Liliana was proud. There were many who admired her, cherished every second they could see her. But never had she felt this much pride over the fact that she felt as Edison's eyes gave her that look. 'Did he know how he was eyeing me?' she didn't know the answer to that.
The ever changing look in his eyes send waves of exhilaration coursing through her veins.
His one simple touch made her hold her breath, afraid this moment would end too soon. Afraid the next moment he would disappear from her sight.
But he didn't. He looked at their hands, the handshake had long ended but both were reluctant to let go. Liliana followed his eyes and looked down. She immediately pulled her hand back, not wanting to make him suspicious.
"Let's take a seat, shall we?" Edison composed himself and waved his hand towards the sitting area.
His office was a relatively large one. Everything was visible once someone opened the door. First his huge desk, carrying his nameplate- Edison George, written in golden font. Angled with that, a set of sofas were placed, pushed to the opposite wall. On the other end of the room, the whole wall was covered in floor to ceiling windows, before which stood a billiards table, equipped for a game at any time. 'A nice addition,' Liliana thought, her eyes flashed mischievously.
"Ms. Liliana wanted to see me for?" Edison went down to business. He wanted to be done with it as soon as possible for Liliana was making him forget his priorities. He knew it yet not accepting it.
"I have left Donovan Entertainment, nobody knows about it. The news will be out in a few days." Liliana traced the stones encrusted on her purse. She smiled lightly when Edison followed the movement of her hands. She continued with the explanation, "I want to join your company, work for you."
Edison had already deduced that much but what he wanted to know was, "Why?".
Liliana raised her eyebrows, "Sorry?"
"Why would you want to leave a company you have been involved with from the very beginning?"
"Hmm, let me think." Liliana tapped her jaw, adorning the facade of thinking hard. She really was thinking, after all she couldn't just say I am here for you. She straightened at once and said, "Do you believe in destiny, President George?"
"What kind of question is that, Ms. D'crus?1" Edison was bewildered by the sudden change of topic.
"Do you?" Liliana insisted.
"I believe they are a way for people to dump their responsibility on something invisible." he expressed his honest thoughts.
"Then you won't believe my reason." Liliana said with a dampened mood, Edison could imagine her droopy cat ears. So, he humoured her,
"And what is that."
Liliana said with a sign, "I don't know how to explain this but I felt a pull to this place. It was like my destiny was here. Like the rest of my story will be written here."
Edison chuckled and shook his head, "Nice one, Ms. Liliana."
Liliana's eyes widened at that, "You got my joke?" she said like she couldn't believe at all.
Edison said nothing.
"Unbelievable." Liliana shook her head left and right.
"You are a fantastic actress, I must say. Say, you want to try for movies?" She truly was a good actress for she had kept it deeply hidden, just like many other things, that she did feel a pull to this place. The pull of love. The rest of her story really would be written here. She would be writing it with her own hands.
"That is for later. Right now, I only want to join Shooting Star as a singer, rest can wait."
Edison nodded at that.
"Let's start from the beginning. I didn't start this journey wholeheartedly which resulted in me not seeing the contract that was drafted. I just signed it while cursing the one who made me do it. What they did was, they decreased my profit margin. And while I composed my own songs, they took all the profit. They kept me in the dark which I didn't like. Every time I confronted them, they sounded self-righteous which I despised."
"Fair enough," Edison paused and began again, "I don't know the way you work Ms. Liliana but I expect the best results from everyone working under me." Edison said in a warning tone.
"I work to achieve nothing but the best." Liliana countered.
"You will be under a lot of pressure to work efficiently."
"I can live with that."
"The two years break you took, two years is a very long time. You can't take so much time for yourself here."
"Don't worry, that was just a one time thing. I won't need it again." Liliana smirked. It said a lot but only she could understand what that said.
Edison watched her morph into a code he couldn't decipher, a grid that didn't follow any pattern. Liliana was like a dark night where every detail was vague. He could see outlines, but doubted whether his assumptions were right. So far, her actions were mundane but her every move carried an edge, an aura, like her mundane actions hid something too big, too deep for just anyone to see. 'What is this unsolved mystery in you, Liliana D'crus? Why does it attract me so much?' he thought.
"You seem to know a lot about me."
Edison looked up and said, "These are news known by all which I don't think touches even the surface."
Liliana gave a smile that was filled with ambiguity. Edison wasn't the same anymore which was justified. He had grown up to be a man who held a lot of power in his hands. His decisions could effect the entirety of this industry and he knew that very well. His self-assured demeanor only made her love him more.
"You like things simple." she stated looking around his office. The decorations were minimum to none. The only thing out of necessity was the billiards table.
"Yeah, makes things less complicated." he said profoundly.
Liliana chuckled, "I feel you. I think glasses make things less complex."
"Why?" Edison asked quizzically.
"The transparency makes them convenient. You can always ignore them if their existence makes you think too much. Sometimes thinking can be tiring."
"Just like you," he said without thinking. Thinking can be too tiring sometimes. "Your existence can't be ignored, even if anyone wanted to. You force people to think."
Liliana raised her hands in surrender, "Woh! Now it's all my fault?"
Edison laughed a low laugh, "That's just how you are."
'Her fame will raise in no time with the temperament she has,' he tried to direct his thoughts to the profits because that's what he should be thinking about the most, what he should be making his decision based on. But he could feel himself drifting from that logic.