Rowan: Woodsmen and City Girls

by Amber Burns

  Taking a deep breath, Enya convinced herself to relax. She opened her purse to find a tiny box with sweets Karo had secretly planted there. She had chosen the day’s theme, ‘miracles’, and had made the first special treats with mint and matcha powder, Enya’s favorite flavors, to top chocolate delights.

  “You are spoiling me, Karo,” Enya chuckled to her assistant as her mouth was filled with a bite of the candy.

  “Well, boss, go and show that annoying Mr. Silversson how miracles taste,” Karoline smiled, pleased with her work. “Here, I’ve prepared another box for you. You can snack on them before or during that meeting whenever you need some positive energy to pull through it. Or...”

  “No way I’m giving our enemy a box of candies!” Enya yelled, guessing Karo’s intention.

  Karo closed her mouth, silenced by her boss, and smiled back meekly. Enya hugged her and smiled back before turning to face the building. She sighed, knowing the time had come to fight and entered through the main glass doors. As she passed through the metal detector and the device alarmed of the two metallic boxes of desserts in her bag,

  Empowered with determination and her new motto, ‘No Silversson money can buy my sweets’, Enya rushed to the elevator with the boxes of chocolates tucked away in her purse. She pressed the button sixty-nine, which was the floor mentioned in her invitation for the meeting. She rolled her eyes and grinned at the naughty thought that crossed her mind. There were seventy other floors in the building, yet the Main Conference Hall of Silversson Inc was placed on the one that made every person hide a bit of a guilty smile while pressing ‘69’.

  It felt like an eternity until the glass doors of the elevator decided to close and right at that moment, as if she was suddenly in a move, a breathtakingly handsome man came running toward the just closed doors as if in slow motion. His mouth was open and though Enya did not hear what he was shouting, she believed it was a request to hold the doors.

  A piece of her thought it would be a good idea not to hold the doors and let him in. The person would most probably be another employee of her new enemy. However, she realized, he could also be another small business owner from her neighborhood who invited to the meeting. If that was the case she could lose an important ally in her fight against Silversson.

  Enya realized that she was totally over-thinking the scenario. The elevator was about to start when she finally did press the button to open the doors again and let the guy in. Truth be told, it was his piercing green eyes that convinced Enya to press the button.

  “Thanks,” he spoke, still out of breath. “There are seven other elevators in this building but this is the only one with glass walls. I Can’t deny myself the thrilling sensation of flying every time I climb into it.”

  Enya cursed those deceiving green eyes and her weakness for them. He was a Silversson employee. Her first instinct, as usual, was correct. The doors shut behind him again, and since the man did not press any other button to take him to whichever floor he was going to, Enya decided he’d probably be on the project of deconstructing her neighborhood. That gave her one more reason to hate the stranger despite the eyes that were already making her feel a bit itchy.

  Enya bit her lip, trying to stop the flow of her thoughts. Since her mysterious encounter on her birthday night men had started to look unusually attractive in her eyes. Some part of her, the cynical businesswoman who believed in facts and figures, thought that it was her mind playing tricks. Or maybe she was simply not ready to forget that little adventure. The more romantic part of her still wanted to keep it as a secret between two people: herself and her anonymous, mysterious graffiti artist. The romantic part seemed to be in charge, filling her head with useless illusions and pretending that it was a sign that she was about to meet the one and only true love of her life. It wasn’t long before the cynical business woman checked in, causing Enya to roll her eyes at herself.

  The guy she had let into the elevator chuckled and Enya suddenly realized she had completely forgotten about her company.

  “You were rolling your eyes,” he noticed.

  Enya cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably, determined not to be drawn into his handsome features and piercing eyes.

  “That’s not something you are supposed to tell strangers,” she chided. “Even if they do roll their eyes.”

  Enya turned and tried to concentrate on the magnificent view that the glass walls of the elevator revealed to her as it climbed higher and higher. The building and the city looked breathtaking, she admitted with a sigh.

  “And now you sigh,” the very observing stranger noticed.

  Enya turned and found that he was smiling. Not just smiling, but beaming at her with a full-hearted open-mouthed ear-to-ear grin; one that could not leave a woman indifferent. Enya licked her lips before realizing what she was doing and then quickly closed her lips with her palm begging for him not to notice what she just did; or, at least, to have the decency not to comment on it.

  Another chuckle escaped his lips making Enya fully aware that he had noticed her lovesick gesture, even though he did not make that knowledge very verbal.

  “How about you tell me your name and stop being a stranger?” He asked, getting dangerously close.

  Enya’s breath caught in her lungs. Not only the man was irresistibly beautiful, but there was something so familiar, so raw and sincere that attracted her to him. She was glad the elevator walls were made of glass. The same feelings that had overtaken her on her birthday were creeping back. It seemed that only the prospect of every person from floors 35-69 seeing her make love to a stranger was keeping her in check.

  Speechless. No man ever left Enya Williams speechless. She always found some witty remark to say. If not, at least an argument. Disagreeing with men was usually her favorite occupation. Taking into account, that most men were not very agreeable in the first place, it was not such a hard task to handle. This man, however, had the power to leave her speechless. Despite the rude and arrogant aura about him, Enya wished he was close enough to taste his scent on her lips.

  “I’m not in the mood for making new friends,” Enya tried to push him away and concentrate on the view outside the elevator.

  They were still only at the fortieth floor and the elevator had yet to stop at any of the other floors so far. Another person joining them and breaking the tension would’ve been the salvation Enya was craving. Or maybe that was a lie she told herself. She secretly knew she would hate the person who interfered and loosened the charged explosive atmosphere in the little glass cabin of their elevator.

  “Me neither,” he shrugged. “What would I do with you as a friend? I merely wanted not to be a stranger so that I could comment that you’ve been sighing and licking your lips as you stared at me.”

  Enya knew she was blushing at his comments and tried to hide her glowing cheeks in vain.

  How could he spill it out like that – just say such things to another person, much less a stranger?

  Her gorgeous stranger laughed, enjoying the effect he was having on her.

  “Not a good time for jokes either,” Enya barked, trying to shield herself.

  She caught the sight of her reflection in the glass. Her face was pink, eyes shining with so many mixed emotions. Her freckles, her horrifically childish-looking freckles, were much too bright for her liking.

  Oh, god, why do I have to look like this in the presence of such a flawlessly beautiful man?

  Enya started into her eyes, trying to clear her head of the man standing only a foot or two away and steeled herself for the war that was to come in only a few more floors.

  “Your employer is probably gonna ruin my whole life today,” Enya shot back. “So excuse me if I’m in no mood to entertain his employees.”

  Enya’s words did not have the desired effect. A sly grin formed on the handsome man’s lips.

  “I’m sorry the arrogant bastard is causing you trouble. Kick him in his billionaire ass when you get a chance,” he advised. �
�Would’ve done it myself, but might turn out to be a bit tricky.”

  While Enya was lost in her search for coherent words again, her companion used the moment to change the subject and steal one of the candy boxes poking out from her purse.

  “Taking some treats for the boss?” He asked as he opened the one which Karo had supposedly made for Mr. Silversson and which Enya had deciding she would never give to him.

  “No, that’s for me. For encouragement,” she lied.

  Without waiting for an invitation, the man took one of the bright green sweets and shoved it into his mouth. The moans of pleasure he made as he chewed on the gooey dessert left Enya not only speechless but also with a growing heat and wetness between her legs. Enya simply stared at awe as the man chewed and groaned in delight, using all of her willpower to avoid pinning him down and having her way with him.

  “Can I have another one?” he did not wait for her answer before stealing another mint and matcha chocolate and munching on it with those same enthusiastic and loud sounds of enjoyment. “Where did you get those? I might need to order a few tons of it.”

  Enya was unable to answer. He gaze was stuck to some matcha powder that was on the corner of his mouth; right below a sexy crack in his lip that was calling to Enya ever since she laid eyes on it. She hesitated for a moment. Then, deciding that he had invaded her private space enough for one morning, extended her trembling hand and lightly brushed away the powder from his lip. He used the chance to stick out his tongue and lick the tip of her finger.

  “Stealing some of my desserts? Not nice of you, lady with no name,” he winked and Enya hoped he would eat another piece of dessert so that she could wipe his mouth again.

  “Those are my desserts, from my own shop, which would soon not exist anymore. Go and thank your boss for that!” She couldn’t hide the sting and anger from her voice even though she knew the guy was probably not responsible for her fate.

  The elevator dinged, alerting the pair that it had just passed floor sixty-five. Only four more floors and they would reach their mutual destination. Enya knew that she needed to concentrate on the greater goal in front of her. But their little glass cabin was already hot enough that Enya was sure condensation would soon form. It was nearly unbearable when he licked his finger and closing the box before handing it back to Enya without tearing his bright green eyes from hers.

  Then, with that same finger that had just now been very thoroughly licked clean, he pressed button sixty-eight. Enya could not hide her whimper of disappointment; a whimper that elicited a chuckle from the man.

  “Don’t worry, sweetie, I promise we’ll meet again. Soon,” he looked at her with that disarming grin of his before he turned and stepped out of the open glass doors of the elevator as it waited on floor sixty-eight.

  Enya had only a moment to collect her thoughts before she reached the sixty-ninth floor. It wasn’t enough. She stepped out of the elevator flustered and struggling to comprehend what had just happened and also prepare for the meeting she was barely even aware of anymore. Enya took a moment to look around and locate the open door of the conference hall where the meeting was taking place.

  To her surprise, the conference hall was nothing like she had imagined. No ostentatious statues of Roman gods or whatever other atrocities she had pictured in her mind. No unnecessary excessive luxury to intimidate the guests and remind them of the wealth of their host. The hall was elegant as everything else in the Silversson Industries building. To her horror, all the seats in back rows were occupied.

  That’s what you get for being late and flirting with the employees on your way, she reproached herself as she slowly walked to take a sit on the front row.

  She greeted some of the shop owners she recognized. Over forty people were invited and nearly all of them seemed to be present. Enya wondered how many had already submitted to Silversson’s destructive plan and came to simply hand their businesses to him. Enya did not get much time to muse about that or to seek for allies, as all the murmurs hushed in the hall. She raised her head to see that five men in very expensive suits were now seated at the large table in front of them. The sight of them would’ve been powerful and intimidating if not for the pair of bright green eyes that locked with hers making everyone else fade.

  “You’re gasping again”, he mouthed to her with the already familiar grin.

  Enya hoped nobody else could read the silent words on his lips. She quickly closed her mouth and shook her head when she noticed the silver nameplate in front of him. Thomas L. Silversson was carved in black letters on the thin plate. She read it again and again. Thomas Silversson was not only sitting right in front of her, but was the man who minutes ago was licking her finger and stealing chocolates from her.

  Mr. Silversson finally released her from the captivity of his bright green eyes. He looked at his guests who uncomfortably stirred under the same intimidating gaze. Then, holding the charged silence for another moment, he politely greeted and thanked them for their time as he announced the start of their meeting.

  6

  Two and a half weeks after the meeting at Silversson Industries and seven stores were already closed and deserted. Silversson was having it his way and no other. Enya and Karo watched as Lukas, the owner of the bookstore situated right in front of “Yum & Fun” walked out of the already empty bookstore carrying one final box of books into his truck.

  “His grandfather had founded the bookstore,” Karo whispered as if it was the greatest secret.

  “How would you know?” Enya did not tear her eyes off the truck loaded with heavy boxes of books.

  Lukas did not even bother to lock the doors, leaving it partially ajar as he climbed in his truck. Enya could almost feel the sadness coming from across the street as the truck roared to life and Lukas disappeared from the street, his books in tow.

  “He often came here for coffee and sweets,” Karo explained. “He loved our beet and strawberry mousse candies. He always spoke about how happy and proud he was to inherit something his grandpa had started.”

  Enya only sighed and shook her head in response.

  “We should get back to work,” Karo declared as she turned, refusing to look at the ghost of the bookstore that was left after Lukas drove away.

  “Let’s make some sweets,” Enya turned away from the door and followed Karo into the kitchen. “Who knows how long we’re going to be able to do so.”

  “Did you consider about relocating the store to another part of the city?” Karo did not turn to look at her as she asked the question so many people asked Enya these days. “Just get them pay a lot of money and let’s start it all over again.”

  To Enya, it still seemed like a failure, an uncertain escape. They had carefully chosen their location, worked for years to earn their customers’ loyalty. Even if Silversson Industries paid a good price, they would still not be able to reimburse all those years of work.

  “Enough of that Karo, let’s make some Halloween-themed candies today.”

  Enya did not wait to see if her assistant agreed with her theme and opened the drawers to get black raisins, licorice liquor and other ingredients she had in mind for their creepy-themes desserts.

  “Not too early, boss?” Karo turned to look at her with huge eyes. That was probably a fair treatment for wanting to make Halloween candies mid-September.

  “Naw,” Enya responded as she found the almonds, cashews and the large bag of almond flour. “With the current developments, I doubt we’ll be around for real Halloween celebration.”

  Two hours later, chocolate spiders, matcha and cacao witches and pumpkins filled with almond crème flowed from Enya’s kitchen. The sweets graced the shelves and pleased the customers who hurried to grab some sweets after their lunch to spice up the second half of their working days.

  “They love it,” Karo was jumping cheerfully as she wrapped the last pumpkin and handed it to the kid who was already licking his fingers impatient to try the funny looking dessert. “How ab
out we continue our celebrations of Halloween after work, boss?”

  Enya doubted she had the heart to celebrate anything, but agreed none the less. Relaxing was a non-existent word in Enya’s world. At least until she reached her six glass of wine. By the time Chris brought the seventh glass to their table, there were no other customers left.

  “May I join the pity party, ladies?” her favorite bartender never failed to rub it into her face when she looked desperate. It always worked. At least, he earned a smile rather than a glare.

  “You know, Chris, sometimes people are allowed to be nice,” Karo spoke as she sipped her drink. “And that means trying to be nice to those in need in the first place.”

  “Oh, and what kind of needs are we filling in here tonight?” Chris squeezed into the booth next to Karo and playfully tugged at her curls. Karo always appreciated the attention to her hair. Purring like a cat, she leaned closer and placing her head on the bartender’s shoulder invited him to play with his hair some more.