Chapter - 3 The First Meeting

"Ms Evangeline Rose, you have been called to CEO's office. Follow me."

'As if I have any other choice.' she followed him quietly. As they entered the lift with each ascending floor her heart beat was increasing. Finally the lift stopped at the top floor. She was so nervous that she didn't even realised she was holding her breath and her palms were now damp. Lift doors opened and Eva followed Alex. They finally stopped in front of a large wooden door.

"This is CEO's office. You may enter now."

With this, Alex left. Leaving her alone. Standing in front of CEO's office door.

She lifted her hand to knock on the door but all her courage evaporated.

'It feels like I am standing in front of a door that leads to hell. I should have submitted my resignation letter. But what kind of CEO is he? It was just a small kiss...no just a quick peck on cheek. Does he have to act all high and mighty? I don't have any contagious disease. Can't  he just forget about it? And he should be happy that I kissed him. I've never kissed any man...other than my dad and that too when I was a kid... even though it's just a peck on cheek. I will still call it a kiss.'

'You are not a beautiful princess of a rich country so why do you think he will be happy to be kissed by you?' an inner voice taunted her.

'Shut up! I am already very nervous.' Thus a war of words started within her.

'Who told you to kiss him?'

'It was all his fault for wearing a green jacket. Couldn't he just wear formals? Like every boss in  a company. Ok... I have decided now. I will just give my resignation letter and look for another job.'

'Yeah! a new job that you will take months to find.'

'Can't you be a bit more supportive to you owner,i.e., me. I'm going to quit. No time for second thoughts.'

With the final decision made, she turned around and suddenly her head collided with something hard.

"Ouch!" Rubbing her head she tried to focus at what had hit her. Her eyes met with a hard chest covered in a tailored shirt and a coat, travelling up to a perfect jawline and sculpted lips and an arrogant nose and a very familiar pair of blue green eyes...' Liam Richardson!?' Her eyes widened in shock as her brain finally registered the image of the person in front of her. She gulped.

"Planning to run away, Miss Evangeline Rose?" he asked arching a brow.

"No. I...Umm.." she felt as if her voice got stuck in her throat. "You weren't inside so-"

"Oh! You have some hidden power to see through the door, I guess." He taunted her.

She lowered her head and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. 'So you were watching me.' She tried to think of something really quick that could help her escape from this situation.

"Your secretary said that you have something to talk about." She desperately tried to change the topic.

"Yeah. Come in." He opened the door to his office and she followed him inside.

His office was painted with white. There was a large wooden desk which was occupying the centre of the office with the chair for the CEO. To her left, there was a bookshelf stacked with books... some of which were her favorites like alchemist, The secret. 'Does he read?'

To her right, there were two paintings on the walls which she was sure costed thousands of dollars.

"Are you interested in paintings?" he asked interrupting her inspection.

"No. Not really. I like books more."

He motioned her to sit and himself took his seat. She took one look at him and realised he looked irritated and in need of a shave and a good sleep too.

'Ask anything you want but not about the kiss. Please.' Eva prayed silently.

"I don't like to beat around the bush." His voice got her attention,"so let's get straight to the topic. What was that kiss about when I first entered the office last week?"

His question caught her off guard. She turned beet red and then pale as she tried to remember the reason her colleagues gave him that day. But alas! She wasn't even sure if she had asked them what they told him about the kiss.

"Uh... that we... " Eva rapidly scanned her brain for the best excuse she could possibly come up with. Sensing the man’s irritation growing more acute as the seconds ticked by, she reflected that this handsome Goliath in front of her was going to take a heck of a lot of convincing.

"We told you before too that it was just a way of greeting." She spoke without thinking to realise her mistake only a second later.

'Way of greeting? My ass! What the hell are you talking about Eva!' Inner voice surfaced again. 'God! I want to kill myself right now for giving such a stupid excuse!!'

"Really?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

'Even I find this statement hard to believe.' She cleared her throat and tried her luck again.

"That day...your arrival was so sudden that we couldn't prepare much to welcome you so...and even french greet like that."

She kicked herself inwardly again,'Idoit Eva! Have you ever been to France?'

"So you decided to kiss."

'Hell No!' . His statement turned her cheeks pink. 'God! What have I gotten myself into?'  She desperately tried to think of a way to get out of this situation but her head was in a mess.

"If that's the way you greet," she looked up into his gleaming eyes while he continued,"then you should greet me like this everyday. But you were nowhere to be seen this last week. But it's alright. You can make up for it now. You owe me 7 kisses."

When his words finally registered in her mind, her eyes widened in shock.

"What?"

He got up from his seat and started walking to her side of the table. Her heart started beating wildly... to the point where she thought it might come out of her chest.

"You heard me. 7 kisses that you owe me and one kiss each day from today onwards."

He said giving a devilish smile.

Just when he was only a few inches away from her she got up from her seat so quickly that her step stumbled and she lost her balance but Liam was able to catch her on time and kept her from falling. His one hand on her back and the other supported her waist while both her hands rested on his chest.

She quickly pushed him away and with her head down trying to hide her blush she spoke,"Mr Richardson, that...this kind of behaviour is not appreciated in this company."

She looked up and the look in his eyes was that of a Predator who looked like he was sizing up his prey for a meal. Scared she took a step away from him and he took a step towards her. A few more steps like this when her back hit the wall and breaking the walls to get far away from him was unfortunately not possible. With his both hands resting on wall either side of her head and his large frame in front, she was trapped.

He touched her cheek with the back of his hand. His touch was so light that it felt like a feather caressing her skin. She felt his gaze focused on her lips.

"M... Mr Richardson, you... you are mistaken. It wasn't like that." She stammered and he smirked at her reaction but didn't move his hand away. Rather he ever so slowly brought his face close to hers. She, shutting her eyes tightly said in one breath.

"Mr Richardson I never meant to kiss you that day we were just playing a game of truth or dare where I lost and was given the dare to kiss the first person that enters the café and then you entered and I really had no idea as I am new here and never heard of you before or else I would never have kissed you even if they were to label me a cowered for the rest of my life." After finishing the sentence in one breath she finally took some air in her lungs.

With her eyes still shut she waited for a minute but nothing happened. She waited for another minute and still nothing happened. So she slowly opened her eyes only to find Liam standing straight in front of her with his arms crossed in front of that hard chest and looking down at her from the arrogant length of his nose.

She waited for him to say something but it was all quiet so she finally asked the question that was bugging her mind from the past one week.

What do you think she asked?