CHAPTER 8

"Trying to prove strong huh?" I heard Thane's voice say from behind me. "Proving strong? I don't understand. Why should I try to prove to be something I already am?" I said, trying to hide how pained I was.

He walked away slowly, as I kept my gaze fixed on my computer. I was indeed trying to be strong. Thane's words got to me. But I wasn't about to show any iota of weakness.

A flood of tears bubbled on the inside of me, eager to gush out. I fought my tears, swallowing saliva as if that could dry the flood of surging tears.

I prayed the day would run by, it did eventually. I was drenched in my own emotions. I needed to clear my head; when I arrived home, rested and freshened up, I headed to the bar just across the road.

"Can I snatch you?" A coarse voice said behind me, the baritone sound of his voice sending chills down my spine.

"Snatch me if you can!" I added, followed by a melodious chuckle. I could already notice he was in awe. "What are you looking at?" I joked, giving his glass of wine in front of me a slight push.

"What does it matter what I'm looking at?" He answered, looking away. The night had grown old and we were still in the bar. The blazing music sent cool vibes into the atmosphere.

The intoxicating feeling grew on and on. With each glance at each other, I wanted him more, and I could see that he wanted me, too.

We danced the night away, sipping on our glasses of tequila. In the following seconds, we were now drunk, and that was the last I could remember.

I and Thorne, soaked in the intoxicating effects of the tequila we had, made our way to the next available sofa, falling vigorously onto the sofa.

I opened my eyes to find myself in the arms of this stranger, it didn't matter that much. I had a swell time, and he did too. To us, that was all that mattered. 

In a few minutes, my eyes were cleared of all the alcohol that clouded my sense of recognition. It suddenly dawned on me that I knew the man in question.

As I sat there, hoping he'd not recognize me, ravaging thoughts bombarded my head. I  sneaked out through the closest exit I could find. It was one of the boss's brothers, Thorne. 

As this reality slowly dawned on me, chills ran down my spine. I was able to make my home safely, but my heart wasn't at rest. I still had to make my way to work.

"Good morning" I greeted. "Good morning...?" He waited for me to mention my name.

"Um...uh .... Gianna", I stuttered, "Nice name, but pardon me, I'd love to ask, why was that a battle for you? Saying your name..." He stated. I looked on, taking his question to be a rhetorical question.

"No, Gianna, it's not a rhetorical question. I want answers and by the way... Have I met you before?" He asked moving closer to me, shutting the door behind us. "Not at all" I blurted, not even letting him finish his words.

"All right, probably we'd see another day, and I'll ask every single question I have on my mind. For now, let's get back to work. What exactly were the client's specifications?" He asked.

We switched back to work, I'm sure he was wise enough to catch himself in the way. While I was impressed he chose to be a nobleman, deep down, I wished he went for it. I wanted him too after all.

Today was Friday. I and my best friend Vivian and I had planned an occasion for the night. I prayed work hours came to a close as soon as possible, so I could dive back into my free time.

"Miss Gianna", he called calmly, "yes, please", I answered. "What do you do with your free time?" He asked, turned his gaze to me, his eyes narrow.

"I party .... I go clubbing" I mentioned, after accessing his facial expression for a minute. "Why the break in transmission?" He asked, feigning a fake frown.

"Apologies for that. That's just how it had to be."  I managed to say, he could see that I wasn't sorry. I had done nothing wrong, but as my boss, I just had to cut him that slack.

We then switched back to the past. I didn't imagine it'd all happen this fast. "I remember you." He mentioned. "Remember me?... I... I-" I stuttered; he cut in, "I remember you from the bar months ago." He mentioned, looking quite unsure still.

"You can't be so sure I'm the one you met at a bar, you get to meet a lot of people at the bar. You might even meet a person who'd have a striking resemblance to me. That doesn't in any way mean they are me.

"Oh, you caught me there. You can leave, Miss Gianna, I'll call your attention to any more corrections that need to be made to your article." He added as I made my way for the door.

"Wait." I had him say behind me; mustering all the calmness I could, I turned around with a fake smile pasted on my face.

"Can I invite both you and your friend/friends to a party, tonight? I'll be glad if you honour my invitation." He added, his crisp masculinity shining through.

"Sure." I managed to blurt, trying not to lose my job, as rudeness to the boss could guarantee that. "Sure?" He asked. I was slowly getting irritated. "Yes, that's not an issue." I let out, calmly.

The day finally came to a slow close, it was night now. My friend and I were ready for the night; I had also invited Thane. We all headed for the party.

We made our way into the gigantic mansion that now stood in front of us. "Oh! It's great to see you! Who are they? Siblings?" I heard a voice say in front of us, a mocking look pasted on his face -Thorne.