After thirty minutes of yoga and a light breakfast comprising of omelet and tomato sandwich with orange juice, she drove herself to the Branch office of Kronos, the presumed make-shift headquarters for Matt Flinthart till he had clinched the said tender.

Dressed in a navy blue sheath dress with a slate gray short blazer, coupled with blue sapphire drops she'd inherited from her mum, armed with kohl-lined eyes and pink gloss-tinted lips she entered the steel and glass behemoth at nine a.m. sharp.

The interiors were ruled by dark brown, seemingly the favored color as it was present everywhere from his eyes to his walls and the décor. Cream leather furniture and plush white Italian marble gave the place a lightening feel.

Fresh baby pink orchids adorned the reception area. The receptionist was immaculately dressed and supposedly expecting Rose as she addressed her with a smile and told Matt had been waiting for her in the conference room.

Well that did take away half the fun...

Heels clacking in controlled disappointment she approached the conference room only to find its door opened by Matt. It was as if she was looking at her male version this lovely morning. He was wearing a slate gray suit coupled with navy blue tie and blue sapphire cufflinks.

Could things get anymore odd? Like two knights had come to war dressed in their royal colors. About to draw swords for the same maiden...

Open-mouthed she stared at him for a few seconds; it was as if he had spies reporting him of what she wore.

Now that was a joke!!

He offered his right hand with an almost apologetic smile as if saying sorry for what he did and how he behaved yesterday.

"Good Morning, Miss Rose!! My apologies for my rash and almost rude behavior yesterday!!" he said in his deep, masculine voice which reached somewhere down where no voice was allowed access. His brown eyes invading the depths of her hazel ones and trying to gauge something she felt she should be guarding.

"Almost rude?! Let me assure you it was definitely rude, not taking into account you interrupted a video conference with our overseas clients who wondered if I operate from an office or a roadside café where people may come and go as they please." She flung in equal measure with a calculated smile giving no trace of how his voice and apology had affected her.

He answered with a broad, disarming smile. Thick wavy black hair, tanned ivory skin with a hint of a dimple on his left cheek gave him a schoolboy charm as if he'd been summoned to the headmaster's office and he had no qualms accepting he was in the wrong.

Too endearing...something she wasn't expecting from Matt Flinthart, the guy infamous for hiring and firing people as he pleased, who valued bottom-line over aesthetics and definitely not from the guy who featured with a new model in his arms every few days in the circles such billionaires frequented.

Definitely not expecting this...

"I hope you didn't fire your security over allowing me access to your office unannounced without an appointment," he asked tilting his head sideways.

Aww, such a big heart... Why?! Would you like to hire them?!

"I don't fire my people. I make them pay for their negligence. She has been transferred to one of our sites. Let's call it scud duty!" She replied bending her head forward making it clear she kept scores and settled them without fail.

His smile lost a bit of his disarming charm.

"Let's proceed to me explaining what the abrupt visit was all about!"

"Only thing I came looking for!"

That's a lie.

He didn't need to know that. She came looking for the same crackling tension in the air. The same drop and rise in body temperature that his gaze caused. The sparks that his palms caused when he held her and to relive the wanton feel he stirred in her which no guy had so far managed to do.

That he definitely didn't need to know.

"As you must know Kronos Inc., has been an immensely successful name in the international real estate development field since the past 20 years. Of late we have been planning on venturing into niche markets. One of the arms of our conglomerate is diversifying into the real estate here in Boston and what better project to begin with than the Regalia!" he still wore the charming smile as if she were an investor in the shareholder's meeting of his company attending to increase her shareholding and he trying to sell off the idea.

He seemed so much more real and uninhibited yesterday as if those eight words were his introduction. Fast forward to now and he was the 30 yr-old business magnate who people flocked to hear.

She didn't interrupt him but guess she had her rare glow on her face now because after every few words his gaze lingered on her face for a second longer as if he was sealing away the memory.

Was she enamored? Did she look enamored? Was she feeling enamored?

"We want Kronos Inc., to be more of the local guy's company than it has been till now by restoring Regalia to its former glory. By giving the people of Boston the first of many gifts by Kronos!"

There was definitely more to what was meeting the eye in this case.

Matt Flinthart who was known as the living example of achieving things by hook or crook, the guy who had made his first million when he was seventeen (oh, she had done her homework before setting foot here) who had multiplied his self-made riches manifold by sheer determination and astute business sense was advocating about his empire diversifying into a niche market over a 15 million-dollar restoration project, which was clearly chump change for him.

The guy who was touted as the maker and breaker of share trading trends and was without any proofs, of course, suspected of single-handedly forcing and buying out a European competitor at half the price, this man never let a money-making opportunity go.

Now what is he trying to do by preaching me to stay out of this...

"We would of course be using all locally-sourced materials and paying careful attention to the restoration causing absolutely no harm to the surrounding environment of the acreage. We wish to liaise with Helena Developers as advisors for this project, your company being a front-runner for this tender. Every plan and aspect of the whole project would be put to vote and carried forth only after the approval of the public of Boston!!"

How kind of you, Mr. Kronos!!

Okay, perhaps this field trip had gotten too far. Up till now when she was trying to pay attention to his words her brain could cut through the haze he was trying to create around her, but after a couple of minutes her body temperature started fluctuating as if following his movement and distance from her. Same was the case with the tension in the air; it started crackling with a twitch of his lips.

All of a sudden she wanted to cut through all niceties and fling herself to his arms. Those broad shoulders proportioned to his 6'1" height looked so enticing. She wondered how those strong arms would feel around her. How punishing his lips would be? What moans would those fingers of his extract were they given free will?? How fast would they land on each other and where??

No! She screamed out loud in her mind. It sounded really feeble even in her head.

"No."

"No?"

"No to the idea of the public of Boston approving the designs or: we using locally-sourced materials?"

Why, the smug son of a....language!!

"No to all of it..."

The charming, schoolboy expression of his face shifted as if a mask was slowly dripping away. The transformation was almost spell-binding. As if she had turned from a shareholder to a competitor.

Interesting.

So she wasn't all beauty, a daddy's girl, handed over the CEO's post on a silver platter just because she was family! She had a functioning brain behind those big hazel eyes! Never before had anyone not agreed to his words when he delivered them so, much less interrupted them.

Hmm... So it was true! It was going to be an ordeal prizing this project off her dainty fingers.

To all the shy readers out there, a vote speaks volumes...

And to the bold ones, your words are most welcome....