Falling Over

| Chapter 1 | Part two

Angelina

As he was going through with Brianna's project, a tall man wearing a rather expensive looking tailored suit came to our table. His blue eyes were the first things that I noticed, while I slowly went over his features.

Dirty blonde hair and a slight scruff gave him an intimidating look, but still making him appear approachable while he gave half a smile to Vincent. He was well built as I could see the signs of his long hours at the gym protruding from his arms through the charcoal grey suit, making me avert my gaze from his towering frame.

"He is here and will see you now." A deep professional voice left his mouth, while Vincent nodded once, beginning to collect our scattered materials.

"Very well then," Vincent replied with a smile, while he turned around towards the exit of the hotel.

We followed the man towards the elevator. The button on number ten was already pressed as we were led to an enormous looking room. The space was well equipped with all the stuff that probably was used for board meetings, though this arrangement hardly was for one. We were led to one of the far corners of the room where there were two huge leather couches placed on the opposite sides of a rather large coffee table.

As I was busy appreciating the beauty of the conference room of The Poseidon Palace, the door opened and three men all dressed in black suits walked in.

We stood up from our seats to approach the men, their confident powerful steps, making me twist my fingers in front of me, a clear sign of nervousness. As they were in their handshake process with Vincent and Brianna, I took my time to study them. One of them was average built and wore dark glasses. The other one was the same man who had brought us here.

I shifted my eyes to the last person when a pair of cold brown eyes met mine.

"And this is Angelina Thompson. One of our Chief designers." Vincent said introducing me.

"Miss Thompson."

Max Cesare nodded towards me and offered a handshake. I bought a suddenly cold hand to meet his. Shaking my small hand in a firm handshake he gave my hand a gentle squeeze before dropping it.

With a devilishly handsome face, Max Cesare exuded power, his strong aura not failing to intimidate me. Not to mention his pronounced features.

With a long slender nose and a well-trimmed beard, his hair matched the color of his eyes, being styled in the perfect way possible. If it had been possible, I would have believed he jumped out of the celebrity magazines Brianna and I used to fawn over in our teens. My gaze flitted towards his fingers which were busy flipping the pages of the file that Vincent had offered him.

What was the hell wrong with me? I had been eyeing men like candy in a*****e for the past half and hour. Damn hormones.

I noticed his shoulders were broad; his bulging arms were protruding from beneath his immaculately tailored Armani. Yes, it definitely was an Armani.

Max wore all black. From his tie to his shoes, everything was black and it made him look rather dangerous.

"Angelina has been in charge of our recent hotel projects and is also well aware with the choice of interiors that you had mentioned earlier. Angelina?" Vincent glanced towards me questioningly, prompting me to continue.

"Huh? Oh yes... I was a part of the design team for the previous two hotel projects. I have all the required photographs here."

I dropped my gaze to the little notebook in front of me, which contained the clippings and bent forward a little to point out which ones I was speaking about.

"Impressive." He said in a deep voice with me realizing that I had tuned him out the entire time.

I lifted my eyes to meet his but found them to be somewhere else. He was staring at the slight cleavage that was visible through my shirt while I had bent. He looked up to me and acted as if nothing happened, his face showing the same blank stare he had the moment he walked in.

I quickly sat back straight to avoid any further show of my breasts, my face heating up in embarrassment. I mentally made a note not to allow Brianna to pick clothes for me again, simultaneously sending a silent prayer to give me strength, so that I could make her listen to me.

Suddenly, Max became all serious. His eyes fixed on Vincent again.

"I would like one of your designers to solely work on this project. Your designer will be working in the Cesare Office so that I have a close watch on the progress, while I would be going over the rough drafts personally. As it will be a long project I want your best Mr. Lombardi. And I want them to work with me till the project is finished."

Vincent briefly looked at Brianna and me.

"You have the best standing in front of you. You have seen their work. Choose anyone you may find worthy." Vincent replied with a smile, looking at both of us, a proud look in his eyes, the fatherly affection clearly visible.

Maximillian Cesare turned his piercing gaze towards me and at the same time replied, "Angelina Thompson, I want you to work on this project with me." He said in a smooth deep voice.

I turned towards Brianna who was beaming at me with a stupid grin on her face. She was clearly happy with me being handed the offer, but why was it that I felt, this wasn't something small, something where I would want Brianna with me more than I had ever felt.

Bringing my attention back towards Max, I noticed that he was still staring at me with an emotion I couldn't comprehend.

"Very well Mr. Cesare. I accept the offer." I told him trying to sound professional.

***

Brianna, Vincent and I followed Max out of the conference room where the men walked in front of us discussing the finances.

"I am so happy you got this project." Brianna whisper-yelled in my ear. Giving her a confused look, I clutched my folder closer to my chest.

"I seriously suck at decorating hotels. And in case Cesare would have chosen me, I would have actually backed out." Brianna continued.

"Why?"

"Come on Angie. Hotels are just not my thing, I'd rather prefer mansions and homes where people actually stay for longer than a week or so."

I nodded at her just when the men stopped in front of us.

"Thank you, Mr. Lombardi. If you don't mind, may I have a word with Miss Thompson?"

"Sure Max. She is all yours."

Max? Since when did Vincent start calling him Max?

With that, Vincent walked away with Brianna tailing behind him. She gave my hand a slight squeeze sensing my nervousness. I smiled at her in return.

As I turned to Maximillian Cesare he turned sideways and nodded once, signaling for his men to leave.

Turning towards me, I felt a shiver run down my spine, the hair rising on the back of my neck. Under his piercing gaze, I was nervous as hell, which was very unnatural of me, especially when it came to work. There was just something about Maximillian Cesare, which I couldn't put a finger on yet; still, he managed to make me press my thighs together, while he did a once over. He studied me carefully and a small smirk made its way to his lips.

"Miss Thompson I know I have Vincent's permission but I would personally like to know if you are comfortable with working in my office? If not then we can change the arrangements."

Was he actually asking me after all this?

Max took two steps towards me, his eyes gazing at my small height. Wearing four-inch heels didn't help because his broad shoulders made him look gigantic. I stayed rooted to my spot, craning my neck upwards a little to look him in the eyes.

"Like I said before, I go by everything Vincent says. And if he's agreed I don't have any problem."

"As you say then." And with that, he turned and walked towards the exit with me a step behind him. I was barely able to keep up, while I watch him descend the stairs fluidly, the normal action seeming somehow more pleasant to watch.

When I neared the exit, I noticed a black Porsche pull up in front. A man got down and held the door open for Max to enter. The rain had stopped, making the driveway glisten with water. I stood at the door waiting for Brianna when I noticed Max looking me before putting on his shades and stepping into the car.

Getting down quickly, I got into the car as Brianna pulled afterwards his. We exchanged seats, buckling our seatbelts. Even in this cold weather, I had a warm fuzzy feeling inside me, but my hands remained cold. Slight droplets of water had begun to appear on the windshield, while we pulled away. The frantic but undeniable beating of my heart, being the only sound I could hear.

***