8
Emily forced the twentieth dress on Enya, who was quickly growing tired of the game of dress-up. Enya was not really a fashion girl. Give her some nuts and fruits, and she’d turn it into a masterpiece in a matter of minutes; but matching a shirt to a skirt, seemed to be the greatest puzzle in her life. Emily, on the other hand, was a natural in this art. The girl owned the biggest closet Enya had even seen.
Lucky for Enya, Brandon was also home, lending a more critital eye to Emily’s gushing enthusiasm. If it wasn’t for him, Enya would have would up wearing the too low cut red dress that she felt made her butt look twice as big.
“Girlie, we’ve dedicated the whole Saturday morning to you!” Emily complained. “At least pretend you are enjoying it!”
Emily collapsed on the couch next to her boyfriend. Brandon had absorbed himself in his phone, offering comments and critique only when asked.
“I know, darling, and I appreciate it! But I feel like freaking Cinderella in those dresses,” Enya complained.
Cinderella had never been a favorite character of Enya. She had always believed a girl should create her own career without relying on pumpkins and princes. Now, being dressed in those fancy dresses, she half believed Emily was going to turn Brandon into a fine white horse to bring her carriage to the restaurant where she was meeting Mr. Almighty, Irresistible Thomas Silversson.
“No, you are not,” Emily rebuffed. “Cinderella had at least the decency to listen to her fairy godmother and put on whatever dress she chose for her. Also, she was not stubborn and that is why she got the prince.”
“Nah,” Brandon looked up from his phone to add his two cents. “She got the prince because that idiot was tired of chicks jumping on him trying to get into his pants. My guess is - that could be the case with your Silversson as well. Too many girls chasing after his fortune.”
“He’s arrogant enough to enjoy it,” Enya rolled her eyes.
“And smart enough to be a self-made billionaire before forty. I'm sure that means he values smarter chicks over pretty ones,” Emily added.
“Thanks, Em, I know I’m not the pretty one,” Enya stuck her tongue out. “And I do not want him. Business is all I do! Business! Meaning me saving my business from the claws of that monster.”
“How did you survive thirty long years being so silly, girl?” Emily huffed.
Why is Emily mad at me?
“Thirty-one,” Enya corrected.
Emily just shook her head and returned to her row of dresses. She chose a short green cocktail dress and pulled it out, faux modeling it as she draped it across her body. Enya knew that dress. They had bought it together for the tenth-anniversary dinner that Brandon had organized for Emily. Enya rolled her eyes.
“Not wearing that!” she discarded the dress immediately.
“Baby, I agree with Enya here,” Brandon piped up. “She lets you play her personal business stylist, but don’t force her into a dress that she doesn’t like.”
For once Brandon sided not with his girlfriend but her. Enya was grateful for his support.
“It would have complimented his eyes perfectly,” Emily sighed but without further argument chose another dress for Enya to try. “This one is my good-luck charm for important meetings.”
Enya sighed, not hating the dress and figuring a bit of good luck couldn’t hurt; though it was a bit too sexy for her liking.
“Ok,” Enya conceded. “Though I’m not a fan of how… sexy… it is.”
“Girlie, I still can’t get it - how can you be so smart and talented in work and so stupid when it comes to men?” Enya heard Emily say as she was trying on the purple.
Enya rolled her eyes, the blue fabric sliding over her body as she shimmied into the dress hiding the fact from Emily.
“Perfect!” Emily nodded once the dress rested on Enya’s hips.
Enya smiled, somewhat satisfied with the dress and more so happy that the tortuous process of trying them on was over. The pair walked out of the closet, seeking Brandon’s final approval.
“Agreed!” Brandon seconded, as usual.
“Your Silversson is going to have real hard times keeping his hands off you during that date,” Emily crooned as she found a scarf that could go with the dress.
“For one last time - this is not a date!” Enya barked back as she tried the scarf on. It was beautiful. Something a “proper business woman”, as Enya termed it, would wear.
“If I were to invite someone for a business meeting, I would prefer lunchtime on a weekday. Saturday night dinner in a fancy restaurant – I’d call it anything but work,” Brandon chimed in as he ducked out, knowing his opinion was no longer required.
“He’s got a point. You might think I’m delusional, but if Bran is saying the same, you gotta admit, girl, there’s something there.”
And even if there was, Emily was not getting anywhere with this. Except for terrifying Enya even more. If this was not the business meeting, then it could mean only one thing, Thomas L. Silversson was planning on seducing Enya in order to acquire her business.
So not happening!
“Tell me, girl, when was the last time you had sex. If that was with that sorry ass of your ex whose name we are not allowed to mention, it was ages ago. Now there’s finally a handsome guy who wants you, use this chance!”
Enya bit her lip. She still had not mentioned about her hot night adventure on the roof. Even one mention about her ex made her want to spill out her secret. She did not want Jake to be in no way responsible for her most recent orgasm. It kind of sounded offensive. Still, answering tons of questions about her mystery man tryst was not a great alternative.
“You are picking sides, Em,” Enya narrowed her eyes at her best friend. “You are totally Team Silversson.”
“I am Team Enya-finally-gets-laid!” Emily hugged her friend and led her out into the living room.
Brandon had relocated to the couch and was once again engrossed in his phone and a beer. Emily launched herself into the arms of her boyfriend, kissing him to make her point. Once their lips parted, Emily stole Brandon’s beer and took a few sips. Enya groaned. She could agree on that. If nothing else, her one night stand had reminded her how much she missed sex.
“Let’s go Team Enya-gets-laid!” Brandon added, having overheard their conversation.
Enya blushed.
“I hope that Silversson guy has the guts to tie you to your chair in that expensive restaurant and fuck you brainless right there, in front of everyone.” Half a beer and Emily was already talking dirty.
To Enya, Emily’s fantasy sounded less like an idle threat and more like something Thomas L. Silversson was quite capable of doing. She wasn’t sure whether she agreed to that plan or not, but her insides twitched and she licked her lips imagining, for the one-hundredth time, how his kiss would taste.
***
Enya was still thinking about that imaginary kiss when she parked her car in front of the restaurant.
Blue dress - check.
Auburn hair turned into perfection by Emily - check.
Perfume - she sniffed her wrist - check.
Dark purple lipstick - check.
There was only one thing that ruined the whole image - her very blushed cheeks. She covered them with her hands, trying to imagine something other than Mr. Silversson’s lips on hers when a knock at her window made her jump. A pair of bright green eyes were smiling at her.
“You are late by two minutes,” he spoke from outside the window. “Linger there for another minute, and I’m gone.”
With those words, Thomas L. Silversson turned and entered through the restaurant doors.
Really? Did he come out to threaten her and go back inside?
The normally stubborn Enya would’ve turned around and driven back home immediately. The reasonable business woman would have called his bluff. The horny and fantasy ridden Enya checked the time on her watch. She had forty seconds left.
The very polite restaurant manager accompanied Enya to the slightly isolated table, which provided them enough privacy, but was not completely separated enough from the other tables to make her feel uncomfortable.
“I’ve taken the liberty to choose for you as well,” he informed her.
Enya stumbled on her words, trying to decide exactly how to respond. As much as his words angered her, Enya could not resist that crooked smile on his lips that immediately reminded her about the delicious kiss she had been imagining.
“Thank you?” Enya finally managed to squeak out.
Calm down, girl! Enya told herself, trying to collect her scattered thoughts. You’re here to protect your business no matter what. Do it! If it comes with the bonus of seducing a very attractive man, then let it be.
“You are silent,” Mr. Silversson observed.
He was wearing a gray suit and a strange green tie, which would’ve looked very out of palce on anyone else, but for him, it highlighted his mesmerizing eyes.
Maybe because everything about you makes me nervous? Enya answered him in her mind but did not dare to speak the words out loud.
“How about you tell me why we are here?” she answered, not intending her words to sound so harsh.
“I expected nothing else,” he leaned closer and Enya knew she was blushing again. “Before you jump to conclusions, though maybe you have already, you are the only person who still refuses to sell your little shop. We have bought every single apartment block on the street. Most of your neighboring businesses made enough profit that they could open prosperous businesses anywhere else in the city. Others are going to reopen their stores inside our shopping mall with our support.”
Enya knew all of that. She had talked to most of her neighbors. Some even came to her confectionery to bid farewell to their work and life on their street. Still, even if most of them were happy with their deals, that was not enough to make Enya like Mr. Corporate Shark sitting in front of her and trying to intimidate her with his emerald eyes.
“And all those great deeds have earned you the honor to dine with me?” Enya’s sarcasm finally kicked in.
“You’re good. But no,” Silversson held her eyes locked with his for several very long moments while the waiter served the entrees.
“I want to know you, Enya,” he laughed.
For the first time, if felt like a bit of a nervous chuckle. Enya felt emboldened, like there was finally a chink in his perfect armor.
“You have rejected every deal my lawyers have offered. The last one was ten times more than your business could ever cost. Ever. You are still saying no. I want to know more about a woman who could say no to that.”
“Bad habits die hard,” she bit into her lettuce as if the poor leaves were to be held accountable for his deeds and her choices.
“I get that. But is it a smart choice for your business? How about we play a little game?” he cocked his brow warning Enya of the danger his ‘little game’ was going to bring.
Enya shifted in her seat. Too hot in this restaurant.
“It’s simple. I ask questions. You give answers.”
“With one condition,” Enya shot back. “If I answer your question, I get to ask one in return. Fair, is it not?”
Two could play this game, though Enya wasn’t sure she could ask any of the questions that she really wanted to. Like “Your place or mine?” or “Is the backseat of my car ok?”. Still, she was going to use this game to her benefit. The more she discovered about Mr. Silversson, the better strategy she could come up with to stand against him.
“Fair. I’ll start.”
Enya shifted nervously, trying to prepare answers to any of the questions he could throw at her. She recalled profit and loss figures, annual growth, anything and everything she could use to defend the existence of her business to this tycoon.
“Will you go out on a date with me?”
“Is that your question?” Was the only response Enya could manage.
She was expecting him to ask about her ambitions, her business. Probing questions he could use to figure out how to play her. But this? Especially when they just met for what Enya continued to assume were negotiations.
“Yes,” he responded simply. “And yours counts as a question too. Now, answer mine!”
“No, wait. You said this was strictly business!”
“This dinner is. Strictly business, as you sid. Or did you have other expectations, Ms. Williams?”
She did, but he didn’t know that… or shouldn’t have known that. Enya took a moment to collect herself, once again, and form an argument.
“Yes, Mr. Silversson. I came here with expectations to find something human in you. To learn that you feel at least a tiny bit guilty for stealing my business. Yes, I hoped you’d get out of your Mr. Perfect persona and show there is something real about you.”
“Agree to a date and I’ll show you all those sides you want,” he winked.
It was one thing to pretend this was not a date. But agreeing to his offer would officially mean mixing business with personal. That was one rule Enya did not want to break.
“Is that how all your business meetings end, Mr. Silversson?”
“No. This is quite the exception, Ms. Williams. And I suspect you haven’t been asked on a date for quite a long time.”
How dare he?! Enya’s mind raced. She knew that this was his plan all along; to get her angry, to make her say things she would not say otherwise. As much as Enya knew she was playing into his hands, she couldn’t help her anger.
“Wrong!” she spat back. “I had a date a few weeks ago. On a rooftop and it was hot.”
As soon as the words spilled from her mouth she knew it was a mistake. She had hid the roof-top rendezvous from her best friends for weeks, but now she was just spilling it out here to a stranger.
“Brave!”
No other word. No reaction on his face. Was that what he thought of her? Was he waiting for her to elaborate more details? Enya did not like not understanding men. That’s why she had always chosen boring guys like Jake.
“What about you?” Enya tried to break the awkward pause.
“I don’t do dating, darling. As I said, you are an exception.”
The silence that followed next, when both of them were busy eating their salads was unbearable.
Is he still waiting for her answer or simply checking my reaction?
As much as the person sitting in front of her attracted her with his looks, her mind always skipped back to the guy she had not mentioned to anyone else until now. She was comparing them, something that was always a bad sign in Enya’s world.
He watched her as she ate. He watched her as she talked to their waiter who brought their main course and refilled their glasses. Everything about Thomas Silversson charmed her. Yet, he was like a dangerous predator; stalking his prey, luring into his claws. Waiting until it, she, was begging for him to devour her. If this was his game, the man was damn good at it. She had no way to win it. Still, Enya was not a woman to give up.
“Are we still playing at questions and answers?” Enya asked when his silence was unbearable.
“Yes. My turn,” he grinned.
As much as it angered her that he twisted this to his benefit again, Enya also found some sense of thrill to it.
“How did you break up with your ex?” Thomas asked.
Enya never remembered mentioning her ex to him. She guessed that he was just assuming she would have one and not currently be in a relationship.
“He broke up with me,” Enya was surprised that the statement did not hurt as much as it did before.
She was used to being the one to let them go, to figure out they had reached a dead-end. With Jake, things had been different. Everything seemed perfect, until one day he asked her to choose between him and her business.
“He thought I was too busy and did not give him the attention he deserved,” she shrugged.
Ironic, her ex had asked her to work less and she had chosen her work over him. Now, she was sitting here and breathing unevenly for a man who was not asking but crashing her business and enjoying the whole process of it at a nice dinner in a fancy restaurant. And Enya still considered herself the reasonable smart woman.
“Did he break your heart or hurt your pride?”
“You’ll get to ask it next time. It’s my turn. Tell me about your family.”
“That’s not a question. Try to ask something.”
“Who are your parents? Do you have siblings? Are you close with them? Did they help you with your career?”
She might’ve had all of those answers if she had done proper research about him. Usually, there would be complete biographies about persons as renowned as the founder of Silversson Industries. Enya was pretty sure she remembered Karo complaining that his life story started from the moment he dropped out from Harvard to start his first business initiative. Enya was quite sure the interesting part of the story lay way back in his past.
“That’s four questions,” Thomas clarified. “Lucky for you there is only one answer to all of those questions: no. No siblings. Not close with my parents, and they didn’t help me one bit. The last time I saw my parents I was five. They drove me to my grandma’s place and as I was walking out of the car, they promised to be back soon. That never happened.”
For just a moment his arrogant billionaire mask started to fade away. It was only for a moment though, when he mentioned his grandmother. Enya leaned closer to hear the rest of the story. Thomas Silversson brought his glass of wine to his lips, drank it all and one blink later, he was back into the playful bad boy skin again.
“Four questions from me now,” he warned her. “Will you go out on a date with me?”
“No.”
“Will you go out on a date with me if I promise to behave?”
Highly suspicious offer. “No”
“Will you go out on a date with me if I offer you a new location for your shop – in the city center? For free.”
“No.”
“Will you go on a date with me to my grandma’s place where I grew up?”
If she ever got to see the true face Thomas Silversson, this was going to be the only place he would be exposed. Meeting the grandma of the person who was crushing her dreams was not really a promising start of a romance either. Enya chewed on a huge mushroom, devoured two small broccoli florets and several arrows of asparagus while she tries to consider all the pros and cons. Who was she fooling, though? She knew the answer all along.
“Yes,” she said and stuffed her face with another mushroom hoping that it would prevent her smile from being too obvious.