Secret Trio

Chapter 12

Sorry for the very very very late update. My mom is in the hospital so yahhhh. As the eldest child, gotta rise up to the responsibilities.

Last Update. August 3, 2018

Heavily Not Edited.

ALENA

"The conference room is ready Ma'am."

I turn to my secretary and dear friend Louis who spoke while opening my office door. "Thank you Louis, and again please stop calling me Ma'am. We're friends."

She lets out a small laugh and replies "Well since we're friends I can call you any way I want, I choose Ma'am." She then closes the door after giving me a wink.

I laugh at our small banter, refocusing on the impending meeting. Breathe in. Breathe out. I walk out of my office and enter the conference room, proceeding to set-up my laptop. I move on to rearranging the needed documents, placing them beside my laptop.

A few minutes later, I hear a knock on the door. I look up to see Louis ushering in Stan, the owner's representative.

"Good morning Stan." I stand and reach out my hand.

"Good morning Alena, you look as radiant as ever." He replies giving me a hand shake.

"Of course ... but never more radiant than your wife." I say.

"Well of course! My wife is the most beautiful, radiant and stunning woman in the world!" Stan replies with a huge and proud grin in his face.

"And how about your daughter?" I tease. He suddenly becomes sober and leans a little closer.

"Between you and me, my daughter is even more stunning since she has both my wife's and my blood."

I let out a chuckle, stopping myself from bursting out laughing.

Stan pats me in the shoulder while giving me a small smile. "There you go. Don't be so tense. He likes, appreciates, and loves your work."

"Thank you." I reply and return to him a smile.

We are interrupted by a knock on the door. We turn to see Louis usher in the man I did not expect to see ever again. He was looking down at this phone but I could tell it was him. Leo.

I tense up and my mind freezes.

"Good morning Sir. I would like you to meet Archt. Athalena." Stan says, ushering me forward with a hand on my back. "Alena, this is Sir Leo, owner of the soon to be put up restaurant, Aurelia."

Leo looks up and visibly tenses upon seeing me. Does this mean he didn't know?

"Sir?" Stan says.

It is only when Stan's interjects that I notice we were both staring at each other. Alena, you can do this.

Before Leo could reply, I try to put on a polite smile and extend my hand towards him. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. McGregor."

As if possible, Leo tenses even more at my actions. He continues to stare at me then to my extended hand. Seemingly having made up his mind, he returns my handshake saying "Nice to meet you as well Architect."

If this were a romance novel, this would probably be the part where the protagonist and love interest touch and sparks start flying around. I beg to differ. My experience right now is slightly different. No sparks — just the warmth of his hand heating my cold nervous hand. Dang it. Hand! Don't expose how affected I am by his presence. "Shall we take a seat? What would you like to have? Coffee? Tea?" I ask Leo.

He looks at me intensely, almost making me step back. Almost. Alena, be strong! "Surprise me." He answer indifferently as he sits. But knowing him, I can see the glint of challenge in his eyes. I turn to Stan and say, "How about you Stan, what would you like?"

"Just some lukewarm water please."

"Okay. Louis you heard Stan. Will you also please prepare coffee with milk creamer and three sugar cubes for Mr. McGregor? And some of the fudge brownies I brought earlier. Thank you so much."

After instructing Louis I sit across Stan, quickly stealing a glance at Leo who was sitting at the head of the table. Sadly, I haven't forgotten your favorites Leo.

"Shall we begin then?" I say, wanting this meeting to end as soon as possible. Stan looks at me questioningly but signals to begin.

During the whole meeting it was difficult to focus with Leo in the same room. Leo was known for being difficult to read, which was the case at the moment with his mask of indifference. However, I can feel him looking at me intensely with emotions that I cannot decipher.

By the end of the meeting, I am a bundle of cold sweat. I quickly stand up and say "Thank you very much for your time Mr. McGregor, Stan. I will make sure to address your concerns by the end of the week."

"Thanks to you too Alena. I will keep in touch." Stan says while rising from his seat.

Stan and I awkwardly stand in place while waiting for Leo to rise. Leo looks at me intensely then says "Stan, you can go ahead. I have some matters to discuss with the Architect.... privately."