Smith had been informed of Mary's arrival earlier, so, he wasn't surprised to see her but what he didn't prepare himself for, was seeing the sensual beauty she possessed on display. Her gown did nothing to hide that fact, despite being modestly dressed. He stood right in front of Mary, who kept taking a step back as he took a step closer to her. She kept up with that charade until she felt a hard surface behind her. Her back had hit a wall and she was trapped in-between, with Smith standing so close. Mary braced herself up, as she kept a straight face.
Smith dipped his head towards her, sniffing her neck. He loved the smell of her natural scent, mixed with her body spray. He raised his head to her face, his gaze landing on her soft, delectable lips. It took every ounce of his willpower to stop himself from having a taste of those lips. His gaze roamed over her body in open admiration before finally resting on her face. He saw a wave of emotions flicker through her eyes. Smith immediately sensed something was amiss. He saw the lingering sadness in her eyes. He took few steps backward, creating some space between them.
Rather than relief, Mary felt a pang of disappointment when Smith finally took a step back. She was able to assess his strong features and beautiful body, at a close range; the gentle rise and fall of his chest, the dancing colors in his eyes as they glint of mischief.
"Come, have your seat"
Mary went obediently to take a seat. He noticed her eyes had lost its color, as a pair of anxious eyes stared back at him.
"What is wrong Mary? You don't look happy", he asked in a gentle tone
"I'm quite alright", Mary forced a smile as she replied, wondering why he cared.
"Actually sir, I've come to inform you of my readiness to work for you. After much deliberation on the matter, I have come to this conclusion", Mary continued calmly.
"What about your mom? Did she give her consent?"
Mary was suddenly engulfed in anger. She couldn't believe the audacity of this man.
Bastard! That's what you are. A fucking bastard! Mary was screaming in her head. How could this man mock their integrity. Mary thought, taking a deep breath to rein in her anger before responding to his question.
"Of course sir", she managed to say, every fibre in her body vibrating.
Smith is no fool. He could tell from Mary's body language that all was not well but he chose to let the sleeping dog lie for now. He would have to comfort himself with the fact that she was ready to accept his job offer. For no particular reason, he felt Mary is the only one he could trust with the details of the job, aside Bugle, his legal advisor.
"I'll have my lawyer prepare a NDA. You must go through every detail in that document before appending your signature. Irs important that you follow the agreement strictly. You do understand what a NDA is, don't you?"
Mary nodded affirmatively.
"Good. You will also need to submit a signed copy of your mum granting her approval.
Mary's heart flipped a thousand times in a second. She thought of a way to escape this dilemma. She decided she would deploy a defiant tactic.
"Why should you concern yourself with my mother's opinion anyway! I'm an adult for pete's sake! She said forcefully.
"Mind your tone young lady. You will do well to remember whose presence you are", Smith gritted out.
Mary blinked her eyes, mentally slapping herself for riling him. She knows what is at stake. The last thing she wanted is being kicked our of his presence without a second thought.
"Besides, you are just eighteen", Smith continued
"Nineteen actually. In precisely two months time", Mary interrupted, baring her teeth as she gave a wicked grin.
Smith ignored her statement, clearly not in the mood to banter words with her. What he would have loved to do is to satisfy the desire of his twitching palm.
It wouldn't be such a bad idea to put her across his knees and give her a good spank in the butt. Smith thought with a smug look on his face.
"Young lady, get me a copy of your mother's signed agreement and you have the job", Smith replied instead with a tone of finality in his voice.
"Consider it done sir", Mary replied without giving it a second thought, immediately regretting her hasty response.
This is what you get when you allow your mouth, rather than your brain to take control. Her subconscious mind pointed out to her.
"Then it is a deal, Miss Minali", Smith said laying emphasis on the --Miss
Mary ignored him, as she chose that moment to bring her request to table.
"Thank you sir, but there's one more thing I would like to discuss with you"
"Okay, that shouldn't be a problem if you would agree to have lunch with me".
Mary gave him a confused look and a raise of her brow.
"I'm due for lunch. So, you can discuss with me at the table, Mary", Smith elaborate.
"Seriously? You are going to coax me into eating with you?" Mary asked, startled by Smith's request.
"Anything to have you around for another hour. Meanwhile, I should warn you, I'm a slow eater." Smith said, clearly enjoying his moment with her.
Mary raised her hand in frustration, as she resigned herself to her fate.
"Very well sir. You don't leave me with much choice anyway", she said rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"I don't play fair baby girl"
Mary felt like snuffing the life out of him or do anything infact, that would wipe that smug look off his face.
Smith rose to his feet, extending his hand to Mary with an intense look that demand her cooperation.
Like an errant child, Mary obediently placed her hands in his, letting him pull her up and to his side as he placed his right arm casually on her waist, guiding her back to his office where they would be having their lunch.
Smith phoned Mike from his office to have his lunch brought to his table. He also ordered that the meal be doubled. He shrugged out of his waist coat as he made himself comfortable in his armchair. Mary sat opposite him, willing that Mike would hasten up with the food. As though, an answer to her prayer, there was a brief knock on the door, before Mike admitted himself into the room, walking briskly towards the table to place the food and wine on it. He immediately took his leave after ensuring that things were in order.
"Bon appetit, mon amie", Smith said, extremely pleased with himself
Mary rolled her eyes as she dragged the food closer to herself. She suddenly realized how hungry she was when she had her first bite of the food. The salmon was tenderly cooked. She dug into the rest of the food, having a bite of each of the served meal. She ate with gusto, all the while oblivious to Smith's keen attention on her. She suddenly raised her head up, embarrassed to see Smith gawking at her.
"What? Do I have something on my mouth?" She asked self-consciously.
"Oh, that, and the way you eat. It gave food a different type of meaning".
"And what's wrong with how I eat?" Mary asked, heat creeping to her cheeks
"Nothing. I simply love it", Smith answered, nonchalant.
"I don't appreciate anyone staring at me while I have my private moment", Mary replied petulantly.
Smith gave a roar of laughter. He couldn't believed his ears.
Mary wondered what it was she said that evoked such reaction from him. Not that she had a reason to complain though as she equally enjoyed this carefree side of him. She examined how he looked even more beautiful when he laughed. Mary allowed herself a small smile too.
Smith's gaze softened even more, seeing Mary smile. He placed his hands across the table cupping Mary's hands in his.
"If not that you're underaged, Miss Minali, it would have been my greatest pleasure to put to play what private moment meant to some of us", he said with a note of mischief in his voice.
Mary frowned at him as she made to slap his hands off hers but Smith was smart enough to foresaw that as he quickly withdrew his hands from Mary's.
"For a second, I almost forgot how annoying you can be"
"I can be sweet for you baby girl", Smith replied with a wink. "Now, little miss Minali. Did you not say you have a request to make?" Smith asked, jolting Mary back to her existing predicament.
"Yeees", Mary said slowly. "Please, I don't want you to misunderstood things but I... I would like to get an advance payment of my salary. It's for a cogent cause, I promise", she finished lamely.
Smith didn't see that coming but he couldn't deny the fact that he had sensed something was wrong when he looked into her sad eyes earlier at the waiting room.
"How much do you need?" He asked simply.
Mary quickly did an estimate of the hospital bills, added a bit for miscellaneous expenses should any arise, before informing Smith.
"I'll have it sent to you", Smith said with a note of promise.
To say she was surprised at Smith's spontaneous decision would be an understatement. She profusely expressed her gratitude to him.