Chapter 16

Was she making a mistake?

That was one question that Sakura was not able to answer yet. She was nestled under the shade of the trees at the far end of the clearing, her view wider now. From where she sat, she could see Candace's blonde hair bouncing energetically by the fire. Wrapped around her was another man that was not Boris. She could also see where they played table tennis, the place where they played beer pong and those who rallied around each other playing board games, listening to strums of the guitar and just exchanging gist amongst one another.

There was no way to ignore the lingering gazes boring through her back as she had walked by with Cyrus in tow. The rumors about them were surely to increase now and although she didn't care about how they saw her, she preferred not to be the subject of gossip at any point in time. What was she even thinking? Following Cyrus meant she was giving into his demands. The sensible side of her would never do that, especially since she knew just what she could do. Especially since she knew just what Cyrus made her feel.

There was a lot that she wanted to ignore and a lot she wanted to do without. His cryptic words this morning had pushed her to finally understand that what was between them was more than just a normal employee-employer relationship. Sakura would never say it out loud, but from Cyrus' behaviour, it truly felt like they were in a game. They'd argue and couldn't stand each other one minute, the next they'd be talking like civilized adults. There was no denying that she couldn't stand him and the way he was quick to hold onto her at any opportunity. Now that she was basically alone with him in the shadow of the trees, she questioned how reasonable not fighting against him the more was.

"Would you like a can or a bottle?" he asked her, his hand rummaging through the cooler at his feet "Personally, given our agreement, I think a bottle is better."

"Why? Because it'll keep me here longer?" she asked him, glancing at him through the corner of her eye. Sakura turned to him just as he started grinning, seeing that he already stretched a large bottle of beer towards her

"Yes. That's the main reason. I doubt a few measly seconds is enough to bury the hatchet between us."

She collected the bottle from him and didn't wait for him to offer an opener, bringing it towards her mouth. Her eyes caught his as her teeth ripped off the bottle cap effortlessly, the gas escaping. There was a shining amount of surprise in his eyes and she felt somewhat smug at making him feel like she wasn't as predictable as he felt she was.

"Isn't that bad for your teeth?" Cyrus asked, chuckling "I've never seen a woman do that before."

"From your reaction and from the tone of your voice when you asked about my teeth, I'd assume you've never done it either."

Cyrus nodded at her, opening up his bottle and placing the cap in his pocket. Sakura couldn't decide whether or not he had done it on purpose "It's not something I grew up accustomed to. My mother would have had a field day if I even thought about doing it. The mere thought of her precious little boy's teeth broken would never end well."

"That bad?"

"Oh, it's that bad. I'm sure any little damage and I'd have ended up with veneers, which is why I was always careful."

"Is that how she is?" Sakura caught sight of the young Parker fidgeting close to where Candace danced shamelessly. She felt bad for him, but knew it had to occur to Glen that her friend was not someone he could ever dream of being with. "She's careful with you."

"She's always been. It's a blessing and I curse considering she's so overbearing." Turning to him, she saw the amusement dancing in his eyes as he stared back "Enough about me. I want to know how you learnt to do that?"

"I'd rather not say." There was nothing more intimate for her than revealing personal information, especially of her life back in Spain. It was a chapter in her life that remained untainted by the type of person she had become and by the awful decisions she had made since leaving

"I had a feeing you'd say that." He wasn't offended and it didn't seem like he was going to push. Instead, he took a swig of his drink and continued to look at her the same way "You interest me Sakura."

"I can't imagine why." Despite her nonchalant words, she felt her heart jump against her chest unexpectedly, startling her. Many would not believe that her heart was still capable of doing that

"I'm trying to figure it out as well." To lessen the effect his gaze had on her, she turned to look at the scenery, people watching as she took hearty gulps of her beer "Woah, slow down. We don't want you blacking out and you may at the rate you're chugging that thing down."

Sakura didn't respond. He didn't deserve any from her and she really hoped he knew that. Although she was a lightweight, she would refuse to give him the right to be correct about her. It was best that she stayed silent and quietly followed his advice. It would prove difficult if her heart didn't listen to reason and kept bouncing off her ribcage.

"If you don't want to talk about that, then can we talk about your work?" he asked her. She nodded hesitantly "Why do you do what you do?"

"Why do you?"

"That's not how this is supposed to work."

"You never mentioned a layout of how this conversation is supposed to go Mr. Axton."

"Why do you still insist on calling me that? I've told you to call me Cyrus, Sakura." It wasn't the first name he had called her by name, but the tone of voice he used made her to shiver involuntarily

"Well Cyrus, forgive me for not being one to easily listen. I'll try my best to call you by name from now on."

"Fine then. I started off doing this because I was interested in how vineyards worked. My great grandfather from my mother's side was Italian and I remember playing there with my sister growing up since they passed it down generation to generation. It intrigued me how they could take something so little and make it boom."

"But you're the head of one of the largest Architectural firms in the world. Surely, you'd have had enough people to take over other activities such as coming all the way down here rather than doing it yourself."

"If you just invented a new hardware engine from scratch and it went on to become one of the best-selling products in the country, would you abandon it and let others see to it now that it's successful?"

Her eyes widened at the boyish grin on his face. The passion in his eyes were undeniable, they shined so bright and she found herself understanding him little by little how he felt about his work "I wouldn't.'

"Exactly. I may be a rich boy, but my ambitions and my passion for the art of fine wining will never be overshadowed by any other achievement, status or money I own." Dropping hie empty bottle at his feet, he turned to her with a fierce expression, startling her "When I'm into it, I love to see it to the very end. I'm not the type of person to backdown simply because it's not going my way. If I'm interested, there's no going back."

Sakura wondered if his words were as suggestive as he had let on. The intensity of his gaze on her made goosebumps rise on her skin. Why did she feel cold when everything was so hot?

"So, what about you? I've told you mine, I like to hear about yours." He leaned back in the chair, never tearing his eyes away from hers. Clearing her throat, she propped her arm on the arm rest and cradled her jaw in her open palm. Her eyes set on the dancing fire as she felt his lingering gaze on her

"Not much to say. My dad was a computer engineer. I found it fascinating how the digital world was slowly taking over and how it's evolved for years since our fore fathers. I like to see change and I like being involved in impacting that change." She answered "They always said I'd pick my machines over humans, which in some cases, was probably true. I like being a problem solver and as you've said, when I'm interested, there's no going back."

Cyrus hummed "If I asked you to come work with me in New York, what would you say?"

"I'd tell you I wasn't interested and that I'm under contract here. Nothing is going to tear me away from this place for the next 4 years."

"Under contract?"

"Yes, like the rest of your employees Cyrus." She felt like she had to remind him just what she was; an employee, just like the rest of the people present tonight.

"I guess I can take that as an argument." He said, slight disappointment in his voice, but she paid no mind. Tomorrow he would be gone and everything would return back to normal.

At least that was what she believed.