THE ENCOUNTER

Years Later.

LEAH's POV

The weather was awfully hot. My entire outfit was damp with sweat from the boots to my feet and palms, not even this five star hotel's air conditioning was doing anything in order to cool it down.

I looked at my sweaty palms and wiped them against my shirt. Or was it because I was sitting at a fancy restaurant amongst all the fancy people waiting for Brian, the manager of the publishing company to arrive.

This was the last stage remaining to finalize our contract and I had all so much excitement and nervousness at the same time. It was pretty much unbelievable when I had received an email from the company.

"LEAH REINES! Mucho tiempo mi amor!!!"

I looked around to find where I was supposed to sit and noticed my best friend waving eagerly. "What the hell?"

She pretty much looked the same, if anything she got prettier. Her long blonde hair was properly styled above her head with her cute round face and blue eyes twinkling with happiness.

"Holla!" She shouted as she approached where I was sitted.

"What the hell, Sophs? What are you doing here?" I whispered gently hoping not to be heard.

"You know you don't sound too excited to see me." She said pretending to be angry.

"Sophs I am really sorry its just that I am in a meeting right now and he should be here any minute from now. What are you even doing here?"

"Wait… You didn't come here for me?" Sophie asked confused.

"For you? What do you mean?" I asked equally confused.

"I sent you a message yesterday, I told you I was back in the country and asked us to meet."

"Wait… What? But I-" I stared at my phone, realizing that it was indeed Sophie's message and I totally misread her text to be Brian's.

"Ugh.. I am sorry. I have just been on edge ever since waiting for them to call or something. It's about time we finalized the deal and they are yet to contact-"

"Hey, relax. Everything will be alright. I am here now," Sophie said as stretched her arms for a hug. That was when I realized I had terribly missed her.

"I missed you, Sophs. And I'm sorry I haven't been there for you." I was feeling guiltier than I ever had in my life. Sophie has always been there for me through everything and I hadn't been able to do much for her.

"You are here with me now, and thats all that matters, Signore."

"Uhm… Sophs, do you realize that I am not a man, right? And what's up with the accent? You sound ridiculous."

"Don't be silly, my accent is just perfect. And how can I be sure you are not a man? You confuse my sight."

We both laughed, knowing fully well that her accent was as authentic as a counterfeit bill.

"You know, during my stay in Spain I fell in love with everything in that country. Their language, culture, names and most important - food… ugh… it was sheer bliss. Even got myself a boyfriend but then we broke up."

"You must have really liked him. I mean you never talk about your ex."

"Oh no, I didn't. I only dated him because I thought he was Spanish. And Leah, it's not Sophie anymore, it's SOFIA FER. wait a sec, let me check…" She pulled out her phone, obviously to check for the correct pronunciation. "FER. FERNANDES. Nailed it!"

"You still sound ridiculous to me."

"Everyone loves it except you! Did you see their faces when I made that grand entrance?

It said.." She threw her hands up in the air and wiggled her fingers, "Magnificent!!"

"Oh lord. My best friend has completely gone nuts. Why did you decide to stay in the hotel instead of going home?" I asked trying not to laugh.

"I'm trying to avoid dad's new wife and her drama. We just don't click." She said nonchalantly, but I knew there was more to it than she was saying.

"Damn, You look so skinny like you haven't eaten for days."

"I know that, I'm just so busy. Training my students and working on my book, it's stressing me out."

"That means you have no time to take care of yourself. I would suggest you get an experienced dance instructor to assist you in training your students then you can have enough time to work on your book."

"Oh no, I can't. I still have so much to settle and for now also I can't afford to pay someone so that they work for me."

"Leah. I know that you don't like hearing to this but don't you think you should-"

"Like I said, employing would be a bad idea," I cut her in, knowing fully well what she was about to talk about and thankfully she understood.

"Okay. How about this. I can get you someone who will be willing to work with you, FREE."

"Free? Who?!" I perked up at the mention of the word. "FREE."

"Don't you worry. You'll meet him soon.

"You're being serious right? Who is he? Tell me Sophie."

"Calm your tits, you'll meet him when the time is right. And Just so you know, you can't do anything without me." She said, her face radiating with utmost confidence.

"Yeah, okay," I laughed hard at the expression on her face. She was burning with murder.

"Did you just respond with sarcasm? You—-" Sophie's words trailed off as her attention was diverted by something, or rather someone.

"SOFIA " I tried to block her sight but she deftly nudged me aside, eager to get a clearer view. With a mixture of curiosity and excitement her eyes sparkled with interest as she scanned the crowd.

"Oh Great! He left."

"Who was that?" I asked; curiously.

"Who? Oh you mean that hot guy who just left without me having a proper look at him because of you!" she almost yelled.

"Hey, not my fault. You kept on gaping at him with a wide open mouth."

"Ugh! The devilishly handsome guy that just left is the CEO of C.O.R.E., Damien Dimitris."

"How do you know of all that? I thought you didn't have a good look at him." I couldn't help but tease her.

"I never said I didn't know who he was . Anyways, he is the CEO of C.O.R.E., he inherited the company from his father Dante at the age of 22. Which of course everyone was against apparently, including his supposed mom."

"Why would she be against her son inheriting his father's company?"

"Dante adopted Damien, so basically he is not his bloodline."

"That explains it."

"Uh-huh. What really surprised me was the fact that Dante left nothing, for his other children."

"Sounds like war between the siblings."

"Bingo! They are all wealthy and can definitely do without the inheritance, but I'm pretty sure they wanted more."

"Interesting," I replied, thinking it over.

"Quite. He became very famous after running the company successfully at such a young age. Do you know C.O.R.E. is now in five other countries and have never dropped from the Top Ten list since then?!" Sophie said with shiny eyes of admiration.

"That's really impressive," I admitted.

"Hmhm. He is smart, handsome, tall, sexy, and most importantly! A god damn BILLIONAIRE. A perfect man. What more could a woman want?" Sophie dreamily muttered to herself.

"Well, it seems to me he's lived an extremely lonely life." I reasoned with her, trying to add a bit of sense into this infatuated analysis of hers.

"Really?! I said all that, and that's all you could point out?" Sophie looked at me incredulously.

"Well, you know I don't know much about these things."

"Enough of that. Anyways you'll be staying here with me till I am ready to go back home. " she said raising a finger to still any protest.

"You owe me. Remember? No buts. And also. Here." She threw the keys to her new Mustang at me. "Get some fresh air. And also grab some of your stuffs while you're at it." She said; winking at me as she walked out.

I smiled at the keys in my hands. It's been so long since I've driven a car and I wondered if my racing skills were still as sharp as I remember.


The drive started smoothly and the road ahead seemed clear, an open invitation for a peaceful drive but just then, my phone started ringing, its persistent tone interrupting my concentration. I glanced down briefly to check the caller ID and saw it was the publishing company.


And in that fleeting moment, I lost track of my surroundings. Overwhelmed with excitement, my grip loosened and the phone slipped from my hand. Forgetting I was driving for a brief moment, I tried to reach for it and then..."Oh my God!"


 I looked up and saw that I had hit someone's car. Fear crept down through my veins at the thought that I almost killed someone due to my carelessness.


 Just then I remembered those words: "You are just like me." I rushed out of the car to check on the other person and sighed in relief as I watched him get out of his car, he took off his jacket and rubbed the back of his head continuously.


 Then he turned. His flat-piercing-bewitching brown eyes stared right into mine. He had a perfect Facial structure. His silky black hair was styled perfectly above his head and his eye brows were arched perfectly. And then his body...Damn! He was built perfectly.
 He was saying something and I couldn't figure out what it was. He stared at me like he was searching for the answer to his questions in my soul. My throat tightened, and my mouth felt unnaturally dry, whatever the question was, the only answer formed in my mind was, "Yes."


 His cologne filled my nostrils as he moved closer. It was doing something to my mind that I could not decipher. He smelled nice...so nice. Oh lord.
 " Are you even listening?" he said; his deep and coarse voice invading my thoughts, sending me straight to cloud nine.
 I cleared my throat before I spoke but came out more like a whisper. "YES."
 I stopped myself from fantasizing and tried to process what he'd said earlier, where we were, and what had happened.
 "I'm so sorry—I wasn't concentrating—"

He looked at me angrily, and I realized it just sounded like I was giving excuses.
 "Look at this," he pointed to his car. "What are you going to do about this?" He ran his fingers through his hair out of frustration. "I'm late as it is. Take responsibility for the damage you've caused."
 "What...What do you mean by take responsibility?"
 "It's simple, Gynaika. You get me a new car or pay for the damage."
 I bit my lip, gauging the situation."A new car for a dent seems over the top, don't you think?"I said trying to keep my voice steady. "I mean, I get it, I'm responsible, but let's be real here, a full replacement is a bit much." 
 His response came out cold and dismissive, his tone dripping with impatience."I'm really not interested in what you think is a 'bit much'. You damaged my car and I expect it to be dealt with appropriately. Be it replacing the car or covering the entire repair costs, I'll accept nothing less." He said with precision, and it showed he was a man who always got what he wanted and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.
 Thank God, I already knew what to do in situations like this."Look," I said, pretending to look guilty. "I'm sorry okay? Just let me find a suitable spot to park my car and then we can talk about it. Okay?"
 "We've got nothing to talk about. I'm giving you just two minutes," he said as he folded his arms and watched me.
 I nodded and slowly walked towards the car. "I am really sorry!!!" I said hurriedly as I got into the car and drove faster than I had ever done in my whole life without looking back.


 I wouldn't have done that if he hadn't been so impatient and bent on me taking 'responsibility'. Besides, he looked like he could afford to get another if he wanted to.


 Luckily, I wouldn't not have to see him again..