Golden Opportunity

Chapter 3

As soon as the CEO of Kingston's Inc. enters the conference room, all the sound ceases to deafening silence and everyone is holding their breaths waiting for the more imposing man to say a word.

Gavin Kingston has some kind of an aura around him. It is cold and strong, giving away the powerful hold this man has only in his little finger. Everyone around him moves at his command.

He is a sight, for sure.

High cheekbones and a firm jawline covered with subtle stubble, dark forest green eyes, in which no one dares look straight, are shadowed by black long eyelashes that every woman would be jealous of. Blonde short and ruffled hair falls over his forehead in natural curls and waves, the style messy as if he just got out of bed. Broad shoulders and strong arms, his body a piece of art in an Armani suit that seems to have been made exactly for him.

He surely works out.

His handsome features are what made him appear on the front page of different magazines as the most eligible bachelor even though is worldwide knowledge that he's not seeking for a relationship. He has his share of women, but he keeps it low, you hear once a few months about his new addition in bedroom. As far as I know, he had only a serious relationship a few years ago, but it ended from reasons unknown. Since then, he kept himself at a distance from the opposite s*x, having only one night stands occasionally.

His eyes survey the room in front of him. "Good, you're all here. Let us begin." He takes his seat at the head of the table and we do the same. His voice is calm and firm, not giving away anything. I can see some of the people here relaxing after hearing his voice, maybe thinking he wouldn't fire anyone today.

But I can't relax. I may look without a care on the outside, but on the inside I'm about to have an anxiety attack. Because, even though I said he's not scaring me, this man holds my future in his hands, and, if he deems so, he can ruin it with just a flick of his fingers.

"Before we start with the meeting's subject, I say we better talk about other matters. You may be wondering why I asked for you here", he says the last sentence looking at each of us, his eyes lingering in my direction and I feel my heartbeat increasing at his words and the intensity in his eyes.

The tension in the room, which was absent for a few minutes, becomes almost suffocating. I eye the water on the table with longing, wishing I could drink it, but knowing it won't stay well in my stomach with all the pent up anxiety present.

That's exactly what he wanted. To make us feel comfortable and then he would throw the bomb.

After a minute of silence he speaks again. "Mrs. Campbell, it came to my attention a few days ago that you failed to give your supervisor a file at the right time. I let it slide because you at least gave it, although a little too late." Mrs. Campbell opens her mouth, ready to interrupt him and he holds up a hand to silence her. "However, that happened yesterday too. And the file for yesterday hasn't been given. Have anything to say?" Although his voice is seemingly calm, you could hear the edge in it.

"I... it is on my desk. I was looking through it as Mr. Dixon asked, and I lost track of time and then it was too late...", she fumbles with the words until Mr. Kingston interrupts her.

"I don't want excuses. That file is important for a meeting this afternoon. You have fifteen minutes to put it in your supervisor's office. After that, you can take your things and leave Kingston Inc. You can go now", he says, his words final and then gestures to the door which is held open by his PA.

Mrs Campbell gets out of the room in furry and Beau closes the door after her.

"Mr. Dixon, I want her resignation letter on my desk till closing hours."

"Yes, sir", Mr. Dixon, a fifty three years old man, says.

The room is quiet as we wait for another one of us to be spoken to. Mr Kingston rests his forearms on the desk and clasps his hands intertwining his fingers, looking thoughtful.

Is it embarrassing that I find it hot? Because I'm feeling kinda embarrassed.

"Some of you may know that, after everyday's work, I look at the surveillance cameras on every floor to see if there are any mistakes, anything that escaped my knowledge. And, as I was looking yesterday in the management department, I saw something."

His words cause my heart to skip a beat and then it beats faster than ever and I know what he is about to say. I try to make myself as small as possible on my seat and not look at Alice.

"Miss. Carter...", he calls her out, "you spilled coffee on an important document. If it weren't for your team mate two desks away from your own, you would've totally destroyed it. Mss. White, this is one of the reasons I called you here for. I want to thank you personally for saving this document."

I can feel eyes on me and Alice's are shooting daggers at me. It's office knowledge that she goes around the office and tells to anyone that listens to her that she and Mr Kingston have something going on. There is no proof, but here now is a bit of proof that was she is saying couldn't be true.

And for him to call out on her and to thank me for something she could've done herself if she wasn't wiping the papers like she would the desk, she now, no doubt, sees me as an enemy. I can literally feel the jealousy seeping out of her in waves. But I don't mind her, I have better things to do than think about her.

"I was just helping a colleague, sir", I say.

"Of course, and that's why, Mss. Carter, I'll let it go this time and I hope you'll take that as a warning. And don't look at her like that", he says, making me look up at him, but he's looking at Alice.

So he noticed her gazes, my mind chuckles.

"You should thank her, she's the reason you're still here. Don't make me regret my decision. You can go now." I get up from my seat thinking he's done with me too, but he stops me. "Mss. White, I still have something to discuss with you. If you'll wait, please?"

I nod my head and retake my seat. What else does he want?

The next 15 minutes he fires other two persons while the rest go away with only a few warnings.

Soon after, is time for the meeting. He holds a file in his hand for us all to see. "This is the file for the 'Clifton Resort'. They came at us a few days ago with an interesting offer that got my attention. Beau, please...", he gestures and his PA walks up to everyone putting the same file in front of us.

The next 30 minutes are spent discussing the project and the pros and cons if we accept it. The other 30 minutes we're discussing plans and ideas and other necessities, questions are asked and answered and, after an hour, we got ourselves a new project.

After the meeting ends there are a few minutes of chaos as everyone hurries to leave and then, there is only me, Mr. Kingston and Beau. Beau is seated at his right and Mr. Kingston is looking at his clasped hands with a thoughtful look. After a few minutes of silence, I can't take it anymore.

"Mr. Kingston?", I say.

***

GAVIN

As soon as the last person closes the door behind them, I can feel the tension on my shoulders easing. This is tiring. I know firing people for a mere mistake is not fair, but it is necessary. I can't have my competitors in business get to me through the weakest of my employees. If they can't handle a simple task as to put a glass of water on the table without spilling it on the papers, they're not competent enough. I need employees with an iron spine, not gullible.

And speaking of spines of iron, there is one person that doesn't cower when seeing me.

Ayla White.

I've been watching her in the last half of year. How she goes and helps others in the office even if their work is not related to her field. I've seen her work on everyone of the other departments and I was surprised to see that there was no mistake whatsoever. Even though she is from the management department, the way she works in the other fields is like she belongs to them all. And I realized she does.

She's competent and hardworking and the way she handles things, with care and precision, is fascinating. I personally saw her delicate handwriting and her sketches on some of the projects, something she shouldn't have done given the fact it was not for her to do.

And I know I'm being unfair right now. But can you blame? How can I lose someone so good at handling everything in an entire business while still doing her own work impeccably?

And have I mentioned she has an iron spine?

This woman doesn't flinch at anything. Even though everyone around her cowers and tries to hide when I'm in the same room as them, she stays in her place, holding her ground like nothing can stop her from achieving her goals. She looks me straight in the eyes while talking to me in the meetings and the confident way she speaks tells me that she knows what she's doing.

And she damn well knows.

But she doesn't know what she's doing to me. Every time I see her or hear her name, I stop from anything I'm doing only to catch it again. I hold my breath waiting. And, when it happens, it's like the storm that's been inside me has calmed down in that instant and the sun can be seen again.

She's working for me for over two years and I've seen her here and there, but never looked at her more than a few seconds, because, at that time, I could never look a woman in the face without anger surging through me. Exception being my mother and sister.

But it all changed seven months ago. I was at the cafeteria one day for a quick snack - Beau had some documents to look on for me and I took that as an opportunity to stretch my legs - when I heard her voice somewhere behind me. When I looked in the direction it came from, I saw her at a table with some of her colleagues. She was laughing with them and she was beautiful and, as I looked at her, a warm sensation spread across my chest and I could feel my heart beating a little too fast. And out of nowhere a thought came in my mind: how would it feel like if I made her laugh like that?

At that thought I looked immediately away and took my sandwich and walked out of there. But not before catching her name. Ayla. It sounded like a prayer to my ears.

I didn't know what was happening to me and I didn't want to think about her. But she was on my mind the whole day. That night I went to a club and left with a girl. I thought that if I f**k someone any thought of her will disappear. The moment we got to the hotel room, she unbuckled my belt and got on her knees to take me in her mouth. And I saw Ayla's face instead of the girl's. The moment she touched me, the vision dissipated and when I saw that the girl was not, her all my desire left out the window. I didn't let her do anything after that. I pushed her away and fixed my clothes and, without another word, I left.

From that moment, I watched Ayla like a hawk. At every meeting, on the hallways, in the cafeteria. I didn't know why, but I liked the feeling I would get while close to her. Like I finally found what I was looking for my whole life. I sound like a psychopath, I know.

But six months ago, when I caught glimpse of a diamond ring on her hand, I felt like my dreams were ruined. At first, I thought it was just a ring, no meaning. Girls these days like this kind of ring and wear them like no one's business, my sister included. But when I heard two employees talking about her engagement I felt lost. My heart seemed to break into pieces.

So I forgot. Two months went by and I would take my frustration out on everyone who dared to piss me off. But a few months ago I caught another glimpse of her. She was in the architect's floor and was sketching something on a piece of paper. The way she was concentrated on what she was doing told me that something was wrong. It was like she wanted to get something out of her mind. And then, I saw her right hand. And I knew why. And at that moment, I wanted nothing more than to go to her and take her mind off of everything and to kill the bastard for daring to hurt my girl. And I knew at that moment that she was my girl. Mine.

But I turned around and for hours I thought about what I could do. I wanted to get close to her, to know her. And it felt like an opportunity. The cut-off engagement felt like a chance. And I will take it this time, because I didn't want to lose her again.

I've spent months trying to come up with something, deferent scenarios playing in my mind in which I would introduce myself in multiple places we might frequent together; the following days, when we would bump into each other at work. I cowered every time. I couldn't do this. The big bad wolf, the man everyone thinks of as the devil incarnated, cowers when it comes to a wisp of a girl. But every other time, I gave myself confidence that this was the day it would happen. And a few days ago, the opportunity finally arised and I decided that this time I won't let it pass. A plan began to form in my mind. Now I have to make her the proposition. I just hope she'll take it.

"Mr. Kingston?", her soft voice brings me from my thoughts and I look at her.

The sunlight that comes through the glass wall behind her makes her long red hair shine like fire. Her light green eyes are looking at me expectantly and her small and plump lips have a slightly impacient frown.

I realise I've dozed off in my thoughts for a few minutes now. So, as to not keep her waiting more, I clear my throat and speak.

"Mss White, I looked on your resume and the file with your work, or should I say works?", I look at her, and I finally catch an emotion. Fear. But I don't want her to fear me, so I add, "I'm not going to reprimand you, because I must say that I'm impressed", and I like the surprised look on her face, so I continue. "You're hardworking and dedicated, you like order in things and it can be seen by the way you handle everything in any kind of department. In those two years you've been with us, things had gone smoothly and that's because of you and your implication in projects."

"Thank you, sir", a smile touches the corners of her mouth and for that I'm really pleased with myself.

"Now at the matter of hand... I have a proposition for you." I can see the curiosity in her eyes and my heart begins to beat faster at what I'm about to do. "It's related to 'Clifton Resort'. This is the reason I wanted you here today. For you to have a look at the files so you'd know what is related to. I want you to work with me on this project."

And it's not even a lie. I really want her knowledge and skills on this project, because it may be the most important one this year. Having her handle it would not only cause me to be closer to her, but the project could turn out being a success. I'm sure of it.

"Why me, sir?", she asks perplex.

I rise from my seat at the head of the table and begin to walk towards her. The distance between us is too much to bear. "Because, like I said, I like your work and want your input on the project."

I take a seat next to her and grab a bottle of water from the middle of the table and two glasses. I pour water in them and hand one to her. She takes it and in a few gulps the glass is empty. Her throat must have been dry from the anxiety I must have caused her.

"But there is another reason. Normally, I would take Beau to help me as usual, but Mr Clifton, how do I put it... he has a problem about men as personal assistants, thus, he doesn't want to see Beau in a position that, in his opinion, is for women."

Another truth. When he came to me with the documents of the project and he saw that there was no woman in my office, he asked about my assistant. And when Beau stepped forward, he almost had a heart attack. He said that if I want to take the project I would have to hire a woman as assistant.

I'm not gonna take Ayla as my assistant, even though I'm tempted to, because an assistant's work is to always be at the disposal of your boss, but Beau has done his job great until now, so I'm not going to change him. But having her at this project is good enough. I'll have to make it work.

"Then why not hire a woman assistant?", she asks, looking cautiously at Beau as if saying that she doesn't want to offend him. He just shrugs.

"Because he does his work great and I don't want a woman assistant. Imagine being married or in a relationship and being with a woman all day long at the office; my supposed wife or girlfriend could feel threatened and then would start the disputes." As I say this I look carefully at her trying to figure out if it somehow changes her demeanor and I'm satisfied enough when I see her slightly moving in her seat in discomfort. I suppress a smile.

"Good point", she sais with a serious expression. "So, if I'm going to work with you, what exactly would I do?"

Shit, it rimmed!, my mind screams at me.

I ignore it and say, "In general, you would do what Beau would've done. Sketches, files, work on the field, almost what you've done till now."

"And wouldn't Beau have a problem? What about Mr. Clifton?", I can feel her getting nervous and on instinct I take her hand in mine and start rubbing it.

Damn, her hands are so soft.

"Beau wouldn't have a problem, because he likes to remind me that he needs a vacation", I say while giving him a look and he scoffs. I hear Ayla chuckling a little. "And as for Mr Clifton, he believes that women can do more that do a man's bidding, so you can say that he's in some kind of a contradiction with himself and his beliefs." I see the amusement on her face. "Any other questions?"

"For how long? Do I still have to work in the management department while I work with you?"

"Let's say around... six months, we can't be sure, that's given of how the work will go, and no, you will work from my floor, Beau will help you accommodate, but if you want to help others as before, you have free rain. And, before you ask, after the project is done, if you want, you can return to your floor or you can continue on mine. Consider it a promotion."

"What if I mess it up?", she bites her bottom lip and the things it does to me...

"You won't", I say with my eyes on those full lips. She raises her head and looks at me with smouldering eyes.

"How do you know that?", she arches a perfectly arched brow at me.

"Because I trust you and your skills. Plus, I'll be there at any moment and won't let anything happen." That seems to assure her enough.

I give her some time to think about it, the gears in her mind practically visible as she takes it all in. I don't mind the silence though. I feel calm, but not really confident that she'll accept. She may feel content with what she's been doing, so my offer can be a little too much.

I look at Beau and see him looking at something between us and when I look, I see that her hand is still in both of mine, my hands unconsciously rubbing circles on hers. I look at him again and he looks at me with a raised eyebrow. I give him a glare that says 'mind your own business'.

I hear a sigh and I turn my head to Ayla.

"So... have you decided?", I ask, my voice calm, but my heart is beating fast and I hold my breath while saying inwardly 'say yes, please say yes!'.

She looks at me determined and says, "Can I see that file again?"

A smile finds its way on my lips, my dimples surely visible and I can see the surprise in her eyes. I never smile in front of people, so I understand her surprise. There is a blush creeping on her freckled porcelain doll-like cheeks.

"How about we look through it at lunch?", I ask instead looking at my wrist watch.

I'll take any opportunity with this woman.