10 | Met Again

[JEREMIAH]

“So, what do you say, Richmond?” the man in his early forties, sitting across the table, donned in a crisp business suit and a crooked grin, asked. “Are you happy with the deal? Should we proceed with the paperwork?”

Joseph Bennett was a big name in the corporate world. He was a force to be reckoned with. The man had everything; money, power, influence. I could even name some illegal businesses in his name, too. But that was a dark side everyone in this business world had. It was impossible to survive without one. Sometimes, one needed more than a clean reputation and a devious personality to get what one wanted. And right now, Joseph Bennett was desperate to have me on his side. I knew what his deal was. I knew about the losses his company in New Zealand was suffering while he sat here in this fancy restaurant, pretending he wasn’t about to go broke in the next few months.

I would like to say, I admired his courage and the dedication to fight till the end. But the sad truth was that he was like a fat fish in the shallow water. No matter how much he tried to stick his head into the water, the future ahead of him was dry as fuck.

But sadly, admiration didn’t lead to profits.

And even though my name with his company might give him a chance of survival, I couldn’t forget the way he treated me when I had just taken over after grandpa’s retirement. He was the one who told me that the corporate world was like a sea of sharks and a rookie like me would get eaten up if I didn’t side with the right people. Right now, I wondered if he was having the same memory flash in front of his eyes. Could he see the irony and how the tables had turned in the last five years?

I leaned back in my seat. “I don’t know, Bennett. I think there is still something you’re holding back,” I mused, as his eyes widened a little before he pushed back whatever thought crossed his mind.

“I assure you, there’s nothing more to add. In fact, now you know more about this project than I do,” he tried to make a joke while the other two of his business partners accompanied him with their annoying laughs.

“Well, I couldn’t disagree with that,” which was nothing but true. I knew more than he was trying to let on. I could practically see through his facade better than he pretended to see through mine when I was just a neophyte. “Let me sleep on it. How about that?”

“No!” he spoke through gritted teeth, barely holding back a snap. “You have already taken enough time as it is. We can’t afford—” one of his partners cut him off.

“What he means is that we all came here hoping to close the deal today. It’s what your assistant proposed over the phone. A lovely lady, by the way.”

“Look,” I turned to face the man who spoke up just now. “You’re being honest with me. So, let me be honest with you, too.”

“Of course. What is it?”

“I think you’re not telling me the whole truth. And we can’t have this agreement until I know what I’m getting myself into. I’m not asking you to put yourself in my shoes. But at least, give it a thought.”

Silence fell on the table. Joseph had grown red up to his neck while his other partners looked like they were about to either throw up or flip the table.

“Let’s…” Joseph finally spoke, leaning on the table, his gaze hard on me. “Let’s meet one more time, shall we? Let me send you a new proposal by the end of the day. And see if it’s according to your taste. What say?”

Damn, I never saw someone so desperate before. I almost wanted to laugh. But I wouldn’t. Of course.

I gave out a chuckle before nodding my head in approval. “Alright,” I said, and watched as they let out a sigh of relief. “Why don’t you go ahead and order something to eat? Lunch is on me. I’ll see you, gentlemen, next week.”

“You’re leaving?” the other business partner of Joseph asked.

“Unfortunately, yes.” I stood up and adjusted the cuff links. “Have somewhere important to be.”

Once leaving the table, I called Margo.

“Bennett is about to send a new agreement,” I told her as I walked out of the restaurant, aware of several eyes on me. “Make sure everything is according—”

“Stop it! I can’t—oh my God, you’re such a twit.”

Abruptly, my feet came to a stop.

“Boss? You’re there?” Margo’s voice through the phone tried to drag me back into focus.

“Yeah, I was saying; make sure everything—“Did you really? No, I don’t believe you. It can’t be.”

The laughter held me in my tracks again. An odd sensation filled my chest.

“Boss? Are you OK?”

Fuck.

“I’ll call you in a while.” Without waiting for her response, I disconnected the call. Took a deep breath and clenched my fist. A thick mane of silver hair and baby blue eyes flashed in front of my eyes.

No. It couldn’t be. I was probably hallucinating. There was no way she was here in New York.

“You finish that up. I’ll be right back,” her voice came again. But this time, I was sure I heard her right. She was actually here. In New York. But how was that possible?

As if to clear my confusion, from the corner of my eye, I caught sight of her familiar figure. She was sitting with a man whose back was to me, but when she stood up and started heading toward the lady’s room, I really saw her.

There was no mistaking this time. A tight pencil skirt hugged her beautiful curves, while a silk blouse she wore gave her such a classy look. My cock stirred awake. She looked like a woman who just stepped out of a successful business meeting. And as much as it annoyed me to see that look on her face after everything, I had done to bring her to her knees, I couldn’t suppress this weird burning in my chest for not being the reason behind that smile of hers. Why was I feeling like this? I shouldn’t be. She shouldn’t bother me so much. She had no right to.

She took a right turn after walking through multiple tables on either side, and I got a slight glimpse of her face.

Even though I did everything to destroy her, I never forgot how fine she was. She was, in fact, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. And God, if I had stopped thinking about her in the past few months.

I didn’t.

I hadn’t even fucked Jade or any other woman in the last three months.

I wasn’t some teenager who couldn’t understand his feelings. I knew what she did to me. Zemira Feather had completely wrecked me for anyone else.

There is a saying: out of sight, out of mind. And I had been following it religiously. It worked somewhat. But now that she was in front of me, I couldn’t help the way my feet moved of their own accord and started heading towards the section of the restaurant she sat with that man. One of the servers blocked my path. And even though she bore a calm expression and looked like she was only there to offer help, I fixed her with a glare.

“May I help you with a table, sir?”

“Yes!” I said, my voice hard, and looked over her shoulder at the man whose back was still facing me. “I want a table next to them.”

——————————

[ZEMIRA]

After washing my hands and blow-drying them, I looked at myself in the mirror and reapplied the nude lipstick. It had been a week since I joined my new workplace. And everything has been going great so far. My bosses were happy with my work and the customers were satisfied with the services. I couldn’t be happier. Everything was just so…great.

It was so unbelievable that I had been quietly worried if I’d jinx it somehow. I wasn’t into superstition, but so much had happened in the last few months. It had cut a lasting scar on my mind. It had left me with a realization that nothing was permanent and that I had to work a little extra hard to not let something like that happen again. I was thinking too much; I knew. I was worrying too much while I should be happy and enjoy my life as Brandon and mom told me to. But I couldn’t help this vague feeling crawling in my chest. As if at any moment, something bad would happen and it would destroy the stability I had done so much to build up.

Mom must have talked to Brandon about this—she was too good at reading me—and as soon as I took a break, Brandon was standing in front of me with a huge smile on his face, wanting to take me out for lunch.

My break was almost over. Thankfully, my restaurant wasn’t that far. Only a few blocks away. And even if I tried to get there on foot, I’d be able to make it on time.

I couldn’t depend on Brandon for every little thing. He was already doing everything he could.

Once making sure I looked fine, I walked out of the lady’s room, catching Brandon’s figure almost immediately. However, that’s not what stopped me dead in my tracks.

It was Jeremiah Richmond sitting next to our table, flicking through the menu with a bored expression.

Beneath my ribs, my heart did a double-take. So damn sharply and quickly, I felt an ache rose through my chest. Hesitation filled my bloodstream for some really odd reason, while nervousness built in the pit of my stomach.

Wait, a second. Why should I be the one feeling nervous? He was the wimp who ran at the first sight of escape instead of dealing with our situation like a mature person.

He probably didn’t know next to whom he was sitting. Perhaps I could use this opportunity in my favour. Perhaps him being here was a good sign.

If I approach him the right way this time and make him see why that house was so important to me, he would understand and would give up on running a bulldozer over it like the other houses in the neighbourhood. I knew for a fact that our home was still intact.

His gaze was still glued to the menu when the corner of his mouth tipped up. Why was he smiling to himself? Had he gone crazy in the past few months?

Not that it mattered unless I could convince him to hear me out.

With a deep breath, I flipped my hair back and resumed walking toward Brandon. But as soon as I pulled the chair and sat, Brandon leaned forward with a phone pressed to his chest. “I have to take this call. Would you be alright waiting for a minute? I promise I’ll drop you before your break is over.”

I gave him a nod with a smile. “Of course. Go ahead.”

“Thank you, Z, you’re the best.”

Once Brandon left, my gaze immediately snapped to where Jeremiah Richmond sat.

Surprisingly, he was looking right at me.

A shudder flipped past my spine, my cheeks burning with the embarrassment of being caught staring at him. Why did I do that? What was I thinking?

“Ms Feather,” he announced, his voice deep and intense, just like the time we met in his office. “What are the odds, huh?”

Suppressing the urge to melt into the puddle, I flicked my gaze and met his with confidence. My lips lifted with a small smile. “The odds could’ve been better if you hadn’t been avoiding me so fiercely,” I said, picking my fork and stabbing through the food. “Mr Richmond.”

He let out a chuckle, and before I could stop him, he rose to his feet and dropped his ass to the chair Brandon sat in earlier. I couldn’t stop my gaze from noticing the perfectly fitted three-piece suit he wore. He looked so tall, so handsome…no, stop it, don’t go there.

“I think the one with the fierceness of a lioness here is you, Ms Feather,” he said with a smirk, sounding sexier, if that were possible. Although I couldn’t tell for the life of me if he was being honest or sarcastic.

I tried to think of something witty to say, and I almost had it at the tip of my tongue when he leaned forward and whispered. His piercing blue eyes were heavy on mine.

“I have a feeling now you’re ready for us to meet again, Ms Feather. What say? Tomorrow at five. In my office?”