Being alone with a man had always been Audrey's weakness. She knew they could not be trusted. Even though she was in the office and she knew he would not try to be sly with her, she still felt insecure and was wary of her surroundings.
She left the door slightly ajar so people would see them as they passed by. Miguel who sat there and watched as she wandered around uncomfortably pretended he did not know why she left the door open.
"Good idea, just leave the door open." Miguel suddenly said out of nowhere and Audrey froze. She slowly turned towards him with a questioning look.
"I mean, your air conditioner is not working, leaving the door open would be nice." Audrey suddenly noticed that the weather had risen. How did she not notice that her air conditioner wasn't working? That was embarrassing.
She took the remote and tried to put it on but it wouldn't work. Miguel already saw that it was damaged, but not as much as he noticed that she was not comfortable around him. He wondered why.
"My apologies, we can move to my mother's office if you like." Audrey said nervously, that was her first ever big project and she was making him think she was weird. But on the other hand, that only made Miguel eager to know more about her.
"It doesn't matter, I'm leaving anyway." He responded, making her uncomfortable was not a good start he thought. He shouldn't spend too much time around her so she wouldn't think he's a pervert.
Audrey nodded and slowly perched on the sofa in front of him. She knew that shaking his hand was the right way to greet a business partner, but she wasn't planning on doing that, not so privately.
Miguel handed the file he was holding to her. She looked up at it and leaned forward to take it from him. As her fingertips brushed the back of his hand, Miguel's eyes sparked, though he wished it could last longer.
Audrey, who was not at all bothered by the touch, opened the file and saw that it was a contract of agreement. She read it all, demanded some adjustments and when she was satisfied with how it looked, she signed the agreement and gave him back his file. He handed her a copy of the contract which she gladly took. Finally, got the contract she'd been aiming for. She was certain that she would do well as long as people like Miss Wolf didn't mess up her plans.
"So... Congratulations on your first-ever campaign," Miguel said, snapping her out of her thoughts. He gave her his hand to shake and she looked down at it. After contemplating whether or not she should shake his hand, she grabbed the hand, shook it quickly, and let go. Miguel frowned a little at her behavior but didn't say a word.
"Thank you so much, Mr Parker." She responded and Miguel chuckled.
"Call me by my name, Miguel." He said people called his father Mr Parker, Miguel thought it would be weird to be addressed the same way as his father.
"Yes Mr Miguel, I'm looking forward to working with you." She responded. Deep down, all she wanted was for him to leave.
He stood up and she did the same. He could not help but notice how tight her dress was, revealing all her curves but he turned away refusing to be tempted.
She followed him out because it would be rude to let him out by himself. They walked out side by side and earned some looks and gossip. Some said it was business-related because Miguel had never been to their company while others were convinced that they were together. Ladies stared at Miguel in awe. Either way, none of them seemed to have noticed that eyes were on them as they made their way out making random chit-chats. All the while, Miguel had been conscious of the fine lady beside him, holding the glass door for the lady. Audrey appreciated his kindness but did not let her guard down, all men are the same, she thought.
Miguel thought of telling her to go back from there but he was enjoying her company, he would like to see her face one more time before his car drove away and so he did, they waved each other goodbye and Audrey sighed in relief.
The moment she stepped in, she saw that everyone had their attention towards her direction, they all ran to their positions when they saw her and she rolled her eyes, she was sure to hear people saying silly things about her and Miguel and she was right.
**********
Miguel sighed in the back seat, she wasn't interested in him. He didn't blame her, she knew she was a damsel. He loosened his tie in frustration, he thought it was an easy task for him to get any girl he wanted, how was Audrey so different, she didn't even want to see his face. He promised to stay away from her so he wouldn't lose his dignity.
Hearing his phone vibrate, he sighed and pulled it out. His frustration doubled when he saw the caller's ID. It was Betty who on the other end was munching on potato chips on her bed since she had no work to do. Miguel mentally rolled his eyes but picked up the call, whatever it was she wanted to say could be important.
"Hi." Betty beamed. She always surprised him with her cheerful behavior, she always seemed to be in a good mood.
"What?" Miguel asked bluntly, she always had bad timing, she would always call him when he was in a bad mood.
"Ouch" she responded dramatically, making Miguel frown, he was in no mood for her drama.
When she didn't get a reply from him, she continued.
"My dad said there is a party happening next weekend?" She asked.
"So?" Miguel said.
"Your dad said you would be my date..." Betty started but Miguel got her off by ending the call. He knew he should not have picked up the call.
Betty's hand stopped mid-way to her mouth as she was about to stuff another round of potatoes in it. She looked down at her phone with teary eyes. How could he hate her so much? she thought. She put her snack back in the bowl as she lay down on her side. She tried to call him back, hoping that he ended the call by mistake but decided to wait for him to call back, even though she knew he wouldn't.
Her tears were unstoppable as they dropped into her pillow. She was startled by a knock on her door, soon her father came in and she sat up, bursting into tears again. Her father had always been her shoulder to cry on, he would never let anyone hurt his daughter.
Mr Jenner knew exactly who had hurt his precious daughter and he would not let it slide.
As he patted his daughter's hair, he dialed Mr Parker's phone number. It was high time he gave his daughter what she wanted.