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CHAPTER 18
~Monday 7:15 A.M.—Sterling Enterprise~
At dawn, Skai picked herself up, throwing the issues of the past where they belonged, and went straight to work.
Sadly, with everything that happened that Saturday, Skai found it hard to get the thoughts of Damien out of her mind.
When Kiera came over and related the message Damien said on the phone, she had a second thought about things.
Still, she was too strong-headed to want to believe it wasn't as simple as Damien, being the handsome, rich-jerk that he was.
"Tsk." She swiped up on her iPad, briefly taking her mind off her thoughts in search of a document in her cloud.
That had been her most cherished possession, the gift from her third older brother.
'Stupid. I just hope once I keep a low profile I wouldn't have to bump into him at work. Then I can live my life peacefully.'
No sooner had those thoughts left her mind when a knock came on her door. Instinctively Skai lifted her head from her work, her eyes locking in on her manager.
"S–Sir."
"Ms. Jayden. Early as always." Skai lowered her head, a light flush appearing on her cheeks. "Good."
"Good morning sir."
"How are you?"
"I'm fine, Mr. Lucien. Welcome."
"Hmm." He turned around, about to leave when he halted and looked at her once more. "Quick, since you are here, it is perfect then. Hurry and prepare, we leave for a meeting in fifteen minutes."
The words echoed in her mind to the point where she blurted it out and didn't realise it until Mr. Lucien commented on it.
"Fifteen minutes?"
"Yes, Ms. Jayden. Fifteen minutes."
"B-but sir, what of Mrs. Perkins?"
His mood turned serious, his fingers adjusting his tie before speaking. "She's on leave. And right now, you're the only one who I can rely on."
At this point he lost Skai in his words, her thoughts spiralling out of control. It wasn't an argument, she'd been given a task, one where her only one option was to carry it out.
"Yes sir."
"Good."
******
When Skai had agreed to the task, she did not think the meeting would be one involving the one person she wished to avoid so much during this period.
Seated amongst six executives and their assistants, Skai felt small in their midst as every person present exuded a different aura—one that left a void in the social circle not to trespass.
As best as she could, she focused on her role during the meeting. However, a certain someone's gaze remained stuck on her.
Skai could not tell if he was participating in the meeting or not. What bothered her was how intense his unhidden or in this case, unrestricted gaze was on her.
She gulped when she made a mistake on her notepad, her shaky hands catching the attention of her immediate boss.
Concern etched across his features, wondering the reason for her mistakes.
"Sorry," she mouthed back.
All through the meeting, Skai tried to maintain focus on what was being discussed rather than what he meant with his stares.
When she had received his apology message and gifts, she was hoping his attitude or behaviour would get better at the very least, but all she was getting were these stares that she could not explain what they meant.
Thankfully, the meeting ended and Skai was able to flee from his piercing gaze, back to the comfort of her office. As she closed the door behind her, she let out a deep sigh.
'Phew…'
*******
"Skai?" Davion asked as soon as he and Damien were alone in the meeting room.
"Uhmmm… what happened to her?" Damien asked, clearly not in the same page with his vice CEO.
"Don't play ignorant with me Damien. I saw you staring at her like you were going to eat her whole right on the spot. Don't tell me you've got your eyes on her." Davion asked, tilting his head a bit so he could meet Damien's gaze.
"I don't understand what you are trying to say." Damien said, standing up from his seat.
"You don't want to admit, but I noticed your stares and…" Davion was still speaking when Damien cut him off.
"If you were that observant to notice things, maybe you should put that observation into your tasks and do a better job… especially on this project. I want no slip ups." Damien retorted, trying to hold back his anger.
He grabbed his phone from the table and stormed out of the meeting room. Was he angry? Yeah, he was angry at Davion. Why? For being right.
He actually was staring at Skai all through the meeting but even as much as he tried to look away from her, his gaze found their way back to her direction.
He couldn't help but notice some very tiny details about her during the meeting - the way she felt conscious of herself while the meeting was going on, how she tried to steady herself with deep breaths.
He had noticed when she made a slight error in her report and Lucien had pointed it out to her. She had mumbled a barely audible, 'I'm sorry sir,' before lowering her head.
'What the hell am I doing? What are you doing Damien?'
His thoughts were crowded, not with the project he was supposed to be thinking about, not about his company but instead, his mind was occupied by a certain blue eyed lady, with strawberry blonde hair that reached her waist.
'Okay, I need to stop and focus on something else.' Damien told himself as he shook his head, hoping he was shaking off the thoughts of her too.
Then his mind went to the way he noticed one of their partners staring at her during the meeting. The thought of it alone made his blood boil in anger.
Or was it jealousy?
'Why am I jealous? Why should I be angry?' He asked himself inwardly as he opened the door that led to his office, the familiar space welcoming him back in.