Curious

Chapter Four

Anna Houston was surprised to see him hold out his hand to her for a handshake. Wasn't he the one who refused to take her hand some moments ago? A part of her wanted to give him a dose of his own medicine but she would have come off as a very petty woman, so she just decided to take his hands.

"You know, I am, I thought you probably had an allergy to handshakes." She said while taking his hands. "Or wouldn't just shake hands because you're scared of getting burned." 

There was something about his hands that almost sent electricity through her veins. Now, she was the one getting burnt. She thought. 

His firm grip did not stop her from noticing the softness of his palm. "Just an oral agreement would not suffice. I'll make ready a written contract which you would sign. 

I would have you know that certain terms and conditions would apply to the contract, one of which is going to be the terminus of that fatuous 'I am' epithet." He said, narrowly his gaze at her and inching more closer.

Clearing her throat, she shrugged it off by changing the topic. "Have I said 'thank you' to you? It's usually something I say to express my gratitude to people. 

I guess it must have slipped my mind because of all the shock today. I didn't see any of them coming, I'd have left home with my shock absorber." She chuckled.

She stopped laughing when she saw that he didn't even try to force a smile at her joke. It must have been a hackneyed joke to him. Or he probably just doesn't laugh.

Xander on the other hand was intrigued by this woman. She was the opposite of his expectation. She should probably be crying or feeling very sad about her sick mother, but here she was trying to get him to smile with her corny jokes.

She didn't seem fazed a bit about her mother. She doesn't seem to him as the kind who had little or no affection for her mother. Just a few moments ago, when she was with the doctor, he heard the fears in her voice. Her voice was clouded with many uncertainties as she sobbed.

"Thank you. Really." He could hear the sincerity in those words of hers as they seemed to have come from her soul. He knew that she meant the words.

Without giving her any reply, he said with all seriousness, "Miss Houston, you'll have to resume work immediately you get to sign the contract, which would be in less than twenty-four hours from now."

Anna gaped at his words the moment they sank in. She was going to start work tout de suite? He was already acting like her boss before she even signed the contract. The man was impossible.

"What? Less than twenty-four hours? Are you kidding me?"

"Miss Houston, I'm a very busy man." He said, emphasizing the phrase 'very busy'. "Do I look like I have the time for jokes and frivolities?" He hissed.

He rummaged for his business card in his breast pocket and handed it to her when he found it. 

"It contains my email address, phone number and other relevant information. Let's meet tomorrow at the company to finalize the agreement. Time is exactly 10:00 am in my office." 

He leaned closer, fixing his cold brown eyes on her clear and dilated one. His face was so close to hers that she could almost feel his hot breath. 

"Miss Houston, I hate lateness. If you come in a minute later than ten, forget about the contract." With that, Xander left, leaving Anna stunned for the umpteenth time that day.

Anna was still stupefied even after the man was long gone. It wasn't just the way he spoke that left her in bewilderment, there was something about his aura that sent chills down her spine. His stolid expression and his cold gaze were also quite unsettling. 

She had never met any man like him before. She shook her head to clear her hazy mind from the thoughts of the strange overbearing man, her soon-to-be boss. The thought of it alone gave her goosebumps all over.

She decided to take her mind off him by going to meet her mother in her room. Her mother was still unconscious when she entered the room. She sat beside her bed, watching her ashen face. She took her hand in hers and gave it a small squeeze before pressing her lips on it to give it a light kiss.

Fresh tears trickled down her hot cheeks as she watched her mother. Her mother was the only parent she knew while growing up. She was more than a mother to her. She was a father, a confidante and even a shoulder to cry on.

Despite not having much, her mother tried hard to provide her with a decent life. She waited on her hands and foot. She couldn't afford to send Anna to the best kinds of schools but she ensured that she went to a good enough one.

She remembered how her mother would randomly surprise her with toys just to make her happy. 

On Anna's graduation, Anna had given up hope that her mother would show up as she had waited for so long for her to arrive. Many of her classmates had even made snide remarks about her, while others had made fun of her. 

She had been on the verge of crying when her mother showed up. That day was one of the happiest days of her life. She got to find out later on that her mother was fired from her place of work because she had left work that day for her graduation ceremony.

Her mother has made a lot of sacrifices for her. It was her turn to do the same. Anna looked at her mother with her eyes full of endearment as she rubbed her temple slightly. She wiped her tears and gave her one last kiss on her forehead before leaving the hospital.

Xander headed home from the hospital. He had been too tired to go back to the office. He had earlier put a call through to his driver to come to take him home. He rested his head lazily on the back seat all through the ride home. His mind was clouded with thoughts of the woman he met today.

Nearly every woman who has come in contact with him cowered just at his gaze. No one had ever dared to talk back at him. Yet, that temerarious young woman was bold enough to retort back at him. Not only did she do that, she even dared to give him a nickname. She was fearless.

She was simply intriguing to him. He wasn't even sure why he thought of making her his personal assistant. Usually, he preferred highly qualified persons. Her eccentricity must have piqued his interest. He needed to find out who exactly this woman was. He picked up his phone and dialled the number of his private investigator.

"There's someone I would like you to investigate. Her name is Anna Houston. Find out everything about her."