Safa's POV
"Where were you this morning when Jenny came to my office?"
I turn to my left to face him. I can't believe he'd noticed when I left briefly this morning to go get my tea cup.
But I'd only been gone for less than a minute!
I search my mind as to what to tell him that will not make it obvious that I'm lying; because somehow, and this is strange, I just have this weird feeling that there is something more to Mr. Trace than what people see - including the media.
He is smart, and I feel like he might be able to see right through my words.
Safa, say something!
I clear my throat and face my front. Apparently, he is more patient than I think at this moment.
Why isn't he repeating his question?
"I don't like to repeat myself, Safiya."
I hear him say. And then I quietly blow air out of my mouth as I respond to him. "I'm sorry I left like that. I -"
I can see him from my peripherals as he glances briefly at me.
"I had to go get my tea from my car that I'd left this morning."
Please for the love of God let him just accept my explanation without being too curious.
"You were definitely faster than a normal human being, Safiya. Please be honest with me." He says, his eyes still focused on the road.
How long do I have to be in this car with this man?!
"I'm being honest, sir. Well -" I bit my lip. I have no choice but to tell him the same thing I'd told Angela this morning.
"On my way to the elevators I found my cup on one of the lounges. That's why I got back quickly." Then I slowly release the air from my mouth and hope to God he doesn't notice.
There is a pause and then he says, "I see."
I'm holding my next breath at this point, unsure of what he meant by "I see."
Then I nod, and as I'm about to turn and face the window on my right side, he adds,
"when you need to leave for whatever reason, let me know. Unless I'm in a meeting and cannot be interrupted. Also -"
He pauses and stops the car. That's when I realize we are at our destination. I check the time on the dashboard. It's only 8:45am.
Then he faces me fully and I think my heart just stopped.
"Here's my card. If you're going to work with me effectively, I value communication. You're a great listener so communicating should come easy to you."
He pauses and I think he is waiting for me to say something.
The guts. What does he take me for?
"Yes, sir." I humbly say, ignoring the knot in my stomach.
"Go ahead. Save my number now and call me so I can save yours now."
I mentally sigh. I'm getting exhausted already from his incessant demands.
Does this man think I'm his servant or what?
"Of course." I say with a smile. He looks away, taking the key from the ignition. He is about to open the door when his phone rings.
"That's it." I say to him with another professional smile.
He looks briefly at me and nods. Then he gets out of his car.
****
Ian's POV
Opening the car door was the only way I could get away from her even if it was only for a moment. Her smile. Everything about her. I couldn't handle it.
What is wrong with you, Ian Trace?! She is engaged for God's sake! Remember the rules.
As we walk side by side into the main entrace of Jericho company, I can see from my peripherals that she is trying to keep up with my long strides. I know I shouldn't care but I can't help it. So I slow down a little bit for her to catch up.
I curse mentally at my actions.
Minutes later, we are ushered by the receptionist into a small conference room where I'll be meeting with Ryan, the CEO of Jericho company.
I motion for her to take a seat while I make sure to sit far enough away from her, at the head seat of the rectangular table. About five minutes later, Ryan walks in.
"I hope I didn't keep you waiting for long, Stefan." Ryan says with a smile as he extends his hand for a handshake. He is one of two people who finds pleasure in addressing me by my middle name. I stopped caring about his choice of names a long time ago.
"You didn't. You know I prefer being early." I shake his hand and before I take my seat, he turns to Safiya.
"And who is this gorgeous woman?"
I watch as Safiya clears her throat and extends her hand to Ryan.
"I'm Safiya, Mr. Trace's Personal Assistant."
Ryan takes her hand and plants a kiss before releasing it.
"And I'm Ryan, Stefan's good buddy and business partner."
Then he turns to me, "I didn't know you were hiring a Personal Assistant, Stefan." Then he adds after stealing a brief look at Safiya before turning back to me. "And dare I say she's lovely."
"I need the help. It doesn't hurt." I say to him.
"Oh Stefan, Stefan, as reserved as always." Ryan says and then occupies the empty chair to my right, a few seats from Safiya. I fight the temptation to change positions. But knowing Ryan, that would only encourage him all the more.
"Let's get down to business, shall we?" I say to him and his look immediately becomes serious.
About twenty minutes later, Safiya and I are walking side by side back to my car. But as soon as we get closer to where it's parked, I notice her stride has become slower. I turn around to her, I shouldn't ask her but I have to know.
She is making me violate all my rules. I curse under my breath as I begin to speak.
"Are you okay?"
I wait as she slowly looks up to meet my eyes, and then quickly looks away like she is trying to hide something.
I walk closer to where she stands, and she is still looking away. As I draw closer, I notice her eyes are now closed.
What's happening here?
****
Safa's POV
I had to look away and quietly blow air from my mouth. It's the only thing that can keep me standing visibly until I take another sip of my tea.
I carefully breathe in and out as Mr. Trace approaches me.
Then I turn to face him.
"Are you okay?" He asks again. And without even a thought, I say to him,
"I'm fine. Thank you. I just -"
"Just what?" He questions. He is standing just a foot away from me now and I have to fight to maintain my balance.
"I just would really appreciate a quick breakfast. If you don't mind stopping at the closest McDonald's so that I can just grab a quick breakfast burrito." I say as I look away.
Those brown eyes seem to look into your soul.
I almost wanted to laugh at myself. A breakfast burrito?
But that's the only thing I could say to justify what was happening a few minutes ago. I can't possibly allow myself to vanish in front of him. I shouldn't have left the house without finishing a cup of tea at least. Now I have to deal with this for the rest of the day.
When I look up to meet his eyes again, I notice his immediate reaction. He quickly steps backwards and adjusts his tie on his neck with his left hand while simultaneously pressing the key to unlock the doors.
Did he even hear what I said?
****
Ian's POV
I shouldn't be acting this way.
As soon as she collects her order from the server at the drive-thru, I zoom off back to the office. We only have about twenty five minutes before the meeting with my board of directors.
The rest of the way back is in silence and I like it.
I need to think.
I need to figure out what is wrong with me. Who is Safiya Lawson?
And why the heck does she have so much effect on me like this?
****
Safa's POV
As soon as the board meeting is over, I wait for Mr. Trace to give me his next instructions.
When the last person leaves the room, he begins, "These files should be ready before 3pm today." He says as he hands over a heavy stack of documents to me.
As I extend both my hands to get the file, our fingers mistakenly brush against each other, and we seem to be standing still for more than is necessary.
I blink as I realize my position. And so I quickly grab the files and nod to him before making my way out of the large room. I know I'm not possibly making this up but there was something about the way his fingers felt in that brief moment, something strange. I shake my head as I approach the elevators.
What was that? Something about his fingers didn't feel normal. Maybe it's my Santza sense, and maybe it's not.
But whatever that was, it didn't feel... human.
About thirty minutes later, Angela approaches my desk. I can see something that looks like a card in her hand.
"Hey, Safa. Wait, I can call you Safa, right? I was googling the meaning of your name, and Safa came up as the short form of Safiya."
She says to me and to be honest, I don't care what she calls me. At this point, I'm trying to concentrate on the work at hand.
I smile at her and say, "Safa is fine."
"Okay, good." She continues and then I watch as she places the card on my tabe.
"Some of us decided to sign a card to Mr. Trace. You should sign it, too. I don't know if you know this but it's his birthday today and we just wanted to do this for him. He doesn't care about his birthday and we've been doing this every year that he's been our boss. But this year we wanted to do it a little differently."
I nod and try to make sense of where this is going. I'm not a big fan of birthdays either.
I wait for her to continue, "Well, this time, he has a P.A. And we would like you to sign here." She signals with her finger.
I sign my name on the medium-sized card without giving it a thought as to what she meant by "this time, he has a P.A." What has that got to do with today being his birthday?
I stare at her, expecting her to say more but it seems like she is done talking.
Then as I am about to return to the work at hand, she puts the card in its envelope and places it on my desk again. "This time, it'd make sense for you to give Mr. Trace the card on our behalf." She says with a smile on her face.
"Why? Because I'm his P.A.? Wouldn't that kill the surprise?" I ask her with my brows raised in question.
"Who said anything about a surprise?"
I am about to hand the envelope back to her when she says, "okay, okay. It's just that a few of the others suggested that you give it to him this time because - well, not insinuating anything, but some have seen the way he looks at you. So maybe he won't be annoyed by the card this time."
Her words seem like ice cold water packs to my ears. "The way he looks at you."
They must have no idea how Mr. Trace actually treats me.
"Well, I'll do it only because I'm his P.A." I finally say to her.
"Thank you. You're coming for lunch, right? Some of us will be trying this new Italian restaurant downtown."
As tempting as that sounds, I have to decline. Besides, I'll just eat the breakfast burritos I got this morning.
"No, maybe next time. I really would like to finish this, and besides, I have something to eat here already."
"Okay. Later then." She says and then leaves.
Then I glance in the direction of Mr. Trace's office and he isn't there. Is he still in the conference room?
That man is definitely not ordinary.
****
Ian's POV
As soon as I am about to step out of the conference room, my cell phone rings, and the caller ID reminds me that I was supposed to call back before now.
I pick on the second ring.
"Hey, dad."
"Happy birthday, son." My dad says unenthusiastically, and I can hear my mom's happy voice in the background. "Happy birthday, my son!"
A smile forms on my face and then quickly disappears at the next words from my dad.
"We'll be arriving in Chicago tomorrow."
**NOTE** Hey, guys! So I've decided to put up new chapters only once a week. I'll be putting up a new chapter or two EVERY MONDAY.
And of course if the schedule changes, I'll definitely let you know.
Thank you so much for reading UTLL up to this point. I hope you've enjoyed it thus far. I can't wait to put up the next chapter(s) on Monday!
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Love you guys.❤
And see you on Monday.😌
Pri. xoxo