Chapter One
1102 Words
Ami
The man who stepped up to meet me once I stepped out of the elevator was tall, a good foot taller than I was even in my heels, the perfectly tailored dark blue suit did nothing to hide the width of his shoulders and his dark hair was perfectly in place and for a second I imaged running my hands through it.
Whoa.
That was unexpected. Still he was a good looking man and I would be blind to not notice. Above all though it was his eyes that caught my attention. Wide and whiskey coloured, his lashes thick and long.
I had done my homework for weeks on this man. He was a powerhouse in the business world and had his fingers in numerous pies. Old money and when I mean old I mean bloody ancient.
And one thing was always clear in any article I had read about him.
He was cold, his private life was off limits and he was ruthless.
So why were those pretty eyes looking at me with such softness?
It didn’t make any sense.
“Mr Llewelyn.” I stepped forward and my hand was already out stretched as I crossed the plush carpet to where he seemed to be frozen. “It’s a pleasure to meet you sir.”
His eyes narrowed and the start of a smile tugged up his full lips. But still he didn’t move , he just stared down at my hand like he didn’t know what to do with.
“Pleasure is all mine Miss…” He finally spoke and his voice matched the rest of him, Rich , defined . The lilt of his accent adding a warmth to it. But the way he said miss? It sounded like he had to spit it out.
Was he one of the old fashioned guys who believed women shouldn’t have careers? Or even worse someone who looked down on single mothers?
“Please call me Ami.” His large band curled around mine, palm warm and dry on mine. His grip strong but not painful.
His eyes flashed and for a second he sighed. “Is that short for Amelia?”
I laughed. What a strange thing to ask. “No,no. Just plain old Ami.”
For a second his face fell. But he shook himself. Well Ami why don’t you call me Dewi.”
Frowning I started to follow him, Dewi? Sounded Welsh alright! But hadn’t I read somewhere his name was David. “Sorry I thought your name was David!”
He chuckled, stopping so suddenly that I almost ran into him. “It is, but my friends call me Dewi. And I hope we are going to become good friends Ami.”
He stepped back, motioning for me to enter the office before him.
Glancing back at the foyer I frowned. This was all really strange. Where was his secretary? Why was he on his own to meet me. A man of his standing would have an army of little worker beea to do his bidding. And yet there was no one.
“Well I am sure we will be spending a fair amount of time with each other if I decide to take this job.”
His eyebrows slammed down as he settled himself down into his seat, motioning for me to take a seat. “If you decide to take the job?”
“Yes, this is a big job and I wouldn’t want to take it on and let you down. It might be that I can’t do you or your company justice.” I spoke softly, crossing my legs at the ankle which was about as far as I could go with the tight pencil skirt I had donned for the occasion.
Since the birth of my daughter I had been wearing more flowing outfits , my body not quite what it was before but for this meeting I had pulled out all the stops. Skirt, silky red blouse, heels.
Business Ami and not mum Ami was here today.
“I want you.”
I blinked at him. “Excuse me?”
“I mean I want you for this job Ami, I understand that you have previous commitments but you are the person I want working with us so I am willing to work with your schedule. Or … do you have an assistant you could pass your other accounts over to?”
Was this man for real? “ I am just starting out David , no assistant for me.” I gave a shrug and his eyes darted to my breasts as the movement made them lift.
The smile I gave him was knowing but it was a lot better then the eye roll I wanted to do at him blatantly checking me out.
Typical rich guy , they were always infuriating.
“If you need one I will cover any costs involved.” His staccato voice made my heart beat a little bit faster. It wasn’t just his good looks and musical voice though. There was a danger about him. Deep within I could sense it and it made every hair on my body stand to attention.
“Thank you that’s very…” I struggled to find the right words . What it was was strange. Very very strange. “Generous.”
He grinned across the desk, leaning back as we studied each.
“Have you eaten Ami?”
His question was unexpected. He seemed to change conversational direction more times then I changed nappies.
“I….”
“I know a fantastic little restaurant just down the street , why don’t we go and grab lunch and discuss our plan in more detail.”
“That is a very kind offer sir, Dewi.” I amended quickly and his eyes flashed. “But I only have a little while until I have to relieve my babysitter.”
The fire in his eyes died, they became sad. Distant . Haunted. Had I said something wrong?
“Ah yes I should have started with congratulations.” His voice was strained. There was definitely a story there. There was to much pain in his voice for there not to be. “A daughter right? What did you call her?”
I smiled, because that’s what I did when ever I spoke about my child. “Ffion. Her name is Ffion.”
- Writer
