RED

6. Forget-Me-Not

You can't buy love but you can pay heavily for it.

by Henny Youngman.

***

"No... No, please don't..." Kiana murmured in her sleep. Her eyes were firmly shut and her brows squeezed in discomfort. Little sweats trickled down her forehead. Her breathing was abnormally rapid. Her hands clenched on tightly to the blanket that covered her body. She shook her head in refusal, turning from left to right as her worst nightmare continued.

"No!" She exclaimed a little louder, as she opened her eyes, sitting up at once. Her deep breathing enhanced, now louder as she slightly opened her mouth to take in as much breath as she needed to calm her racing heart. She was trembling visibly as her palms folded into a fist, holding tightly onto the blanket.

Slowly, her eyes shifted to take a look at her surrounding, which was now immersed in utter darkness. Yes, she was back to reality but her past kept haunting her in the form of a nightmare. Every night, the same scene from her past plays out, now as a nightmare, taunting her for all her misdeeds. Tears gathered in her eyes as she slowly let go of the blanket, which she held so tightly within her hands. As the tears rolled down her cheeks, she brought her legs closer so her chest was resting on her knees and her arms wrapped around them. There and then in the serenity of her own apartment, she sobbed a great deal at her misfortune.

***

Enrico walked casually right into the room in which the meeting was to be held that very morning. On stepping in, he realised the buyers had already arrived and were just at the verge of having their seats. He took his seat at the head of the table before taking in a deep breath. Kiana set the needed documents for the transaction in front of him, trying her best not to make eye contact with her boss who, surprisingly, did the exact thing. They both looked anywhere else except into each other's eyes. Afterward, Kiana went away and stood patiently by his side ready to help at his every beck and call. Enrico forced himself to think of nothing else but the present business deal he was about to make. After working so hard to attract these present buyers, he was happy to know that a few exchanges of complimentary words and signature on the document will finally summarise it all.

Kiana watched as Enrico wrote down his signature on the piece of paper before shifting the document to the man seated to his left who eventually did the same thing. Afterwards, they smiled at each other just as they stood to their feet.

"Congratulations, Mr. Barnabas." Enrico stated as he stretched out his hand for a handshake.

"Congratulations, Mr. Vos." The man replied as he accepted the handshake, displaying a casual smile at the same time.

Enrico responded to his smile with one of his.

"I think we should celebrate. Perhaps... A toast." Enrico suggested and without really waiting for a clear reply from his guests, he slightly turned his head to Kiana.

"Get a bottle of wine." He ordered without quite taking a look at her. She nodded before quickly walking away to the corner of the room, where a few of the company's bottles had been laid out, clearly preparing ahead of time. The name 'Edoardo Vineyards' boldly written in Italics pasted below the neckline of the bottle. Kiana picked one before returning to hand over the bottle to him. Their hands accidentally brushed and in the process Kiana felt an immediate feeling. A feeling she couldn't quite explain. Her hands slightly trembled and she had to stop herself from panicking to avoid letting the bottle fall to the ground so, she carefully began withdrawing her hand away from his.

Enrico, on the other hand, gave in to his urge of taking a quick look at her face just as their hands brushed. They weren't the only ones in the room, but the atmosphere felt awkward and, at the same time, mysterious. Kiana immediately took a step backward after making sure the bottle was in his hands. Enrico managed to put a stop to his trackless thoughts before focusing back on his guests.