Mr. Long's proposal (3)

Emma gaped at him dumbfounded.

"Wh-what?"

"I want you to be mine" he whispered as he brushed her cheek slowly with a finger.

The moment his finger made contact with her skin, she shuddered. A flood of emotions washed over her. In the span of a millisecond she felt disgust, fury, sadness and pity. But it was the strangest sensation: the emotions swept by so quickly she wasn't even sure they had been there. Also, they felt strange and unfamiliar, like they were not her own. She didn't have time to ponder it however, as the sound of Mr. Long's voice brought her back to the moment.

"You are such a fierce and sexy woman, yet you hide behind a cold, impassive mask." His eyes wandered over her face as he spoke, lingering on her brow, eyes and lips.

"But I've seen the fire that hides behind it. You are so beautiful, yet you try to hide behind boring clothes. You're a diamond in the rough and with me you can shine. You are learning to become a nurse aren't you? I'll pay for it. Or if you'd like to go to university, I'll pay for that too. Whatever you want, whatever you need, you can have it. All you have to do, is be mine."

He finished his short speech by flashing her an alluring, seductive and inviting smile, and caressing her cheek once again.

Emma could only stare in shock and amazement. She could feel the pull of his natural charisma, and yet there was something in his eyes that made her shiver. There was a hunger there, not simply lust, but something deeper, and darker. Her instinct told her she should keep as far away as possible from this man.

As the shock started to dissipate, fury bubbled to the surface again. Just who did this man think he was? Yes, he was rich, handsome and powerful. But did he think he could just point at any woman and she would come running willingly? Crossing her arms in indignation, Emma threw him a cold look.

"Thank you for the offer, but I am not interested." she said blankly.

"You are hiding behind that cold facade again, sweetheart."

"I am not your 'sweetheart', Mr. Long. I do not want this 'promotion'. I am very satisfied with my current position, and I have no interest in our relationship being anything other than professional. Now if you'll excuse me, I should get back to work."

She stood up, pushing him back and away from her. For a second she thought he would grab her again. But to her relief he let her go. However, she could feel his intense gaze boring into her back as she practically ran towards the door.

She felt like a frightened rabbit, aware that it was being stalked by a tiger. When she was almost at the door his voice rang out again, making her pause with her hand on the doorknob.

"I'll give you a week to think about it. I hope you won't disappoint me."

Those last words seemed more like a threat than anything else. Unable to stop her self she threw a frightened look back over her shoulder. His devilish smile made her heart skip a beat. As soon as she was out the door she ran, not caring whether he heard her hurried footsteps or not.

And so the brave and fearless Emma Huang had run away and locked herself in the employees bathroom.

What on earth was she going to do? Mr. Long's words had given the appearance that she had a choice about the matter, but his look and actions told her that making him leave her alone might be very difficult.

For one moment, just a short moment, Emma contemplated accepting his offer. It would take care of a lot of her problems and worries. Her money problems would be gone, she could regain some of the financial freedom she had enjoyed as the young miss of an influencial family. She could return to university, she could become a medical doctor, which had always been her dream.

For a brief moment she saw all the wonderful benefits of accepting. But then, at what cost would she gain all those benefits? Even putting aside the fact that she didn't think she could be intimate with a man she had no feelings for, accepting would surely mean giving up her freedom. She would be bought and paid for, at Mr. Long's beck and call. Furthermore, if she ever wanted to leave him, would she be able to? If living in comfort was all she cared about, she wouldn't have left her family two years ago.

Right there and then, sitting on a toilet in the employees bathroom, Emma knew that under no circumstances could or would she accept Mr. Long's offer. The realisation made her somewhat calmer, but there was still the matter of how she should make him believe her when she said she wasn't interested. His attitude before didn't make it seem like he had believed her refusal.

At least she had a week to come up with the best way to reject the offer. That thought gave her some comfort. Knowing that she had been away from the bar for too long, she quickly got up and went back to work.