I will lower the moon for you Page 3

  I was feeling weak in my knees, and wobbling under his hold. He sensed it, and immediately tightened his grip around my small waist, supporting me firmly against his strong body. His scent was intoxicating, causing me to melt in his embrace and give in.

  Oddly, I felt so secure in a stranger's strong arms.

  Neve did a kiss intrigued me this profoundly before. It felt like he was claiming me, like he was reaching my soul and marking me to be his.

  My mind was telling me how wrong this was, especially right after what happened with my boyfriend, but my heart was in full consent. In this moment, I wished to forget everything and just feel good about myself; and this gorgeous stranger gave me just that.

  Even though for a moment, he became my calm in this chaotic world.

  Chapter 4

  Reality Check

  Emma

  Present Day

  It was Saturday morning, and I had officially completed the first week at my new office. I was getting comfortable, except for the commute which was at least an hour and a half drive, one way.

  I stretched and flipped out of my cozy bed, straight to the shower as I had plans to go apartment hunting with Niki today.

  I stood in the shower as a stream of warm water washed away the exhaustion of my first week away. Closing my eyes, I reminisced how my life was turning a new leaf. As much as I was looking forward to embrace everything that awaited me in future, my heart could not help but go back to the husky voice that awakened every hidden desire in my body.

  After heedlessly kissing each other, Jake finally broke the kiss, cupped my face and leaned in to whisper in my ear, "You deserve so much better, Emma."

  His words sent shivers down my spine, even today.

  I recalled how Nate stopped in his tracks the moment he saw me kissing another man. The anger that donned his face, gave an unusual satisfaction to my aching heart. He left without uttering a word, both from that beach and thereafter my life, for good. I didn't hear from him after that.

  I shrugged the shadows of the past at the back of my head, got ready and left to meet Niki at our usual spot.

  I entered the cafe and saw Niki was already waiting for me while texting on her phone.

  "Hi, Niki!" I said, bending over to give her a quick hug.

  "Hey, Gorgeous. How have you been? How's work treating you? Any handsome faces?"

  "The only faces I see at work are that of Benjamin and the coffee machine." I rolled my eyes.

  "Oh, and yes Britney too. Mainly while going in and out or rarely during my coffee breaks. She is sweet, though, always cheerful. I like seeing her every morning."

  "Britney? Who? Oh yes, you mentioned the reception girl. Good, I am glad you are getting familiar."

  "Yeah, me too. Was that Barry on the phone when I got in?"

  "Yes, it was him. It's still too early, but we have been texting a lot. I think he likes me. He asked me for a date tonight. I am quite excited about it to be honest." She looked dreamy.

  "Great. He sounds nice; I hope he turns out to be the perfect guy for you."

  "I hope so too, he is very different from the rest..." Niki continued. I listened to her attentively, and observed, how her eyes were full of excitement as she described Barry to me.

  Niki worked as a freelance artist and had a small rented gallery in the east side of the city. She had a cozy workplace, and the beautiful paintings and pieces of art perfected by her, added life to that space. She was amazing, and yet she gave little credit to herself.

  "So, what's new with you, apart from work?" Niki asked as she slowly sipped her coffee.

  "Nothing, same old."

  "Do you still think about Jake?" She gave me an intense look. I didn't know what to tell her. Did I think about him? How about all the damn time?

  He wasn't just a guy I randomly came across; Jake had become a feeling. Before meeting him, the last person I ever cared about was me. But for the first time in my existence, his touch, his hold on me made me feel desired. Like I could be someone important too, someone who could be treasured.

  "You shouldn't have abruptly run away that night Emma. You even left the island by taking the first flight out. You never know..." Niki's words pulled me out of my thoughts, but before she could complete, I cut her out. "Never know what Niki? What did you expect me to do? I took advantage of him to make Nate jealous. I was totally out of my mind that day. Kissing a stranger like that."

  "A hot stranger, mind you. The way you described him, I wish I could see him too, for once atheist."

  "Hot or not. It was wrong. Let's have a reality check already. We are never going to discuss about him again. I think it's high time I move on. I never saw him after that, and I am sure I never will. Okay?"

  Niki raised both her hands in submission.

  "As you say miss. But you know, one should never say never." She gave me a sheepish smile, and once we were done eating, without any further ado, we headed to one of the five shortlisted estate agents that I had carefully picked in my preferred localities.

  "Emma, I still feel you should find an apartment closer to my residence." Niki looked at me with hopeful eyes.

  "Come on, Niki. We already discussed this. I still don't feel comfortable staying anywhere close to your brother."

  "I understand Emma. I just think we can hang out more if we stay close."

  "Don't worry about that. Nothing has stopped us before." I literally dragged her with me.

  We met all the shortlisted agents and visited six different apartments; the last one, however, was my favorite and Niki nodded in agreement too.

  It was a well-designed apartment that had a bright living room, thanks to the eye-catching big glass window that was almost the size of the front wall overseeing the neighborhood.

  The moment I entered; I fell in love with it.

  "I think I will be taking this one." I told the agent with a straight face, in an attempt to hide my excitement.

  "Sure, you can come back tomorrow for the advance and other formalities. You can meet your landlords too. Does twelve noon sound good?"

  "Yes. It sounds good."

  The moment the agent left, I squeezed Niki in excitement.

  "I love this place, Emma. Don't be surprised if you find me crashing here every second day."

  "Of course. You will always have a spare key to my apartment. You can come whenever you want."

  I squeezed her in a hug again.

  By the time we were done, we both were exhausted. It was already six in the evening, and she had to meet Barry at eight pm.

  "Good luck with your date Niki. Please be gentle with that poor soul. He doesn't know what's going to hit him." The tone was mocking but the words were true. My friend was a total nutcase.

  "You are right. He doesn't know." Niki added sarcastically making us both burst in laughter.

  We both hugged each other and went separate ways.

  ***

  It was a usual Monday morning, and I was working on one of the priority accounts delegated by Benjamin.

  "Emma, please keep the final agreement ready before I get in from my meeting with the Richmond, that would be around two pm," Benjamin said over the phone before hanging up on me in a rush.

  It had been four months since I started working at S&M and I had never seen Benjamin this stressed as he had been for the past two weeks.

  S&M had recently pitched and won a new client - Richmond Corp. It was one of the most reputed oil and refinery companies in the world.

  Benjamin had been under a lot of pressure to build grounds with this new client and given his wife's delivery was due any time next week, he had been tossing a lot between work and home. Already a father of two beautiful girls, he was expecting his third child.

  In my last four months with the firm, Benjamin had taught me a lot, and we had developed a strong rapport both personally and professionally.

  While he was focused on the Richmond, I had been handling all his other ongoing projects from offi
ce.

  It was already noon when the door of the office flung open, and Benjamin walked in a rush.

  "Hi. How did the meeting go?" I felt a bit concerned. His temperament and mood did not look the best.

  "The meeting was one hell of a ride I tell you, the Richmond are the sharks of the industry, and they had this recent hostile takeover of BLK, their long associated business partners, that has left the top line in splits." He said while simultaneously opening his laptop and looking for documents on his table.

  I was still looking at him with curious eyes, wanting to know more.

  "On top of it, this new CEO is cold and ruthless and want us to help him complete the acquisition by the end of next week." He said as he now got up to walk to the cabinet to find something else. "He is so aggressive that he is already looking forward to his next project in Europe and he wants everything with BLK wrapped up at the earliest".

  "New CEO?" I quizzed.

  "Yes, he is the son. His name is Jacob Richmond. His father died in an accident about six months ago, post which he took over his office, and within such a short span, his business tactics have earned him a name."

  He couldn't stop talking about this new CEO, and his interest in him, intrigued me too.

  "This land is so sharp and instinctive, I only have had a couple of meetings with him, but I am amazed by his attention to detail and industry knowledge. He will change the face of the oil and refinery industry, mark my words."

  I felt my mouth went dry listening to him. Benjamin was so hard to please, and I was sure this new CEO Jacob must be a genius that he had Benjamin floored by his capabilities.

  His name did ring a bell though. I think I must have had read about him in the newspaper or something.

  I already decided to look up more information on him afterwards.

  Jacob Richmond. Interesting.

  Chapter 5

  Mr. CEO

  Emma

  From the moment he entered the office, Benjamin had been ranting and non-stop working on Richmond's proposal; and like the obedient kid I was, I was listening to him attentively.

  My thoughts were interrupted by a ring, it was Benjamin's phone, and I got up to hand it to a very busy and engulfed Benjamin. It was from his wife.

  He picked up while his eyes still on the file in front of him, when suddenly he stood up in shock.

  "I will be right their love." Panic struck his face, as he took a deep breath before turning to me.

  "Emma, it's Raina, she is in labor, and I need to rush." After pondering over something in his head, he continued "Listen to me and listen to me very carefully, I am trusting you with this as I am in a complete emergency now and can't think of any other way."

  I was confused and scared, as whatever he was going to say, it didn't sound good.

  "You will help me prepare the proposal for Richmond; it has to be in their office before nine am tomorrow. They have a meeting with BLK's Board of Directors at ten am, and you will be attending that meeting as a representative from S&M."

  "I… What?"

  He rubbed his temples, and heaved another sigh.

  "Yes, I want you to take detailed notes and flag anything odd if you may come across. Your point of contact would be Mark Hanly. He is the Vice President of the Legal Dept at Richmond's. I will let him know of your arrival on the phone today".

  Benjamin said all of it in one go. He also handed me Mark Hanly's business card along with a couple of files.

  "These files are for your reference; they will help you draft the proposal".

  He started wearing his coat and grabbed his suitcase.

  "Feel free to refer to other records available in the library. I am counting on your kiddo. Don't put me down."

  "Hey, wait! But can't you ask some other experienced team member to take this up? I am not sure if I can do this."

  "Nobody is present in the office and getting anybody come over and giving a handover will take forever. We have a very short deadline here." He gave me a quick pat on my shoulders before walking past me.

  "But am I allowed to visit the client office even when in probation?" I was questioning his back as he was already at the door rushing out.

  "I will take care of it. You just focus on the proposal." He left while screaming down the corridor.

  My heart was beating so fast, and without realizing my palms and forehead were sweating too. Benjamin left, and I was still apprehending all his instructions in my head.

  I wasn't prepared for this.

  This was a disaster. Richmond's were S&M's biggest client, and their first proposal meant a huge deal to the company.

  How was I supposed to prepare it single-handedly?

  I was nervous as hell and had no clue as to where to begin from. Hearing about their ruthless CEO and how detailed and accurate he was, formed a lump in my throat.

  I sat down on my chair and took a glass of water. I calmed myself and started thinking. I really could not afford to screw this up and I could not disappoint Benjamin. Raina was in labor, and I was worried about her well-being too.

  I mustered all my courage and told myself I could do this. I quickly texted Benjamin that I was starting the proposal work and asked him to take care of Raina while also keeping me updated.

  I hoped their little boy was delivered safely. Yes, they were having a boy.

  I quickly took the files Benjamin had left and rushed to the library with my laptop in my other hand. I took out all the relevant books that could help me chalk out this detailed proposal and got to work.

  ***

  It was already eight pm, and the library was now empty. The distant noises from the office were no

  more audible, looked like everybody left already. Suddenly I heard footsteps, and I raised my head to see who it was. I saw Britney smiling with a small brown paper bag in her hand.

  "Hi, there, girl. You are so lost in your work; do you see what time it is?" Britney soft voice fell on my ears as she sat across me.

  "Hi, Britney. I know its late, but I still have a lot of work to cover, I think it's going to be an all-nighter for me today."

  "Yes, I can see. You have been working non-stop for six hours straight. I came in an hour ago too, but you were too busy to notice me."

  She smiled and continued as she pulled her chair and sat next to me.

  "I guessed this might be something urgent, so I took the liberty to get dinner packed for you. Come, take a break, let's eat together in the breakout area, and you can then continue with your work later".

  I was touched by her sweet gesture, and indeed I was starving. I took all my stuff from the library, including my notes, the files and the proposal documents, placed it safely in my workstation and headed for my dinner break with Britney.

  "Wow. So, you have your first client meeting tomorrow?" Britney had a grin on her face.

  "First unofficial client meeting," I stuttered nervously.

  "Yes, whatever it is, it is a big deal, such exceptions have never been made for a Junior staff before. Not in my six years with this organization. Benjamin is taking a risk here, but that only shows his trust in your capabilities".

  "Yes, I am very nervous. What if something goes wrong? Richmond's CEO is not easy to please too. I am dead worried inside."

  "Don't worry, Emma. Have confidence in yourself. Jacob Richmond is a scary one, no doubt, but I am sure you will pull it off." She said in an assuring tone.

  "Jacob Richmond. How do you know about him? Have you got acquainted with him before? Is there anything that I should keep in mind?" My curiosity was hitting the roof now.

  "Acquainted with him? Are you kidding me? He is untouchable. Before S&M pitched to be his company's legal partners, I had scheduled eight different meetings with his secretary, all getting pushed mercilessly as he was too busy." She took another bite and gulped it before continuing.

  "That guy is a ghost, he surfaces only when he wants to, his time is extremely precious, and he only gives high profile appe
arances on extreme need basis."

  "Yes, I heard a lot about him from Benjamin earlier today".

  "You know, I have a friend in one of his divisions, rumor has it that ever since his father died, he has taken it too hard on himself and he works more than eighteen hours a day."

  "Wow. That's a lot."

  "Yes, it is. And by the way, he is a hottie too. Girls in his office drool all over him. You will surely be in for a good show". Britney winked as she described him.

  "Oh," I muttered.

  "Don't stress; just relax. It's not that you have a one on one meeting with him. You are going to represent S&M in a board full of people. He might not even notice your presence. I am sure you will be fine."

  "Yes, you are right, I guess." I agreed.

  "Just keep your head high, and your proposal work on point." She concluded with a convincing smile.

  She was right, I am just supposed to take minutes of the meeting notes and report back to Benjamin. If I could cover all the necessary clauses in the proposal, I will be just fine, and once Benjamin is back, he can take it forward from there.

  I will be thorough with my paperwork and am sure Mr. CEO will not even notice me sitting there.

  That suddenly reminded me of Raina, I quickly left another text to Benjamin asking about Raina's health and how were she and the baby doing.

  I got an instant reply.

  "Still in labor, the baby is big, and this may take some time. Raina is holding up fine".

  I prayed for their well-being after sending a quick reply. "Take care, Benjamin, let me know when the baby comes."

  Britney and I chatted for a bit longer, it was a good refreshing break, and I think I needed it before I dived back into work.

  She was now telling me about her hometown back in Vancouver. Britney was from Canada, and she was engaged too.1

  Her fiancé Max lived in NYC as well and worked in a big IT company here. They were childhood sweethearts and were looking forward to getting married early next year.