It was a five hour flight from LA to New York City. Isabel slept through half of the flight as she always does on long flights.
They arrived in New York few hours before their meeting.
Not minding the fact that they were taking the early morning flight back to LA the next morning, Isabel packed her bags like she was going on a one month vacation.
"Girls thing" Kine had teased her when he saw her bags. That was literally the first time he attempted to make a joke at her . She just smiled not wanting to embarrass herself by explaining the reason she packed so much.
He had a great effect on her and she always feels so powerless around him.
They checked into their various hotel rooms and she was finally able to breathe properly.
The truth is that he makes her tense, the sexual attraction she felt towards him grew stronger daily. And she knew for a fact that it was not only sexual attraction. She was in love with him.
The meeting was scheduled for late afternoon, a limousine picked them up from the hotel to the venue of the meeting. Isabel was glad that she had packed so well for the trip because she didn't know what to except. She was a billionaire CEO's secretary, she had to look and act like it.
The meeting lasted for about two hours after going back and forth on funds , investments and capitals. She heaved a sigh of relief as they all moved to the dinning hall for lunch. She ate silently as she watched the men continue to talk about business amidst laughter. They never take a break from business talk , do they?
Kine was the only one amongst everyone present at the meeting that came with his Secretary and that made Isabel a bit shy when one of the men pointed it out jokingly.
They even went ahead to compliment her good looks and dedication to her job. She just flushed and muttered a series of "thank you" trying so hard to avoid Kine's gaze because she knew he was starting at her.
Few minutes after lunch, they were on their way back to the hotel in the same limousine that picked them up earlier.
Life felt so good , better than it felt back in Portland .
A small smile played at the corner of her lips as she looked out of the window enjoying the view as they passed by tall buildings and beautiful houses.
"Is this your first time in New York?" Kine asked after clearing his throat dramatically.
She nodded shyly "yes… am I that obvious?"
He laughed , his eyes became almost invisible as he laughed harder . She was seeing him laugh this hard for the first time since she started working for him.
"Sorry but yes I noticed" he said still laughing.
She didn't know whether to laugh too or just put on a straight face . When it comes to Kine , she was always confused.
"You're not embarrassed , are you ?" He asked noticing that she wasn't laughing.
"No no" she quickly said "it's just that I've never seen you laugh like this"
Their gaze met and he shrugged "well as you can see , I laugh".
She smiled and looked away focusing her attention back to the beautiful buildings.
"So our meeting went well" he announced like she had not witnessed it herself.
"Yes congratulations" she whispered.
"Let's have dinner to celebrate" he said not bothering to look at her.
Her mouth opened but she closed it as no words came out.
"Get ready by 7" he continued, this time looking straight into her eyes.
She nodded and looked away shyly.
It was 6:30 pm in the evening and Isabel was standing in front of the mirror with her hair up, the way she always tied it . Her pink strapless dress lay perfectly on the bed as she worked on her make up. She did the final touch of her make up and decided to wear her hair down, for the first time in ages.
Her dress hugged sexily to her body as she scrutinized herself in the mirror.
"Isn't this too much for a dinner date with my boss?"she thought.
Date? She giggled like a little child at the thought of that.
She jumped as someone knocked on the door , she walked briskly to the door and half opened it.
Kine's gaze moved from her face to her strapless shoulder.
He was wearing casual shirt and a grey pant to match, similar to the way he dressed the night they first met.
"You look beautiful" he said as he stretched out his hand. She took his hand reluctantly and they walked to the private restaurant in the hotel.
She didn't realize she had been holding her breath until she was sitting across him in the fanciful restaurant on a pent house.
The view of the city from the glass walls caught her attention and she almost gasped.
"New York is beautiful" she said not bothering to move her gaze from the beautiful view before her.
"Not as beautiful as you are Isabel" Kine said taking her hands in his.
The gesture took her by surprise but she allowed him. He looked at her with so much tenderness that made her knees weak and at that moment she was grateful that they were sitting.
"I like you" he confessed "actually I have liked you from the first time I saw you at the party".
"you remember?" She whispered, her heart beating hard against her chest.
She felt upset that he had acted like he didn't know her. That he had made her go through all those emotional roller coaster while trying to figure out if he remembers her or not.
"Do you hate me?" He asked squeezing her hands in a reassuring way but pulled away almost immediately.
She just stared at him not knowing how to act or what to say.
"I want to continue from where we stopped that night" he continued.
"Kine…." She was beginning to say but he placed a finger on her lips.
"Shhhhh…." He whisphered.
He knew what she was about to say and he feared that it would ruin their night.
They ate and drank red wine, the rest of the night went on in total silence. He conversed with his eyes making her shy through out dinner.
They got back to the hotel and she hurried to her room even though it was opposite his.
"Goodnight Isabel" he called after her.
"Goodnight sir" she answered and fled into her room almost forgetting her fear of sleeping alone.
"Shit" she muttered under her breathe realizing it was just her in the room and there was no Lilly to tell her ghosts do not exist and no one is trying to haunt her in the middle of the night.
She opened the door and peeped in the hall way but there was no sign of Kine , she locked it back gently,changed into her night wear and lay on the bed as she prayed for sleep to steal her away.