her glancing at me more often now. I grinned inside. She is interested.

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A/N: This is the third book in the series.  First one is Memories of Tomorrow. Second book is A Lifetime With You. There are five more to follow after I Need Your Warmth. Kindly support each story. Thank you and enjoy reading. :)