Enthralled by his Charms

It was 8:30 AM on a bright Monday morning. Everyone in the fashion creative department of FK fashion company was seated and awaiting Mr Kaine big reveal.

There were already speculation that the new creative director of the company was no other than the highly qualified Amelia Porter.

Amelia Porter was the most talented and ingenious fashion designer of the company. Aside graduating top of her class from the ULC college of media arts and design, she had put in more than five years of service at the company. She practically had a non-existent social life due to her workaholic lifestyle.

Creating masterpiece designs had always been Amelia's childhood ambition and she had fought hard against all odds to actualize this dream. Now all she needed was for her name to be mentioned. She couldn't wait to move into her new office, the office of her dreams.

When Mr. Kaine finally announced the name of the new creative director, the room went silent. A pin dropped from afar could be heard. It was as though everyone was stunned by the announcement.

After a brief moment of silence, someone stood up and started clapping and cheering. Within seconds, others joined in the euphoria, aside from Amelia.

The name Sarah Bane kept reverberating in Amelia's head. It felt as though she was trapped in precipitating ravine as everything began to spin in circles around her. Terror and rage slowly seeped through her vein as she observed everyone cheering for Sarah.

All week Amelia had been receiving accolades from her colleagues. Even her boss, Mr. Franklin, had been full of praises for her after the last business proposal presentation.

What had that been about? Had he said all of that while knowing he was not going to give her the promotion? Was this a game where the hero gets trashed and the sidekick takes all the glory?

"Why the hell is everyone cheering at Sarah? This is supposed to be my position," Amelia thought aloud. But thankfully, no one heard her statement. They were all too busy cheering for Sarah to pay her any attention except for Denise.

"Sarah is my protege for goodness sake," Amelia said in a barely audible voice, almost choking on her words because of the emotion that clogged her throat.

Even though the room was properly ventilated, she suddenly felt very hot. She tried to stand up, but her legs were shaking.

Summoning all the courage she could muster, Amelia stood up and stormed out of the meeting room.

"Amy, wait up!" Denise called after her. She was as taken aback by this as her bestie.

Denise wished she could act as the fairy godmother now but she was in the same boat as Amelia. They both work for the same scheming bosses.

Amelia went straight to her desk, picked up her bag, and swiftly left the building without answering Denise's calls.

A vortex of anger and frustration swirled inside Amelia's veins as she hurried towards the car park. She was quivering in fury, but she restrained herself from expressing it.

Different thoughts flooded her head as she stepped briskly into the parking lot, without looking left or right for incoming or outgoing vehicles.

Screech!

Amelia froze when she suddenly heard the deafening screeching sound of a car's tyre. She remained transfixed on the same spot until the honking of the car horn jolted her back to reality.

"I'm not dead!" Amelia placed her hands on her heaving chest. When the car honked a second time, she lost her self control and turned on the unfortunate driver.

"Are you blind or crazy? What the hell is wrong with you? You almost ran me over!" Amelia screamed, scowling at the person seated behind the wheel of a gray-colored exotic car.

When the driver's door opened, a tall, handsome-looking young man with tanned skin stepped out calmly. His elegant movement was in slow motion as though time had slowed down. His movement gave him the demeanor of a beautiful warlord. The dark blue fitted suit he wore captured his broad-shouldered athletic body.

Amelia, who had been ready to yell at him found herself at a loss of words, and she blinked in awe as she beheld this fine specimen creation.

Everything about him was perfect. From his neatly cut light brown hair to his clean-shaven square projected chin, to his perfect lips, to his...

"Are you alright?" The handsome man asked her, cutting into her thoughts as he scrutinized her with genuine concern.

His husky voice was sweet music to her ears. His ocean blue eyes were hypnotic and domineering at the same time. Amelia found herself drowning and lost in those gorgeous bottomless eyes.

"Say something Amelia," she echoed within.

"Can you hear me? Are you okay?" His voice had a potent undertone of impatience and amusement.

"What?" She asked with a lost expression on her face.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked again. "You look pale."

"I'm okay," Amelia responded, and then she cleared her throat, "I...y...you... you should look where you are going, mister," she stuttered animatedly.

There was something familiar about his face that she could not place at the moment. 'Where have I seen this face?' she mused as her eyes darted from side to side.

The handsome-looking man was Leonard Gorssom. He is the billionaire CEO of Gorssom fashion. Gorssom fashion is a top-ranking fashion industry in the fashion and retail world, located in the heart of Turl city.

"Excuse me!" Leonard was amazed by her audacity. "I should look where am going. From the look of where we are standing right now, I should conveniently say, you should look where you are going," he pointed out with a frosty glare. "It could have been worse if I hadn't pounced on my brakes. Imagine the mess we would have been in. Regardless of the situation, thank goodness you are alright."

Amelia observed her surroundings and discovered that they were in the middle of the driveway. She felt a sense of reasoning but she wasn't going to take that tone from this man. She has had enough for one day.

"Well, even if I may have not looked properly like you allege," she half admitted, "you should know that this is a car park and not an expressway," she returned his glares.

Leonard jaws dropped. He gawked at the lady in front of him in bewilderment. Whatever gave her the temerity to talk to him in that manner? It was obvious she was unaware of his status. It felt good in a way that someone neutral could express themselves in that manner without fear or favor. But he had to talk some sense into her.

"Lady, you have to..."

"Miss Amelia," she blurted out, irked at his tone.

Amelia couldn't explain why she was channeling her frustration on this beautiful stranger. Although, it felt good to release her anger on something or someone. She boldly stared into his magical eyes, unable to decipher his next action.

"Miss Amelia," he said trying hard to conceal the anger that was looming under his breath, for the sake of peace, try to watch where you are going in the future. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself now, would we?"

"I'm sorry," Amelia sighed. Her eyes shimmered with threatening tears which she tried hard to stifle.

"You don't deserve this cold treatment. I'm not usually like this. I just had a rough morning. Thanks for not crushing me," she tried to smile.

Leonard was instantly overwhelmed by her sudden outpour of raw emotion. He wasn't prepared for it. Just a minute ago, he had assumed she was rude and mannerless. But now, he was curious about finding what had made her angry to have acted in this manner. And surprisingly, he was eager to help her out. He felt like holding her in his arms to console her.

"It's okay, I understand the feeling," he spoke gently to her.

'This is one rare jewel' Leon subconsciously noted as he assessed the red hair beauty before him. 'How come they had never crossed paths', he wondered. Her slim fitted white suit complimented her alluring curves. She had stunningly beautiful and angelic jade-green eyes. Her long, and silky ruby red hair was so captivating that he was tempted to touch it.

"I'll be on my way," Amelia spoke up and turned to take her to leave but was stopped by Leonard. He held her lightly but firmly on her arm.

"Hold on," he spoke softly, "Are you sure you'll be fine?" his eyes conveyed a deep and genuine concern for her well-being.

Amelia gazed into his concerned beautiful eye, as a tear escaped her shimmering eye.