She attempted to chuckle at her own joke. Her smile faltered when Mr. Yazzie did not smile or chuckle in turn. He continued to gaze at her intensely.
“Hmmm,” he said still staring at her. Suddenly, he looked down at his hand, suddenly realizing it was still holding hers and dropped it quickly. Diana felt oddly disappointed at the loss of contact.
“Nice to meet you,” Mr. Yazzie muttered before turning quickly towards the door and heading out.
Not a second later, Sandra came in through the front door and rushed over to Diana.
“Did Mr. Yazzie actually just speak to you?” she asked Diana excitedly.
“Well...yeah,” Diana said. “He just introduced himself.”
Sandra’s jaw dropped. She looked positively shocked. Diana, for her part, could not understand why. Surely Mr. Yazzie introduced himself to his employees all the time.
“In all the time I’ve been here,” Sandra said, correctly interpreting Diana’s confused look, “he’s never said one word to me.”
“But, he’s…” Diana started, not quite believing that to be possible.
“The boss?” Sandra asked. “Well, I guess that’s why. When you’re that rich, you can afford to only talk to the people you want to talk to.”
“You mean he’s never talked to you?” Diana asked curiously. She knew from the article that Catahassa Yazzie was a very private man. But in her brief interaction with him, he had not seemed like the type of man who was ‘too good’ to talk to receptionists.
“I think he’s said ‘good morning’ a couple of times,” Sandra said thoughtfully, “but that’s it. To tell the truth, that’s the first time I’ve seen him leave his office in months.”
Diana simply nodded. After a moment of silence she realized that the clock above them had struck twelve thirty. Lunch time.
“I’m headed out for lunch,” she said to Sandra. “I’ll be back by one.”
“See you,” Sandra said as Diana walked out the front door.
She had been so nervous about getting to the job on time that she had not brought anything to eat. She decided to walk to the sub shop around the corner, glad at least for an excuse not to go into the tiny break room, which seemed very inhospitable for such a large and reputable company.
When she returned from lunch, Sandra caught her before Diana could sit down at her side of the desk.
“Amanda says she wants to see you in Mr. Yazzie’s office as soon as possible,” Sandra fearfully relayed.
Diana’s heart started beating in her chest. Amanda had told her that the odds were good that she would never see the inside of Mr. Yazzie’s office. She could not help but wonder if something had gone wrong.
“Did she say why?” Diana asked.
“No,” Sandra said, “she just said as soon as possible. So, I’d rush in there now if I were you because, when Amanda says ‘as soon as possible,’ she usually means yesterday.”
“Ok, thanks,” Diana said hurrying as quickly as her high heeled shoes could carry her to the glass office marked ‘Mr. Yazzie.’
She opened the door to find a large room with a window and a huge wooden desk that was unexpectedly empty.
She wondered at this for a second before she caught a glimpse of legs behind the open door just on the other side of Amanda’s desk.
“Diana,” Amanda poked her head around the open door, “we’ve been waiting for you. Come in and shut the door.”
Heart still thumping, Diana did as she was told. She came into Mr. Yazzie’s office shutting the door behind her.
In spite of her hesitation, Diana took a moment to look around the room. It was nothing like she’d expected the office of the CEO for a multibillion dollar property firm to look like.
The wall was lined with book shelves and these in turn were filled with brightly colored books of varying levels of thickness. The walls were cluttered with what looked like Native American artifacts, possibly Zuni, which Diana was anxious to get a closer look at, however she didn’t dare move from the spot.
“Is something wrong?” she asked turning her gaze to Mr. Yazzie who was seated behind a simple wooden desk that would have looked at home in a university professor’s office.
“I’m afraid, Mr. Yazzie is best equipped to answer that,” Amanda answered before Mr. Yazzie himself could so much as open his mouth to speak. Diana turned her gaze from Mr. Yazzie to Amanda who sat in a comfy looking armchair and looked at Diana as though she was a most unwelcome intruder.
“He just asked me to call you in. He hasn’t told me the reason yet,” Amanda said turning her sour glare to Mr. Yazzie, who looked at her in an exasperated manner before turning a softer gaze to Diana.
“Don’t worry, Diana,” he said, “you’re not in trouble. I just didn’t get a chance to look at your file before you were brought in and I wanted to know a little bit more about you.”
He gestured to another large, cozy arm chair on the other side of where Amanda sat. Amanda gave her a cold glare once more before reaching into a bag that sat at her feet. She took out a notepad and looked as though she was readying herself to take notes for an important meeting.
This, despite Mr. Yazzie’s assurances, made Diana even more nervous. The idea of this cold woman writing down and, certainly, judging every word she said made Diana’s pulse race in her chest and swallow a lump in her throat.
Apparently, Mr. Yazzie saw this. Diana saw him look at her briefly before turning his gaze to Amanda.
“Thank you, Amanda,” he said, “you can wait outside.”
Amanda blinked and her sour expression was replaced by wide eyed shock.
“Mr. Yazzie,” she said visibly trying to control herself, “I thought we agreed that…”
“Please, Amanda,” Mr. Yazzie said firmly cutting her off, “we’ll only be a few minutes.”
Amanda stared at Mr. Yazzie for a few minutes before turning to Diana. The cold, sour expression returned to her face in full force as she did. She eyed Diana with a gaze that could only be described as malevolent before she turned on her heel and walked to the door.
“Would you like the door closed, sir?” she asked Mr. Yazzie before she left the room.
“Yes, please,” he said to her.
With one last glare at Diana, she turned and moved out, shutting the door rather forcefully behind her.
Diana sat now in her cozy chair and felt, oddly, more nervous than she had before Amanda left.
Again, her fear must have showed on her face because Mr. Yazzie looked at her and gave her the first smile she had ever seen from him. Though, it wasn’t the warm, happy smile that Sandra greeted customers with, it was very friendly and seemed, somehow, more genuine. Diana gave him a smile of her own.
“No need to be nervous,” he said, “I really do just want to talk to you.”
Diana smiled at him once more and nodded. Though, her nerves had lessened, she was still unsure of what to say. She had never been very good at starting conversations. Luckily, the silence did not last long before Mr. Yazzie broke it.
“So, how long have you been working as an office temp?” he asked.
“A little less than a year,” Diana said, “I graduated from Santa Fe University about a year ago and I knew I had to work for a while before I saved up enough money for graduate school.”
“So, you’re going to get your masters?” he asked.
“I plan to,” Diana answered, “I’ve applied to several schools in New Mexico. Haven’t heard anything back yet.”
“What are you going to study?” He asked.
Diana’s nerves were coming back. Even though Mr. Yazzie’s voice was calm and almost warm, he still looked at her intensely. Like she was a puzzle or a riddle he was trying to solve. Diana was starting to feel as though she was the subject of an interrogation.
“I’m um…” she stumbled to her dismay, “I’m hoping to study anthropology.”
His eyes widened and he looked taken aback for a moment. As though she had wrong-foo
ted him without meaning to.
“You’re joking,” he said.
“No,” Diana answered, now confused, “I got my undergraduate in anthropology. So, I was hoping to keep going at graduate school.”
Mr. Yazzie stared at her a moment longer then shook his head as though to clear his mind.
“I’m sorry, it’s just...I’ve always loved anthropology,” he said, “I’m a bit of an amateur myself.”
“I can see that,” Diana said glancing around the room once more.
“Feel free to take a look at them if you like,” Mr. Yazzie said.
Diana readily stood up from her chair. An invitation to look at these artifacts, some of which looked to be very rare, was more than welcome.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to a chipped black vase encased in a plain glass box... On the vase was, what looked to be an albino mountain lion painted on the front.
“A team I put together found that on a dig near the old salt lake,” Mr. Yazzie said. Diana turned to look at him. He had stepped out from behind his desk and was walking over to where Diana stood.
“You were given permission to dig there?” she asked, impressed. Almost no one had been able to dig at the Zuni sacred sight though many archeologists and anthropologists had put in requests.
“It helps to be a tribal member,” Mr. Yazzie said with a smile that seemed, to Diana, a little cocky. She decided to try and take him down a notch.
“I’m sure the fact that you could pay more money than anyone else also helped,” she quipped. Though, she regretted it almost the moment she did. It was as though she had forgotten momentarily that this man was her boss and she was a temporary employee in the middle of her first day on the job.
She looked back at him to see whether or not he was offended. To her surprise, he chuckled and continued walking over to her.
“I guess you’re right, that did help,” he said, “Also, the elected tribe leader at the time was my Grandfather so, I had an in that way.”
“I’ve always wanted to dig there,” Diana confessed, “in school I was fascinated by the Pueblo tribes.”
“Do you know the legend about the Old Salt Lake?” Mr. Yazzie asked.
“I’ve heard different versions of it,” Diana said. “I know that’s where the Zuni people are said to have originated. It’s called the Old White Salt Woman.”
“Very good,” Mr. Yazzie said, “I’ve rarely met a non-tribal member who knew that. But, do you know how the Old Salt Woman is connected to the white cougar?”
Diana shook her head ‘no’.
“My Grandfather used to tell me the story,” Mr. Yazzie said. “When I was growing up on the reservation he would tell me where our people came from. We were born out of the salt in the lake, he used to say. And then, after we were born, we were nursed at the breast of the old salt woman in the form of a white cougar.”
“So, this cougar represents the Old Salt Woman?” Diana asked interested. She had never heard that part of the tale before.
“Yes,” Mr. Yazzie said, “when the first peoples displeased the Old Salt Woman, she banished them to the northern lands where we have lived ever since. But, my Grandfather used to say that, one day, she would return to us.”
“How would she return?” Diana asked.
“He believed that her spirit would be born into a woman not of our people,” he said, “a woman with the heart of a cougar.”
“Like...reincarnation?” Diana asked.
“Something like it, I guess. It's just a legend."
"It looks like the legend has been around for a while, though," Diana said stepping forward to take a closer look at the vase.
"Just from the surface, I would say...nearly one thousand years?" She had guessed and when she turned from the vase back to Mr. Yazzie to see if her estimation was anywhere near accurate, her breath caught in her chest.
He was standing much closer to her than she had thought he would be. So close, in fact, that she could feel his warm breath against her skin.
“Very good,” he said smiling down at her from his significantly higher vantage point. “My team dated it to about 1,000 A.D. We found a few older items but most of those were donated back to the tribe.”
She looked up at him and smiled into his dark swirling eyes for a moment. Then, she realized that, if she continued staring at him that might lead to some less than professional behavior on her part.
Giving him a closed lipped smile, she moved away to look at some of the other pots and utensils encased on the tops of book shelves around the room.
“Did all of these come from the Salt Lake?” she asked.
“No,” he answered following her with his hands behind his back, “some of them come from other digs around the reservation. Some of them I bought at auctions. A few of them were even handed down to me.”
“That’s amazing,” Diana said looking at a cup that also had a cougar, this one black, carved into a white background.
“I knew mountain lions were a large part of Zuni mythology, but I had no idea they were so prevalent,” Diana said.
“Grandfather says that the cougar is the heart of our people,” Mr. Yazzie replied. “It’s said that there are chosen members of our tribe born with the soul of cougars.”
“What does that mean?” Diana said turning back to Mr. Yazzie interested.
“It’s supposed to mean that...some Zuni tribe members can...after intensive training...turn into cougars at will,” he answered, almost hesitantly.
Diana didn’t blame him. The idea was insane. Though, she had to admit, there were crazier theories being floated around by conspiracy nuts. One only had to travel to Roswell to see that.
“That’s an interesting idea,” she said slowly. Hoping desperately that her skepticism didn’t offend him.
“It’s like the old salt woman,” he said quickly, “just a legend.”
The odd half smile he sent her as he said this, undercut his words. He looked down at the ground and began, for the first time, to look uncomfortable in his own office.
“Well,” Diana said, hoping to lighten the mood, “it’s more interesting than my parentage at least. I lose my family history at Ellis Island.”
“Have you ever tried to find out more about them?” Mr. Yazzie asked. Diana shook her head ‘no’.
“To tell the truth, I’ve never been all that interested in my own family history,” she admitted. “See, I think we already know enough about European history as it is and it’s not nearly as interesting as the history behind so many other cultures.”
“Like mine?” Mr. Yazzie asked.
“Well...yes,” Diana said, hoping again that this didn’t offend him. She knew a lot of Native Americans got upset when Europeans became interested in their culture. They called it appropriation and while Diana usually simply rolled her eyes at their criticism, she did not want to offend her boss. Especially not on the first day on the job.
Luckily, he smiled at her again. Looking at her once again as though he had never seen anything quite like her.
“Let me show you something,” he said suddenly. He beckoned her over to his desk. She followed hesitantly as she saw him pull a drawer open behind his desk.
“My Grandfather gave me this when I came of age,” he said. Diana moved closer as he pulled out a bright white marble trinket formed in the shape of a cougar hanging from a leather strap.
No longer hesitant, she moved quickly over to the desk to examine the artifact. She looked at the small trinket in Mr. Yazzie’s palm. It was exquisitely carved. The deep, cavernous eyes seemed to pull her in, exactly as Catahassa Yazzie’s had from the cover of that Forbes magazine. Indentations were made in the rest of the marble perfectly indicating the fur along the animal’s spine and tale.
It looked, oddly, like more than a talisman. It looked alive.
Diana reached out her hand slowly before looking up at Mr. Yazzie with hesitation.
“Do you mind if I…?” she began.
&nb
sp; “Not at all,” Mr. Yazzie said holding the necklace out to her.
She put her finger tips along the marble edge and fancied that she could feel the long, soft fur and even hear the strong padding of the animal’s feet.
“This has been in my family for as long as anyone can remember,” he said.
“It’s beautiful,” Diana answered, “it looks almost as old as the vase.”
“It is,” Mr. Yazzie answered. “The white cougar represents the winds of the east. According to my Grandfather, that’s also supposed to be where the Old Salt Woman’s spirit will return from.”
Diana’s fingers still played along the marble and she could feel an awestruck little smile beginning to form along her lips.
“You like it?” Mr. Yazzie asked.
“I love it,” she answered. “I can see why you take such good care of it.”
“Well, now you can,” Mr. Yazzie said. “You can keep it.”
Diana took a step back and looked at him, shocked. This was a priceless item, not to mention a family heirloom. She knew that she would never give something so precious away. Especially not to a near complete stranger.
“I couldn’t,” Diana said definitely dropping the trinket and taking a step back.
“I insist,” Mr. Yazzie said taking a step closer to her, “consider it a welcoming gift.”
“Do you give priceless family heirlooms to all your new employees?” She asked with an awkward chuckle. Her heart began to thud in her chest as Mr. Yazzie continued to move towards her.
“No,” he answered. “You’re the first.”
Diana had no idea what to say to that. The closer Mr. Yazzie got to her, it became more and more difficult to say anything at all. She could barely remember how to breathe.
“Turn around,” he said to her. He was very close now. Hesitantly, she did as she was told.
When she turned around, she faced a mirror just to the right of the largest book case on the back wall.
She looked at herself for a moment with Mr. Yazzie standing behind her. They made a very odd couple. Yazzie with his tanned muscular frame, symmetrical face and deep eyes stood in great contrast to Diana’s pale skin and short lopsided figure.
BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The Unforgettable Southern Billionaires: The Complete Collection Boxed Set (Young Adult Rich Alpha Male Billionaire Romance) Page 21