Vivian was frustrated at how good the food tasted. After evacuating the contents of the food packet, he sipped his latte, instantly smitten by the way the saffron invaded his taste buds. He sighed, his plan had failed. He had no idea how she had managed to fulfill his wish. He had been the most difficult man, and he had told her to bring food that was next to impossible to get, especially at such short notice.
She looked sweet. But from the inside, she was quite clever, wasn't she?
He knew she wouldn't be so easy to crack. No matter how sweet she appeared to be, she was conniving. He ate in silence and discarded packets away, reclining on his chair. His heart was beating loudly; not because it wanted to, because it was painful. He wasn't like this. He was breaking inside.
But her face!
Her sweet, innocent face.
Was she always this beautiful? Always?
He couldn't remember her face. It was two years ago. And a lot could change over time. He had changed. He remembered that she had black hair, but it was long. She had shortened it, probably. But she wasn't this beautiful, she wasn't. His mind railed. He was letting his heart take the steps.
In truth, when he first saw her walking through the door for the interview, he was mesmerized. He wasn't able to take his eyes off of her. Her sweet face, short hair, petite body....everything kind of aroused him. But his revenge was more important than any other thing.
His mind drifted off only to be brought soundly back to reality with the obnoxious ring of his intercom. Eva's voice was calm at the other end. "Sir, there's a Faith Hamilton here, wanting to meet you."
Fay?
Why was she in office?
"Send her in, right way!" He adjusted his suit. He didn't know why but his eldest sister in law made him so nervous. She was such a beautiful and confident. And most importantly, she was motherly and fierce. And Richard, Ben, Alex, and he, all of them were internally scared of her.
But in a good way, of course.
"Viv! What's wrong with you?" The woman walked in with an aura of power.
And sweetness.
"What, Fay? I'm working. What's wrong?" He got up and walked towards her, holding her hand.
"Do you know what today is?" She shouted.
He shook his head. "Hmm, no."
"Ben's birthday! How can you forget? We've been texting you so many times since morning! We even texted you in the family group chat!" She huffed. "Ben's on his way to Texas! His flight just took off! Come on!" She grabbed him by the arm and led him outside.
"You're gonna help me decorate!"
"Not decoration, please! Isn't that Jean's department?" He asked, perturbed.
She sighed. "Viv, you are insane! Try telling that to Jean when she's three month's pregnant! She'll eat your head off!"
He remembered how morning sickness was plaguing Jean. He hummed, looking at Faith. "When's the party?"
"In the evening. Come on, we have four hours. We need all the help we can get. Can your--assistant come?"
"Huh?" He gaped at the blonde woman like she had spoken some kind of alien language.
"Eva, your assistant. Take her with you and come to the house." She turned around and left the cabin. "In ten minutes!"
No matter how matured he had become, he realized he would never stop being a baby to his brothers and their wives. The thing about Faith was that no one could refuse her. She was a charming woman with such an innocent smile yet her authoritarian nature even shook Alex, sometimes. Then who was he?
He got out of this cabin and knocked on Eva's. When no sound came, he barged inside, noticing her plainly staring at the computer screen. "Miss Thomas? Are you here?"
"Yes, yes, sorry, Mr. Hamilton." She got up, looking here and there in a nervous attempt.
"Come with me."
"Where?" Her eyes went wide.
"Come," He beckoned, and then didn't wait for her. Into his way to the elevator, he noticed her walking beside him.
It was not his intention to ever let her into his family house. But Faith needed help, and Eva was his assistant and it was her job to do whatever he asked for. It would be a great opportunity to annoy her and make her life miserable.
He watched her following behind him. "Get in the car."
She didn't question, just followed his command. She got inside the car and when he started the car, he felt her take a sharp intake of breath. Was it out of fear or just plain nerves? He liked the effect he was having on her. He was going against every damn principle his brothers had taught him, but it was giving him pure pleasure; to see her be scared and nervous.
But she was calm.
Surprisingly calm.
He had behaved badly with her since the morning still, she hadn't once showed her inner feelings of frustration. He wasn't satisfied with these little nervous gestures, he wanted her to feel miserable, he wanted her to experience pain, sadness, trauma, depression and all kinds of emotional imbalances- every damn thing he had experienced for the past two years. Because of her.
After thirty minutes worth of drive, he stopped the car and parked it in front of the house. The gates opened and he entered inside, giving her nothing but a glare to follow him along. She gave a little gasp that wasn't unseen or unheard by him. She loved the garden, as usual, just like everyone else. He turned around, watching her stop in her tracks with wonder on her face. Her eyes were sparkling with endless joy, and her mouth had curved into a vivid smile.
For a minute, he just stared at her. The breeze made her hair all messy as she kept smoothing it back in place. In a trance, he walked towards her as she struggled with it. He caressed her hair, gently tucking it behind her hair as she looked at him, her eyes going big and wide like a doe, and her mouth gaping open in shock. She looked adorable and shocked. It made him wanna kiss her.
He retreated his steps back. "Follow me." He turned around and entered the house. The door was open. "Guys! I'm here!"
Faith emerged out of the kitchen with Alex lagging behind her, holding a big bowl of batter in his hands. "Alex's idea! Bake a cake!" She mellowed.
"I had no idea it's so difficult," Alex replied, hugging his wife from behind. Then he looked at them. "oh, Viv, who's she?"
Vivian shook his head, ogling his brother and sister in law who were indeed a part of a very intimate moment, considering the batter was all over Faith's cheek. "You guys can't behave for even a second, can you?"
Alex rolled his eyes at him. "Shut up." He looked at Eva. "Hello, who are you?"
"I'm-"
"She's Miss Eva Thomas, my assistant." Vivian interrupted.
"Miss, huh?" Alex tilted his brows in suspicion. "So, hello, Miss Thomas."
She blushed, biting her lip. "Oh, no, no, please call me Eva."
"Okay, Eva. Hi, welcome. Are you new to his office?"
"Yes," She had a sweet smile on her face and Vivian couldn't help but feel irritated.
