Tall, Dark and Handsome

Chapter 2

The bright lights that lit up the hallway burned my eyes as I followed out the movie theater room we were just sitting in. I could still hear some of the dialogue playing quietly in the background before the door closed with a solid click. He was already walking down the long hallway towards the discreet side entrance doors, not bothering to pay any attention if I was following him. I stopped then, hands tightening around the thin straps of my knock off purse I purchased from a dingy shop near Chinatown. What on Earth was I doing? I reprimanded myself. I was following a stranger to wherever he was going. Did I not learn anything from all those adverts warning children to not follow strangers?

The man seemed to have noticed that I stopped walking because he too, stopped. Turning slowly around on his heels, his heated gaze settled on me causing a hitch in my breath and my heart to flutter wildly. He was too handsome to be true in well-lit place. I had only seen him from before in semi-darkness, shadows playing up his sharp cheekbones and strong jaw. Now, I could see that his eyes were brighter than I could ever imagine, his hair was a golden blond and the rough stubble growing along his jawline. I felt my knees shake when I met his eyes.

"Something the matter?" He asked in a cool tone, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets.

I raised my chin; nose pointed in the air and looked him dead in the eye. No matter how nervous and intimidated I was, I wasn't going to allow him to know it. "I've made a mistake. I don't know who you are and I have no idea why I followed you out here. I'm going back." I said defiantly, noticing my words came out clipped and curt. I swivelled around and was about to begin walking back towards the room I just left when his voice stopped me cold.

"I'm sure, you know me more than you think." He said calmly. "Who do you work for?" I gasped when he asked me, lips pressed against the hollow of my ear. He must have closed the distance when I turned around without me knowing. His hands squeezing my arms, I felt myself completely surrender to his touch.

"It's not any of your business." I said, voice shaking.

"Humour me." He breathed. Pushing my hair off to one side, his lips lightly skirted against my warm flesh. I felt the little hairs behind my neck rise as I cocked my head to one side so the length of my exposed neck was for his tantalizing lips.

"Hiddleston & Baker." I heard myself reply, naming one of London's biggest advertising agencies. I was only a mere secretary for one of the firm's talented senior managers but I still took pride in the work I had to complete for the company. The workload was unbearable sometimes but the pay was good. I longed for when I finally saved enough money to go back to university to study the wonderful world of marketing. No more making coffee, typing up memos and occasionally, picking up dry cleaning for my boss, Alfred Turner.

"And do you know of..." He drawled, lips still pressed against the crane of my neck. "Mr.Hiddleston?" He murmured against my ear. I couldn't help but hear the amusement in his voice as he said one of two founders of the agency.

Tom Hiddleston.

 Bits and pieces of hushed conversations describing the talented mogul flickered into my mind as I tried to remember anything about him. It was funny because as a secretary, I was often pushed to write company brochures about everything from the founders to the mere printing presses. But after writing the tenth brochure regarding his background, he had started to become almost like a fictional character for me. Born and raised in London, he showed his intelligence when he graduated top of his class every year and went off to one of the most prestigious universities Europe had to offer. He even found time to raise money for charities and play sports like rugby and tennis during his studies. Although the brochures had everything to do with him, I was only responsible for writing the blurbs of his background while the printers took care of photo management. I hadn't actually met the man as of yet and there weren't any posters or pictures of him littering the office so I still didn't know how he looked like. However, judging how the females in the office practically swoon at the call of his name, I had gotten the impression that he was very handsome indeed.