ETHAN CARTER
Talk about the wrong timing.
I heard Nina's voice exclaim in surprise and I mentally groaned realizing the situation at hand.
I was kissing Aliya Torres. Practically everyone who stood outside the open elevator saw it including my secretary who by the way happened to be quite a chatterbox.
I let go of Aliya, pulling away from her as if her touch burnt me. My nerdy secretary together with Charlie, my divisions manager and the electrician, Finn stood there awkwardly gaping at us.
Aliya on the other hand, fixed her dress. Had I done that? With Aliya, I was a different man. Like a savage beast who couldn't control himself.
When she started being hysterical about her dying, I couldn't help but think of ways to calm her down. I had tried getting her distracted by asking her questions about her favorite song and if she could sing it to me but it only distracted her for a few minutes.
Then she broke loose. Telling me she hated me, telling me it irked her for me to be the last person she saw if she was dying and at that moment I had to shut her up.
She hated me. That much I knew but to actually hear her say that made me want to correct her with a kiss. Kiss the breath out of her until I changed her opinion about what she thought about me.
It was funny really, months ago, I didn't care what other women or the media said about me. People tended to hate guys who had accomplished more than they had but with Aliya. Damn, with Aliya!
I wanted her to like me which was very selfish of him. I was walking on literal hot coal. On one hand, Aliya made me mad, made me happy, made me question things and on the other hand was Crystal, she wanted me, she loved me and whether I liked or not I was going to make her my wife one day.
I got out of the elevator with Aliya following close behind.
With just a growl, I stared at my three employees,
'Speak a word about this to anyone and I can guarantee you, you'll be searching for jobs for an eternity"
Nina adjusted her glasses on her nose nervously opening her mouth to speak,
'I saw nothing, Sir. We saw nothing. Right Charlie?"
Charlie bobbed his head up and down,
'Y-yes Sir"
'Yes Sir",Finn added.
I turned to Nina.
'Make sure she stays with you till all my work is done", I commanded walking down the hallway that led to my office.
'You want me to babysit?" Nina asked questioningly and I glanced back at her unbelievably.
'I could just take a cab and leave",Aliya croaked.
'What is it with the two of you? Nina, yes you are going to babysit if you have a problem with that I could always get another assistant, people would die to have your job and as for you Aliya, you'll leave when I leave"
Once I got to my office, I breathed easy taking my tie off and slamming it on the desk.
I was a scumbag. I was douchebag for kissing her. I was insane for thinking about kissing her and doing things to her when I had a girlfriend soon to be fiance.
Was this what we called obsession? Because I was as sure as hell obsessed with Aliya Torres. I was obsessed with those lips of hers and I had to stop.
Later on, I took a quick shower getting rid of my old clothes. Luckily, I had an old blue Armani suit dry-cleaned by Nina, so I put that on instead.
I had a twelve pm zoom meeting with the investors where we discussed on the funds to be allocated at the Mecha Builders wing in the Philippines. It was a rather boring meeting considering that some of the investors were at an age where they ought to have retired.
An example being, Mr Marshall who went on and on talking about the same thing. It would have been an actual relief if he spoke fast but the geezer dragged his words such that for half an hour he was the only person still talking.
As for Mr Duncan, the seventy something year old man with tufts of greyish hair on his head, had some sort of dementia. Either that or he was straight up forgetful. He would talk about a certain point at one minute then after five minutes he would still bring up the same point.
The only man in the meeting who atleast I would say was sane was Mr Fisher. He was fast, straight to the point, had a brain sharper like that of Einstein and the patience of that of a turtle.
I was in the middle of listening to Mr Duncan's repeated point when I suddenly glassed outside my glass walls.
Nina's little work cubicle was always outside my office. That way I could keep tabs on what she was doing and if she was doing what I wanted her to do.
However as I shifted my eyes to the empty workspace, I wondered where she was and where Aliya was. And where exactly had they disappeared to.
'Gentlemen, am so sorry about this but if you'll excuse me", I cleared rising from my seat.
I closed my laptop going out of my office so fast.
I stood just by Nina's cubicle looking for some sort of note to tell where they were off to. I rummaged through her workspace, her numerous pens and paper cards.
‘God, Nina don't you ever clean this place?' I grunted with frustration.
I walked down to the employee's section calling on of my employees, Dave or was it David?
'Did you happen to see Nina?" I asked.
'Yeah. She walked out the building with another woman ten minutes ago", he commented and I dismissed him back to his post.
I went back to my office to take my phone, perusing through the contacts and pressing on Nina's number.
'Sir?"
'Where are you?"
'Aliya said she was hungry so since it was my lunch break I let her tag along"
Ofcourse Aliya was hungry. She would do anything just to defy my orders and actually go home by herself. Didn't she understand I was concerned for her?
What if something bad happened to her while she was on her way back home? And to make matters worse she didn't have her cellphone to call me if something bad did happen.
'Is she with you now?" I asked scratching my forehead.
'She went to the washroom though she is really taking her time, isn't she? Twenty minutes and she is still in the bathroom, wow"
The thing about me smart is that you start realize how stupid people around you, are. I bit my lip trying to hold back my tongue..
Nina at times did surprise me. If Aliya had taken that long then why didn't she go to check if she was okay or whether she had run away? It was logic, common sense for God's sake.
'Which restaurant are you at right now, Nina?"
'Bueno restaurant"
'Don't move..I'm on my way", I said switching my phone off and leaving my office in a rush.
The things that Aliya made me do!
