CHAPTER 4 - The call
1171 Words
Aimme phone rang.
She had been standing there, staring at the signed folder from the night before, then she started wondering who the caller was.
She picked it up. it was an unknown number.
“Hello?” she said, unsure of who the caller was.
“Aimee?” The voice was calm,
“Yes?” she responded
“This is Miriam, calling from the executive office.”
Aimee froze. Executive office? Philip's office?
“Yes… hello.” Shereplied in awareness
“Mister Philip would like to see you this evening,” Miriam continued.
Her breath caught. “Mr… Philip?”
“Yes, Miss.”
There was a pause at firs, Aimee could almost hear the faint smirk in the voice. Why does it feel like they’re reading my thoughts already?
“This evening?” Aimee asked again, trying to keep her voice calm. “Is this about the file I submitted?”
“No,” Miriam replied smoothly. “The file has already been approved.”
Approved.
Aimee’s mind flashed back to him. The way he looked at her longer than expected, the way he kissed her hand, then back to the folder.
Her fingers tightened around the phone. “Then… may I ask what this meeting is about?”
“You’ll hear it from him directly,” Miriam said, clearly trained to remain neutral but somehow still teasing.
Aimee blinked. “At the office?”
“No,” came the crisp reply.
“The address will be sent to your phone,” Miriam continued. “Seven p.m.”
“I...” Aimee hesitated. “Is this… mandatory?”
Another pause
“No one forces a meeting with Mr. Philip, Miss. You are free to refuse
After that the call ended.
She stared at the phone, her with a lot tension.
“He can do and undo them,” she whispered to herself. “Of course he can.”
Her phone vibrated and made her come back from her thoughts. It was the address. Seven p.m.
It felt like she was going to fall then she sank into the chair.
“What am I doing?” she whispered aloud.
________
Later, during break she and her coworker went to a nearby cafe, aimee told her about the call, her coworker leaned lazily against the counter. “Are you going?”
Aimee stirred her coffee, not looking at her. “I don’t know.”
“You sound like you already decided,” the coworker said, grinning.
Aimee shook her head. “I don’t even know how he got my number.”
“Relax. You work for a company he owns,” the coworker said. “It’s not magic. Just connections.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“So?” She tilted her head. “Are you scared or excited?”
Aimee didn’t answer. She just took a sip of coffee and let the hotness fill her mouth. That hotness didn’t touch her heart, though.
_______
By seven, she was standing outside the building. The lights were bright, almost inviting, but she felt cold. She smoothed her dress for the third time.
“Get it together,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
The door opened before she could knock.
“You came.”
“I...” She stopped herself. “You called me.”
He studied her, “And you answered.”
“That doesn’t explain why I’m here.”
He moved aside. “Come in.”
She hesitated. “You’re not running away this time,” he said lightly.
“I didn’t run,” she replied, stepping in anyway. “I left.”
“Semantics,” he murmured.
She crossed her arms. “Is this about work?”
“No.”
“Then why am I here?”
He poured two glasses of wine and handed her one. “You tell me.”
“I didn’t ask for this,” she said, her voice trembling slightly.
“I know,” he replied softly, almost a whisper.
“Then why...”
“Because you looked like you were holding your breath when you left my office,” he interrupted. “And I wanted to see if you’d breathe again.”
Her lips parted. “That’s not a reason.”
“It’s enough for me,” he said quietly.
She shook her head. “You don’t get to do that. Pull people into your world just because you can.”
His gaze darkened slightly. “You think that’s what this is?”
She met his eyes. “Isn’t it?”
There was silence.
“No,” he said finally. “If it were, I wouldn’t have waited.”
Her heart skipped. “Waited for what?”
“For you to choose.”
She laughed softly, nervously. “You’re very confident.”
“I’m very careful,” he said.
The both kept looking at each other. “You kissed my hand,” she said quietly.
“I did.”
“That wasn’t careful.”
“Neither was staying,” he murmured.
Her voice dropped. “This is a mistake.”
He nodded once. “Probably.”
“And yet,” she said, not moving, “you called.”
“And yet,” he replied, stepping closer, “you came.”
Their breaths mingled, they were so close that both of them could feel the intense heat coming from the both. Philip ran his hands down her shoulder.
“Tell me to stop,” he said, in a low ton
She opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
He exhaled slowly. “That’s what I thought.”
Tben there came silence.
“Dinner,” he said at last. Just the both of us and we are not discussing any business
She swallowed. “And after?”
He looked at her steadily. “After, we see who walks away first.”
Her pulse increased. “Philip,” she whispered.
“Yes?”
“This changes things,” she said softly.
He gave a faint smile. “So do most choices.”
Her phone buzzed suddenly. A text from an unknown number:Location confirmed. Seven p.m. ....Don’t be late.
She glanced at him. “Is this you?”
He shook his head. “No.” His eyes flickered with amusement. “But consider it… a gentle reminder.”
Aimee said. “Gentle?”
“You’re the one holding your breath again,” he saidin a low voice. “I’m just trying to keep you alive.”
for the first time, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to leave the room.
_____
The conversation stretched on. Words danced around boundaries.
Questions were asked, half-answered, ignored, challenged.
Every glance carried weight. Every pause threatened to collapse the calm she’d worked so hard to maintain.
And yet, amidst all that, she realized something dangerous: she was listening. Really listening.
We could be here all night,” he said, casually, as though it were nothing.
“You wouldn’t,” she said, admist her laughter and confusion.
“I might,” he replied, deliberately.
- Writer
