Her Professor

Twenty Three

"Gorgeous, Preziosa," I complimented, smiling down at the pretty blonde who blushed, "I will be taking this off later, Si?," I smirked.

She swatted at my chest as we walked towards the entrance of the building.

"Si, Artemis," She whispered shyly, biting her lip.

I couldn't help the chuckle that left my mouth, I loved seeing her get flustered knowing I was the cause of that.

She cleared her throat, her face became blank and her emotions switched earning a frown from me, I hate the look on her beautiful face it fucking tugged at my heart strings.

I opened the door for her and she walked in effortlessly, flawlessly and holding her head up high. She lifted her shades placing them on top of her head and everyone in the lobby became eerily quiet.

The whispers spread like wildfire and everyone became tense with her arrival, I found it quite amusing. Shaking my head, I placed my hand on the small of her back and followed her lead.

She stopped in front of the receptionist who looked at her with wide eyes.

"Darla," Ella spoke softly, "Will you please inform my father of my arrival? Let him know I have a guest."

Darla nodded her head and picked up the phone quickly, smiling softly.

"Mr. Montgomery, sir, your daughter has arrived and she brought a guest," She informed him, her eyes darting to me, "Yes, sir, I will inform her."

With that she placed the phone down, effectively ending the call. Her eyes however remained on me and her mouth gaped open like a fish that was out of water. I had to fight the very overwhelming and strong urge to not roll my eyes.

"He said to meet him in the conference room, Ms. Montgomery," She informed her, still looking at me.

Giving her a cold look, narrowing my eyes into slits, her mouth finally clamped shut and she immediately looked away flushing in embarrassment.

"Thank you, Darla," Ella gave her a kind smile with a nod.

Leading me to the elevator on the end, passing by the first two.

"This is my father's personal elevator," She mentioned, and I pressed the button, "No one but him and I are allowed to use it," She rolled her eyes.

I chuckled, smiling as I looked at her adorable sour look she had on her face.

"It is ridiculous," She shook her head.

The elevator opened and we both stepped inside where she pressed the thirteenth floor button, the doors immediately closing.

"My father can come off as...harsh," She stated, "Please do not take it personally. He even speaks to me formal like," She looked up at me worried.

I frowned, kissing the corner of her mouth and tracing her jawline with the pad of my thumb.

"Don't worry, Preziosa," I confirmed, unfazed, giving her a soft smile.

She took a deep breath, nodding with unease as she gave me a look of concern, not believing me but I was fine and her father was the least of my worries.

The elevator finally came to a halt, stopping on the thirtieth floor. My arm snaked around her hip, giving her a light squeeze just as the doors slid open.

As soon as she stepped out, just like in the lobby, employees stopped talking and gaped at the beauty. Everyone looked at her with unease or scurried off.

She gave soft nods to some of the employees we passed by, she continued to lead the way to where her father's conference room was located.

She didn't let me down. Keeping her head high and her chin up. She was holding strong. I was proud of the way she carried herself with an assertiveness.

Stopping at the door, she took a deep breath and straightened her posture. Sighing, she placed her hand on the door before opening it and stepping in with ease with my hand on the small of her back as I did the same.

Two men sat in the room, in chairs, with files around them as they talked. Their heads had snapped up upon hearing us enter. Both stood up, the younger male straightening his suit and the older man cleared his throat before putting on a wide smile.

"Ella, pumpkin," The older man walked over to her, giving her a small hug that didn't even last longer than a second.

"Father," El smiled, giving him a curt nod before looking at the other man, "Nice to see you again, Mr. Hemings," She greeted softly.

"Ms. Montgomery," He nodded, giving her a small smile.

Their eyes moved to me and my hold on Ella tightened, trying my best not to give the younger man a nasty look. I didn't want anyone else's eyes on Ella, his included, I hated the look he gave her.

"You are?," Her father asked bluntly, no emotion, his face blank.

"Father," El cleared her throat, "This is the man I told you about. The one I have been seeing for a while now," She confirmed.

"Artemis Mariano," I gave him a curt nod, extending my hand.

Frowning, her father eyes my hand wearily before give me a hard handshake and the urge to roll my eyes came back, trying hard to suppress it.

"A pleasure, Mr. Mariano," He greeted formally, his tone slightly irritated, "Ella, we have much to discuss. We need to go over the contract before you sign."

She sighed, nodding and I could see her eyes turning glossy but she quickly shook it off, my heart was breaking at the state she was in.

"Okay. Let's discuss it," She put on a smile.

Both of us took our seats across from her father and the other man. My hand moved from the small of her back, placing it on her thigh as I gave her a reassuring squeeze.