Experience Me

Chapter 10

Ah, Monday morning. The most dreaded day of the week. This particular morning consisted of a miniature headache, which I concluded is a result of the bottle of wine from last night. As I dragged myself into the office today, I noticed bouquet of flowers sitting on my desk. Confusion set in but quickly faded when an ecstatic Johnathan rushed towards me with a card in his hands.

"Hurry up and read it! I couldn't wait until you got here. I almost read it myself!" Johnathan's high-pitched excitement was drawing unwanted attention to us from the otherwise quiet office. I shushed him as we arrived at my desk. Opening the note, it read:

I don't plan on giving up.

~Silas

I rolled my eyes in annoyance as a small smile tickled my lips. Passing the note to Johnathan, he read it out loud before peering at me in confusion. I simply shrugged and began flipping through my calendar for any events or clients that I may have.

"Okay, so you're really not going to tell me who Silas is?" Johnathan asked for the third time after my denial of the first two. I loved Johnathan like a brother, but I'm not in the habit of spilling all of my personal business all over the office. Especially when that business involves the man I'm technically working for. I'm sure there has already been rumors from when he showed up at my job two weeks ago.

I shook my head and shooed him off so that I could finish my work. With a huff, he went to his desk while my phone began to buzz. Swiping it open to the text message, I saw a number I didn't recognize.

Did you like the flowers?

I stared at my phone for a moment before typing back:

How did you get my number?

Did someone give it to him? It was probably Gabi; she's such a sap. All she ever wants to talk about now is how Silas and I are doing. As I mentally chastised my friend, my phone buzzed with another text:

You work for me, remember? I'll be there to take you out for lunch at 12.

Even his texts were demanding. I put my phone back in my desk and began sketching some new logos for the company re-branding. The full re-branding was to be completed and put into place by the end of July and it was already mid-June. I decided to take more of a modern yet traditional approach with my sketch. The original logo consisted of a solid golden triangle with the company name in white. In my redesign, I removed the fill and left the inside of the triangle white. Instead of the simple lines that formed the triangle, I sketched a circuit drawing into a triangular shape. On the right side of the triangle, I left a break in the circuit to signify an imperfection because of the Imperf in the company name.

After I finished my sketch, I smiled to myself in approval of my work. I really enjoyed being able to express my creativity while still doing my job. I never wanted a job that felt like a job. I was so emerged in my drafting that I didn't pay much attention to the time and before I knew it, it was five minutes to twelve. I uploaded the sketch to my hard drive before gathering my things and heading for the elevator. When I got there it was closing but luckily for me whoever was inside quickly stopped it. I flashed the man a smile as I stepped inside.

"Thank you so much."

"Oh, it's no problem. I'm sure you would have done the same for me." He offered a small smile. He was a very handsome guy. He had milky white skin and a lovely pair of grey eyes. His dark black hair was a bit ruffled giving off a trouble-free vibe.

I extended my hand. "Ariah."

He took it and placed a gentle kiss on the back my hand. "Mason. Nice to meet you, Ariah." I blushed softly as he released my hand. I could feel his eyes on me as the elevator stopped on the ground floor. As we stepped out, I spotted Silas standing by his car on his phone.

"So, would you do me the honor of allowing me to take you out for lunch today? If you don't mind me asking," I heard Mason say as we exited the building.

"I actually have plans." I said with an apologetic smile as I felt a familiar presence nearing me. Mason glanced at Silas then back at me.

"I see. Well, I look forward to seeing you around the office Ariah." Mason flashed me a smile that I was sure made women fall to his feet before sauntering off.

I turned to see a stone-faced Silas burning holes in Mason's back. I let out a soft chuckle causing him to redirect his eyes to me.

"Well hello to you too," I said with a hint of amusement. He opened my door and I got in. I watched as he walked to the other side and got inside before racing away from the building. After a few minutes of him not talking but gripping the steering wheel tightly, I finally spoke up.

"You know, if you're going to have an attitude you might as well just take me back to work."

He glanced over at me before turning the corner and stopping at the little cafe that we ate lunch at before. Leaning back his head on the chair with closed eyes, he let out a deep breath.

When he finally opened his eyes, he looked at me. "You look so beautiful."

A smile graced my face at his compliment. I was still smiling when we entered the building and were seated at a table. I didn't bother opening my menu because I already knew what I wanted. So I sat across from this gorgeous man and watched his eyebrows screw up signifying his focus. He looked up from his menu with a smirk. "You like what you see?"

I rolled my eyes and sat back in my chair. "You're so cocky."

He chuckled as the waiter came and took our orders. I got a veggie burger with fries while Silas got a club sandwich and potato soup. The waiter left and we were alone again.

"So, did you like the flowers? I didn't know what type of flowers you liked or if you liked them at all, but I decided to go with tried-and-true."

Inwardly smiling at his thoughtfulness, I nodded. "I like roses and sunflowers together. I love the aesthetic and how the colors compliment each other." He watched me purposefully. "So, tell me more about yourself." I was honestly curious.

I sat in admiration as Silas explained how he grew up here in Georgia with two brothers and built all three his investment firms from the ground up. He has plans to expand out of the country. As the food arrived, we sat conversing and telling each other about ourselves. Silas sliced a piece of his sandwich and dipped it in the soup before popping it in his mouth. I screwed my face up in disgust.

"What? You've never tried it?" He looked completely shocked by my expression. He repeated the action and offered it to me. I shook my head.

"Oh come on. It's really good, I promise." Holding my hand up in protest, I finished chewing my piece of burger so I could talk.

Letting out a soft laugh, I pushed his hand away slowly. "I don't eat meat."

"I'm sorry."

I waved his apology away. "It's fine you didn't know. Though I'm sure your concoction is very tasty," I said with sarcasm. He rolled his eyes .

"Vegetarian or Vegan and for how long?"

"Vegetarian and about 6 years now." I answering his many questions which ranged from why to what do I eat instead. He said he was intrigued with my style of eating.

"I do hope you'll cook something for me one day," I heard him say as he walked behind me to the car after paying for the meal. I turned to him with a smirk and placed my back against the car.

"In your dreams, maybe."

He came closer and stood towering above me. "If you're in my dreams sweetheart, trust me, you will not be cooking."