'Damn, it sucks! He has no manners. Crazy man!' Calista cursed in her heart as she locked the door of her room.
--
Calista was too busy working to the point of not having time to eat lunch. She glanced at the clock on her wrist, which was already showing 5 pm. She then decided to have dinner as well.
After clearing the desk, Calista immediately grabbed her favourite bag and the car key. She drove the car to one of the favourite cafes in East Surabaya. The waitress then directly greeted her.
"Good night Ms Calista," The waitress greeted Calista, which was immediately replied with a warm smile.
"Do you want the usual menu or something else for tonight?" The waitress asked.
"Just as usual, thank you," Calista replied.
"Noted, Ms Calista. We will deliver the menu soon."
The voice of the waiter calling Calista's name had managed to steal Leonard's attention. His gaze scanned the entire room looking for Calista's whereabouts. His smile instantly broadened when the one he was looking for was seen sitting on the far end of the sofa.
'Calista? Who is she waiting for? Or did she come alone?' Leonard thought.
"Who are you looking for?" Leonard's friend asked.
"Ah, no one... Where was our conversation?"
Even though Leonard was seen talking to his friends, he repeatedly stole glances at Calista.
Meanwhile, Calista was too focused on the laptop screen and didn't notice that someone was staring at her intensely.
"Here's your order, please," said the waitress.
"Thank you,"
Calista subconsciously caught the person she wanted to avoid the most, Leonard Fidel Christiano, who was seen talking to his friends. They were all men, not a single woman among them.
When colliding with each other, Calista immediately turned her gaze in another direction. Meanwhile, Leonard, without permission, immediately sat in front of Calista.
"Wow, well is this your habit too? Follow me wherever I go, hum?" Leonard teased while giving a faint smile.
'Damn, why is he even here?' Calista mumbled in her heart, feeling Irritated.
Without wanting to listen to Leonard's words, Calista went straight to the cashier's desk to pay for orders that had not been touched at all.
Meanwhile, Leonard just stared blankly at Calista's departure. This time, there was no intention to stop her, but when the footsteps approached the elevator, for some reason, there was a sense of loss, so he rushed over.
When Calista's body almost disappeared between the elevator doors, a firm hand stopped so that the elevator doors opened again, revealing the man Calista hated the most.
"What do you want, huh? Not satisfied with ruining my mood?" Calista snapped.
However, not a word left Leonard's lips until the elevator brought them down to the parking area.
When the elevator doors opened, Calista rushed out but was stopped by Leonard's grip on her wrist. She then twisted her body roughly, showering Leonard with disgust.
"Don't touch me!" Calista exclaimed while pulling her hand roughly.
Calista hated Leonard because he was a playboy that loved to seduce every female employee. Leonard always played with a woman's heart mercilessly as if she were a doll he could play with as he pleased. Not to mention after Calista knew that Leonard was the cause of Casandra's departure.
After all, employees found out that Casandra was pregnant with Leonard's child. She had to abort because the biological father was irresponsible. Casandra then chose to leave the office.
"I just wanna be your friend, Calista. Is it wrong?" Leonard asked.
"I don't want to, excuse me," Calista replied as she left Leonard.
Even though Calista saw the sincerity emanating from Leonard's eyes, she still denied it because, for her, a man like Leonard should be avoided.
Meanwhile, Leonard just stared blankly at Calista's departure.
So far, it hasn't been difficult for Leonard to conquer any woman's heart he was after. Still, this time, his reputation was destroyed in front of Calista Earle Kafeel, a mixed-young woman who looked like a Greek goddess.
Even though it's only been 2 months since Calista joined this company, thanks to her hard work and brilliant ideas, she was able to bring this company to the highest rating and even spread its wings to Asia.
No need to doubt Calista's ability as the master for business matters. However, for hearth matters, who knew how long she would keep the door of her heart locked from any man.
Even though Calista was constantly approached by many men, none of them could captivate Calista Earle Kafeel's heart.
Calista too fortified her heart so that the strong fortress towered high untouched by anyone. That was her way of protecting herself from pain.
Actually, both Leonard and Calista have dark pasts. Both have been hurt by someone in the past.
Calista prefered to close her heart while Leonard seemed wild, playing with many women's hearts. For him, all women are the same. No one deserved to be in the highest position in his heart because women would only be dazzled by wealth.
But, since his first meeting with Calista, Leonard's world has turned upside down. Whenever there was an opportunity, he always stole glances at Calista. He always looked for reasons to continue interacting. Unfortunately, Calista was always indifferent.
Even so, it didn't make Leonard give up. Calista's attitude kept trying to avoid him, making Leonard challenged to conquer the arrogant girl. Like now, even though his attention was never well-received, he still took time to meet his heartthrob.
"It's lunchtime Calista, would you like to have lunch with me?"
"No, Mr Leo, thank you," Calista answered without looking at Leonard.
"I'm talking to you, can't you see the person you're talking to when you talk?" Leonard cynically replied.
"Look, I'm not in the mood to talk to you."
After that, Calista walked towards the restaurant and Leonard directly followed her. Not wanting to be the employees' talk, Calista let Leonard sit at the same table with her.
"Hey, enjoy having lunch here," Kiara greeted.
"Oh Kia, when are you coming?" Leonard asked while wrapping an arm around Kiara's waist with his eyes still looking at Calista.
Meanwhile, Calista looked at him differently, as if she didn't care at all about what Leonard was doing.
Calista was fed up with the gross scene in front of her eyes. She immediately finished her lunch and then walked to her room. Meanwhile, Leonard could only stare blankly at Calista's back without being able to stop her.
Kiara also followed Leonard's direction.
"Isn't that the new CFO? Casandra's replacement?" Kiara asked.
"Hmm," Leonard replied.
"She has a western face, so white. You're smart enough to find a CFO. I'm sure all-male employees will adore our new CFO's beauty, especially her eyes. Her grey eyes are very beautiful."
"Don't talk about her, Kiara," Leonard growled.
"Oh yeah, then let's change the topic about our former CFO. How's Casandra?"
Leonard's gaze instantly sharpened.
"Should we talk about that clueless woman?"
"Yeah, I know Casandra is indeed guilty of slandering you for her pregnancy but you shouldn't hate her right?"
"Enough Kia!" Leonard was tired of talking that only provoked his emotion.
Leonard then walked towards Calista's room. His arrival wasn't well greeted. Instead, Calista showered him with an unfriendly look.
'I wanna be close to you, Calista. I wanna share stories, but why do you keep ignoring my existence?' Leonard thought in his heart.
One thing that Leonard didn't understand until now was Calista's attitude was always friendly, smiling at all employees but suddenly turned 180 degrees when a man tried to flirt or just wanted to be close.
This kind of attitude made Leonard curious, so he insisted on finding Calista's life. However, It was complicated to reveal information about her. She was like an unsolved mystery.
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Next chapter ...