Chapter 8 --- Curiousity Killed The Cat
Chapter 8
~ Curiosity Killed the Cat ~
|| Chapter Theme Song:
Highest In the Room–Travis Scott, Rosalia ||
[IRIS'S POV]
Unbuckling his seat belt, the driver responded, “I have no idea, Mr. President. Please be seated. I’ll call security to scan the area.”
He got out of the car and I sunk deeper into my chair, trying to disappear into the leather seat. I instantly felt uncomfortable because, for some reason, being alone with the president always made my heart flutter. While we sat in an awkward silence, I sensed his eyes studying me. After a few more moments, a guard came up to the president’s window and gave it two light knocks. President Gray let down the window to better hear the guard.
“Sir, since today is your birthday, you should make an appearance to the citizens. A lot of them have gathered to wish you well,” he said with a polite tone.
President Gray let out an annoyed sigh and immediately began to rub the sides of his temples. He was the leader of the nation and the owner of a multibillion dollar corporation! Wasn’t this just a routine thing for him to do? I was shocked to see how reluctant he was to make an appearance. Inhaling sharply, he straightened and looked at me.
“Miss Young, come with me.”
Quickly getting out of the car, I followed closely behind him. My eyes went wide as I saw that the “citizens” coming to wish him well, were just a bunch of screaming teenage girls. They were holding huge signs that said, “Happy Birthday!” and “I love you, President Gray!” and I think I even saw a few that said, “Marry Me, Mr. President!”
The crowd screamed in ecstasy as he made his entrance. I saw a few of the girls actually cry in excitement and others wave hysterically, hoping that he would glance in their direction.
“Holy Shit! His has more fans than a freaking celebrity!” I thought.
The girls were cheering and giggling as he passed them. I shook my head, pitying the poor souls. Despite all of the women around him, Mr. President’s expression remind vacant as he sauntered through the crowd. He truly did have a kingly appearance and it, without a doubt, served him well as the figure head of our nation.
His arctic blue eyes swept across the crowd and the corner of his lips mysteriously quirked up. He waved only twice and made sure to at a safe distance from the enthralled crowd. At seeing his small action, the girls broke out into screams like he was throwing out kisses. Suddenly, he glanced behind to look at me and gestured for me to stay close. He didn’t have to tell me twice! I stepped a bit closer to him and the guards acted as our barrier against the crowd.
Walking towards the building’s entrance, I became the recipient of many harsh glares from the president’s… fans. They whispered to each other as they looked me up and down, making me uncomfortable. As I reached down to smooth out my skirt, the whispers became more prominent.
“Hey, who is that with president?” asked one girl clutching a “Marry Me” sign. “I thought he didn’t like to be around women?”
“All of his employees are male. He did have a female secretary a couple of years ago, but she was fired within a week,” another girl answered.
“Look at what she’s wearing! Doesn’t she look like an escort? She must have come to seduce our president,” someone else declared.
“ Shut up! Don't talk so loud. If any guards hear us, we will be in huge trouble,” warned an older looking girl.
As I kept hearing the ridiculous speculations from these wretched women, my face burned with embarrassment. Their words echoed in my mind. My head started to ache. I felt degraded by their incentive remarks and I kept my face down while following the man who currently was the source of all my problems.
Finally inside headquarters, I sighed in relief as the huge oak doors closed behind us. We made our way into the elevator and, to maintain a safe distance from my unreasonable boss, I chose to stand in the far left corner.
His blue eyes shifted to me and with a mocking smile, he asked, “Are you, perhaps, afraid of the crowd, Miss Young?”
I stiffened and shook my head. He smirked and my mind drew a blank at his expression and all I could do was stare at him. Nonchalantly, he shifted his gaze away and I decided to not carry on the conversation. We reached the 15th and two of his bodyguards immediately accompanied us towards his office.
“Sir, Mr. Jackson is in the waiting area. Would you like to meet him now or later?” asked the guard as we walked down the corridor.
Stopping in his tracks, he asked, “How long he has been waiting?”
“About two hours, sir.”
He flashed a devilish smile. Turning to face the guard, he said, “Let's go meet him, then.”
Leaving me there with no instruction on what to do or where to go, I just stood there and watched him stride away in the opposite direction.
“Am I supposed to follow him or try and find my office?” I murmured.
As I stood there thinking, I heard a familiar voice.
“Miss Young?”
I turned around and saw Mr. Scott standing a few feet away from me–dressed in a navy blue suit–looking dashing as usual.
I smiled widely and replied, “Good Morning, Mr. Scott. Would you mind to directing me to my desk?”
“Oh, your desk is inside the president's office, Miss Young. As he is in your care, it would be better to be situated close to him.”
As he guiding me, I really did try not to roll my eyes. But, come on! Why do I have to share an office space with that narcissistic man? However, this was actually quite perfect and would make it easier to accomplish my mission. Feeling more confident at this reassuring thought, I pulled the office door open.
My desk, I noticed, was far away from his. It had a laptop, sticky notes, a charger and some other necessities. Plopping down in my office chair, I yawned loudly and a satisfied smile formed on my lips. This was the first time landing a job that matched my academic abilities! Quickly, I logged on to the computer and started setting up its functions according to my preference. After a while, I looked up at the door and there was still no sign of the president. That’s weird. He is such a workaholic and he wasn’t here yet. Was he having any meeting?
Bored, I got up from my comfy chair and decided to take a walk through the whole office. It was an enormous space–equivalent to that of an apartment. As I looked around the room, my eyes caught sight of a little door in an obscure corner. Upon closer inspection, I saw the bold letter’s on the door, which said, “DO NOT ENTER.”
“Well! If that’s not an invitation to look inside, I don’t know what is!” I smirked.
My heart was pounding in anticipation of what I might find as my hand stretched toward the door. But, just as I touched the handle, I was whipped around by a hard grip on my wrist–my back hitting the wall. Snapping my attention to the person who held my hand, I looked up in horror.
His blue eyes burned as he glared down at me. I gulped in fear.
“I-I'm sorry, Mr. President. I saw the door and was just curious.”
His gaze softened a little and looked at me with an enigmatical expression. He placed his hand on the wall and leaned down towards me. I felt the urge squirm at his closeness and unwavering scrutiny.
“Curiosity killed the cat, Miss Young,” he said. “You should watch your step.”
At his threat, I couldn’t think of anything to say. Suddenly, something occurred to me. I straightened my posture and smiled up at him.
“Didn’t you know Mr. President? You shouldn’t keep secrets from your secretary. You never know what you might need someone to back you up.”
Silence fell as his sharp eyes pierced through my soul. I knew, I might be challenging his patience but deep down, I was enjoying his angered eyes. He was like a little tiger to me who needed to be tamed patiently. One wrong move could destroy my purpose of coming here. I knew how to play or why would I be here throwing myself into a wolf's den?
