The first man stepped in, suited up like Kelvin. Leila walked to the door, ushering them to their seats while welcoming them. The files had already been placed in front of them and the potential sponsors flipped through pages in silence. Leila took the slight bobbing of their heads as a sign they loved what they read.
After the introductions, Leila walked to the front and opened her laptop. She clapped. "Shall we begin?"
The man closest to the empty seat with the ashtray in front of it shook his head. "Not yet. One of us is on his way." The others hummed in agreement. "He will be here soon."
Amazing.
The mail mentioned punctuality and they couldn't even abide by the rule. If it was Kelvin, she would give him a piece of her mind once they were alone.
Five minutes rolled by with Leila cursing the person in her mind. If she was a boss, she would never keep her staff waiting. She would never keep anyone waiting.
The knob twisted, all heads turned to the door and Leila's breath left her when the tall man in black suit stepped in. His knuckles had those tattoos she could never forget. If she looked close enough, she might see the cursive LM tattooed into the middle of the skull.
Charles Black noticed her too, his steps faltered when their eyes met but he recovered quickly. He took his seat and unbuttoned his suit jacket. She swallowed hard when he took a big gulp from his bottle. He was as nervous as she was. His presence sucked the air in the room and she turned to the projector to fan herself.
That familiar wave of anger rushed through her. She remembered him like it was yesterday and her nails dug into her palms as hurtful visions flashed through her mind. Stars Glow. She had to remember the goal.
"Shall we begin?" she asked. Her voice was raw.
"Yes. Miss Leilani Collins, am I correct?" Charles asked.
The other members of the table gave him a look. A look that said: how do you know her name? But she wouldn't be the one to provide that answer to them.
"You are, Sir." Calling him by his title was equivalent to tying a cord around her neck but she pushed past her hatred for him. The past would stay in the past. She cleared her throat to call everyone's attention. "If it's okay, we shall begin now." They all nodded. "Alright."
The lights in the room dimmed and the video on her laptop began playing on the projector. Leila held a small remote in her hand, explaining each slide in a voice that carried to every corner of the large room.
Her confidence wavered slightly when Charles raised a hand to stop her. She used to discuss her plans with him. She used to tell him so much and everything. A traitorous tear rolled down her cheek but she wiped it before anyone noticed. She paused the slides and motioned for him to speak up.
His question was easy. Something he wouldn't have had to ask if he was paying attention. Leila suspected it had nothing to do with the slides but she answered him in a polite tone and he ordered her to continue.
She ended the presentation to a round of applause. No more questions came and the men murmured among themselves. Charles was their spokesman.
"We will keep in touch," he told her.
His tone held no promise, she didn't know what to make of it. Leila offered him a tight smile. Fuck him. The members of the table discussed for long minutes, none of them paid her a lick of attention. Her stomach growled in hunger and she bit her lip to stifle a yawn. It wasn't close of work yet but she would leave after this.
"Thank you for your time, Miss Leilani," the first man said and the others chorused their appreciation.
Fear clawed at her throat when everyone left except for Charles. No. Not again. Forgetting her laptop and files, she rushed for the door but he beat her to it. Her back slammed gently against the door and she closed her eyes as his arms wrapped around her wrists. She took in a slow breath when Charles sniffed her neck.
It was happening again. She couldn't let it.
Who would hear her if she screamed? Kelvin said they were a team. A term he forgot immediately she refused his advances. But he was better than Charles, he would always be better.
The thought of her husband lent her small courage. Leila shoved him. "Get away from me," she spat out.
Charles threw his hands up but she wasn't fooled by his smile. "Leilani." He was the only one who called her by her full name. At first, it was sweet but there was nothing sweet about this sick bastard. Charles buttoned up his suit. "I missed you, babe." She didn't. She could never miss the devil. "Long time no see."
Not long enough seeing as he found her this fast. He smirked when she moved away. "I'm not your babe."
"You're doing well for yourself, I see." He swiped a finger across the corner of his lips. "I always knew you had it in you, babe." With each word Charles spoke, Leila took an extra step away from him. "I always believed in you."
The back of her legs touched a seat, she snatched a bottle of water from the table and held it in front of her like an armour. Charles collected the bottle and lowered it to the table. His steps were confident like he could see behind her mask to the wide-eyed lady he met five years ago. Leila was trusting and innocent then. A little angry at her parents but still trusting of humans, males especially. Now, she knew better.
"I'm not your babe," she whispered-yelled when he caressed her cheeks with his knuckles. "I'm not..."
Her throat closed up and the rest of her words died on her lips. This always happened with him. He turned her to a mess. A frightened mute.
"That's what you think." His thumb brushed the under of her lips. She shivered in disgust. It wasn't the same as Kelvin touching her. She would even pick Mike's touch over his. "I never stopped loving you, Leilani May."
He brought the back of her hand to his cheek, she pushed down the bile that rushed to her throat. She wanted him to go away. He showed her the tattoo on his middle finger. There was another tattoo of CB on his forth finger. It was that way so they could always be together in whatever situation. So stupid of her to have agreed to him getting a tattoo of their initials.
"Charles and Leila together forever. Did you forget?"
How could she forget the biggest mistake of her life? Making a vow to a psychopath was worse than dating him. Charles hugged her with a firm gentleness she might have appreciated all those years ago. Now, she wanted out of this place, out of his sight and away from him. California was supposed to be it for her.
"Go away. Please," she whispered. He held her tighter, consoling her as if she were a disobedient child. Her tears poured out freely and her shoulders trembled. He stroked her lower back like he wasn't the cause of her pain. "Please, Charles. Go away."
Charles stepped back. He caught the tears that fell to her cheeks. "I'll go now," he told her in a patronising tone. "But as long as we are sponsoring this project, we will be seeing more of each other. I love you, May."
Leila trembled when he pecked her. She was as rigid as a statue until the door closed. Alone once again, she collapsed into the seat and cried her heart out.