I hummed to myself as I skipped through the sidewalk – with a bag of freshly baked muffins in my hands towards Blackford Inc. headquarters – my last lecture was suspended for today so I decided to surprise him with the freshly baked cupcakes that I got especially for him from a small bakery near my University.
The tall sleek building appeared quite intimidating to all the passersby and to some extent it still intimidates me but somehow I have managed to push it towards the back of my head.
It's been 3 months since Norman had asked me to be his girlfriend and I am quite happy to say we are going stronger than ever. Norman and I are still keeping it low and usually avoid going to crowded places where Norman could be spotted easily by the press.
I entered through the automatic moving glass doors. I went up to the reception and luckily the rude receptionist from my last time here has been replaced by someone much pleasant.
"Good afternoon. Welcome to Blackford Inc. How may I help you?" A young woman – probably in her mid-twenties asked me – not an ounce of arrogance or rudeness in her demeanor – so unlike the previous one.
"Uh...I'm here to meet Mr. Blackford," I said.
"Do you have an appointment Miss?" She asked me – her eyes fluttering back and forth to the pc screen and me every once in a while.
"No – actually – if you could just inform him that I am here to meet him," I pressed.
"I don't know if I am supposed to do that – you don't even have an appointment with him," she replied – uncertainty and nervousness laced in her voice.
"I know I don't have an appointment – but please try for once – inform him that Melissa Davis is here to meet him," I persisted again.
She still looked unsure but complied with my wishes anyway and help up the telephone receiver to call.
"Yes...Melissa Davis is here to meet him – yes – yes of course – right – I will send her up right away."
"Ma'am, you can take the floor to the 50th floor – you will find Mr. Blackford's office there," she said while finally resting her receiver.
"Okay and please don't call me ma'am, it's Melissa," I said to her.
"In that case – please call me Violet," she said.
"See you around Violet and have a good day."
"You to Melissa."
I gave her a small smile before skipping my way towards the elevator to reach Norman's office.
I stepped out of the elevator when Norman's floor arrived and saw a single desk in the middle of the hallway with a woman dressed in formal clothes occupying the seat behind it.
The spotless empty hallway greeted me as soon as I moved forward. Although it was my second time visiting this place – it still appears quite novel and unfamiliar, maybe because during my first time I was in too much daze to notice the lavishness of this place.
I looked around and saw a big reception area single woman – lazily sitting behind the desk, scrolling through something on her phone. She looked gorgeous, even though her blouse was three sizes smaller and her breasts were straining against her the material of her shirt. She had her blonde hair pulled into a neat bun and her makeup was done perfectly.
Did she ever think of pursuing a career in makeup artistry?
Clearing my throat loudly – finally grabbed her attention. Her eyes widened at the sight of me and she suddenly sat up straighter, brushing her clothes off lightly.
"You must be Melissa Davis – Sir is wasting for you – let me lead you inside," she said while getting up.
"No – no, it's completely fine – I will be fine by myself," I said.
"If you insist," she said while sitting down again and gestured me towards Norman's office.
I smiled at her and marched towards his office before stopping and knocking twice right underneath the nameplate that read Norman Blackford, CEO. I heard a faint masculine saying come in and I opened the door walking straight in.
I saw Norman – sitting on his desk – surrounded by endless piles of paper works – looking stressed but still a sight for sour eyes.
What can I say – my boyfriend always looks ravishing in his formal attire but he also looks devilishly handsome in casuals too. So it's a win-win situation for me. Lucky me.
"Hey," I greeted him as I stood leaning against the door.
"Hi," he replied – although he tried hard to mask his tiredness, it was still very much evident.
"You look good," I teased him as I made my way towards his desk and stood opposite to him.
"Funny you call me that even after knowing that I didn't have a good night's sleep in days," he said while letting out a dry chuckle.
What can I say? He has a dry sense of humor.
If you happen to meet Norman for the first time – you would have found this gesture plain straight rude but after knowing him well – I realized that this is how he functions and I can do absolutely nothing to change and he needs this type of demeanor if he had to battle against greedy shark-like shareholders who are in the lookout of every chance to bring him down on his knees.
"Sorry about that Mr. Hot-shot-billionaire – I thought all those big businessmen do is sit in their lavish offices the whole day and drink Da-Hong Pao – you are an exception, Mr. Blackford," I winked at him.
"Da-Hong Pao – really Melissa," he said as he raised to his full height. If it wasn't for the corners of his mouth twitching upwards – I would have thought that he was annoyed at me.
I childishly nodded my head before saying, "As far as I know it's the most expensive tea in the whole world and you being filthy rich and all – definitely won't settle for something less than best.
"Well it may be the most expensive shit and I may be filthy rich but at the end of the day the only thing that does the magic is a cup of black coffee and maybe some chocolate chip cookies made by an annoyingly cute girl that thinks that anyone who doesn't like chocolate is not human," he teased me – winking at the end.
"So what brings you here on this fine day my lady?" He asked me with a fake posh British accent which sounded hilarious coming out from him.
"Well, my last lecture was canceled and I decided to head home – on the way I found myself craving for food so I decided to stop by a small bakery near the University – kinda reminds me of home – their muffins were delicious – so I decided to do you a favor and brought some for you too," I said while tossing the small paper bag at him and then depositing myself generously on the plush leather couch that was lying untouched right at the center of the office.
"That's so sweet of you," he said while taking a bite of the muffin and I just shrugged my shoulders in response.
"You look horrible Norman. Why don't you just set aside all your boring paper works for a while and get some rest," I commented slash suggested – worried about his health. He just shook his head in response before saying "I will catch up with my sleep during the flight."
"You are going somewhere?"
"Italy. I have an important business deal with a reputed company over there," he replied quickly as if – if he spoke further he would blurt out something that I wasn't supposed to know.
Is he cheating on me?
Is he doing some kind of shady business?
No – no Melissa, don't go over there. He is just going to do business with some reputed company that's based there. There's no need for you to get worried about something that doesn't even exist in the first place.
"Okay... When are you leaving and for how long?"
"Right now actually. I would be gone for a week or so," he said as he walked around his office – grabbing a few things over here and there and also taking the bag full of cupcakes with him.
"I should get going now," he said while coming towards me – swooping down and pulling me in for a passionate kiss – and leaving me longing for more.
"Goodbye guys," I said – bidding farewell to my colleagues from the café.
The road was scarcely lit – making it appear quite sinister. The street lights illuminated the street to some extent but it was still pretty dark. I started to speed walk as soon as I exited the café. I would have called for a cab but it wasn't for my foolish self who decided to spend all of their money on food. Pathetic me!!!
It looked like it was getting darker and darker with every step I took – even though its night time – it was quite absurd.
Halfway through – I noticed someone walking a few meters behind me. Looking from the corner of my eye – I found a man dressed in a dark hoodie – hot on my trail. His hood was up – so I wasn't able to see his face.
Maybe he is just passing by.
He is following me now. After walking for 2 blocks – he is still hot on my trail. So I decided to take my chance and started running. I didn't turn back to see if he was following or not but the sounds of heavy boots slamming fiercely on the sidewalk – I can tell that he has started running too and is steadily gaining on me.
I continue to run through the deserted road – not a single person on sight – no hope for my redemption.
After running for what felt like forever – I finally noticed that the heavy footsteps has faded away and the silence surrounded me – suffocating me – making me feel vulnerable.
I stopped running and turned around. No one was there.
Maybe I was finally able to outrun them.
I let out a sigh of relief and started to walk again towards my home which was now only 2 blocks away.
I can't believe I ran for 4 whole blocks non-stop. It was quite high coming from someone as unfit as me.
Suddenly I felt arms wrap around me from behind and a rag being placed over my head – making me go on full panic mode – kicking and punching hysterically.
A sudden heavy blow to my head made me completely still and the last thing that came to my mind before I blacked out was...
Why is this happening to me?