Emerald Eyes (10 page)

Handle him?

“Eliza. I understand.” I lift my hands in mock-defeat. “You don’t need to keep marking your territory like an eager
Chihuahua
.”
 

I look at her as her mouth drops open and she turns crimson. If it was possible, I could probably see steam coming out of her ears and the top of her head.
 

Ha!

“Chi… Chihuahua?” she growls. “I’ve been there for Eric every time he needed me emotionally and
physically
! So trust me
bitch
, you’re in for a huge disappointment!” She hisses at me.
 

I lean back in my chair and keep my cool, even though all I want to do is sucker punch her.
 

“Like I said. I understand. You won’t have any problems coming from me.” I keep my face smooth and serious.

It hurts me that she had him first, that she
knows
him in everyway… everyway that I won’t. But why is she reacting this way? If she had Mr. Miller for years, why is she reacting as if he might dump her is a blink of an eye?
 

Eliza lifts and eyebrow and eyes me suspiciously.
 

Wow,
major
jealousy problems with this one… but I could see why… if Mr. Miller were mine, I would have done the same if not worst.
 

“What’s going on?” Mr. Miller is standing at the entrance of the room, glaring at Eliza and me.

“Oh, nothing… just girl talk, ya know.” Eliza smiles a very fake smile at me.
 

I smile and nod while Mr. Miller approaches the table and picks up his coffee. He settles on the couch, facing us.

“So, what are your plans for tonight?” Eliza asks Mr. Miller. “I was thinking dinner, just me and you.” She winks at him and I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

“Not tonight. Tonight, we’re going to SoFi.” Mr. Miller looks at me, eyes blazing.
 

Eliza follows his stare and frowns slightly.
 

“Well, I’m coming too… I’ll just need a new dress and shoes, and I’ll be good to go.” Eliza chirps up, and I notice how annoying her voice becomes when she tries too hard.

“All right, we have extra tickets so you can join us.” Mr. Miller says dryly.
 

He reaches for the tickets on the coffee table, and holds one up. Eliza jumps up and snatches it out of his hand.
 

“Great! I’ll see you at…” she looks at the ticket. “Ten!” she smiles a victory smile and looks at me.
 

I give her a small smile that really says
go to hell.
 

Eliza leans into Mr. Miller, trying to kiss him on his lips, but he moves his head slightly and she only gets his cheek… again. Mr. Miller looks at her with fury and she gets the message.
 

“See you later.” Eliza says as she walks out of our suite.

I look back at Mr. Miller who sighs, “I’m sorry. Again. She get extremely jealous when I’m around beautiful women.” He smiles apologetically.
 

I roll my eyes and smile, “It’s fine. I told you last night, she’s not the first jealous girlfriend I had to deal with.”
 

“She’s not my girlfriend.” Mr. Miller looks at me intently and I feel his eyes piercing my soul.
 

I’m paralyzed momentarily, taken aback at his divine and powerful features. His beautiful irises captivate me with their heat. His powerful face is flawless… He truly is gorgeous. I inhale hastily and smile, “Whatever she is, she’s very territorial.”
 

Mr. Miller frowns slightly, “That she is.” He mumbles.

“So… what are we doing before the meeting at noon?” I change the subject.
 

“Work. I need you to print out a contract for Mr. Ramirez. Rose sent it to you. After that you need to make the PowerPoint presentation for the meeting.” He eyes me cautiously.
 

If you had actual work experience as an
executive
assistant, you’d know this!
 

“Of course, I’ll get right on it.” I smile my irresistible smile and feign confidence.

Mr. Miller looks at me intently, probably trying to figure out this bizarre
executive
assistant he’s got, then nods and returns to the dinning table to finish his breakfast.
 

I cannot eat now, the panic that seized me merely seconds ago, has shut my throat tight.
 

I hate being unprepared!
 

I go to my bedroom and turn my Mac on. I log into my email account and find the contract Rose has emailed me. I click print, but then I realize there’s no printer in our suite.
 

Oh God, how am I supposed to print this damn contract?
 

I click the ‘Help’ button and read that I need to set up a connection to a printer, via cable connection or wireless network.
 

Riiiggghhht…
 

I pick up the phone on my nightstand, and ask the front desk where I can print documents. Gary, the young man on the other line, guides me step by step, how to connect my Mac to the hotel’s wireless network, and then to the printer. After that’s been established, I convince him by flirting a little to have someone deliver the documents once they’re ready. Gary agrees and assures me, that he himself will deliver them. I smile victoriously at the familiar feeling of men succumbing to my charms.
 

Except, Mr. Miller.
 

I refuse to dwell on that and start working on the PowerPoint presentation. While I work my appetite wakes up and I head to the kitchen to grab a snack. I find a Granny Smith apple and head to the bedroom, when light knocks on the door stop me midway. I open the door and see a tall, young man, wearing hotel uniform with a nametag that reads, ‘Gary’. I smile at him and he blushes.
 

What a cutie
. My smile broadens.
 

“Hello Miss Slav. I’m Gary from the front desk. Here are your documents.”
 

His brown eyes twinkle as I reach for them and touch his fingertips by accident.

“Thank you Gary. You’re a lifesaver!” I wink at him and I’m rewarded with a shy smile.

“No problem. If there’s anything you might need, please don’t hesitate to call.”

“I’ll remember that. Have a lovely day Gary.” I tip him generously.

“You too.” He replies and I close the door.
 

I turn around, finding Mr. Miller sitting on the couch, his left arm is stretched out on the back of it, his right ankle is resting on his left knee and an open file is resting on his thigh. He’s looking at me with an amused expression on his face.

“They just can’t resist, can they?” his voice is full of humor.

“As long as I can. It makes no difference to me.” I shrug.

Mr. Miller smiles softly and nods.

“I’m working on the presentation now. Here’s the contract.” I lightly shake the documents up.

“After you’re done, you can go shop for a dress for tonight and shoes, if you’d like. You can use your work card. It will be considered as a work expense.” Mr. Miller says.

“Really? That’s great! Thank you!” I smile.
 

I refine myself from jumping up and down at the joy of a free dress and shoes, but as I take a few steps towards my room, a memory of my first day in the office hits me, Eliza fanning her face with Mr. Miller’s platinum Amex.
 

I stop walking. I don’t want to be like her, a user. I don’t want Mr. Miller to look at me like he looks at her, as an annoyance. As much as I would love a free dress and new shoes, I must decline. I turn around.
 

“Actually, I don’t think shopping will be necessary. I believe I brought something of my own.” I smile softly.

Mr. Miller frowns slightly, looking at me, perplexed, “As you wish.” he mutters.

I turn again; grab my apple and head back to my room to finish the presentation. At eleven a.m. sharp, I’m done. The presentation shows perfectly why Mr. Ramirez should sell forty nine percent of his company’s shares to Miller Financial Enterprise, and the contract is neatly settled inside the company’s folder. I stretch out on my bed and breath in deeply. I’ve never thought about how hard people work, until now. I miss my lazy days; hanging out by the pool, reading a good book, shop-till-you-drop days with my girlfriends, partying… A light knock on my door brings me to the now. I rise and open the door.

“Still breathing?” Mr. Miller teases.

“Yes. I’m done.” I giggle, looking at my Mac and the folder that rest on my nightstand.

“That’s good. Our meeting will be over lunch, at Prime Italian.”

“Do you need me to reserve a private room?”

“No. Rose did that already.”

“Oh…” I suddenly feel a little useless.
 

My head falls fractionally. Mr. Miller reaches for my chin and lifts it slightly so I can look into his eyes. His touch is so light and warm it heats my skin instantly.
 

With mesmerizingly eyes and a soft voice he says, “Don’t worry. You’re new… you’ll learn soon enough.” Mr. Miller smile melts me from the inside and I beam back at him.
 

His fingers linger on my chin and as he removes them, his thumb lightly strokes my cheek. I gasp at the light spark of electricity I feel, igniting my desire for him and instinctively, I lean into his warm body. Mr. Miller’s eyes heat up, blazing and pinning me to the spot and my breath hitches as I watch, captivated, as his lust takes over him. I’ve never felt this ferocious instant passion before, not like this. He’s barely touched me, but I’m already burning for him.
 

Seeing my reaction, Mr. Miller inhales deeply and closes his eyes. When they open, they are cool, controlled and calm.

“We leave in twenty minutes.” Mr. Miller exhales.

I frown slightly, muttering, “Ok.”
 

Mr. Miller quickly turns around and walks out of my room, leaving me cold and frozen, staring into space. I snap out of it and close the door, wondering,
what the hell just happened?
 

Mr. Miller had a chance to kiss me but he didn’t take it.
Is he really not attracted to me?
The thought hurts more than it should. I can’t see past his firm control. I shake my head with frustration and suddenly I realize a way to check if Mr. Miller is interested.
A plan forms in my mind and I search my purse for a certain business card.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Patrick? This is Katherine Slav, Mr. Millers assistant.”

“Katherine! How are you? I’m glad you called.” Patrick’s voice turns smooth like honey.

“I’m great. I’m actually wondering if you could help me out. I’m going to SoFi tonight and I don’t have a date. Would you like to join me?”

“Tonight? Well, I have a meeting at eight. What time are you going?”

“Ten. I have a ticket for you, if you think you could make it.”

“Is Miller going to be there?”

“Well, yes. Mr. Miller has a date and I don’t want to be a third wheel. What do you say? Help a girl out?” I say sweetly.

“No problem. Keep that ticket safe. I’ll meet you at SoFi.” I hear Patrick’s smile through the phone and I breathe out, relieved.

“Thank you, Patrick. See you tonight.”
 

I hang up and for a moment, I think if this was the right thing to do.
 

Mr. Miller did say he doesn’t mix business and pleasure…
 

Well, I did say ‘I’ll think about it’. I’m not going to sit there all by myself, while Eliza is keeping him company. Also, I just want to see his reaction when he realizes he won’t be having an
Ménage à trois type of evening. But the real reason I’m doing this, is to get his reaction when he sees me with Patrick, that way I will know for sure.
 

Oh God, I hope this isn’t an epic mistake.

I open the closet and go over my dresses. I finally settle on my gold, Herv
é
L
é
ger dress and move on to pick shoes and accessories.

Mr. Ramirez is a short, dark skinned man. His eyes and hair are both black, and his smile is wide and genuinely warm. Next to him is a petite Asian woman, his lawyer, Kim Young. After our delicious lunch, I set up my Mac and start the presentation. Both men and Kim are looking at the screen with such focus and seriousness; I have to bite on the inside of my cheek not to giggle. They look like little children in the middle of a class. I think about the last time I was in class, and for some reason I think back to Mrs. Kovack’s ballet lessons. Her voice still echoes in my head…
‘Plié, Relevé, Plié, Relevé…
Padebure!’
and her damn J
etés!
 

I begin to roll my eyes, but stop when I realize where I am. Eighteen years have passed and the woman’s commanding voice is still ringing volumes in my mind.
 

The presentation flies by. Kim goes over the contract and gives her approval to Mr. Ramirez. Both men sign the contract and shake hands before parting ways.
 

“You did a great job with the presentation.” Mr. Miller’s lips stretch into one of his core-melting smiles, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I feel my cheeks heating up into a blush.
 

“Thank you. Would you like me to go over the revenue reports for tomorrow’s meeting?” I smile and collect my Mac.

“No. I went over them last night. You can relax today.”
 

“Oh, ok. Would you like to go to the pool?” I smile mischievously.

I want to see you in your swim trunks. I want to see that mouthwatering body uncovered.
 

Mr. Miller
grins a full ear to ear smile that make me want to ravage his mouth with deep, all consuming wet kiss. “I’d love to.”
 

“Great! ‘cause you know… I did bring my bathing suits.” I wink at him.