She laughed softly and a strange feeling moved through me at the sound.
“My father and I don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things so we have these moments a little more often than I’d like. It’s tough being an only child, you understand, right?”
When I was a child, I could’ve fully related to the situation but years of being programmed to be someone who had no capacity for emotions had changed me. I wasn’t designed to deal with emotional situations or people. I used logic and lacked the ability to empathize with an emotional situation.
“Come closer, I’m not going to infect you with my tears,” she said.
I reluctantly approached her desk. “I’m not very good at this kind of thing,” I said, gesturing to the situation.
“I kinda gathered,” she said, coming around the desk to where I was standing.
“Can we start?” I wanted to get as far away from there as possible.
“In a minute, I’d like to ask you something,” she said.
I nodded, trying to conceal my discomfort and busied myself by placing the files on her desk and spreading them across to show her I wasn’t there for chitchat.
“Don’t you ever get tired of wearing this mask of composure?”
She was leaning back against her desk now.
I stood upright and looked at her. “Mask of composure?”
“Yeah, doesn’t anything get to you?”
You’re getting to me, I wanted to say but instead asked, “What does that have to do with our work?”
Isabel’s dark catlike eyes were unwavering. It was like she was trying to pry me open and see the contents inside my head.
I prided myself in knowing people but every time I thought I was getting a clear sense of the type of person she was, she changed on me. That unnerved me.
She stood upright and moved closer to me, again rudely disregarding my personal space and before I could take a step back, she closed her hand on mine as though stopping me from trying to escape.
“What are you doing?” I asked, frowning in fright.
“You completely fascinate me,” she said.
I wanted to pull back but she was transferring her warmth into my hand, slowly softening her touch so that her fingers were trailing themselves against mine.
The touch sent strange and unusual vibrations all through me, spreading around my body in a manner I’d never experienced before. I took a wary step back, uncertain of what had just happened.
“Isabel.” My voice sounded strange.
This was a brain thing. I was aware of what people experienced when they found other people appealing. It was simple science. I was human, not a complete robot after all.
“You don’t like being touched,” she said.
I pursed my lips together and shook my head.
I’d never experienced any sort of intimacy with another human being but I’d been in physical contact with people, like when we shook hands or when a situation required a hug or when a gentleman pecked one’s cheek.
I tried to think of something to say because she had a look in her eyes that I didn’t trust, but my brain was shutting down.
“I want to touch you, Amelia,” she said.
I should’ve turned around and left, but instead, my curiosity was accompanied by a strong sense of intrigue.
She touched my hand again.
This time the earlier sensation felt like it had magnified. When she moved too close, I found myself holding my breath, unable to fully comprehend what was happening.
“I can’t,” I managed to say.
“You can’t what?”
How could she have this kind of effect on me? It was like she was slowly turning a key to open a portal of sensations I’d never been aware existed.
“I can’t move,” I said, deeply inhaling and unconsciously filling my senses with the scent of her sweet perfume.
Her hand moved to my face, and she slowly trailed her fingers over the outline of my jaw, down to my chin. Her face was inches away from mine and my body was experiencing an epiphany of sensations that were too much for me to bear.
My hands trembled as her breath gently fanned my face. My being was stuck and unable to move and my insides were in a state of havoc and confusion.
She closed the space between us and gently pressed her lips against mine. On impact, my eyes automatically closed as a rush of heat violently spread through my body. She brushed her lips against mine, gently parting them, and something happened in my stomach as my temperature rose.
Isabel’s lips were as soft as petals and her touch was far too overwhelming. Why was I feeling this way? I was stronger than this. This was a weakness. I wasn’t built for weaknesses.
When she was about to deepen the kiss, I managed to regain my strength and pulled away from her, creating distance between us. My hands were shaking, this time visibly for her to see. I tightened my jaw and took a deep breath, staring at her with anger spewing from my eyes like boiling lava.
“If this is how you’re going to conduct yourself, our business is done. I can’t afford any distractions. It’s either we work together or end this right here, right now.” I’d never been so angry in my life.
“I’m sorry, I–. I… uh, work, of course, work together,” she said.
I ran my tongue over my lips, tasting her soft lips on mine and averted my gaze to the files across her desk. “Go through the files and we’ll pick this up tomorrow.”
I couldn’t stay another second in her office. I needed to understand what had just happened.
When I walked out, I quickly headed to the elevator and tried to slow my racing heart. There was a small part of me thinking, that was my first kiss. I’d never focused on my sexual side before and I was a little disappointed to learn I possessed one.
I couldn’t believe it was Isabel who evoked it. I was twenty years old and had just discovered my wiring was the same as everyone else’s. It wasn’t something I was prepared to deal with. If Isabel couldn’t control herself, then my business with her was compromised.
I had postponed a trip I’d been supposed to take to Switzerland to work on her project. Now, after what had happened, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to see her quite so soon. She’d understand my reasons. She’d have no choice but to.
I spoke to my secretary over the phone and told her to put the plans back on. Two hours later, I was on a plane to Switzerland. I put everything that had happened out of my head and put my game face back on.
My trip lasted a couple of days longer than I expected and by the time I got back, I had countless messages from Isabel.
I was more than willing to give back the money she’d paid in advance but after spending a few days away and being completely unable to get our encounter in her office out of my mind, I wanted to see her again.
I didn’t want a repetition of what had happened. I wanted to prove to myself that my weakness had subsided. Her eyes and her kiss had mercilessly haunted me, and every moment I’d had to myself had been filled with thoughts of her, but this was just another hurdle I had to overcome.
I couldn’t understand what was happening to me. I’d never felt this way before. Most people who’d ever come on to me had always been forgotten the moment they exited the room, but not Isabel.
I found messages from my mother requesting to see me in her office and went to see her immediately when I arrived. She was bombarded with work, but she’d gotten used to that lifestyle.
“Oh, good, you’re back. I need to talk to you,” she said.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, noticing a hint of anxiety.
“The Price project, I’d like you to drop it.”
She was looking at some documents spread across her desk as she said this.
“Why?” I asked.
I knew the reason. She’d found out Mr. Price was against Isabel’s venture.
“Because I’ve asked you to,” she said.
She failed to make eye contact, which slightly got to me b
ecause I felt I deserved a reason rather than an order. I failed to respond and headed for the exit.
“Are you going to drop it?” she asked me at the door.
Without turning to face her, I said, “No,” and walked out.
“Amelia,” she called after me.
Apart from her secretary, there was no one else in the large office space.
I stopped as she approached me. “Yes,” I said politely.
“Mr. Price doesn’t approve of his daughter’s ideals with this project. I don’t want to jeopardize our business ties to him.”
“You asked me to undertake this project after I’d turned it down. I’ve worked halfway through it and put my own work aside to focus on it. Don’t tell me I wasted my time.”
“You didn’t, Mr. Price approves of the advance payment Isabel put forward.”
I’d never seen her like this before, but then again, maybe it was because I was starting to see the type of person she truly was.
“This is business. I started a project. I must finish it. If it causes you strain with Mr. Price, that is too bad. I will not drop this project because you asked me to.”
I headed for the elevator.
“Amelia, you don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly,” I said and got in the elevator, leaving her with a surprised look across her face.
I had business principles I had to adhere to, but to be honest, it was satisfying to see my mother in a huff. That was probably why I refused to drop the project, well, that and the fact that I was now determined to help Isabel succeed.
If her life was anything like mine, she must’ve been dismally miserable. I wasn’t going to get in the way of her dreams and the fact that her father thought it was ridiculous for her to want to do something else rather than work for his oil company, let’s just say it drove me to want to help her even more.
Maybe it was because if she could do this and succeed, there’d be hope for me too. I could get out from under my mother’s thumb. I could live without the ghost of my father’s influence.
I got in touch with Isabel the moment I got back to my office and we agreed to meet up for lunch. I knew she’d be upset with me but I understood. If the pressure had come down on my mother, I couldn’t imagine how rough it was on her.
We met at a beautiful Italian restaurant and both arrived at the same time. Like I had suspected, she was furious with me and didn’t care to hide it.
“How could you go off and leave when you knew how much I was depending on you?” she asked.
That look of amusement was gone, now replaced by a serious expression.
I still couldn’t get past how beautiful she was, even now when she was angry.
“I know I upset you, but you didn’t have to run off on me,” she said.
I remembered my anger after she’d kissed me. It felt so trivial now. Her world was falling apart and she had no one to help her.
“My father is threatening to take away everything I have if I don’t stop this.”
What had she expected would happen? Both our fathers had been torn from the same cloth. We weren’t the kind of people who were allowed to have dreams of being anything else other than what we’d been born into. That was fact.
“Are you going to stop it?”
“It’s a ridiculous dream. What was I thinking?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Of course, you don’t. You’re a robot. You don’t feel anything.”
Her words delivered an unexpected sting.
“I am, Isabel. I’m a robot. I don’t know what you’re expecting from me. I don’t think in the same way that you do.” I wasn’t saying that to hurt her, I said it because there was a deep part of me that believed it. “You practically forced me to undertake this project and what, now you want to quit?”
She raised her eyebrow.
“Stop wasting my time, I have other important things to do,” I said. “You set out to do this project believing it’d be possible. It only stops when you say it stops.”
She searched my face for something I couldn’t understand. “Will you help me?” she asked.
“I still have a week. A lot can be done in that amount of time,” I said.
“What about my father?”
“What about him?” I asked.
She smiled at me then asked, “Have you ever wanted to get out from under your parents’ shadow?”
I hesitated. I’d entertained thoughts of leaving and going far away where no one knew me, but I wasn’t brave enough to do it. I didn’t even know how to interact with people. “No,” I said.
“So it’s all just black and white to you?”
There were shades of grey but I wasn’t about to confide in her. “Let’s get to work, Isabel,” I said.
“Can we at least eat first?” she asked.
I’d even forgotten we were at a restaurant. When she summoned a waiter, I got to my feet and said, “I have another meeting in ten minutes. Why don’t you drop by my office later and we can continue with your project.”
She looked pleased and disappointed at the same time. The real reason why I was leaving was because I didn’t want to spend any more time with her than was necessary and having a meal with her would force conversation and so far it hadn’t gone too good.
Chapter Twenty
During the next one week, my services went further than the required consultation services Isabel had paid for. I was determined to see her succeed and didn’t care if it took time away from my own work.
We spent a lot of time together and I came to learn more about her. She was worldly and insightful. She had more people skills than I did and she had a sense of humor, though I hadn’t decided if it was good or bad.
For some reason, even though we were so different, we understood each other. She didn’t complain about her father, but I was sure it was because I’d shown her I had no interest in her personal life.
She had a knack for provoking me, but I maintained my cool. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of knowing how much she got under my skin. I didn’t like how well she was getting to know me either. I’d never spent enough time with anyone to give them a clear picture of who I was and Isabel was getting too comfortable around me.
I wasn’t intimidating to her. She, like the rest of the world however, still believed I was an ice-cold bitch because I hadn’t given her any reason to think otherwise and I wanted to keep things that way.
I didn’t like that I was starting to enjoy spending time with her. It rattled me. I’d never liked anyone.
“So, what do you like?” she asked on a Friday afternoon.
“Excuse me?”
“What’s your type?”
“Type of what?”
“The kind of person you want to be with,” she said.
“How do you manage to turn most of our business conversations into personal questions?” I asked.
“I’m just trying to get to know you,” she said.
“There is nothing to know. What you see is what you get. Besides, I have no interest in you whatsoever and I think you should exercise the same principle.”
“I would, but I’m not a robot. I like getting to know people.”
She could be stubborn too, one of my least favorite qualities about her. Not that she had any qualities I liked. “Isabel, we’ve got work to do, let’s focus on that.”
“Why did you get so angry when I kissed you?”
I shot my head up at her question. I thought about that kiss every time I saw her.
“Did you hate it?” she asked.
She looked so innocent as she asked, I thought we were carrying out two different conversations. “Isabel, please.”
That look of amusement colored her face. I knew she was trying to get to me and I couldn’t believe it was working.
“Fine, I’ll drop it.”
“We have the final markings and you’ve got all the information you need. We’ve identified
healthcare companies you can invest in or acquire. All you have to do now is get the ball rolling. Just know that this isn’t going to be easy and there’s a great possibility you might end up failing,” I said.
“Wow, great pep talk,” she said.
“I’m giving you facts, Isabel. If you want me to lie to you, I can do that too.”
“Don’t, it’s what I like most about you.”
Was she flirting with me? “Now, our business has concluded,” I said in relief.
“Thank you, I really appreciate all you’ve done for me.”
I nodded and stood up to stretch my legs. Now I could go back to my life and forget she’d ever existed. “When we started this, our agreement was that once our business had concluded, I’d never hear from you again,” I said, hoping she hadn’t forgotten.
“Would it really be so bad? Have I been such horrible company?” she asked.
I knew she was teasing and I wasn’t going to indulge her.
“I understand you need to be like this in order to stay focused, but don’t you get tired of being so stiff and uptight all the time?” she asked.
I leaned against my desk and watched her as she packed up. I couldn’t wait for her to walk out of my office and out of my life. “We may have come from a similar background, but you and I are not the same.”
“Clearly,” she said, turning to face me.
“I don’t expect you or anyone else to understand. This is who I am. I can’t change myself to suit other people.”
“You shouldn’t have to, but maybe you should learn to relax a bit. Maybe have a little fun. You’re about to turn twenty-one and you’re in charge of an empire. Do you know what people your age are doing right now?” she asked.
I couldn’t help being curious. The reason I wanted to get out of my world and get away so bad was because I wanted to be ordinary. I wanted to be those people she was talking about. “What?”
“They’re partying, having fun, sex and enjoying life. You’re young and incredibly beautiful. Anyone would be lucky to have you, but your attitude is off-putting.”
I didn’t think I cared enough to let what she was saying get to me. “I wasn’t born to be like other people,” I said.
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