My Boss Got Me Fallin' In Love

Chapter 2: Dinner With...Him?

After the twist with my new boss, I headed to the elevator and pressed the button with the number 10 and the doors of the elevator closed.

Chapter 2: Dinner With…Him?

I needed an introduction. So, what should I say? 'Hi, hello, I'm Katee Adams, I'm a working student...blah blah' or it could be 'Sup dudes? Katee's the name...' then that'd be so weird. Awkwardness seemed to be my second nature, unfortunately.

Maybe I could just go with the usual stuff people say when they introduce themselves, say the simple things like my age, where I live, what I do...etc.

So, I began: "Hi, my name's Katee Adams, as most of you must've already known. I'll be, um, the coordinator for the event that's going to happen here, in this very floor. Keeping this short, I just want to say that I hope we'll have a great time together and um, that's all...?"

Silence. Stares.

Kill me now.

After a few seconds, someone finally broke the silence. "Alright then! Nice to meet you, Katee Adams, and welcome to the team." A girl with black hair approached me. "I'm Valerie Stone, but you can call me Vale. I'm responsible for the table setting."

"Nice to meet you, Vale!" We shook hands. I was so relieved and thankful to Vale. I approached a guy with red hair next. "Rick Stall," he smiled "I do the ceiling decors." We shook hands. "Hi Rick," I greeted. I feel so professional.

"Chan Frias, for the walls and floors. Nice to meet you, Katee," a black haired guy shook hands with me. "You too, Chan."

"And I'm Lara Louise," a blond girl smiled and shook my hand "For the curtains, and other stuff..." she simply said.

"Hello Lara," I said "Great then, nice to meet you all. I actually forgot to mention, my work here is choosing the theme and mostly for designing the clothes. And also, coordinating all your ideas in this event." I smiled at them who were also smiling at me. This was it. I still can't believe I landed this job, and now, here I am with my team. The feeling of awkwardness was suddenly washed over with nervousness. "Please don't mess up,' my brain kept repeating.

"Ah, I see you've already met your team?" Aleksie suddenly appeared. The others greeted her as she stood beside me.

"Yes, they're great, actually."

"Well then, your orientation and real work starts tomorrow. I really hope you'll make this room dashing and ready for the event next month." Aleksie said "Anyway, who wants to eat lunch?" she asked, as cheerful as ever. Somehow, Aleksie's two main moods seem to be extremely cheerful and extremely stressed. Extremely cheerful looked better on her.

The day went on, I fixed my schedule with Aleksie so that my work wouldn't interfere with my college classes. She also gave me a mini tour to the whole building, introducing me to employees that she thought I needed to know.

After a few hours of mingling, I was finally alone, sitting behind my desk and thinking about what decorations I want to put in my room, when my cell rang.

"Hello, Katee Adams here," I greeted.

"Hello, honey!"

"Hi, Mom! What's going on?"

"Well, I'm actually calling to tell you that we're having a business dinner with some of the company's partners. Are you free tonight?"

I checked my wristwatch and it was just 4 pm. Do I have plans for tonight? Hmm...I don't think so.

"I'm all free. Where's this dinner anyway?"

"In New York. Your father and I are actually headed there now and we're just two hours away. Dress formally and meet us at Le Gen' restaurant half an hour before 7, okay?"

"Sure, mom, I'll be there. And oh, is West coming?" I asked.

"Sadly, no. He's caught up in Hawaii with work. I'll see you, then? Bye."

"Oh. Take care." I sighed. It was a pity that I wouldn't see him.

I had to get ready so I grabbed my things and left the room. As if on cue, Aleksie was walking outside the corridor. "Hey, Aleksie!"

"Hi, Katee!"

"Uh, I need to go now, is that alright?" I asked.

"Oh, sure. See you tomorrow at 5 in the afternoon, okay?"

"Okay, bye." I hugged her lightly then got into the elevator.

Just then, when the elevator doors were just 2 inches apart, I caught a glimpse of a guy, meters away from me. His image has been embedded into my mind so I knew.

It was Ivan.

---

I was already in my red cocktail dress and make-up when my cell phone vibrated. I received a message from my mom saying that 'Dinner starts in 10 minutes.' Grabbing my purse, I headed out of my apartment. I got out of the building, where I was greeted by the limo that dad sent to get me.

The guard opened the car door and helped me get in.

Seconds later, I felt the limo move and take me through the city. It was already night time, and since it was winter, the skies were as dark as ever. New York City was all lit up, still busy at this hour. It's actually more beautiful here every night with all the lights inside or outside the hundreds of buildings.

Minutes later, I arrived at my destination: A fancy restaurant called Le Gen'. I was led inside of the restaurant and into the reserved room where I found my Dad and my Mom sitting behind the table. Dad saw me and gestured at a vacant chair so I sat down, greeting the both of them and the other man who looked like he was in his late 40's.

"Well, I'm sure my nephew will be here in just a minute," the man said, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh, it's alright. We're in no rush. By the way, Daniel, I want you to meet my daughter, Katee. Katee, this is Mr. Daniel Leighton." Dad introduced.

I smiled as sweetly as I could. "Nice to meet you, Sir."

He looked pleased with me. "Oh, please, call me Daniel." Then turning to my parents, he said, "I'm really sorry for my nephew's tardiness."

"It's alright, Daniel." Mom assured him.

"I really don't get why you just won't marry someone, Daniel." Dad changed the topic.

"It's already late, and I'm not really into the idea of marriage. Besides, I'm contented with my nephew." He said, smiling. "He's like my own child."

"Well, your nephew really shows great promise. Even at a young age." Mom nodded in agreement.

"Yes, he does. He'll do great things for the company some day. How about you, Michael?" Daniel turned to my Dad. "How's your eldest son?"

"Well," Dad intertwined his fingers and laid his hands on top of the table "He's doing great in Hawaii. He's actually controlling our company's branch over there quite excellently."

BORING...business stuff has always been boring for me. I tried to look as interested as I could as they continued their chit-chat about my brother and Daniel's nephew. The waiters have started laying the food on our table while there remained an empty seat just in front of me. My guess is that it's for Daniel's nephew.

I was texting my best friend, Courtney, and was telling her how bored I was when a shadow loomed over me and a voice spoke. "Sorry for making you wait. Traffic was horrible." I could hear him smile.

Oh damn. He sounds so familiar.

So freaking familiar.

Could it be? One way to find out...

I gulped as I slowly rose my gaze from my phone to the guy who sat on the chair in front of me.

I gulped again as I met his grayish-green eyes. He looked quite shocked as well.

I took in his appearance. Oh, damn. He looked even hotter than the last time! His hair was now spiked upwards. But his coat was still crisp and the shirt underneath was red and his necktie's design was striped with silver and black. I must say, he looked good. Really good.

I was quickly snapped out of my fantasy when I remembered the event just this morning. The thought of it just made my mind swirl in confusion.

Ivan hid his shock by smiling (fakely, I guess) to me, then to my parents. I hoped he regretted what he did just this morning. I put my attention to my empty plate as I felt Ivan's stare on me. Maybe he's realizing the awkwardness of the situation.

"Wow, Daniel, your nephew looks good." My Mom commented. Damn right.

"Thank you, Mrs. Adams." Ivan said.

"Oh, please, call us by our first names. Leighton Industries and Adams Enterprises have been partners for years." Dad said.

Well, that's news to me. I didn't even know that the place I was going to work in has been our family's business partner all this time.

The joke's on me then.

"Alright," Ivan replied, smiling ever so charmingly at my parents.

"Anyway, Ivan." Mom said. Uh oh, here it comes. I wondered if we're going to act like we knew each other or act all 'nice to meet you,' or something like that. I decided to just let him lead.

"This is my daughter, Katee Adams." Mom smiled at me. "Katee, this is Ivan Travis. His Mother is the sister of Daniel Leighton, so basically, Daniel is his uncle. Not to mention, Ivan is also the Vice President of their company."

Ivan stood up, and so did I. "Nice to meet you, Ivan." I said, offering my hand for a handshake.

He took my hand, "Pleasure's mine, Katee."

I was absolutely expecting that he'll only shake it and we'll sit back again and eat dinner peacefully but instead, as he took my hand, he bowed down and kissed it.

He freaking kissed me!

I mean, my HAND! But still, you get what I mean...

I shivered mentally and forced a smile, which might've looked strangled. "Uh...okay, then..." I muttered as I quickly took my hand back and sat. My parents and Daniel didn't seem to notice anything since they were pretty innocent to the awkwardness I felt.

They started drinking wine and talking about the business deal as I stayed quiet, eating grapes and just answering whenever they asked me questions... almost like a good little daughter.

They agreed and talked and chatted for almost an hour! How hard I wished that my brother was with me. All I did was text Courtney and other people secretly by using my right hand to text under the table, on my lap, where no one could see my cell phone.

Finally, the chatter ended.

FINALLY!

But then, I didn't know that the worst was about to come.

"Katee, we'll be discussing more business with Daniel. Do you want to go ahead, back to your apartment?" Mom asked me.

"That's alright," I replied. Actually, I thought you'd never ask.

"Okay then, take the limo with you. We'll just call a taxi or something." Dad said, "Or I could drive."

Suddenly, Ivan got in the way. "Actually, Mr. Michael and Mrs. Caroline, it'd be alright for me to just give your daughter a ride. You've mentioned that after the meeting with Uncle Daniel here, you'll be going straight back to Seattle." He said.

"And since I'm not going with you three, I advice you take your limo." He smiled innocently.

What's happening?

"You're such a sweet guy, Ivan!" Mom said, clearly impressed. "Alright then, take care." Dad said.

My face screamed DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE! But I guess they didn't get the message because they only smiled at me and waved good bye.

"Let's go," Ivan said as he took out his keys from his pocket. When I didn't walk, Ivan grabbed my wrist and pulled me gently, making my arm feel tingles and the heat of his hand.

Finally, I pulled my arm away from him as we reached the front of Le Gen'. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

Curse this.

He opened his car's door for me and waited until I got in before closing it. He sat on the driver's seat. I didn't even bother putting the seatbelt on. Seriously, I felt like I was a rebellious 5-year old girl because my parents didn't buy me a rabbit or some sort. I knew that I was overreacting a bit, but I carried on anyway.

I looked out of the window, towards the lights. Ivan brought the engine to life but stopped when he looked at me.

"Put on your seatbelt." He said. After five seconds, when he saw that I didn't plan to move, he took off his and bent nearer to me. He put the seatbelt on me, which made it a bit hard for me to breathe since he was very close. "You're stubborn, aren't you?" he said, his face close enough for his breath to tickle my left cheek. I didn't answer. He sat back and fixed his own seatbelt.

He started to drive. We were driving in silence for 3 minutes when he finally spoke up. "I guess I owe you an apology." He wasn't looking at me but at the road.

"I shouldn't have assumed anything before and make you...buy coffee or even think of you as an assistant. I'm sorry, okay? Happy?"

I didn't speak for a while.

"Kind of," I said, trying hard not to smile or grin, but still looking outside the window. "But apology accepted."

I heard him sigh. "So..." he said, "You're in college?"

Oh, so now he's trying to make a conversation? Okay, let's see how this goes.

"Yeah, didn't you read my file?"

"Aleksie reads files, not me." He spat. "Besides, I have more important work than reading files, you know."

I rolled my eyes, even though I knew that he was looking at the road.

"Oh, right...you're the 'VICE PRESIDENT'." I quoted. "How old are you, anyways?"

"Me?" he chuckled. "Well, I'm 18."

I looked at him sternly "Seriously?" I said, unimpressed. "Well, if you're 18, then I'm 13."

He looked taken by what I just said "What?! I'm probably not that much older!" he glanced at me for a second then looked back on the road.

"Oh, really? Then how old are you?"

"Fine, I'm 23 years old."

"Really? And you're already the VP of Leighton? That's cool," I meant it. He must be one heck of a guy to be able to be the vice president of such a large company at such a young age.

"Yeah. I just graduated last year, actually. I've been a working student ever since college started." He explained. "My uncle's been training me and all that."

"Ah, I see..."

"And you? Why are you in Leighton when you have Adams Ent?"

I kind of expected this question. My friends kept asking me this, too.

"It's a long story."

"Well, I'm free to listen. I'm quite a great listener." He smiled, showing his perfect white teeth. I wonder if he's ever considered on being a model.

Ugh! Get these thoughts out of your head Katee! Focus!

Then suddenly, I remembered that he didn't even ask where we were heading. I even noticed that we were a bit beyond the block where my apartment is.

"Um, do you even know where I live?" I asked, looking at him.

"Oh, right." He said as if he just remembered "So, where do you live?"

I chuckled, "Turn right on that corner," I pointed "then go straight."

He nodded "Okay then. And so?"

"Huh?"

"I asked you a question before, remember? Why are you in Leighton instead of Adams?" he took another glance at me.

"Maybe next time," I said "We're already here. Park over there." He did as I told. I opened the door. "Thanks for the lift," I smiled lopsidedly at him. He quickly unbuckled his seatbelt as I got out of the car and shut the door. I heard Ivan step out of the car as I fixed my dress.

"Why did you get out of the car? You didn't need to." I said.

"Well, if it's not that obvious, I'm trying to be a gentleman." He smiled.

I really don't know why, but that statement of his made me smile back.

"Well then, here's my stop. And thanks again for the ride. Um...good night?" I said, not even looking at his eyes and trying hard to avoid them.

I could feel him frown "Don't you want me to-." But I didn't let him finish.

"Nah, I could make it on my own. Thanks anyway." I said, then walked towards the building's glass doors which the guard opened for me.

I got into the elevator without even once looking back at Ivan. As soon as I got into my bedroom, I let myself fall heavily on the bed. I closed my eyes and waited for my consciousness to leave.

What a night.