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BENEDICT

7

BENEDICT

Fuck, I should've never asked that question. I feel my hands getting clammy all of a sudden when I don't even have clammy hands and my armpit feels like sweating underneath this blazer. Damn it.

I pull my s**t together as I look at him and his eyes makes me lose it. His eyes can't let me focus. His answer still bothers me but I have to act like he's not making me blush from my cheeks up to ears. God, can Benedict see me getting red from where he's sitting?

I gulped.

Act professional Thea. I scolded myself.

"How do you..." I paused then clear my throat, I feel like the need of having small placards on my hand to keep myself busy with it but I'm not holding anything but my stupid phone.

I look up to him and his grinning as he placed that forefinger under his nostrils.

"How do... Ummm... you.... chill out... after a busy schedule or... Uhhh... after a tiring day?" I stammer on my words.

He smile. "I've already answered that."

"Right." I shyly speak.

Oh geez he's making me blush even more. Damn this guy he loves to see me squirm on my seat. Damn it. Damn him.

Focus Thea. Focus.

I exhale heavily.

"Any other activities you do when you chill out?" I ask.

"I don't really get myself into short vacations and such. My mum would advice me to go with them but I can't just slack around. Fifty thousand people needs me for such kind of a responsibility. I can't let them down." He answers, at least a decent one this time.

I nod. "You're such a workaholic. I think your mom is right, sometimes people needs to chill out. Get on a quick vacation just to relax for a little bit."

The corner of his lips quirks as he slightly smiles. "Thanks for the advice, I'll take that into consideration."

I smiled back at him.

"How about you Miss Thibault, what things do you do to chill out? If I may ask." He pressed his long forefinger against his lips.

I gulped.

"Me?" I pointed at myself.

He nods. "Yes, you. Surprise me."

I laugh softly through my nostrils and smiled shyly. "There's nothing that'll surprise you when it comes to me."

"I think there might be." He speaks with his deep voice. Argh, it sounds so soothing to the ears.

"Well...." I nervously say. "Nothing similar to your very exquisitely richly hobbies and definitely I can't book myself a short vacation. I don't have money for it." I shyly laughed at myself.

I looked at him to expect him laughing with me but he wasn't. He's just looking at me impassively so I looked away.

"My kind of a chill out day would probably be just staying inside, invite my friends over for pizza, camping and beer maybe, or have some coffee, or going to the orphanage. The kids there makes me happy." I continued.

I watch him as he briefly bites his upper lip while he sets his eyes at me. f**k.

He nods at me.

"Let's talk more about you." I snapped and smiled at him but he just looked at me impassively again.

I clear my throat before asking the next question, "Your father invested into farming technologies even way before, and you're improving them. Why did you want to expand it?"

"We have many people in this world who has no food. We can't eat money. That's why we go back to the basic, we plant so we eat what we sow." He answers.

"I'm impressed. Truly am. Other people would neglect the thought of farming nowadays. It's all about technology and computer programming." I tell him.

"Technologies isn't gonna last forever Miss Thibault. Computers can't feed us with food. I am very proud that my father came to such wonderful idea. It helps the countries that are striving for food, that's why Saintclare Enterprises invests in so much for farming technologies." He answers, poker-faced.

"That sounded very philanthropic."

He didn't commented on that so I continued to move along with the next questions. "You were diagnosed with TBI when you were seven. Do you still remember how things happened during that phase of your life?"

"That part of my life, I might consider it as the darkest. I could remember how my mom worried so much about me and my dad helped me through with it too. I was glad my second father, Mr. Landon Thompson never left mom. I'm glad things are better now."

Everybody has a dark past. I thought.

I nod at him. "You mentioned Mr. Tomlinson, she married him first right?"

"Correct." He answered.

"They got divorced and after a while your mother remarried and this time it was your real father. How much do you think that shaped the way you are now?"

"That's already a matter of public record. You can easily see things online, haven't you googled it?" His tone goes cold and uninterested about this topic.

I looked away from him as I tuck my hair behind my ear. I guess he doesn't wanna discuss about his family history.

"I've read other things online too, things like it's only for publicity to make you look like a manwhore because you're..." I trailed off, biting my tongue.

Should I ask?

He c****d his head to the side. "Go on Miss Thibault. Continue."

I gulped. "because you're gay?"

He keeps an impassive look on his face and I can hardly tell if he didn't like the question about his sexuality. Instead he kept his lower lip in between his teeth.

"No, Thea. I'm not gay." He said, impassively.

He said my name for the first time. He didn't call me by my last name. I love how his tongue roll around my name.

Argh! Stop having dirty thoughts about him Thea! Focus! I scolded myself again.

There's a knock at the door and as I look pass my shoulder, Coral appears.

"Mr. Saintclare, forgive me for interrupting but your next meeting is in three minutes." She speaks with formality.

Time's up? Already? It's already been an hour? I quickly stared at my watch and I didn't even notice that it really has been an hour since I talked with him.

Benedict glares at me then looks back at Coral who was standing by the threshold, "We're still not finish here Coral. Cancel my next meeting." He instructed right away.

I gaped. As I look passed Coral, she gapes at Benedict while she looked confuse. But Benedict stared at her even more, looking at her eagerly wanting her to disappear right away from his office. She inwardly squirm and takes a smile.

"Very well, sir." She turns on her heel and leaves us.

Benedict shifts on his chair and turned back his attention at me. "Where were we, again?" He quizzed.

I asked you about your sexuality.

"If you really had to go for a meeting then I think I best be off." I sheepishly say even though I'm inwardly shocked and happy that he cancelled his meeting for me. This time for me.

"You need this for your article, right? I just wanna be in a great way to help you." He answers.

He leans back as he pressed his forefinger to his lips. My eyes flick as I swallow. Those long fingers are distracting too. Damn it. His presence is seriously distracting as hell.

"How about you Miss Thibault?" He asks.

My brows shoots up as I look back at him with a confused look. I thought we were here to talk about him and not me.

"Let's talk about you for a change." He blurted out.

No. I disagreed mentally.

"I cancelled my meeting for you, let me know a little bit more about you. That would be fair." He begins to talk to me like he's doing business with me.

"I told you there's nothing that will interest you with me Mr. Saintclare."

He licks his lips. "I doubt. I'm already interested with this frustrating, intriguing yet stunning creature on my couch."

A sharp breathing hitched from the back of my throat. I blink a few more as I watch him looking back at me, waiting for me to say anything to what he said. I don't know what to answer that. Wait, what did he ask me a while ago again?

Fuck.

Why can't I keep my focus when I'm with him? Kylie's right, never look into the eyes. His eyes casts spells to women. Damn I'm not even okay on my seat.

My cheeks feels like burning again and I feel my ears burning too. Argh he's intimidating me in some ways I try to conceal and act being oblivious to it.

"What are your plans after you graduate?" He asks me, further. He must've noticed that I'm frozen.

Fuck he just said he's interested with me. How am I gonna be okay with that?

"I... I just need to get through my final exams and get this article done." I answer whisperingly. f**k, where did my voice went to?

I swallow harder on my saliva as I watch his teeth sink into his upper lip again.

Why is that so goddamn arousing?

I watch him as he pulled something out from his pocket and placed it on top of the table as he pushed it towards me.

It's his calling card.

"Give me a call when you've done taking into consideration about that offer I gave you a while ago." He says.

I'm shocked.

"Offer?" I questioned.

"The internship."

I gaped.

He was really serious with his offer. I didn't even expect he'd give me his calling card. I shyly take it from the table. "I'll bear that in mind." I say as I shove his calling card inside my bag.

"But I think I won't even fit in here." I say while laughing softly.

"Why not? What's wrong with my company?" He asks.

I gaped. "I didn't mean it in a bad way that your company has something wrong with it because it don't. It's... It's just... It's me. I... I don't fit in here." I stammer again.

"I think you do." He keeps a straight face on but I feel like he's undressing me with those Emerald eyes.

I exhale. "I mean look at me. I'm fitted for a low-circulating magazine."

He looked displeased.

I quickly grabbed my recorder from the table and heard him speak, "I can show you around the company. Maybe I can persuade you a bit more to finish your internship here."

He surprised me again. I look back at him and he looks at me seriously. His eyes are so powerful. It's so intimidating when I look at him even more.

"People have been dying for a position here at my company Miss Thibault. Feel privileged to be offered an internship program directly coming from me. Not everyone is lucky." He continues to say.

"I will try to reconsider your offer Mr. Saintclare. Thank you." I say.

"Benedict." He corrected me. "I told you Benedict is fine."

I nod.

I began to stand from my seat and so did he. "Did you get everything you need to know for your article?" He asks.

"Yes. Thank you for your time. It's truly an honor to be meeting with the successful man behind Saintclare Enterprises." I smile at him.

He extends his hand to me and I shyly accepted it. His hand is huge as it wraps around my tiny hand. "Call me when you have any questions regarding your article about me." He says.

I smile. "I will."

Does he really want me to call him?

He releases my hand and I quickly shove my hands to my sides.

"Until we meet again Mr. Saintclare." I say, ignoring the thought that he allowed me to call him Benedict.

"We surely will. I'll be buying a copy of your magazine on the next issue just to see what you've written about me." He speaks with a sterner voice.

I smile shyly. "I hope I could satisfy you." Then I realized what I said sounded completely wrong when he began to smile at me.

I gaped. "I meant to say the article. I hope I could satisfy you with the article."

Damn it Thea. Try to say the right things you're already about to go! But he just kept smiling evilly at me.

"And if Mrs. Victoria would publish it on the next issue." I continued.

"She will." He answered back.

"I doubt. I'm still an intern so I don't think she'll let one intern have a full story about England's darling." I say.

There was a pregnant pause.

"I will get going now." I smile. "Thank you again Mr. Saintclare."

He smiles as he surprisingly walks me to the door. He opens his office door for me and both Coral and her minions look up in shock as Benedict opens the door for me. Coral is obviously mooning over him all the time.

"See you around Mr. Saintclare. Thanks for letting this happen because it was an honor to meet you." I speak as I walk out of this office.

"The pleasure's all been mine." He answers.

I began to walk to the elevator and didn't turn back to face him. I feel my heart's about to jump out from my chest even if the interview is already done. I can't believe that I survived one hour with him. I can't believe he still affects me even when he's not around me.

When I got inside the see-through elevator, I watch him holding his phone up to his ear before he closes his office door. He gave me a quick stern glance before his door finally shuts. I exhale in relief when the elevator begins to move down to the main lobby.

He's still affecting me as I reached main floor and as I walk my way out of his building, I look back up to the striking huge and bold name of his company on top of his skyscraper-like bundling.

Saintclare Enterprises.

Benedict Saintclare, you sure do know how to make a girl feel uneasy before you.

I hailed a cab and can't wait to start making my article for the magazine.