ENTHRALLED BY YOU

FEELINGS 1

FEELINGS I

Pacing and brooding in his office, Williams couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was wrong with Lisa, and she was using the excuse of personal time to avoid coming to work. 

This was the third day of her absence, and Williams was beginning to feel more worried by the day, that something terrible must have happened during the weekend.

He remembered her being so nervous on Friday before the close of work when he overheard her talking about a meeting with Stephen’s parents over the weekend. 

Maybe it didn’t go as planned or something went horribly wrong. 

She wasn’t injured or hurt physically, else Maria would have notified HR of it too when she called to take permission on Lisa’s behalf.

Looking around his office which was not so comforting as it should be, with piles of work heaped on his desk that he could not concentrate on long enough to finish any, he pressed the intercom and spoke to Julia, the temp who was filling in for Lisa.

“Hello Julia, please hold my calls for the rest of the day and schedule all my meetings till tomorrow, I have somewhere to be and I may not return for the rest of the day”, he spoke into the intercom.

Her young voice filtered through with a clear response “Yes sir, understood and I will get on it right away”, she said, and he hung up the call.

Grabbing his keys from the table and jacket, he took his private elevator to the garage where Samuel his driver and bodyguard was already waiting with the rear door of the Escalade open for him. 

Sliding into the car, he waited for Samuel to get in the drivers seat before announcing their destination.

“Take me to Lisa's house”, he told Samuel.

The drive to Lisa’s apartment felt very short; maybe because he felt nervous the whole ride there and had started second guessing his decision to visit Lisa in the first place. 

It felt so wrong to show up unannounced like this without an idea of what he was expecting, or going to say.

Picking up his phone he called the one person he hoped would offer him sound advise, that he wasn’t doing something crazy especially not with the way Samuel eyebrows nearly reached his hairline when he had announced his destination earlier. 

He just needed reassurance that he was doing the right thing by Lisa.

“Hello sis, how do you do”, I need your advise on something very urgent he told her.

“You sound every tense Egbon (elder brother)”, what’s going on ??, she asked.

“I will give you the short version sis”, Williams told her. Right now, my car is parked in front of Lisa’s place.

 She hasn’t been to work the last three days, although she called in and took a personal time off, I just want to make sure she was okay.

“Am I wrong in showing up unannounced?, Williams asked, “I wasn’t thinking it through at the time I made my decision to be here”, he told Rachael.

Her soft sigh and light chuckle eased his tension a bit.

“What can I say Will”, she answered, you are already there and it would be more unreasonable to turn back now. 

“Just go up and knock, she won’t bite”, Rachael said.

“She would be grateful you were considerate enough to pay her a visit personally”, she added. 

“Just be ready for anything, since you have no idea why she took the personal leave in the first place’, Rachel warned.

“Thank you sis, I owe you one”, Williams told her and hung up.

Stepping out of the car, Williams took the short steps to the second floor, apartment 117 as Maria had directed and knocked softly on the door before pressing the door bell.

There was silence before he heard the soft shuffling of feet on tile, and finally the turning of the key in the lock.

The door opened to two reactions, one was of shock from me seeing Lisa in the most adorable fluffy pink stay home sweat shirt and baggy pants, while the other was of her in shock of seeing her boss standing in front of her apartment.

We recovered at about the same time, but she spoke first. 

“Wh-at are you doing here Mr. Williams”, she stammered out first before consciously coming to her senses and opening the door wide for him.

“Please come in sir”, she corrected herself, feel free to blame it on the shock of not expecting you here sir, Lisa said.

“I should be apologizing to you Lisa for showing up unannounced”, Williams told her, I anticipated the surprise, so please, there is no need to apologize for your initial outburst.

She closed the door to her small but comfy apartment as Williams walked in and looked around.

The inside of her home was very beautiful with flower patterned wall papers, family picture frames, beautiful interior decor, and lovely but sparse furniture probably attributed to the fact that she was living alone.

“Nice place you have here Lisa”, Williams said as a form of compliment, turning to take a look at the most beautiful woman he had ever met. 

He didn’t miss the blush that stained her cheeks pink in that instant.

“Thank you very much sir”, Lisa replied him; “forgive my manners”, she added, please make yourself comfortable sir.

“Thank you but I was really worried about you, that’s why I came”, Williams said to her.

You took a leave of absence without reasons as to why, and although Julia has been trying her possible best to fill in for you, it still a big shoe for her to fit in. 

She even refused to work from your office, said it felt like a sacrilege.

Williams attempt at humor worked because he could sense the smile pulling at the corner of her lips, highlighting her features, but something more disturbing pushed through and dampened it.

Only then did he look at her very closely, noting the dark circles around her eyes indicating that she hadn’t been sleeping very well; her face was sunken and lacked its usual spark, her eyes swollen like she had been crying all week long.

Williams crossed the room in swift strides, closing the distance between them in a flash, lifting her face to meet his, with a finger under her jaw.

He wanted to see the answer for himself when he asked her the question that was squeezing the breath away.

“Tell me the truth Lisa, did he hurt you in anyway”, Williams spoke with a hard edge to his voice, because there would be hell to pay if that swine really laid a finger on her.

“No.. No.. Stephen did no such thing Mr. Williams”, Lisa replied with all the courage she could muster. Williams saw in the depth of her eyes that she spoke the truth.

“I appreciate you coming Sir but I am doing very okay”, she attempted to act strong but he could tell her spirit was broken. 

She was tethering at the edge of the line and barely holding on by the way she sounded.

“Why have you not been sleeping well?”, Williams asked her. 

“There are dark circles around your eyes, and you must have also smashed your mirror in the process because you look very amazing”, Williams pointed out

Lisa groaned in a very unladylike manner while raking a hand through her dark luscious hair in an attempt to smooth the spikes in her hair. Her efforts were very unsuccessfully which elicited a laugh from him.

In her concentrated attempt to smooth her hair and tie it properly behind her head, it pushed her breast forward, visibly outlining her taut n*****s underneath the loose sweatshirt she was wearing.. 

She was not aware of her actions or Williams acute reaction to it, or she would have bolted for the exit.

Williams felt all soft and warm inside as he watched her; she was breathtakingly beautiful with full lips that begged to be kissed the right way. 

Not wanting to sound and look like a p*****t to his employee, he resolved to keep his very dirty thoughts to himself and asked for a glass of water instead.

His throat suddenly felt patched, and the room became very hot and claustrophobic.

Williams loosened the knot of his maroon tie that was suddenly too tight and clogging his windpipe.