I decided to go shopping on Friday for my 'date' with Caspian. To say I was nervous as hell was an understatement. I wanted to look good yet I didn't want to seem to excited at the same time.
By the next day, the office was buzzing with gossip about Caspian and I. It came to my notice when I walked into the canteen for the first time. I strutted in, unsuspecting and decided I was going to get the chicken salad. I noticed a group of people looking in my direction and talking.
"Hi. I'm Connor," a deep voice said from behind me. I flinched at the loud voice which caught me off guard.
Connor was tall. He should have been a little above six feet with topaz eyes and an angular jaw. He had blonde hair which was slicked back and gentle but striking features, and a buff and muscular build. He managed to keep his boy next door look.
How is that even possible?
He tapped his foot, waiting for me to acknowledge him. I blushed, having been caught scrutinizing him. I felt it was rude to look at someone that way. I really needed to stop that.
"Katherine." I said still feeling a little flustered. He chuckled softly at my discomfort before taking my hand and kissing it.
"I know who you are. In fact, everyone does," he said with a little laugh, "Come sit with me."
I allowed him to drag me along, forgetting the reason why I was in the canteen. We took our seats. Not wanting to look him in the eye, I looked around and examined the canteen.
"Sorry to say, but there are rumors," he said coyly. That caught my attention.
"What rumors?" I questioned, slightly panicked.
"That you are screwing the big boss?" He looked uncomfortable asking, which made me wonder why he asked.
"No," I said in a clipped tone. The question put me in a bad mood. No doubt, Melanie ran her mouth. "I thought for a man your age and size, you would be wise enough not to waste your time on silly gossip about poor old me." I couldn't help but be a little rude.
"I'm sorry for prying," he said dejectedly. His dejected face made me sad, as he was only trying to be friendly and inform me of the gossip. He was just trying to be friends and I threw it back in his face.
Since I left my parents, I had become a little rude. I stopped smiling as much as I used to (Reggie told me), I didn't feel as happy as I used to, and I became closed off (I couldn't talk to Kimberly without lying).
"I'm sorry for being rude. It's just, I just started working here and now everyone's talking about me." I gave him my puppy dog eyes hoping he would forgive me.
"No problem. It's my fault for prying." He said, shaking his head."There isn't really gossip around here, but when Melanie and her posse start it, it gets around fast," he said trying to console me.
After a few minutes of getting to know each other, I left because my break was over. As I strode into the elevator, a pretty brunette walked in too. She stood close to me despite the empty space in the elevator. I decided to ignore her behavior, as I waited for her to press her floor button.
"Hi. I'm Sydney," she said cheerily.
"Katherine," I replied. She seemed like a nice person. I reckoned we would be great friends.
"Everyone knows who you are, silly," she said with a wink.
Great. Just great. I resisted the urge to scowl at my misfortune but instead gave her a wide smile.
"So," she began, "Is it true?" I pretended not to know what she was talking about and decided to act nonchalant.
"What?" I said, feigning innocence.
"Oh come on, don't tell me you don't know what Melanie said." She knew I was lying. "Don't worry, it gets better."
The elevator dinged, signaling I was to get off. Apparently, Sydney was going up.
"Bye. I'll see you later, right?" She questioned hopefully.
"Sure." I gave her a small wave and sauntered to my office.
The rest of the day went by uneventfully. I tried to steer clear of anyone who looked like they were about to approach me.
I sighed deeply as I got into my apartment building. I leaned on the wall of text elevator during the ride to my apartment. I turned on the lights as I walked in.
Yakult came bounding and jumped right into my arms.
"Hey little guy," I said petting him.
He purred.
My heart jumped out of my chest as I heard a familiar voice call out to me.
"Katherine." That voice gave me shivers. I tried to stop my hands from trembling, I really did. I gently laid Yakult on the floor and turned to face the owner of the voice.
"Aiden," I whispered.
"Is that how you greet your ex-fiance," he said grinning down at me. He looked unusually happy and less sinister than he looked. That look, I figured, was only meant for me; the look of pure hate and disgust.
Aiden never hurt me physically. He made sure it was purely emotional. He made sure I felt inferior. All the anxiety and doubt I had let go of, all the months he had been away, crept back in at that moment.
He sensed my discomfort and gave me a look of regret. "I'm so sorry Katherine." His apology seemed way too far-fetched. Aiden wasn't nice.
He wasn't.
At all.
Yakult let out a bark and tried to jump out of my arms but I held him back. He probably detected shit. Aiden didn't even flinch.
"Could we talk about this later? Maybe when I haven't just gotten back from work?" I found myself pleading. Aiden was unpredictable in this situation; in the sense that he wasn't usually nice.
"Ok." As he said that a smirk etched itself into his face. He gave me a wink and left but not before saying, "Your ass looks nice in that dress. Red is definitely your colour."
I think I hate red now.
When he left Yakult finally calmed down and nestled his head on my chest. I giggled at that.
I decided to check my apartment for any sinister materials, just in case he left any. When I was certain I was safe, I gave Yakult a bath before putting him to bed despite his protests. When he went to sleep, I crawled into bed and drifted to sleep.
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I was going to get this chapter out sooner but I wrote it offline and when I switched on my WiFi connection, it got deleted. I swear, I'm not clumsy and I saved it.
Why the hell did you guys not tell me I wrote the prologue-chap 2 in present tense. Why?!!!
Anyways we reached #80 in romance and I cannot thank you guys enough. <3.
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Love,
Simi.
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The CEO's Obsession
Random"Kiss me like you missed me." "Well, come here." I jumped into his arms and snaked my arms around his neck. Our lips touched and just like that, everything was right again.
