CHAPTER 19

DING!!

The elevator doors opened. It was as if the opening of the elevator automatically brought Laura back from her daze. Ralph was the first to exit the elevator, then Malthus, and she followed suit.

They reached the elevator, Malthus opened it and let Ralph in, then Laura. Inside, sat two people who happened to be Grant and Stephen, the founders of Grant and Stephen Engineering. Ralph walked towards them, heading for the open seat in front of and opposite them.

"Good morning," Ralph said as he shook their hands before he sat. "Did I keep you waiting for long?"

"Oh no no no! Please we only just arrived," one of the men spoke.

Malthus and Laura both sat in the corner of the room. Immediately after the meeting started, Laura noticed that Malthus began typing on his tab; it seemed like he was taking down minutes of the meeting. "Naturally, the secretary is to be seated next to the president," Malthus whispered to Laura. "But because you're with us, we both have to sit here."

Hearing this, Laura could only wonder why. Why did they have to sit in the corner when she was with them? Was it because she was a woman? Was it because the president didn't like her?

"The crowd will be unnecessary, that's why," Malthus continued whispering, disrupting Laura's thoughts. "Besides, you're not an official secretary, yet, so you can't join meetings."

With this, Laura's tightness was released. Her yesterday and today's experiences with the president were bringing out the worst in her. She looked down and held her hands to her lap, trying to calm herself down. Looking up slowly, her eyes settled on Ralph; he had a killer smile, and his features looked much more relaxed as he talked about business.

He didn't have the derogatory look he always had whenever he looked at her. Laura looked at him even more, she was sure she'd met him before. The feeling he gave her was too familiar. Just as Laura was looking at him with multiple thoughts crossing her mind, Ralph's eyes met hers.

Seeing him look at her, her body didn't react like earlier today; she didn't cough hysterically. She held her gaze on him as long as he looked at her while holding her hand even tighter, on her lap, as she mentally went haywire at the audacity she had.

Laura sat hot on her seat. It was as if Ralph's eyes were piercing into hers and opening up her soul. He didn't have the familiar condescending look in his eyes as he looked at her now, but his look was enough to move her insides. Ralph also held his gaze firm on her, like he wasn't going to back down too.

****

While Ralph conversed with Grant and Stephen, he could consistently feel a pair of eyes on him, observing his every move. He could sense that it was her. The woman who annoyed him so much that he could take irrational actions. After handing the contract to them to go through, Ralph swiftly turned his eyes to the corner of the room, just as he thought, there she was.

Unlike others, this woman did not shy away from his eyes, even after knowing that she was perfectly caught in the act; she didn't move, not even a blink. He had very blank thoughts concerning her. At this point, he only wondered why she was too bold. Why did it seem like she was always coming for him, but at the same time, she wasn't?

It was normal for women to drool over him, Ralph had a reputation. So, he thought. He didn't care about them, if they liked, they could die for him, all he knew was that they were all the same. But she…she didn't have the same look they would normally give him. For a moment, he wanted to see through this one. What was she thinking? What was she?

"It looks fine to me, Grant, what do you think?" Stephen spoke, breaking Ralph's look on Laura.

With his eyes now reverted to them, he saw as Grant shut the contract booklet, "It's perfect," he said. His eyes lit up. "The agreement is well stated."

"I'm glad you're satisfied with what you see," Ralph said with a smile. "I'm happy we both see eye to eye."

The meeting came to an end before 12.

Ralph glanced back at Laura, he saw that she was already upstanding beside Ralph, ready for them to leave. She wasn't looking at him, this time, she was on her tablet. Malthus was speaking into her ear. Seeing them in that manner, Ralph felt a discomfort inside of him; he couldn't exactly define the feeling.

Brushing the feeling away, he walked toward them. "What's next on the schedule?" He said nonchalantly as he adjusted his tie. As Malthus was about to speak, Ralph held up his hand. "No, let her."

Laura was shocked, she didn't see him willingly refer to her, coming at all. Also coupled with the fact that he seemed calm now, different, she thought. This made her even more cautious. "You…you are scheduled for an interview at 12:20, sir."

"Hmm…" Ralph looked at his wrist, adjusting his watch. "Where's the venue?" He asked.

"Gramercy Park," Laura replied.

"I'll drive you there, sir, it's not far from here," Malthus said.

With a nod of Ralph's head, they all headed for the office car in the underground car park. Malthus in the driver's seat, Laura in the passenger's seat and Ralph in the back seat. In a few minutes, they reached the park.

"The reporters were carefully selected…" Malthus said as they entered the park. "I handpicked the questions myself, I also compiled answers for you," Malthus concluded as he handed Ralph a sheet of paper.

"Nice," Ralph said as he looked through the sheet. "Are you in a relationship?" Ralph's eyebrows furrowed. "If not, are you looking to be in a relationship?" Ralph dropped his hand with the sheet exhaustively. "What are these questions, Malthus? I thought we were past this now?"