"In bed... under the covers," she said honestly, while Truce rose, and walked to the minibar in his office, and picked out two,glasses and a wine bottle. The action pulled the fabric of his Henley, tightly across his broad shoulders and muscular back.
"That's a bit lousy, for a lady like you, lady Ruby. I pictured you having nice dinners, and sitting round the Christmas tree with friends and colleagues." Truce said, retuning to his seat opposite her. Anna lifted an amused eyebrow. This coming from a mighty CEO, when all he does is work?
"What about you mister Truce? How do you spend your Christmas? Wait, let me picture it." She waved both hands before him as he poured their wine into the glasses. "Sitting in front of your computer all day, you won't even know what time of the year it is. That is... depending on the country you're in."
Truce grinned at her, his perfect set of teeth flashing like crystals, as he handed her a drink. "Actually," his voice husky. "I spend it at a lot of charity organizations and end of the year parties." He said into his drink, his eyes locked in on Anna in her seat.
"Oh... soft." She admitted, uneasy in her seat. His stares were making her a bit nervous. Truce dropped his glass, on the large glass coffee table, separating them. He crossed his legs, in a gentlemanly way and rubbed his palms together.
"But I won't be attending this time, with you on my plate. I believe this is a good time to get to know each other, lady Ruby."
"Oh," her breath was hot. She didn't know if the man was seducing her of just being his usual perfect self. "Well, what's fun to do during the festive season?" Truce paused, "I'll... ask Charlotte about that." He suggested and Anna gigled at that.
She was bereft of what to do, when silence quickly followed their shared moment. She let her eyes fall away from him as she noticed him staring at her.
"You have lovely hair, Anna. And your laugh... is enchanting." He said, adding a perfect touch to his sitting position, with his knuckles under his chin.
For ten nights, his favourite place in the world was behind her, on her bed, as she slept. Inhaling the scent of her hair, and her body close to him, brought him a strange sense of satisfaction.
She let out a huff of surprise. Cheeky. Is he trying to be romantic? Whatever he's doing is surely effective. "Oh, thank you" she said smiling, avoiding his eyes again. Should she complement him as well? That would be awkward. She raised her head, and glanced at him again, her heart skipped a beat, and her smile became stiff on her face. His eyes never left her.
Her body slowly began growing warm and she felt her cheek rising in temperature as well. Embarrassment filled her. She should leave, and gather her bearings or else, she would lose it on the man.
"Uh, if you don't mind sir, I feel a bit sleepy. I'm just, gonna go..." She said rising to her feet.
"Sleepy all of a sudden? I doubt that lady Ruby." He said calmly, rising as well. He squared the coffee table, moving slowly towards her, his gaze still locked on her. Her heart began skipping beats, if she didn't die of a heart attack right now, she didn't think she'd ever die again.
He slid his hand across her cheek, as if stroking a shiny red apple. "I'll see you tomorrow Anna." He said and planted a light kiss on her lips. She looked up at him, her pupils shifting in her eyes. She smiled up at him, and his heart clenched in his chest. She dropped the drink on the table, before she skated out of the room.
He turned back, and stared at the door.
Just when he was finally getting over Miriam, she comes back in a different person. His heart clenched in his chest again. Determination refreshing his tired muscles. He would search her out.
♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣
The next day was Sunday. Anna had forfeited Uncle Jim's Sunday traditions of going to church a long time ago, but she still woke up early on Sundays.
Subtle morning light creeped in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, and wriggled on her bed, for the cold, then pulled the covers away, and stood up, desperate for a hot shower.
As she showered in the bathroom, she recalled her conversation with Mister Truce. Infact, she didn't know when she fell asleep. 'Do you have anything you want to talk about?' he said. Jeez, were they finally bonding? She chuckled.
She dressed in blue jeans with a red, oversized cashmere sweater, with knee-high leather boots and styled her hair in effortless waves. When she came out for breakfast, she contemplated over the dress, and decided to go back and change. Before she stepped her foot into her room, she saw Mister Truce coming down the stairs.
His hair was thick and dark as it pooled down the neck of his red, crew neck sweater, paired with black jeans... Jeans? He was actually wearing jeans. He didn't look like his CEO self, but more like a handsome, famous college kid. Envy floated to the surface and disappeared almost immediately. Immortality would definitely do that to you.
His gaze didn't lift from the white piece of paper in his hand, small frowns appeared on his face occasionally, as his eyes ran over whatever was the content of the paper. When he finally shifted his gaze from the paper and dropped them on her, his eyes lit and he smiled at her.
"Great choice!" He began, "you couldn't look more better if you weren't in same outfit as me." He grinned at her. One look at that face, she forgot why she was heading to her room.
"Hey," she greeted, and Mister Truce walked to her, patted her cheeks like a child before he added. "What do you say we head to a cafe down Jobs lane, and take a few pictures?"
Blink. Blink. Is the CEO of TAE asking me out on a Sunday morning date?
He knew she was bemused at his sudden announcement. Even though she looked like she had plans for the day. "I asked Charlotte to make a list of things we could do, and this was first on the list." He said, handing the white paper to her.
There was a list? She collected it from his hand and... Oh my God. It would take them a year of going out together, everyday to finish the list.
"So, are you up for an adventure?"
More like up for tasks.
She nodded. "Yes, yes I'd like that."