Miss CEO

CHAPTER TWO

TOM

* * * THREE YEARS BEFORE * * *

I don’t want to open my eyes , I don’t want to enter reality again , because I am almost sure that what happened last night was a dream , it has to be , I just had the best night of my life and I don’t want to open my eyes and face the fact that I only dreamed of it , it would not be the first time , since I met Zara I have been dreaming of her almost every night , those green eyes torment me in my dreams , they tempt me , they light a flame in me that had been asleep until now.

I can feel the sunlight on my face , and the smell of her perfume fills my nostrils , I smile knowing that I didn’t dream about it , but when I reach out my arm to touch her , I find nothing , I suddenly open my eyes to find the empty bed next to me.

I don't understand , if I dreamed it then why is her perfume on my bed?

When I run my hand over the sheets I notice a small red stain and I freeze for a moment , I definitely did not dream of this , she was here , everything that happened last night was true , the thought makes me happy , but at the same time it worries me , the possibility that it was her first time did crossed my mind at one point , however , I dismissed it because I assumed that she would have told me if it was.

I felt how tight she was , the effort it took to get into her despite how wet she was , and I saw a small flash of pain on her face , but she never even hinted that it might be her first time , I would have asked her , but I didn't want to offend her if the answer was negative , I didn't want her to think that it was something important to me , it is important but because it’s her , but it wasn't vital , and knowing Zara , she probably would have been offended if I asked.

I am surprised , completely frozen with this , and I am also happy , because I know for sure that she was no longer under the influence of alcohol when it happened , otherwise I would not have even kissed her , and it makes me happy to know that she chose me as the first man she gave herself completely to.

Maybe this means that she does see a future for us.

But where is she? I don't hear anything , and the bathroom door is open so she's not there , I sit on the bed and see that her things are gone , so I stand up to go look for her in the living room or kitchen , but there is no one there , and no sign of her anywhere.

An uncomfortable feeling rests on me thinking that she left without even saying goodbye , maybe she regrets what happened last night , maybe it wasn’t something as special for her as it was for me , this thought makes my stomach twist , and I go back to the bedroom to find my phone and call her , I need to know that she's okay.

On my bedside table next to my phone , there is a small silver velvet box , next to it is a note with Zara's handwriting:

“ Last night felt like being in a wonderful dream , but eventually we have to wake up , I hope your awakening is as good as mine when I opened my eyes and saw you next to me , I will always remember last night , and I give you my best wishes for this new stage of your career , I know that I will see you again one day , that is why I am giving you this watch , please accept it and use it to count the hours before we meet again , with love , Zara, "  

As soon as I open the velvet box , I find what is probably the most beautiful and cool watch I have ever seen , I turn it over , and on the back , it has an intertwined T and Z engraved on it , I put it back in the box and reread the note over and over.

I know that Zara wasn’t happy at all when she found out about my trip to Tokyo to finish my degree there , she was blaming me for much of the night , for the fact that I hadn’t told her that I was leaving in less than a month , and that she would have had to find out from Lucy , her brother Joshua's girlfriend and one of my best friends.

But I never thought that after what happened last night she would react in this way , she is more than upset , she just gave up on the fact that I am leaving and we won't see each other again for a long time.

I know it sounds pathetic , but I really hoped that she would ask me to stay , not that she would give me her best wishes and tell me that one day we will see each other again , although knowing Zara , I know that this attitude was to be expected , she doesn’t have a romantic bone in her body , and the few times she has shown vulnerability have been rare and treasured.

Her goal has always been to culminate her career and take over her family's company , there is nothing to distract her from this , much less a pathetic web programming student , regardless of whether he was the first in her life.

Although she has always reproached me that I have never been able to fight for her and for our relationship , that I always give up too easily when she gets scared and walks away , but it is not like that , every time she walks away from me , it consumes me inside , I just didn't want to pressure her to do something she didn't want to , or to stay out of pity , the problem is that she always see things completely differently from how I see them.

But not this time , I am going to show her that I am willing to fight for her , and even more so today that I am sure that she also has feelings for me , the scholarship in Tokyo is important , yes , but she is much more important to me , I don't care what her family thinks about my financial situation , or what my family thinks about my career , all I care about is her.

I get dressed quickly and take the box with me , I have tried to call her , but her phone is off , so I decided to go to her house , something I had never done before , but the situation warrants it , it doesn’t matter if her father kicks me out.

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After three weeks of unsuccessful communication attempts , which began the day I went to her house and her mother informed me that she had gone on a trip that morning , I tried to call and write to her , but she never responded.

I was checking with Lucy to see if she had already returned , but apparently , she went on a trip to several countries and they were not sure what city she was currently in , so I finally bought the tickets for Tokyo and packed my suitcase with a heavy heart , without wanting to go in the least , I had a horrible few weeks , and tried to distract myself into anything else but to no avail.

The worst came a week after I arrived in Tokyo and found out about the death of her father in a car accident , in which her older brother was also involved , I found out from the news , because not every day the governor of a state dies during his tenure , even the president attended the funeral.

I tried harder than ever to communicate with her , but I couldn't , and cursed my luck for not having enough money to even buy a one-way plane ticket to go back , I desperately wanted to be by her side during that horrible moment , her father was dead , and her brother was seriously injured in a hospital.

I did everything to communicate but it was impossible , and then I saw her on the news during the funeral , she looked so sad and broken , other people could have seen it as anger , because of the way she reacted to the cameras , but I didn’t , I know she was deeply saddened , and it broke my heart to see her that way without being able to do anything to ease her pain , or at least be by her side to offer her comfort.

So , I decided that the best thing I could do to one day have the chance to see her again , was to study hard and get my degree so I could apply for a job at the Graham Group , her family's company , and probably one of the most important in the field of technology.

I graduated with honors and had the chance to work alongside one of the most famous web programming researchers in the world , thanks to his letter of recommendation it was really easy to get the position at the company.

I knew that Zara worked there in some important position , I have been following in her footsteps over the years , not only through social networks , but also in economics magazines , where she was already profiled as the heir to the Graham Group with a lot of potential.

So , it was no surprise when I was informed that today she was going to take over as CEO to replace her uncle , this is why I tried to arrive earlier than most on my first day of work , I wanted to have the opportunity to speak with her , I thought it would be difficult to contact her , but destiny is definitely on our side.

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When her gaze landed on the watch that I always carry with me , her eyes widened in surprise , and as soon as her beautiful green eyes landed on mine , I saw the shock in them , but I could also see joy , and that was enough motivation for me to get on the elevator with her and hit the stop button , causing it to give a little jerk and come to a complete stop.

Her breathing is heavy , and I can tell how tense she is , but I am happy , I have been waiting for this moment for three years , and I don’t plan to just let it go.

" Hi, " I tell her , and she gulps.

" What are you doing here? " she asks me in a whisper.

" I work here, " I reply , and she frowns , then her gaze shifts to my chest where the badge with my identification is.

" Since when? " she asks me incredulously.

" Today is my first day, " I reply with a smile , and she looks completely stunned for an instant.

" It will also be my first day today, " she replies , and I smile even more.

" I heard that , congratulations , Miss CEO, " I tell her , and she blushes visibly , which breaks all my self - control and I take a step towards her , stretch my hand and run my thumb over her rosy cheek , causing her to close her eyes for a second.

The sound of the elevator speaker startles us both.

" Miss Arlington , is everything in order? Do you need security to come to you? " says the voice from the small speaker on the elevator keypad , and she blushes even more.

" No , it's not necessary , I am perfectly fine , thank you very much, " she responds tightly using the intercom.

" What do you think you are doing? " she berates me , " They can see us through the security cameras! "

" Sorry , I didn't think of that, " I reply completely embarrassed , as it is clear that she is mortified at this moment to know that someone else was watching our moment.

" Clearly, " she replies harshly and then presses the button again to get the elevator going.

" Zara , I am sorry , I just wanted to be with you alone for a moment , I haven't seen you for many years, " I tell her , and she looks at me with a frown.

" Yes , but we are not alone, are we? " she answers me.

" Can we talk alone sometime? Away from the company , of course , we can go for a coffee or something, ” I try again , and she shakes her head.

" Not a good idea, " she tells me.

" Why not? You told me that you hoped to see me again one day , you gave me this to count the hours before we could meet again, ” I say , showing her the watch.

" It was a moment of stupidity, " she replies without looking me in the face.

“ It wasn't , you know as well as I do , why are you still so stubborn? You already achieved what you wanted , today you finally take over the company , I also finished my career , there is nothing that stands in our way anymore, ” I tell her vehemently , and she bites her lip before answering.

" Yes , there is, " she tells me.

" What? Do you think I am going to distract you from your work or something like that? " I tell her.

" No , nothing like that, " she replies.

" Then what? " I insist.

" I have a boyfriend, " she tells me before the elevator doors open , and she hurries out without saying another word.

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