CEO's Cat Lady [Complete]

Chapter 7

Trevor observed the woman sitting across from him in the table over the candlelight dinner they were currently having… Well, not exactly, because the woman was merely staring at him with her unreadable eyes and did not even cast a single glance at the food laid out on the table. The more the hotel heir observed her, the more he got curious at the girl.

He was not a stranger to not overly expressive women, because in Europe where he grew up, people were generally fairly reserved. That was why he found Amethyst Flores (or Ledesma) a bit of an oddity for someone in a people-oriented position in a warm and friendly country like the Philippines. Not only that, but there was something about the guarded eyes of this woman across from him that told him that she would be one tough girl to decipher.

"Why is a multi-billionaire heiress masquerading as a Human Resource officer in a small company?" Trevor asked in a similar stony facial expression.

Amethyst shrugged briefly as she maintained her poker face. "Nunya."

Trevor tilted his head very discreetly, one might have missed it. The sharp eyes of the woman in front of him didn't though. "Nunya?" He asked.

"Nunya business."

Trevor snorted, a sign of amusement coming from him. He did so with so without losing his gentlemanly composure that had been ingrained in him since childhood. He leaned back on his chair with the intent to observe this woman properly. Amethyst Flores looked so different from the last time he had seen her, looking every bit of a rebellious woman riding her big Harley-Davidson motorbike like she owned the highway.

Now, she looked so prim and proper in her clipped jaw length short bob, tucked-in white polo shirt under a black blazer, and partnered with a high-waist A-line mini skirt. Despite her businesslike attire, something about her petite figure (she was probably exactly five feet) made her look… cute. It probably was a weird word to describe Ms. Flores right now, given her serious demeanor, but Trevor somehow found it perfectly fitting.

The hotel heir then gestured to the food laid out in front of them, gourmet French food like Coq au Vin, Bacheofe, Chocolate Mousse for dessert, and an expensive bottle of Chateau Margaux 2009 Balthazar red wine to complete the course.

"Please eat, Ms. Flores. If you don't want to tell me about your family, then I won't force you." Trevor laid out the table napkin in his lap and picked up his knife and fork so that he could start cutting his chicken.

"We could talk about other things…" He added.

The woman still did not glance at the food, but she sharply raised a fine eyebrow after hearing his proposition. "What kind of things?"

"Things about your personal preferences… like your favorite food, favorite color, hobbies. Or maybe things about us, because I think we will be working together for a long time."

The serious woman pursed her lips as she considered what he said, and after a few moments of silence, she spoke up with a sigh. "Mr. Schwarz… Can you just cut the bullshit and tell me what you really want from me?"

The hotel heir's face remained unreadable when he replied. "Nothing. I'm just curious about you."

"Why? You see, I'm a boring woman. Even my colleagues know that. Besides that little known thing about me being a Ledesma, nothing about me is worth noting."

"I doubt someone who had been harboring a big secret like you is boring. The Ledesma part is a point of curiosity though, I must admit."

Ms. Flores scoffed. "It's not that great, you know?" She continued to look at him with a mixture of annoyance and awkwardness when she suddenly caught glance at the bottle of wine on the table. She reached for the bottle and read its label with rapt interest.

"Chateau Margaux 2009 Balthazar?" She looked at him briefly before she put the bottle back down. "My brother has a bottle of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti 1990 and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1945 in his cellar at the mansion," the woman remarked.

"He's got a fine taste." A chilling smile appeared on Trevor's face. "I would like to take a tour at his cellar one day… with you as my guide preferably."

A crack emerged in the woman's façade when she averted her eyes and muttered in a small voice: "I'd doubt that."

Interesting… Something told Trevor that that small phrase had a loaded meaning to the woman in front of him. He had a hunch that more mysteries were bound to be discovered regarding Amethyst Flores.

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"I'm kinda busy right, Vance! I'll talk to you later!" Chris talked in hushed tones in his phone as he hung out by the parking lot of the hotel.

"Why? Where are you right now?" Vance asked in surprise on the other line.

"At the parking lot of Snowdrop Hotel. Just call me later regarding your problem!"

"Why are you there? Wasn't the investor from earlier the one who owned that hotel?"

"Yeah. Listen, it's hard to explain right now!" Chris said as he looked around the premises, afraid someone had seen him and became suspicious of his actions.

"Okay! Tell me all about it later. Promise me!" Vance acquiesced.

"Yeah, yeah." Chris already cut off the connection and sighed as he took in the balmy air of the night.

This was frustrating. He didn't even know what he was doing here, or why he felt compelled to follow Ms. Amy like some creepy stalker into this equally creepy "date." He was certain he didn't fell into an infatuation with his lady boss, but he also couldn't deny that he had become hyperaware of her suddenly. If anything, he'd surmise that this dilemma he had been facing was brought about by the guilt that he felt for taking advantage of Ms. Amy's drunken state that fateful night of the company outing.

He felt that it was his responsibility to keep what happened from happening again… thereby awakening his protective instincts, especially for lone women like their HR Head. Tonight, he would just make sure that Ms. Amy got home safely; he wouldn't even show himself to her.

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"I'm sure you've already had a taste of this fine wine, but I would like to propose a toast." Trevor inclined his head to Amy, although his cold tone never changed. "For future partnerships, of course."

He then poured a nice amount of wine into a glass and handed it to her, to which she hesitantly accepted, and saw how the hotel heir poured the same amount in his own. Amy was debating if she would accept Mr. Schwarz's invitation, but she realized that there was no harm in this small request. After all, Amy was still the one who came here with the need for support in her organization, and the man had generally been polite to her the whole evening.

Trevor raised his glass, and Amy did the same without taking her eyes off the man's own gray orbs, as equally unyielding to her guarded ones.

"For the future and the things to come," she humored him. Their glasses clinked, but when Amy raised to glass to sip on it, she was assaulted by the wine's aroma and found it aggressively disagreeable to her stomach.

Without meaning to, she was not able to drink the wine and she quickly put it down the table and hid the distaste in her expression. The hotel heir saw everything though, and he quickly asked about her in alarm.

"What's the matter? Is the wine not to your liking?" His forehead creased and some worry crept into his cold eyes.

"Errr… It's not that. This is an excellent wine, obviously, but I just remembered how badly the last time I had alcohol went." Amy sheepishly smiled. "Sorry about that."

The unexpressive man nodded at her explanation. "I'm glad to hear that. Well, then, I'd just ask for plain water for you. Are you sure you do not want to have some taste of the food that we proudly serve in this restaurant?"

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It had been a little more than an hour when Chris finally saw Ms. Amy emerge from the premises of the hotel building. To his disappointment, she was not alone and the hotel entrepreneur was walking beside her, albeit at a safe distance from her. He crouched behind a car to try to hear what they were talking about when they passed by him.

"You do not need to take me home, Mr. Schwarz. I'm capable of using Uber so that I could get home safely," Chris heard his boss utter.

"I'm sure you can afford more than an Uber service, Ms. Flores," the man answered in a bored voice. Chris inwardly agreed with the observation. With Ms. Amy's salary, she could very much avail of a car loan.

"I don't need it," the woman answered. Both men were stopped when she also suddenly stopped walking.

"Wait, Mr. Schwarz… Do you hear that?"

Chris saw how the woman tilted her head to his direction and that caused him to panic internally. s**t! Please don't let her discover me!.. However, it seemed that no one was listening to his silent plea because Ms. Amy started walking to the side of the red car where he was currently hiding, with that hotel dude following at her heels.

When his lady boss crouched and peered under the car, that was when Chris squeezed his eyes shut while thinking of possible excuses in his mind.

"Gosh!" Ms. Amy exclaimed out loud. "Look, there's a…."