The Billionaires (#1)

25 || Staring Contest

The next morning, Logan Parker had a lot to look forward to; however, he was still a little dazed because of Natalia who had seemed a bit down last night. He had a lot to do for the day, and would not have time to chat to her, thus he arrived at 7a.m. so that he could catch her since she was one of the first few people to arrive.

However, he was shocked when he arrived in his office to find the person he least expected. He stood frozen at his door as he watched her back. “Is everything okay here?” Logan asked, but he was greeted by silence.

He walked to where she was and stood next to her. “It is beautiful, isn’t it?” He asked with his hands in his pockets as his eyes locked on the view outside the window. Parker’s Enterprises was one of the tallest buildings around the area, and one could see most of Cape Town from the top floor.

“Not what I am used to.” She muttered quietly, secretly comparing the view to the view from her office back in London.

Logan smirked at her knowingly; she had only ‘worked’ for him for three days but he had already concluded that she was very stubborn and she did not like to admit. He saw this as his cue to make a move. “You know, you are so different from all the PA’s I’ve had in the past. Of course, except for Sonya.” He said while staring out the window.

“I believe there will always be one distinctive character that makes one person different from the next. What is your theory?” MJ asked dryly, unwittingly playing into his trap. Logan smirked in triumph as he moved from her side and stood with his back to the window, blocking her view. MJ stood in front of him and crossed her arms. “It is rude to keep a lady waiting.” She raised her eyebrow at him.

Logan sighed and looked at her, studying her face for anything to indicate if his opinion mattered to her or not, even a hint of an emotion, but he found none. This woman was a closed book, he would not know what was inside of it until he opened it and read it, and from the look of things, he was not going to get the chance to open this book because tomorrow would be her last day at work. At least for now. He thought.

“That is the thing; most women would have bowed to my feet and they would have gotten the feel of my bed within the first twenty four hours of our meeting.” He bit the inside of his mouth when he realised what he had just insinuated. “Listen, I–” he tried to explain remembering that to her, he was still the jerk that offered her bottle of champagne in exchange for a night in his bed chambers. That would now be two consecutive insults on his account.

MJ leaned against the back of his chair, with her hands placed on the desk behind her back. “I understand.” She said with a blank face, and they fell into silence. “Well, so I guess we have already established that I am not like most of your PA’s and I’m most definitely unlike most women you have ever met.” MJ said after a while and glanced at her feet for a second, causing her hair to fall to her face.

Logan followed the action and his hand moved impulsively to remove the strands of hair polluting her face. She looked up and his hand shifted to the side of her lips, their eyes locked for a second before MJ gripped his hand and removed it from her face. “I would strongly advise you to keep your hands to yourself.” She said coldly, but Logan smirked.

“Point proven.” He said proudly.

It took a second for MJ to process what he said. Her eyes snapped to his, and she wished she had not looked at him. Looking into Logan’s eyes reminded her of the old days, back in high school, a story that changed her life forever. She wondered how scarred he was compared to her since that unforgettable accident.

Logan’s phone rang and he sighed as he broke the contact. “You know, I’ve never lost a staring contest to a woman before.” He said proudly, and MJ smirked.

“Well, you just lost to one.” MJ said proudly and moved away from his desk.

Her hair fell to her face and she pushed the strands behind her ear. Logan stared at her, his heart thudding and thumbing against his chest. Why was he acting this way? He was supposed to be luring her, not the other way round. However, it was as if she was pulling him without making an effort, whereas he was not even close to trying. He was broken out of his terrace by his telephone. He looked outside the office and back at MJ.

Realising that she was no longer looking at him, he picked up the phone. “I need to take this.” He said bluntly, and she nodded and walked to the door, but Logan stopped her. “Oh! And, May?” He smirked. She raised her eyebrows at him. “You won’t be so lucky the next time.” He winked at her and turned to face the window with the phone on his ear, he could feel May’s eyes on him. “Yes?” He answered with a permanent smirk. MJ smirked knowingly and left his office, and Logan sat down on his chair.

“Mr Parker, a lady from Billings Corporations called and she has requested to speak to you.” Demi said into the phone.

Logan sat up straight and loosened up his tie; it felt as if the temperature in the room had suddenly taken a peak. “Send her through, and tell Natalia to come and see me.” He ordered.

“Yes, Sir.” She said, followed by a beep.

“Hello?” A woman said.

“Yes?” Logan answered authoritatively.

“Oh, Mr Parker!” The woman said heavily. “This is Meryl Anderson from Billings Corp. We have been receiving calls from someone from your company, demanding to speak to Miss Billings about May Smith for days now. Miss Billings is away on a business trip and she instructed me to call you back. I am calling to confirm that Miss May Smith worked for Miss Billings.” Meryl said.

Logan leaned his wrists on his desk, with one hand on his ear and the other rested under his chin. “Oh?” His eyes were narrowed into slits as he took in her previous words. Who had dared to go against him and find out about May Smith? He thought.

“Yes, Sir. Although, Miss Billings said that she wouldn’t call it work, because she didn’t last long from lack of work experience.” Meryl said.

“How long exactly?” He inquired.

“A week, Sir.” Meryl answered nervously. She felt as if the man could see through her practiced lies. “Miss Billings paid her a three months’ worth salary so that she wouldn’t come knocking at her house begging for a job again.” She said as if she had witnessed the scenario, hoping that this could help clear his doubts.

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know. Have a great day.” He hung up before she could respond.

“Miss Smith, come back to my office right now.” Logan shouted as if he knew she was standing outside his office. She stood up straight and walked to his door. Once outside his office, she fixed her navy-blue office dress and her matching jacket, and pushed her hair behind her earlobes before she knocked. “Come in.”

She walked into his office and sat opposite him. Logan cleared his throat and she looked up.

“You asked to see me.” MJ said sarcastically and crossed her legs, and then she rested her arms on either side of the chair.

“Miss Smith, I just received a call from Miss Meryl Anderson of Billings Corporations and she had a message from Miss MJ Billings.” He said with his wrist laid on the desk, his hands firmly clasped together under his chin. MJ uncrossed her legs and sat up straight, secretly hoping that Meryl did not mess up. “Miss Billings confirmed that you worked for not more than a week due to lack of work experience.” His lips pressed into a thin line as he spoke. “Well, it’s a pity tomorrow is your last day, I would have loved to teach you the ropes.” Logan said sarcastically, knowing there was no truth in his words.

“Oh well…” MJ gritted. “I’ve overstayed my welcome and my job is done here. You won’t have to see me again.” Logan frowned. Either she was playing with him or she was really sad, which was not entirely true. Whatever it was, there was no time; he had to move very fast if he wanted his revenge.

“Well, that will be all, Miss Smith. Hope you enjoyed working with me.” He gave her a small smile and politely showed her the door.

MJ stood up and gave Logan a tight smile. “It was a pleasure working with you, Mr Parker.” She said sarcastically. He nodded at her, and she walked out of his office with a smirk on her face. She stood outside his door and fixed her attire, and then she entered the elevator with her head held high.

Logan watched the closed door and took in a deep breath. What an interesting morning! He thought. “Time for the next step.” He picked up his phone and dialled a number, and then he leaned back against his chair and waited for the person to answer.

“Mr Parker?” His driver answered.

“Thuso, get the car ready for the airport; looks like we are flying to Durban today.” He said with a devious smirk on his face.