𝐀𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐲𝐚
I'd sworn off of love and men after the fiasco that was my last relationship. Until I spent one steamy and passionate night with a dark haired stranger. A man that I thought I'd never see again. Until I found out that he was my new boss...
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The client - whom I now knew to be Keith Madden after a brief introduction - kept talking as our food arrived. I periodically nodded, acknowledging whatever he was telling us about his finances and what exactly he expected before we dug into our respective meals.
"So, Aaliya," Keith started around a mouthful. "Neil here tells me that you're one of the exceptional employees at Dellite."
My cheeks warmed as I awkwardly glanced over at Neil, only to see him already beaming at me.
"I wouldn't say exceptional." I say with a small laugh. "But I do work hard and make sure that it gets done on time."
"Oh no. Don't believe a word she says." Neil interrupts as shoots a look at me. "She's one of the only ones who stays in the office late and is one of the first ones to arrive in the morning. Her work ethic really is incredible."
Tapping my fingernails on the table, I smiled and focused on eating my food and not fixating on the way my heart was thumping out of beat.
"Good, good." Keith replied with a satisfied smile. "Then I have nothing to worry about. My business is in good hands."
"Are you saying that you doubted me, Mr Madden?" Neil joked as Keith joined him in the laughter, the two of them so at ease with each other since they'd been working together for a while now.
"Never. Else I wouldn't have worked with you for so long." Keith smiled before he redirected your attention to me. "So, Aaliya, tell me a bit about yourself. Whatever I've heard is from Neil so far. I'd love to hear your share a bit about you."
"Well," I swallowed once before I spoke again. "I've always known that I wanted to work in finance since my father works in the same field."
"Interesting." Keith noted as I felt Neil's eyes on me. This was probably the first time I was actually speaking about myself - this wasn't information that you could find in my employee file. "Are you a Seattle native?"
"Oh, no. I was born in India but was raised in several different cities, thanks to my father's job. Immersing myself in different cultures really taught me a lot and shaped me into the person I am today." I said with a smile, feeling myself loosening up, what with Keith's warm yet curious nature. I was expecting to meet with a cold and possibly misogynistic client - because let's be honest, this wasn't my first rodeo where a man would have doubted my capabilities as a woman working in a top management role - but I was pleasantly surprised by Keith Madden.
"Wow." He replied, his eyebrows rising. "Impressive. Neil, you didn't tell me about this."
"I wasn't aware either." I turned to look at him, his dark eyes already capturing mine as an unknown emotion flitted through them. "But I did tell you that she was spectacular - both as an individual and a professional." His eyes still hadn't moved from mine, making me feel as if he was staring into the depths of my soul.
