The He And The She (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER 27

“Why didn’t you tell me that he’s here?” Rishi’s all-gown up voice said with obvious rage that stiffened her jaw.

Emette gripped air. The girl, now a full-grown woman, that he thought he’d die being away from, brought back a lot of feelings in his heart. ‘No.’ He told himself flatly. ‘That was ten years ago, Emette and today, you’re a different man.’

But no matter how hard he tried to convince himself with the same method he used for these past few years, he can’t help but to study the 28-year old Rishi who just entered the hall together with the Project Manager, Kerchen Mae Domnast. She has gained some height or that could have been her heels. Light make-up that covered her face but still gave that natural feeling when she doesn’t have one. He can see how her fluffy lips shone over lip gloss. How she look so sexy in her inner gray turtle neck. How her legs looks extended, almost fully shown by just wearing a black pencil skirt that covers her thighs and just long enough, at least five inches above her knee. Added by the lab gown, he can’t help but to see Rishi in a different picture. Matured. A woman. Sexy. And totally hot.

He deserves some praise. He just carved Rishi’s appearance right into his head despite their distance. He chose the seat near the door he just used to enter earlier, one that’s away from the front where the large monitor is being displayed. He calls it the spotlight – a place he’d like to avoid. But even with the distance, he can’t believe that his eyes could focus like that and could even tell what kind of earrings she’s wearing. There’s almost 23 people listed in the project including him. Now there are 24 including her. So just imagine how far off she should be and yet, he could see every detail she has on her face. But that’s not really the case here. Right now, what he’s supposed to do is to control his urge to go to her side and give her a reunion hug.

A reunion hug? His focus switched to Kerchen. He remembered her words from ten years ago to not meet with Rishi anymore. Well, damn he did. It turned his life into a mess. He was drowned in liquor and sleepless nights. He gave trouble to his mother and to his siblings with what he had become. But he managed. That hellish year and those months of suffering – he recovered from them. But now, he sees her daughter. Kerchen should have been aware that he’s part of this project so why is it that her daughter is here when her name is not even on the list attached to the e-mail he had received?

His eyes switched back to Rishi. It was as if he couldn’t take his eyes away from her for a second. Her eyes caught his. His heart kicked. And plummeted the next second when he noticed her expression. No reaction. Straight faced. He doesn’t know what’s going on now. Does she knows he’s here and yet came? Does that mean Kerchen allowed her to meet with him now? After ten years? He can’t deny his heart started to flutter at the thought of it. But Rishi just stared at him. And she switched to her mother without wavering in her eyes. His heart dropped. It ached. That would only mean that she’s the same as him – already moved on. The only difference is: he let her presence destroy his momentum while she didn’t.

“Rishi Domnast? Isn’t that Kerchen’s youngest?”

A voice stopped Emette’s thoughts and he kept an open ear to the two Whites beside him, talking about the woman he had thought sealed away in his past and forgotten.

“Yes. I worked with her on a project in Australia two years ago. I’m glad she decided to join us in this one too. I’m honored to work with her again.” The other one said in return.

Same as him, Rishi also made her name and not just by clinging into her mother’s title. He knew well how talented and intelligent Rishi is so it wasn’t really a surprise that she could come this far like he did. But to think they would fall to the same field, the same project at the last minute, it was suffocating. It’s like something caught in his lungs that made it hard to breathe. He wasn’t able to concentrate at all. ‘Damn. I’ll just read everything about today in multi-note or just ask some random scientist later in the team meeting.’