The Billionaire's Brother

Butterflies on weed

Perspective: Nila K

Why did she do that? She just agreed to a dinner date with Jaden Forest, who is practically a stranger! An extremely good looking stranger who had helped her get a job. With a stalker watching her every move, it is really not a good idea to be going on a date with anyone. 

What has gotten into her? Nila is now regretting her decision in agreeing to the dinner date with Jaden. However, her heart seemed to think differently. It couldn’t stop tripping and skipping at the sight of him. There were even butterflies flitting in her stomach. When their eyes caught the moment he walked in, her breath caught, her pulse quickened and she felt this strong attraction that she has never felt before. She could not identify the feelings he evoked in her except that it felt like a mix of excitement and nervous energy with a racing pulse. 

Seeing him lounging against the counter waiting for her when she served the customers at the gallery was like having a million butterflies high on weed doing somersaults in her stomach. She could barely concentrate on the questions that the customer was asking. She could sense his baby blue eyes following her every move and she felt so self conscious at every step she took, she almost stumbled a few times. Fortunately she was not wearing high heels. She had opted for plain sneakers for comfort. 

After settling another sale, she went back to the counter and sat down, intentionally not looking at him. She forced her eyes to look at the screen of her computer instead him and tried to keep her breathing normal to calm her racing pulse. 

“Why are you still here?” she asked, pretending to type something on the computer when actually she wasn’t exactly doing anything. The items on the screen are a blur. All she could think of was him standing so near the counter that she could smell his fresh minty scent. 

His tall lanky frame leaning so deliciously close to her if she reach out, she can touch him. She reined in the temptation to reach out and touch him. He looked so gorgeous in his plain white t-shirt and ripped blue jeans. The white t-shirt, stretched taut to show off his wide shoulders that tapered down to a narrow waist and flat stomach, contrasts perfectly with his tanned skin. He was obviously in the sun a lot to have such a gleaming tan. 

 “I’m waiting for you of course,” he said, winking at her and grinning his toothy cheerful grin. She glanced at him briefly and her pulse quickened at that bright smile. 

“I thought you said dinner…we have at least another 4 hours before dinner,” she said pointedly. 

“It’s fine. I have time,” he shrugged good-naturedly. 

“So, you’re going to stand here for four hours?” 

He made a show of looking at his watch. 

“Hmm…it’s 3 now…it’s only a couple hours before you get off work…so, it’s not exactly 4 hours,” he said.

“You want to have dinner at 5?” she looked at him surprised. He was grinning at her again. 

“Heheheh…I just wanted more time with you…is that bad?”

She blushed. She didn’t know how to respond to that. Usually, she would just brush aside such corny lines and roll her eyes. She might even shoot the man down with sarcastic replies. But with Jaden, she felt flattered and his interest made her all tingly and excited. The butterflies in her stomach are now doing special aerial stunts. She could barely talk from all that excitement pooled within her. She swallowed to calm her nerves. 

“We just met…” she started to say.

“And that is why we should spend more time together to get to know each other,” he interrupted. 

He pouted, his luscious lips puckering together. She couldn’t tear her eyes from those lips, her mind going back to the day they kissed. Her heart felt like it was gonna burst out of her chest. She licked her lips involuntarily, remembering the softness of his lips against hers. 

“Don’t you want to spend more time with me?” his lips moved but she barely heard him. There was this loud gushing in her ears from her racing pulse. She tore her eyes from his lips and looked into his eyes. Big mistake. She felt as if she could drown in that glorious blue eyes of his. It was like being enfolded in the warm silken waves of a cerulean sea. 

“Well?” his voice snapped her out of her reverie. She tore her eyes from his and turned back to her screen. She had inadvertently typed lines of “Jaden” repeatedly. She gasped at what she had done and quickly deleted it. 

“Er… Jaden…I need to work, can we maybe talk after I get off work? Mr Shih might not like me goofing off like this,” she said, grasping at any excuse to get rid of him for now. She can’t think with him standing there, looking so gorgeous and captivating her with his carefree charms. 

“Oh don’t worry about the old man! He’s a regular softie and there’s not much to do anyway…I mean cataloguing items can be so tedious and it can wait,” he said cheerfully. He made no attempt to leave. With him there, she will not get any work done at all. She opened her mouth to tell him to leave but a customer came over to the counter. 

“Excuse me…do you know more about that painting? The one by Kang B?” the short woman asked. She looked vaguely familiar but Nila couldn’t place where she had seen her before. 

Nila smiled and stood up. 

“Sure, let me tell you all about Kang B and her inspiration behind that piece,” she said. She glanced at Jaden. He shrugged and mouthed ‘I’ll wait here’ and made no move to go away. She supposed she will have to get used to him standing there watching her. 

“Say…you look familiar…did you happen to be from Kuala Lumpur? From Daman High School?” the customer asked her. 

Nila was taken aback. She looked at the small, thin woman. She did look familiar. Yet, she was too wary to reply. 

“You were in the class under Mr Tan as the homeroom teacher, the annoying physics teacher,” the woman said. 

It was obvious this woman was an old schoolmate. She studied her. She was dressed in a colourful flowery blouse and a knee-length loose skirt that made her look even smaller than she actually is. She obviously didn’t look like stalker material. 

“Yes, yes, I was! Were you in my class too? I am sorry if I can’t recognise you!” Nila said. She is quite bad with names and faces. She barely remember most of her schoolmates except for the few who are close to her. 

“Oh no no no…don’t worry about it. We were never in the same class,” the woman said. “I can’t remember your name either, Lana or something is it?” 

“I’m Nila,” she introduced herself. “You are?”

“Hi, Nila. It is nice to meet an old schoolmate, someone from home, up here in Penang, I am Mandy,” the woman said, offering her hand. Nila shook it. 

“So, you are here for a holiday?” she asked politely.

“Yes, well…I don’t know what you would call it, it is sort of like a long break, I am staying here for a few weeks, taking my time to explore the city and the beaches before I move on to another state,” she said.

“Oh, that sounds like fun!” 

“Indeed! I have been wanting to do this for a long time and finally I managed to save up enough to do this and I simply love the art scene here, don’t you?” Mandy gushed. She turned to the painting she was asking about. It was a mixed-medium piece of heritage buildings that are overgrown with vibrant flowers. 

“Just look at this, I love her work! I simply must know more about this piece, I am considering buying it,” she said.

Nila explained the rationale behind the painting, that was provided by the artist, and told Mandy about the background of the artist.

Mandy listened and nodded.

“I must buy it then, can I pay for it in cash and take it with me?” she asked. 

“Sure, come with me to make the payment and then let me wrap it up for you,” she said.

Yet another sale. Mr Shih will be happy that business is quite brisk today. This is her fifth sale today. She went back to the counter to register the purchase. Jaden was no longer there but she saw him walking around the gallery, scrutinising the paintings and the way the sculptures were placed as if he owned it. She ignored him and turned back to the sale at hand.

Mandy counted out the cash and handed it to her. 

“I am so happy that I will have that in my house soon!” she said excitedly. 

“Oh, we can arrange for delivery if you want? Since you are travelling, it would be quite inconvenient to bring it with you everywhere,” Nila suggested. 

“Hmmm…you are right, okay, here’s my address in Kuala Lumpur, send it here,” Mandy wrote down her address. “My sister is home so she can accept delivery for me,” she added before writing her sister’s name and contact number. 

Once the transaction is done, Nila told Mandy to take a seat at the waiting area while she wraps it up. She walked over to the painting and suddenly, someone grabbed her arm.

“Neha??”

She turned and stared into the eyes she dreaded ever seeing again.