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“Hold on, let me escort you to your car.” She held her bag in her left hand and came to me, giving me her right hand. I took it and stood up. We linked our hands. Even with her heels, she was considerably shorter than me. The waitress came for my card and returned it as soon as she was done.
We walked together to the elevator. The doors opened and we entered. We made small talk about the restaurant and its appeal. I was impressed by the breadth of her knowledge when it came to architectural design. There was more to her to know, but I held back.
We got out of the elevator and left the building. The sun filled my body with warmth. She rubbed my arm and motioned for us to continue. We got to her car. The black Audi sat comfortably away from the other cars; we had a clear view of the road. A few feet away, my car was parked.
“Here we are. I must go now. Thanks for the meal and great conversation.” I brushed her hair out of her face tenderly. “We could try this sometime later. For now, I must see you off.”
Her hand was on my chest, directly above my heart, a steady beat answered her touch.
“Fair enough.” She opened her car door. As she turned to enter the car, I tried to kiss her cheek. Rather, our lips met. Her eyes flashed with mirth, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. Our lips separated for a moment. “Nice play, Karl.
“My pleasure,” I offered and wrapped my arms around her. I leaned in to kiss her again. This time we made sure to kiss slowly with more tongue. I breathed in her scent and enjoyed the feeling of our lips pressed together.
We stopped kissing, and I watched her enter her car. “Bye, stranger.”
“Bye, Marie-Ann.” She blew me a kiss, closed the door, and drove off. I adjusted my jacket and walked to my car. I still wondered how Selena would react once she heard about this.
Chapter 7
MARIE
Ifinallycouldlookforward to another meeting with Karl. I was excited, seeing as he hadn’t refused my advances. Though he acted like a tough guy, underneath all that, I was sure he had a soft and caring side. These thoughts swam in my mind as I prepared to go to work.
I picked out a tan suit and pink shirt, a gift from Selena. I hadn’t had the chance to tell her about Karl and our meeting. There’d be time for that, I thought. I quickly straightened my hair and finished my makeup. I did my best to look professional and even a bit sexy since I was meeting with him today. I wanted his eyes on me alone. Looking at myself again in the mirror, I smiled brightly, assured of my charms.
I took my bag, my laptop inside, and turned on my phone. As I was going down the stairs, notifications from several news outlets flooded it. The headlines were all sensational, they were all talking about me and Karl. Of course, they didn’t know his identity and kept on referring to him as a “mystery man”. Images of our parking lot kiss made me smile.I have you now, I thought happily. I had kissed him on a whim yesterday, but I also knew this was going to catch the attention of the media. A Rosii kissing someone? They loved that.
I went straight to the kitchen and made coffee, which I poured into my to-go cup. Even with how big my house was, I rarely had visitors or staff working at all hours. I liked it that way. I grabbed my coffee and left. Getting into the car, I drove past the automatic gate and made my way to the company. I felt lighter and happier today. What could go wrong?
Parking in front of the company, I gave the security guard the key to drive my car to the executive parking lot. As I entered, Morrison walked over to me, a bit of haste in his steps. I raised a hand to silence him.
“When we get to my office.”
He nodded and followed me past the lobby to the elevator. The staff struggled to keep their eyes away. They wanted to know more, but whatever I told Morrison would never leave his lips—unless I wanted it to.
We reached my office a few minutes later. When I set my bag down on my desk, I turned to Morrison with a smile.
“Ease up, Morris. I’ve seen the news. No cause for alarm.” In fact, I wanted more people to talk about it, thereby tying Karl to me.
“It’s not about that, ma’am. I just wanted to know if you want to make a comment or control the narrative. This could turn out to be a PR nightmare.” He showed me some scathing headlines, with worry written on his face. That made me think about Selena. I hadn’t had a chance to tell her about the situation. She’d feel ambushed, and I hoped that Karl would do a better job.
I waved it off. “Let them talk. I want to keep the air of mystery. After a while, they’ll calm down. How is the contract coming up?” I switched the topic and went back to my seat.
Morrison sighed and replied, “The contract is ready. I have sent it to your email. You can set up the meeting anytime you want.”
“Thanks. I’ll go over it. Make sure the conference room is available this afternoon. You may leave now.” He gave a slight nod and left. Enjoying the warm caffeine, I went through the contract and was satisfied. I picked up my phone and dialed Karl’s number. It rang for a while; before the call dropped, someone answered.
No one spoke. “Karl? Hello? What’s going on?” I thought it was a connection issue. Then something made a loud noise over the phone.
“Karl is busy. Don’t call again, understand me?” I was shocked by the female voice coming from the other end of the line. I was in utter disbelief as I moved the phone from my ear to make sure I had dialed the correct number. I broke out in a cold sweat. How could I have been so stupid.Of all the crazy things I’ve done. How could I have slept with another woman’s husband. A married man.I wasn’t aware of Karl being married, but what did I know? I barely knew him or if he was in a relationship.My heart was beating so hard, it felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. What have I done.I felt like a fool. What if he was just using me? Suddenly, I heard Karl’s voice berating the woman. The phone changed hands.
“Hello, Marie. I’m sorry about that. Why did you call?” I could hear his breath like he had just finished a strenuous job. I wanted to hang up the call immediately but remembering why I had called, I stopped myself.
“Today at two p.m. Don’t be late. Bye.” I ended the call before I said what I was truly feeling. I set the phone down on the table, my hands trembling. I clenched and unclenched them trying to understand what had just happened. Maybe I was overthinking it, but that woman threatened me not to call again, and Karl was breathing fast.
I buried my face in my hands, feeling sick. It ought not to have been this way. Taking in a steady breath, I focused on anything to clear my mind. I would not let this break me down. Who was he? Just some guy. I’d get over him soon enough. I typed on the computer with a furious speed. Morris dropped by to hand me my breakfast. I didn’t touch it, having no appetite at all.
A few minutes before the meeting time, Morrison came to get me.
