Chapter Six: Hot And Cold Feelings

Just to ensure that things went smoothly, Jeremy had spent months training Angelina on etiquette, decorum, courtesy among other things since she had grown up in the slums. But Angelina being the kind of person she is, disregarded everything the moment she stepped foot into M.J Tech. She had given her word that she'll help him and so she'll definitely do that----but in her own way. After all, Angelina will always be Angelina!

As such, on her second day at work, she knocked once at the big boss's office and without waiting for his approval, she barged in, chirping,

     "Good morning Sir! I…"

Her cheerful voice trailed off as her eyes landed on not just the CEO as she expected, but Mr. Clifford, the HR manager and three other gentlemen who were also elegantly dressed in corporate suits as well. They were all seated, with Maxwell looking as intimidating and imposing as ever in his usual seat while the others were comfortably sitting opposite him.

     "Oops! I mean, good morning Sirs! I didn't know we had company! And I just made one cup of coffee for the big boss. But not to worry, I could just brew some in…"

    "Little man?"

The magnetic, baritone and curt voice of the CEO interjected into Angelina's rambling.

    "Yes, Sir?"

      "Sit down."

Angelina wanted to say something else but Maxwell's authoritative tone brooked no argument so she obediently took the seat he indicated---directly opposite of him.

     "Good morning Mr. Reed. Nice to finally meet you. I'm Richard Kent, the COO. This gentleman by my side is David Muller, the IT manager and the one sitting opposite of him is Henry Reagan, the Accounts manager. I'm sure you've already met our HR manager, Gareth Clifford, I've heard so much about you from him."

Seeing the sly smile on Mr. Kent's face as he said the last few words, Angelina grinned.

     "And what could that be? I only met him once! Hope what you heard is all good?"

    "Of course! What else do you expect from 'The One'?!"

He air-quoted the last two words before subtly winking at Angelina. And to the gentlemen's shock, Angelina burst out laughing, as if she had forgotten where and in whom's presence she was.

The four men surreptitiously looked at the big boss, only to see him fully focused on Angelina, with his eyes unblinkingly glued on the 'little man' but showing no expression at all. Thinking that it was the calm before the storm, Mr. Clifford cleared his throat as if to subtly warn Angelina.

Mr. Kent, on the other hand, quickly diffused the situation by speaking.

    "Okay, now that we're all acquainted with each other, it's time to proceed with what we're here for. Mr. Reed, we would like you to choose any subject in the field of software engineering and give us a quick presentation on it. Any random topic, anything you're comfortable with, as long as it is related to our professional field. It's five minutes past nine now and you have just ten minutes to prepare yourself and fifteen to twenty minutes max to do your presentation. But please, don't panic, it's just a routine protocol which every new intake has to do, especially 'the one' who's working closely with the CEO."

He concluded with a slight joke at the end, just to put the young man at ease but to their surprise, Angelina smiled broadly before responding,

    "Oh, I'm not panicking. So where are we having the presentation? Is it here or somewhere else?"

Not just the four men, even Maxwell himself was taken aback seeing the little man's reaction. Normally, every new intake is given at least a day's notice to prepare for such a presentation but Maxwell deliberately refused to give her the prior notice, just so as to gauge her reaction. The little man had insisted he was the one for the job and so he wanted to test him.

To their further surprise, Angelina leapt out of her seat, excitedly saying,

    "Since you are all not saying anything, I have an idea! Let's go to the lounge and while you guys make yourselves comfortable, I'll use the ten minutes I have to brew some coffee for you to enjoy while I give the presentation. What do you think?"

Without waiting to hear their responses, Angelina scampered out of the office, just like an excited kid. The four men exchanged looks while Maxwell just pursed his lips. How weirder can the little man get? Other people, who have had the chance to adequately prepare themselves unlike him, usually get all jittery and nervous right before the presentation but this little man is acting all giddy and excited. Not just that, instead of prepping himself, he is busy preparing coffees!

For the umpteenth time, Maxwell asked himself; just who is this little man?!

******

    "So, ladies and…oops! Sorry, gentlemen and gentlemen, this marks the end of my presentation for today. Any confusion? Questions?"

Instead of answering, the four bedazzled men, excluding Maxwell, abruptly got up and rewarded her with a loud standing ovation. All the five men had been totally transfixed and filled with awe by Angelina's concise, elaborate, excellent and superbly delivered presentation.

     "Brilliant! That was absolutely fabulous, Mr. Reed! I can't believe this is an impromptu presentation! The tone of voice, body language, creativity, delivery…everything! Everything was just perfect! Are you sure you've not worked anywhere before?"

Mr. Kent was quick to sing Angelina's praises and the other men nodded in full agreement. She really nailed the presentation!

     "Yes, Mr. Reed, though Mr. Kent has already said it all, I can't help but say this; you were right about what you said the day you came for the interview---you're really 'the one'!"

Angelina just smiled broadly but didn't say anything to Mr. Clifford in response as she focused her attention on the CEO. It was his reaction she wanted to see. His praises she wanted to hear…

However, Maxwell just remained sitting with an impassive expression on his face. He had been quiet all through the presentation and even when the others gave her a standing ovation, his expression remained inscrutable. But Angelina is not the kind of person to let things to her imagination. She wants to know and so she'll find out come rain, or shine…or aloof CEO!

     "What about you, Sir? What do you think of my presentation?" 

Instead of answering immediately, Maxwell reached out for the dainty teacup in front of him and in majestic, elegant motion, took a sip of the now warm coffee. Then, bringing the cup down, he looked at its remaining contents before his baritone, magnetic voice finally rent the air.

    "Not bad."

With that, he returned the china teacup to his lips and just when he was about to take a sip, he raised his eyes from the cup, and finally focused them on Angelina. And with the steely grey eyes fixed on her fake blue ones, he slowly and elegantly took another sip.

Angelina gulped. And gulped once again. She didn't know why that innocent act seemed so…intimate and sensual. Whenever he fixes those mesmerizing grey eyes on hers, she completely forgets that she's here on a mission or that to him, she's actually Mr. Marcus Reed; a man, just like himself…

But she's no man, not at all. No man would feel jealous of that cup, wishing he was the one those enticing lips touched…or perhaps there is. The rumors did say that Maxwell Gallagher is gay, so that means there's a man…or men somewhere who have access to those lips. Lucky him/them! It's such a great loss to the womenfolk, though.

     "Great presentation and great coffee but I'm afraid duty calls. So, it's nice meeting you Mr. Reed and I wish you a fruitful journey at M.J Tech because while you're here, the sky's certainly your limit. So, goodluck, young man!"

As David Muller's words broke into her reverie, Angelina mentally facepalmed herself. Holy moly! So she hadn't just temporarily forgotten she was supposed to be a man, she has also forgotten that there were other people in the lounge apart from the two of them!

As the four men all took turns in shaking her hand before leaving, Angelina saw Maxwell striding out of the lounge…with the dainty teacup still clutched in his hands. And just like that, a huge grin engulfed her face.

He hadn't taken even a sip of the many cups of coffee she had been making for him since yesterday. But now he finally did and even if he didn't say it, he seemed to like it!

*****

The days rolled into weeks and just like that, it was already a month since Angelina started working at M.J Tech. But all this while, nothing had changed in her working relationship with Maxwell. It's the same routine of handling his mails, accompanying him to meetings both within and outside the company, managing his guests---just the same old boring personal assistant stuff!

But Angelina wasn't fazed. She knew it was just a matter of time. If he was a hard nut, she's a tough cracker! And come rain or shine…or aloof CEO, she'll definitely succeed!

On Monday, Maxwell who had travelled out of town during the weekend came into office a bit later than Angelina and what he saw immediately he stepped out of the elevator made him to furrow his brows.

The whole floor had transformed overnight. There were a few beautiful paintings adorning the walls and some other decorative accessories including potted plants which pervaded the whole surrounding with a nice scent.

Standing right in front of a massive landscape painting, he called out to Angelina in his characteristic deep, baritone and magnetic voice.

     "Little man!"

      "Yes, Sir! Welcome back, Sir! How was your trip? Hope you had a fruitful…"

       "What did you do? What's all these?"

His voice sounded surprisingly calm but Angelina knew better. If there's anything she learnt in the past month she spent working for him, it's that Maxwell Jay Gallagher never shows his true emotions or raises his voice in order to portray his anger. No, that wasn't his style. His own style is much more…cold. Yes, that's the word. If he's angry, instead of his eyes to blaze with fire, they appear so frostily cold and glacial that they could instantly freeze an erupting volcano.

And now just judging from his body language; the stiff way he held himself, she knew without any iota of doubt that she had just awakened the sleeping dogs…

After getting her very fat first paycheck--Maxwell was a very generous boss, she had decided to liven up their floor and hence the decorations. Maybe a cosy, homey environment might warm up his personality a bit and make her work of gaining his trust much easier!

    "Oh, this? It's just…"

     "Wow, what a piece of art!"

Both Maxwell and Angelina whipped their heads towards the direction of the open elevator doors, where a handsome blonde guy emerged from. Happy that someone appreciates her efforts, Angelina smiled broadly before addressing the stranger.

      "Yes, so beautiful, right?"

       "Indeed! Such a wonderful masterpiece…"

Hitherto, Angelina's eyes were proudly fixed on the painting in front of them but hearing the tone with which the stranger spoke, she turned to face him again and what she saw made her instinctively retreat a few steps backwards.

The handsome blonde was shamelessly checking her out from head to toe, with gleaming eyes.

Whoa! What was happening here? She thought the guy was talking about the painting!

     "The almighty designer surely spent a great amount of time designing this one. Damn! Max, where did you get this bloke from?"

'Max' as the stranger addressed him didn't say a word in reply. On the contrary, he fixed the guy with the iciest, most frosty glare that Angelina had ever seen him give anyone. She didn't know when she impulsively stepped a few steps back. It was getting chilly in there!

    "Little Man?"

     "Yes?"

      "To your office, now!"

     "Okay Sir. But should…"

       "I said now!"

Not wasting another second, Angelina scurried away, with the stranger's eyes following her progress.

      "What do you want, Ethan?"

Rolling his eyes, Ethan Marlowe, Maxwell's best friend right from childhood, ignored his brooding friend and made his way to his office. As it wasn't locked, Ethan just pushed open the door and confidently got in, as if he owned the place. Not having any other choice, Maxwell just pursed his lips and went after him.

About five minutes later, the two friends were deep in a business-related conversation when they heard a faint rap on the door but before any of them could respond, it swung open and in came the little man, with his hands laden with cups.

     "Sorry stranger, I don't know what you prefer between tea and coffee so I made the latter since it's my specialty, right big boss?"

As Angelina turned to look at Maxwell when she asked that, she lost her balance and almost tripped due to the icy glare she saw directed at her. However, Ethan, who was closer to her, abruptly got up and supported her with a firm grip. Thus, she didn't fall but the coffee spilled a bit on the fluffy carpet. 

    "Hey, take it easy, handsome bloke. Hope you didn't get burnt?"

Angelina looked up at the stranger towering over her and gave him a grateful smile, unknowingly revealing her cute dimples. 

    "No, I'm fine. Thanks to you, I didn't get hurt in any way."

    "Wow, you have dimples! I've always loved seeing dimples on handsome blokes! And please, no need to thank me. You could fall into my arms anytime, anyday. No problem at all!"

Maxwell couldn't take it anymore. Ethan is an openly gay person and he's obviously flirting with the little man. Even worse, the little bloke seemed to be enjoying the attention as he's busy smiling!

    "Marcus!"

Angelina abruptly whipped her head towards the big boss. Marcus? Did he just call her Marcus? The man never even called her Mr. Reed, she had been 'little man' to him ever since that fateful day they met. And now he called her Marcus for the first time! That must mean only one thing---he was pissed off!

     "Yes, Sir?"

       "Leave this…"

Maxwell never got to finish saying what he intended to say as the ringtone of Ethan's phone interrupted him.

      "Bloody hell! The old man must be pissed off right now! I'm sure he went to my office and didn't find me! I have to rush. We'll talk later, Max."

With that, Ethan made a dash for the door but upon opening it, he turned around and hastily said to Angelina,

     "It was nice meeting you, handsome bloke, though we were rudely interrupted just when we started getting acquainted. We'll catch up later, right? And by the way, Ethan Marlowe's the name, not stranger!"

Seeing his wink, Angelina smiled and shook her head while muttering under her breath.

    "Shameless per…"

She couldn't complete the sentence as all of a sudden, she felt an iron grip on her arms before she was lifted off the ground and her back was roughly pushed against the wall. Panicked, Angelina's reflexes kicked in and she did what she always did all those years ago whenever anyone attacked her in the rogue-infested slum she grew up in----she kneed her assailant hard on the crotch.

     "Ah!!"

It was the deep, magnetic and baritone voice that first alerted who her victim was even before she saw the tall, imposing and strikingly handsome figure of her boss, who was now bending over with his hands clutching his throbbing nether region.

     "Oh my God! Oh my God! I'm so so so sorry, Sir! I didn't know it was you. I just acted on impulse, I thought I was being attacked!  Are you seriously hurt? Did I hit too hard? Lemme see…"

Overwhelmed with worry, Angelina didn't think twice before crouching down in front of Maxwell and reaching her hands out to touch him, innocently trying to ascertain the extent of the damage she caused.

    "Owww!!"

This time around, Maxwell didn't just groan, he growled out loud, like an alpha werewolf who's just about to ravish his luna…

At the same time, Angelina felt the part of him that she was touching, bulge in size and hardened just like a rock…

Belatedly realizing what was happening, a wide-eyed Angelina abruptly withdrew her hand and moved backwards. What did she just do? What on earth was she thinking when she touched him there of all places?! 

But it seemed as if the damage was already done as she once again felt her back slammed against the wall. As she raised up her widened, doe-like eyes to look at him, Angelina's breath instantly hitched.

With his hands flanked around her on the wall, Maxwell's tall, imposing body was just a fraction of an inch away from Angelina's as he caged her in.  And his eyes; those mesmerizing grey orbs that were usually steely and icy cold were now blazing with a strange, bizarre fire as they clashed with Angelina's doe-like ones… 

An overwhelming fire that instantly skyrocketed Angelina's body heat and made her heart begin thumping wildly in her chest. 

Angelina held her breath as Maxwell averted his scorching, smoldering eyes from hers and ever so slowly, trailed them down until they were firmly fixed on her plump, kissable lips. And for what felt like eons, he just paused there, with his eyes not blinking and not moving an inch away from her inviting lips…

 Finally, Maxwell gulped, making his Adam's apple bob up and down. Then, with slow, deliberate motion, he started dipping his head lower and lower still…