A Blind Fall

chapter twenty eight

The three hour long meeting had adjourned and he was looking forward to some vodka
while he worked and tried to focus on the pending workload on his desk. It was the only
way he survived and coped, not trusting his mind not to wander off to uncharted and locked
territory where he’d caged a sea-full of emotions that if set free would easily drown him.
Recently, few things mattered to him; keeping the wine business he ran with his partner
afloat and maintaining a blank mind.

Much to his chagrin, soon as he vacated the boardroom, his less than pleasing assistant was
on his heels blabbering a series of appointments he couldn’t give a rat’s ass about. Without
bothering to acknowledge her he pushed his office door open and walked straight to the
mini-bar he’d installed against his partner’s and assistant’s discouragement and poured himself the clear liquid.

The damn thing instead of calming his edgy nerves heightened his senses and his hearing seemed to have sharpened as he caught up with his assistant’s irritating voice.
“…o’clock and also Miss Hampton called. She didn’t live a message but she said to call her
back.”

Manners to the window, he downed the vodka at a go, kissing his teeth at the burning
sensation and slammed the glass on the bar counter. Turning to the assistant he instructed.
“Clear everything from 6 p.m. tonight and make a reservation at the best restaurant there is
around and send Miss Hampton an invitation.”

She seemed hesitant but with one of those out-of-the-blue perfect smiles of hers she nodded quickly. “Immediately sir.” And she sashayed out.

She was a beautiful woman, his assistant. Willowy, green eyes that more often than not tended to give him the come-hither look, long shapely legs that seemed endless in her expensive collection of designer heels. She was always in fine-fitting dresses that massaged the line between business and pleasure, her chignon always immaculate, make up artistically done not to forget her indispensable skills that’d won her a permanent place beside him in the corporate world.

But there was something else to her. A face behind her face. A
dangerous glint lurking in those forest eyes that he felt watch him when she thought he wasn’t looking. It was why he kept her at an arms length and their exchange utterly professional.
He wasn’t a fool despite being out of his element in the previous few months. Oscar could detect desire in a woman when he saw it. But this wasn’t the woman he wanted it from.Not Linda his dang assistant nor Erica Hampton the woman he’d been fraternizing with. She being the reason he’d been terribly heartbroken as a young man, he knew she was bad
news but condoned her for a variety of reasons.

She was a model and their paths had crossed again when she’d been hired for the Marcello
wine advert and she hadn’t seemed to want to release her claws from him. At first he’d
ignored her blatantly and he’d kept away from that side of the business but the woman had
been relentless, finding out his address and had shown up at his door unannounced. His first
instinct had been to turn her away but he had chosen not to. He’d deceived himself that it
was to dissuade his assistant’s unsolicited affections but whenever alone in his condo with nothing but alcohol to lick his wounded heart, the truth would emerge, knocking him out of balance.

Gabrielle Oliver was his truth. She haunted his sleepless nights and tormented his daydreams like a she-devil. Her disappearance had been too heavy on him and while the last
woman before her had hurt and humiliated him, it hadn’t compared to what Gabrielle rouse in him. Clearly unable to move on, he realized she’d done a number on him.

He remembered her innocent appearance, her delicate features and the taste of her like she’d
left him seconds instead of months ago. After thorough searches and exhausting his ideas on her possible whereabouts, he’d given in, accepted he’d been outwitted. He hadn’t found her because she hadn’t wanted to found.

And that’s where Erica Hampton came in. A make do to help douse the fire another had ignited. The replacement for who could have been the woman he’d cherished more than oxygen. Like every other night he would take her to dinner and try not to compare her much slimmer frame with Gabrielle’s salacious curves. Try not to distinguish between her elegant eating habits with Gabrielle’s hilariously unladylike ones. He’d then take her to an opulent hotel room and indulge her then leave before midnight because the one time he’d slept
until the morning he’d spooned the body next to his and called out Gabrielle’s name.
Whispered it again and again until an indescribably furious Erica had slapped him from his
stupor.

Pouring himself another glass of vodka, he walked to his swivel chair behind a classic work
desk and indulged a couple of sips. “Linda.” He spoke through the intercom.

A distinct “Yes sir” bounced from the machine almost instantly.

“Has Marketing people decided on sponsoring that film?”

“PR gave a go ahead, sir. You are scheduled for a launch party of the book inspiring the film we're sponsoring. I thought it was discussed in the meeting.”

He was still trying to rethink the meeting he’d once again zoned out from when the office
door swung open. Linda entered with a half-smile on her face bearing printed papers. “Here
are the notes I took and I also took the liberty of wiring you a soft copy in case you are too
preoccupied and decide to go through them later.”

Despite appreciating her diligence he nodded once and waved her out of his office before flipping through the papers. He felt her presence for a fleeting second before the distinct click of the locking door infiltrated his ears. It was then that he sat upright, running his palm over his face with a deep heave of his chest. Lately it constricted a lot and an unshakable feeling of
unhappiness overwhelmed him. He was almost accustomed to it with time flying and the
realization of never seeing a certain full-figured, brown-eyed little woman settling in him.
Still, he hurt and deep down hoped to lay his eyes on her again.

His efforts to detest her for
her unceremonious exit from his life crumbled at the very trial stage as he learned to accept
that from the second he met her to the last in that bed, their bodies synched together in explosive passion, she’d melted his icy, solid heart and in it brew indescribable affections that seemed to be permanently rooted.

***
A/N

I've been so busy with school guys. I apologize for the long silence. Thanks for waiting and reading and allow me to ask for your vote. I love constructive comments and reply when I can.

Enjoy reading :-)