Falling Red

6

♤ I never be bullied into silence and never allow myself to be made a victim. I accept own definition of my life and define it myself--until I he enters my life from my dreams ♤

♦V E R O N I C A♦

"You are really Mr. Rio?" I had only spent two days in this hotel but the neither pass in silence.

"Yes," he walks to the head seat and slowly settle in. "I am. Do you have any problem?"

Yes, I have. Can I say this? I had a good impression of this person and named him Mr. Saviour, but now I started to get a second thought. He already knew that I work for Paramount Hotel but he never told me about it. "Are you playing some trick on me?" My mouth twists at one side with the assumption.

"What did I do to make you feel like that?" He rests his elbows over the desk, intertwine his fingers before placing it against his lips. You did not tell me before. "I wanted to introduce myself but you were not interested in listening. Remember?"

I roll my eyes at him. So it is now my mistake that I do not want to have any further contact with him. As*hole.

"It is still not late to introduce ourselves though."

I force my lips to stretch. "What is there to introduce? You are the boss and I am the employee."

He laughs and much to my annoyance he looks damn good while laughing freely. When he smiles, it is just a perfect picture to capture like the poster models in magazines. His smile can make thousands of women go weak on their knees and beg him to take them. Which I am sure he happily does.

Stop drooling at his face, Veronica, my subconscious snaps at me. I have a very relationship with men. None of them, in my life, were happy news for me. Moreover, I do not want to repeat the same mistake twice. I had already seen Jake and do not have courage to let anyone else enter my life. The beautiful smile one shows, the darker their heart is. This is what I have learnt in my small life. A person who hates you is what he is on your face but you can never tell the heart of a person who smiles at you with affection.

"Red, you are as sharp and witty as our last meeting," his voice brings me back to reality.

My eyes narrowed. Red. He is doing it deliberately. Suddenly, I have an urge to grab him by his collar and choke him to death. "Veronica. Veronica Cooper, the new Accounting Manager. There is no need to call me Red."

He shrugs his shoulders and hold out his arms. "But I like it. It suits you better."

Annoying freak. I grit my teeth. "Whatever. But since I am going to work here I think we should maintain some professionalism?" I raise the corner of my eyes.

"Do I need you to tell me how I should work?" he questions back, "And never roll your eyes on me."

I once again have the urge to roll my eyes at him but his glare stops me. Why he is hell bent to annoy me. "Of course, not, Mr. Rio." I force a smile and continues, "How can I dare to order or suggest you something? I am just wanted to remind you about the revenue file placed on your desk. Please, let me know if you have any queries and if there is nothing more then I will take my leave."

"Have a seat then." As I pull a chair for me, he takes the file in his hand and flips the front page before shutting it up. With my b*tt half in the air, I am almost going to sit when I pause in my action in the middle and looks at him with confusion.

"Is something wrong with the file, Mr. Rio?" It shouldn't be, right? I had checked it two times before coming here.

"Put your b*tt on the chair, first. This position is quite distracting."

"Excuse me?" My mouth opens in shock and I fall in the chair like an object in free-fall. Damn you! My cheeks are on fire."You cannot talk like that!" I scoff, trying to cover the red of my cheeks due to embarrassment. "Which boss tells his employee that her b*tt is distracting?"

"What I said is true and you are not just an employee." Oh, then what is my position in your eyes? Please, enlighten me. I want to mock but he continues, "I do not give a damn-fu*k to others if they die outside."

I frown at him. "Mr. Rio, look—"

"Alexander. My name is Alexander but you can call me Alex," he smiles again. I groan internally. Why he has to smile so much at me?

Go immune, Veronica. He does not affect you. Don't think about him. I repeat the mantra in my head but damn this is not working.

"Mr. Rio is fine with me. I was just saying that you saved me last night and I am really, I mean really, thankful to you. If you want something in return then say it, I will try my best to do it. But please can you stop behaving like this?" It is really frustrating. This is too intimate to call your boss with his name, isn't it?

"I want you to call be Alex and we will be even. What say?"

Even? My fu*k. I fist my hand to prevent myself from opening my foul mouth. "I don't think this is appropriate. If you do not like me calling you, Mr. Rio, then I will address you 'sir' instead."

He leans in his chair, crossed his legs and turns sideways. "Call me that and see what will happen next."

Will he fire me? I squirm in my seat under his gaze. The way he is staring at me makes me feel like a helpless prey. I gulp feelings and force myself to be obedient. "If you want so then alright."

"Then let's get started." His tone changes instantly and I feel the real boss has finally appeared. "You fill me with the details."

"Alright, Mr—" I stop and stare at him before correcting myself. "Alex." It is better to finish this sh*t soon and leave his cabin.

When I start to explain, I block all things around me. I keep my voice strong and reel off everything that I have grasped in the past few hours. The meeting stretches for an hour—minus the time passed in his ridiculous demands.

Who calls his-or-her boss by his name? No one, right? But see, I am the first one to get this high privilege. Go to hell with this privilege. But it is a relief that I do not have to see Alex's face daily. Otherwise, I do not know how long I could control myself before I lose my sanity.