Blake was taken aback by Damien's words. "A catch...?" He asked, feeling slightly confused. "What do you mean by that, sir?"
Damien let out a laugh, shaking his head. "You really are inexperienced, Blake." He said with a sneer. "I meant a woman, Blake." He explained, enjoying the look of shock and embarrassment on the other man's face.
"I'm going out for lunch with my new... acquisition." He grinned, winking at Blake.
"You should take a page from my book and find yourself a woman, too."
"You mean that Ms. that owns Feller's Firm?" Blake asked, his eyes widened in realization -this reflects how slow he was at grabbing Damien's illustration.
"Who else if not her?" Damien asked with a slight shoulder shrug. "There is something I did not tell you which is the most interesting part is that she turned out to be my high school friend. Intriguing, isn't it?"
"Your high school friend?" Blake echoed, clearly shocked by this revelation. "I didn't know you had any high school friends, sir. You never mentioned that before."
Damien let out a chuckle, finding Blake's expression amusing. "Well, I was a different person in high school, Blake." He said, leaning back in his chair.
"I was actually quite the charmer." Damien continued, a nostalgic look on his face. "The girls loved me, and I was quite the flirt, you know. There was one girl in particularthat I was especially close to, and her name was Ciara."
He paused, a wistful smile on his lips. "We were inseparable. We did everything together, and I thought we were going to be together forever." He sighed, his smile fading. "But then we went to different colleges and we drifted apart. We lost touch and I neverthought I would see her again."
"That means the lady in the picture is the Ms. then?" Blake reasoned out, earning a quick nod from Damien. "The Firm owner turns out to be your long-lost friend."
"Correct..."He clicked his finger in a snap. "You can imagine how lucky I am. If you don't mind, I need to go -I don't want to keep her waiting."
Before Blake could have the chance to utter any other word in reply, Damien already dashed towards the huge door as he exited, closing the door behind.
Blake could only sigh as rubbed his temples continuously. "I just pray he doesn't get rejected before he got the chance to express his feelings." Blake mumbled, sitting back in his chair. "He has always been a bit of a hothead, and I wouldn't be surprised if he does something rash and ruins everything." He worriedly thought out loud.
"Maybe I should go after him and make sure he doesn't make a fool of himself?" He pondered, looking up at the door but ended up shaking his head negatively. "I'll leave him to face it himself to show he's a man enough!"
***********
Damien stares at the rear mirror one last time as he brushes his hair backward with his hand, a wistful smile on his face. Satisfied that he looked more than enough, he hopped out of the car.
Even though he believed he's incredibly hot, he still had the urge to look more attractive. He didn't know why, but he couldn't tame the feeling that he needed to impress her-first; with his looks.
He walked through the empty corridor, his steps were perfect and elegant as his shoes made a soft clank against the marbled floors ofthe suite.
He stopped at the door of the conference room, took a deep breath, and knocked gently. "Come in." A woman's voice said from inside, making Damien's heart jump in his chest.
He opened the door and stepped inside. There she was, sitting at the head of the table, looking just as beautiful as he remembered.
Ciara looked up from her files, her face with the picture of professionalism. But when she saw him, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Damien?" She whispered, her voice soft and laced with surprised.
"Hello, Ciara." He said, smiling at her.
Ciara sat frozen in her seat, unable to move or think. She hadn't seen Damien in years, and now here he was, standing in front of her, looking as handsome as ever. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with piercing blue eyes and a head of dark hair that was neatly styled.
His suit was impeccably tailored, and he looked every inch the successful businessman. But it was his smile that caught her attention the most. It was the same charming smile just as she had remembered -even though they had met a few days ago, it still feels like ages.
Damien took a few steps forward, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. "It's good to see you again, Cee." He uttered, still wearing his usual wide and charming smile. "Though we saw each otherthree days ago, but I must say, I couldn't get enough of you."
Ciara's cheeks heated up at his compliment, which made hertongue-tied, unable to figure out what to say. She silently watches him have his seat.
"Why are we here, Damien." Ciara was blunt as she managed to snap herself out of her trance. "Why would you rent a whole conference hall just for us to talk?"
Damien chuckled at her straightforwardness, it was one of the things he had always admired about her. "Straight to the point as always." He mused, his gaze fixated on her. "I suppose I should explain myself."
He cleared his throat and began to speak. "The truth is, I never stopped thinking about you. Even after we parted ways, your memory lingered in my mind. And when I saw you a few days back expecting a business partner instead, I couldn't tell how happy I was to see you again."
Ciara listened in silence as he spoke, her heart fluttering at his words. (Focus, Ciara. Focus...' She scolded within herself, unable to understand what she was feeling inside her.
"I thought we were here to talk business, why bring your personal emotions into this?" She managed to blurt out, her brows creased. "I don't find this business ethnical at all..."
Damien's facial expression fell, his heart clenching tight at her words -this wasn't the kind of reply he expected to hear from her...