CH 0005

Waking up to an empty bed with the memories of the previous night rushing into his head as soon as he awakened, Ivan could not help but scold himself for making such a stupid mistake and for losing himself. He paced around his room restlessly as soon as he got up from his bed and put on his clothes, running a hand through his messy hair in frustration.

He could not believe he had allowed himself to be so careless at the very wrong time, when he had always been so cautious of everything he did. He prided himself on great discipline and self-control, yet, he was caught in a situation that felt entirely out of his control.

Ivan scratched his hair even more aggressively, his thoughts badgering his head, ‘How had he let this happen?! Skylar was his secretary, for goodness’ sake! There was nothing that should be between them more than the contractual relationship between a boss and an employee. But that was ruined already!’

“Damn it!” He cussed out loud, his voice laced with self-reproach, his face etched with displeasure as he walked to the front of the dresser and stared at his reflection. The memories of everything they did flashed through his mind again.

He had always been so principled and uptight with everything that concerned him, and that was what had helped him thrive astoundingly in the business world as the CEO of a conglomerate, because he would never mix business with pleasure.

But the walls of dignity he had held, so high up, had shattered in just one night. He had lost himself to a person he shouldn't have. His secretary of all women. He was utterly disappointed in himself.

‘Damn those idiots! By the time he was done with finding those who tried to set him up by intoxicating him with an aphrodisiac. They would definitely regret it!’ Ivan promised himself with so much fury coursing through his veins.

“You should have just tried harder to dismiss her!” he chided himself, his voice rising in anger the more he recollected how he would have avoided such a situation, if he had forced her to leave that night.

He knew that he couldn’t afford such lapses at the moment, not with the position he held, and the responsibilities he bore. He knew that he had to find a way to address it before things got out of control, and curb the damage as much as possible, both professionally and personally.

All day, he blamed himself and contemplated calling her, but could not bring himself to do that, considering that he thought that he might have hurt her badly by being rather impatient because of his ravishing desires. The tiny trickles of red liquid on his flawless bedspread were evident that the situation was more dire than it seemed.

Thoughts of how he would bring himself to talk about such with her almost made him lose his mind, ‘How could it be that she was still unsullied at twenty-four? Was that even possible?’

All day long, till night, till the next morning, and till night again, Ivan was unable to pick up his phone and call her as usual with the same authoritative tone. He just could not.

However, he braced himself. And on the next day, which was a Monday, he donned the most perfect suit that made him exude so much elegance and surreal beauty, as he got prepared for work earlier than he had ever done.

“You will just be natural and calm while communicating with her concerning what happened. It does not have to be formal or anything grand. No woman would hate to be with someone like yourself,” Ivan whispered to himself, after he took his seat behind his large, imposing office desk after he arrived at the office. Soon, he began to drown himself in the work of the day already with further ado.

The sudden opening of the door to his office just barely twenty minutes after settling down made Ivan quite startled, as his eyes met the freezing ones of his secretary whose body grew still at the sight of him. He could tell from a glance that Skylar had not expected to see him there, as her eyes glanced at her wristwatch.

And as she approached his table, his head went blank of everything he had planned to say and how he had practiced acting cool, because he certainly didn't expect her to have arrived at the office that early either.

But more than that, her new appearance stunned him, considering the fact that he had never seen her like that before. Her hair, which was suddenly cast down and styled so perfectly, framed her face so differently, and the impeccable suit she was putting on, accentuated her body so perfectly. The quite fierce makeup that she had on made her seem so different in ways he couldn't comprehend.

‘What was going on in her mind?’ he was curious to find out.

However, Skylar had been staring at him for quite some seconds now, her hand tucked to her back and her mind seemingly distant. He wondered if she was planning to hit him hard in the face because of how she stared at him, since his desires incited their nightstand.

“Skylar, can you hear me?” Ivan's loud question jolted out of her deep reverie just right at the moment, and it occurred to her that she had only submitted her resignation letter and given him the harshest piece of her mind in her head. Her tongue had suddenly become tongue-tied about what she had intended to say to him or do.

Staring at him, Skylar's mind couldn't coordinate itself or let her speak out coherently at that point, because she was reminded, yet again, of what happened between them at that moment.

Her mind constantly flashed to the scenes of their steamy night that were so clear in her head, which still gave her crawling effects on her body, and caused her to gasp, whenever she remembered how he gazed at her so amorously before passionately drinking her lips.

‘Skylar! Get out of your head!’

“Good morning, Mr. Hamilton,” she finally found her voice, though quite tentative. Her right hand which held her resignation letter was arched behind her back, fidgeting endlessly, while her left hand continued to grasp so tightly at the hem of her suit jacket.

“Good morning,” Ivan didn't know what to say next as she stood in front of him still, like she wanted to say more than she had just said.

And then he decided to be curt about it at the right moment, calculated words flowing out of his lips, his voice calm and mellifluous, “We need to talk about what happened on the night of the launching party. I get that what happened was out of impulse, and it is a mistake that can happen when people least expect it. It was a fault on both parts, and wasn't intended. But, I hope we can be adults and forget about it. Make it null, and go on with our lives as before.”

Skylar’s mind yelled in her head as soon as his words rolled off his lips, ‘Forget about it?!’