Leave a comment

~Chapter 2: The Meeting~

The next morning, Evelyn did not bother going into the office, she had no reason to. She was supposed to spend all day driving to Malibu from Los Angeles to request for an impossible meeting, only to drive back with her tail between her legs. The drive had taken about two hours due to the early work traffic hours. When the building of the Californian branch of Enfer Enterprise came into view, she had to marvel at the magnificent beauty of the architect. She parked her car at the visitor car park and she strode over to the entrance of the building, trying her best to muster more confidence, vigour and purpose than she really felt at that moment.

The lobby of the building was impressive – the ceiling of the lobby itself was about 45 feet high and the place was decorated so elaborately that it could compare to that of the highest graded hotel. Evelyn had to try to restrain herself from walking back out the door and pretend she had never been here in the first place. With an immense feat of either courage or insanity, she managed to stride towards the front desk with purpose. Behind the desk were two young men working and typing away at their keyboards. One was a brunette and the other a blonde. Both of them were tall, dark and handsome. If not for their immaculate outfit and their gelled back hair, they would have belonged to the surf with a board under their feet.

Evelyn cleared her throat to gain their attention, “Hello.” Both of them blankly stared at her for a moment as if this was the first time an outsider had ever strode up to their desk, and maybe it was. She cleared her throat once more and one of them, the blonde greeted back, “Hello miss, how may we help you today?”

“I am here as a representative of the firm I work for, you might have heard of us before, Big Smith’s Co.” When all she received was more blank stares, she soldiered on, “I would like to request a meeting with your branch manager, please.” Evelyn tried to make herself sound important enough, hoping against all hope that they would actually set an appointment for her.

“So, you do not already have an appointment set up today?” The brunette asked incredulously.

Feeling unsure of herself yet she boldly replied, “Um, no. This is actually a last-minute decision and uh…” She couldn’t decide what she should say next, what else could she say anyway? “And my stupid ⓐⓢⓢ boss decided to make me come and demand a meeting? Right… because that would work out so well,” She thought to herself.

They appeared to be waiting for her to finish the sentence and she just nodded resolutely, “So I am here to request for a meeting.” They looked at her as if she had grown two heads, she almost wanted to touch the junction between her neck and shoulder just to be sure that she hadn’t. Soon, they appeared as if they were trying to refrain from guffawing at her and her only saving grace was that they were professionals at work.

“I apologize, miss, but if you do not already have an appointment, we are afraid that we would have to refuse to make an appointment for you. Our manager is fairly busy today, as our-” The blonde was cut off with a nudge from the brunette who gave him a look of warning.

The blonde rubbed the back of his head bashfully as the brunette continued for him, telling Evelyn that in no uncertain terms would they be setting up an appointment for her and politely asked her to leave. She thanked them with as much pride as she had left and taken her exit gracefully. She made a promise then that she would strangle Alexander Cooper when she got back.

She sighed when she got into the car and threw the envelope with the contract in it on the passenger seat. With a sudden bout of anger, she decided that since she was technically given a day off, she might as well enjoy a few hours at the coast before she had to face the music in the office that was one Alexander Cooper.

She drove to a quaint little coffee house that she saw on the way. The little café looked like it had been built in the sixties, it looked peaceful and calm, with a wooden porch out on the front, red-tiled roof and white painted walls that were chipped in several places. The slightly rundown look gave it a homey feel.

As she entered the little café with the cute light-yellow door, her senses were immediately filled with the smell of caffeine and baked goods. There was a rug that went from the door to the counter. To the sides of the rug were mismatched tables and chairs in various colours and designs. There was a family, an old couple and several other patrons enjoying their morning goodness at the tables. The café was charmingly adorable in the most unlikely way.

She walked to the counter where a middle-aged woman was making coffee. The older woman had soft chestnut hair, pale blue eyes and her face was slightly wrinkled with smile lines that showed that she was a happy woman. Evelyn had only needed to wait a few seconds before the woman acknowledged her with a warm smile. The woman with her flour-dusted clothes and coffee-stained apron reminded Evelyn of her own mother. With a warm voice, she greeted her, “Hello, dear, what can I get you today?”

Evelyn took a moment to peruse the chalk-written menu on a chalkboard above the counter and ordered a mochaccino to go. “Sure, dear, just sit down anywhere and wait for a moment, I’ll have someone bring the coffee to you. That should be $3.” Evelyn handed her a five-dollar note and asked her to keep the change. The older woman muttered a quick thank you and smiled sweetly which was mirrored by Evelyn.

Evelyn only had to wait a few moments at a seat by the window before her coffee was delivered by a young pre-teen girl, who gave her a gap-toothed grin. She couldn’t help returning the smile, starting to feel a whole lot better about her day. She held her cup with both hands and took a satisfying sip before she stood up to leave.

Just as her hand was reaching out to the doorknob, it opened unexpectedly. Tension immediately filled the air and the peaceful patrons of the café tensed in response. Evelyn could feel herself being enveloped and physically shoved by an invisible unknown power. The invisible shove made her stumble and crash right into the newcomer, spilling her boiling hot coffee all over the newcomer and the woman hissed angrily. Evelyn winced apologetically and immediately took out her handkerchief to dab at the woman’s clothes, muttering quick endless words of apologies. The tension in the café had risen so high by then, it was as if the other patrons were about to jump and run away any time soon.

Once again, Evelyn felt herself being pushed away from the woman by an invisible force. “Oh Christ, I am so so sorry, are you alright?” The woman’s clothes looked so expensive Evelyn could have sworn that it would take all of her budgets just to buy one.

“You…” The woman’s voice was so menacing and murderous that it sent a shiver of fear down Evelyn’s spine, she could literally feel her feet quaking in her flats and her knees buckling. She gulped loudly, trying to dislodge the lump suddenly in her throat, finally willing herself to look up into her victim’s eyes.

She gasped loudly when she gazed into the stranger’s eyes because the woman’s eyes, they were, to say the least, mesmerizing. They were of such wondrous colours, deep dark irises ringed with violet or red, sometimes it looked like there was a combination of violet and red around her eyes. Speckles of gold and silver also sparkled in the darkness of her irises and pupils, making her eyes seem like a window to the galaxy, or even the galaxy itself. Evelyn could have sworn she could gaze into this stranger’s eyes forever and still would find them fascinating.

All around the small café, the patrons all gasped, including the man who followed behind the woman, when they saw that Evelyn had the audacity to meet the stranger’s eyes.

Slowly but surely, time seemed to start moving again. The heavy punishing invisible power that had intended to choke Evelyn lifted away, making breathing much easier for the human. The tension in the café remained, the man behind the woman was angrier than the woman herself. Yet, the murderous look that was previously in her eyes was now replaced with intrigue.

When Evelyn felt something soft touch her hand that was still holding the handkerchief, she finally looked away from the woman’s eyes and down at her own hand which was now covered by the woman’s. The woman then said something to Evelyn which she had missed, she blinked slow and hard, then looked back at her coffee victim’s face. Evelyn mentally shook her head to try to dislodge the cobweb that had suddenly taken up residence in her brain, “P- pardon?”

Now that Evelyn had a good look, it wasn’t just her eyes that were attractive, she was the whole package. She had long lustrous dark tresses that rivalled the darkness of her eyes, yet when the light shone just right, her hair was more indigo than black. She had what some people called the lazy bedroom eyes, cute little button nose that could be described more as sexy than cute on her, and red full lips that looked entirely too kissable. Her high cheekbones and angular face, her tall and curvy frame with sun-kissed skin, her looks could put any Victoria Secret models to shame.

She was so beautiful that Evelyn had to bite her tongue to stifle the gasp that wanted to escape her lips. One side of the indigo-haired woman’s kissable lips quirked in such a way that showed her amusement, “I asked if you’re alright.”

Evelyn widened her eyes in surprise, she blurted, “I should be the one asking you that. I just spilled hot coffee on you, you must be burned. Are you alright? do you need to see the doctors?” The tanned woman shook her head and smiled a little, “I’m perfectly fine, other than being a little wet with a stained shirt.”

“Oh god, I am so sorry, I promise I will replace your blouse or at least get your blouse to the dry cleaners,” Evelyn returned her attention to the ruined blouse and winced. The woman’s hand squeezed hers lightly and only then did Evelyn realize the woman was still holding her hand.

The stranger assured her, “It’s fine, I have many blouses just like this for replacement. I will just get changed in the restroom and then I’ll be on my way. Do not worry your adorable little head about it.”

The words would have sounded condescending to another, but all Evelyn could hear was that the attractive stranger had called her adorable. She blushed beautifully and insisted on buying a coffee for the woman as an apology. Evelyn asked for her coffee order when the stranger finally relented and allowed Evelyn to buy her that coffee.

Evelyn then went to the counter to order herself another mochaccino and an iced coffee with whipped cream for her coffee burn victim while the woman went to get changed in the restroom. The café owner’s smile looked strained when Evelyn was placing her orders. This made Evelyn apologize about the mess but the older woman brushed it off. She then said something rather mysterious and more than a little chilling, “Don’t worry about the mess, dear. We’ll have it cleaned in no time at all. You should be grateful you’re even alive now.” The mumbled speech was so soft that Evelyn had almost missed it.

After Evelyn paid for the drinks, she felt a comforting yet chilling warmth behind her. It didn’t make sense for warmth to be chilling but that was exactly how it felt to her. Evelyn was tempted to lean into the woman’s warmth and barely held herself back. Instead, she turned around to face the tanned woman. She took in a sharp breath when she once again gazed into those galaxy eyes, she whispered softly, “Hi…”
With a quick imperceptible smile and an amused glint in her eyes, the woman greeted back, “Hello.” Evelyn’s face heated up and with her pale complexion, the red tinge on her face was obvious. She lowered her head to hide the blush.

After the café owner handed them their coffee orders, the mysterious woman held her hand out and Evelyn took it with her own without hesitation. She was led to the same window seat with a soft voice telling her, “Join me.”

Only then had Evelyn noticed the man following the stranger. As soon as they reached the table, the man pulled the chairs out for them. When the woman let go of Evelyn’s hand, she instantaneously felt a sense of loss and longing. The tanned woman thanked the man with a light pat on his head. The action was more akin to that of an owner to a pet than that of an employer to an employee.

The man then excused himself and sat down at another table. He looked to be in his late twenties with silver hair tied back into a short ponytail and bloody red eyes which Evelyn assumed were contacts. He had handsome features – sharp watchful eyes, perky nose and thin lips. He stood taller than the woman by a few inches. However, he was not bulky and instead, had well-defined muscles – the body of someone who worked out regularly.

“Once again, I want to apologize-” Evelyn’s apology was waved off by the woman with an “All is well, bunny.” If someone else had called Evelyn a bunny, she would have been offended, but with this woman, she felt adored.

“My name is Perse, Perse Enfer, and who might you be?” The woman asked. Evelyn gaped for a moment, speechless, “You mean Enfer… as in Enfer Enterprise?” Her answer was a curt nod. Evelyn could hardly believe that she had just spilled her coffee and now having coffee with the CEO of Enfer Enterprise.

“Oh my god, Ms. Enfer, it’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is Evelyn Summer. And not to mix business with pleasure, but I was actually just at Enfer Enterprise today,” Evelyn never liked to mention her middle name when introducing herself. Sometimes she wondered why her parents couldn’t have chosen a different name. Never mind that she had truly felt like a princess when she was younger.

“Trust me, the pleasure is all mine,” Perse smirked before she raised her brow and continue, “And what business did you have with my company this morning?” It was obvious that Perse wasn’t actually interested in the business talk, she only wanted to find out more about this intriguing human creature. Evelyn then used this opportunity to tell Perse that she was just trying to get an appointment with the branch manager of Enfer Enterprise. Although Perse still seemed unimpressed, a glint appeared in her eyes as she suggested, “Why don’t you have this appointment with me instead?”

“A-are you sure?” Evelyn could not believe her odd fortune today. Odd because she still couldn’t decide whether she was feeling lucky, or the absolute opposite of it.

Perse nodded in the affirmative and seized the opening, “Why don’t you tell me more about yourself first, Evelyn?” She leaned closer, resting her elbows on the table, with her chin propped up on her laced fingers.

“Um, what would you like to know?” Evelyn asked uncertainly.

“Anything. Everything you’re willing to share” was her answer.

“S-sure.” With that stuttered agreement, Evelyn told of her background. However, whenever she asked Perse any questions, she would expertly deflect the questions with non-answers or was offered little to no information. Normally, Evelyn was not one to open up to others easily but with Perse, it felt like an invisible power was acting as a relaxant for her, making her feel more at ease and her tongue looser.

It was also a plus that she had never have as captive an audience as Perse, who seemed to genuinely want to know more about her. As the pair sat serenely in their own bubble, they took no notice of how the other patrons had hurriedly finished their meal and scurried off; Or how there were other patrons who had just entered the café instantly freeze up, took a single glance at them and left just as quickly. Some braver souls would have their order-to-go and left as soon as their order was completed.

During the conversation, Evelyn had been gazing into those galaxy eyes and she was so absorbed in the story she was telling that she did not notice the feeling of the invisible power of the essence creeping around her body. That was until she felt something prodding around her inner thigh, causing her to jerk away. And when she looked down at her lap, she did not see anything.

“What is wrong, bunny?” Perse looked entirely too smug to not be guilty but how; Evelyn had no idea what really was happening. She merely cleared her throat, shook her head and continued on, trying to convince herself that she was just imagining things.

It was a while longer when the silver-haired man came to stand beside Perse. He cleared his throat and informed them, “Mistress, it’s almost eleven, we should probably head to the office soon.” Evelyn’s eyes widened; she did not realize that she had been talking to Perse for almost three hours. Whereas Perse’s eyes narrowed dangerously and she hissed lowly, “I can do anything I want with my time, Paul.” The air became thicker and harder to breathe through the essence of Perse.

“I apologize, Mistress.” He bowed his head lowly. He almost looked like he wanted to kneel down and beg for her forgiveness but he chanced a glance at Evelyn and stopped himself.

“It’s okay, Paul, thank you for letting me know anyway,” As soon as those words left her mouth, her essence returned to surround Evelyn instead of smothering the place, making it easier to breathe again. He nodded and moved to stand back behind her.

Perse turned her attention back to Evelyn and gave her a sweet smile, “How about we adjourn to my office?”

With a nod of Evelyn’s head, they both agreed to drive their own car to the office building, they arrived at their destination at about the same time. When they walked in together, Evelyn found it amusing as she watched the two young blokes from the front reception widen their eyes comically at her. They immediately greeted Perse with bowed heads and quivering bodies, they voiced out with a shaky voice, “Ms. Enfer.” Who did not even acknowledge them as she walked by.

As they made their way to the elevator, everyone they had walked past lowered their head and none of them had dared to even look at Perse’s face. All of them muttered ‘Ms. Enfer’ respectfully, possibly more out of fear. Some of their knees buckled so much that they dropped to their knees, it was a rather bizarre sight for Evelyn.

They rode the elevator to the top floor, the doors opened to reveal a large room with couches lining the entire left wall, they looked more comfortable than most beds. Each couch was accompanied with a coffee table in front of them and on the far-right corner of the room, there was a nice sized desk with only one chair, paperwork was neatly stacked on the table. The entire room was covered with gold lush carpet except for the path leading from the elevator to the glazed double glass doors on the other side of the room, which was carpeted with red and gold trimming. The room was decorated tastefully, yet not overdone, with beautiful artwork of flower fields, ocean, cliffs and other landscape shots scattered evenly on all four walls of the room. The room was lighted dimly in an almost romantic setting with two elaborate chandeliers hanging on the ceiling.

Evelyn was not given enough time to admire the artwork because Perse had led them towards the double door as soon as the elevator door was opened. As they were nearing the door, Paul rushed in front to open the doors for them. After they entered, Paul shut the doors behind them and left the pair alone. Once the doors were shut, Perse’s essence was set free upon the room, covering every free space, making the air in the room immediately warmer and thicker.

The centrepiece of the room was a huge mahogany desk right in front of the windows that covered the whole of one wall and it looked out to the cityscape and the ocean. On the window side of the desk sat a throne-like chair and on the other side sat two office chairs with fluffy cushions. In the far-left corner of the room, there were two lazy boy chairs, a loveseat and a dark brown couch flanking a coffee table in their midst. The floor was covered with the lushest carpet known to men and the wall was lined intermittently with bookshelves containing various books and folders. The part of the walls not covered with bookshelves hung dark pieces of artwork conveying details indecipherable to humans, other than their beautiful paint strokes. A door to the right of the desk led to a luxurious bathroom meant for royalties.

Perse watched amusedly as Evelyn gasped sharply when she noticed the beautiful city and ocean view from the windows that spanned the entire length of the opposite wall. The tanned woman was still trying to figure out the puzzle that was the blonde woman standing in front of her. “Ms. Evelyn, please take a seat,” She said pleasantly and went around to the other side of the desk and sat down.

Evelyn then followed her example and took the plush office chair in front of her and she could feel herself sink snugly into the cushion of the chair. That was probably how sinking into clouds would feel like if one could sink into a cloud. The blonde then placed the envelope on the desk and cleared her throat, “Ms. Enfer, I came here today as a representative of my corporation, the Big Smith’s Co., we had been wanting to expand our company’s reach into other states and we were hoping that we would be able to achieve that by collaborating together with your organization in a joint venture. The details of the proposed venture are all written in this contract if you would like to read it.”

Perse nodded and slid the envelope in front of her, pulling out the contract then commenced her pretend reading. As Perse pretended to go through the ridiculous contract, her guest allowed her eyes to roam around the room, to fully take in the grandiose of the area.

Once she was done perusing the room, she turned her attention back to her companion. She had never felt such a strong attraction towards another person before. The curve of Perse’s lips, the rosy colour of her cheeks and just everything about her make Evelyn feel a sense of longing, she almost wanted to reach her hand out and touch her just to see if the woman was real.

Perse’s essence turned tangible as it slid over the other woman’s hand, replacing the essence already shrouding Evelyn. Evelyn could feel the touch of warmth on the back of her left hand, replacing a sense of familiarity but she couldn’t see anything different. Yet, the sense of intense longing inside her subsided as the warm feeling slowly slid up her arms. The touch of warmth gradually reached her shoulders and seemed to sensually graze her collarbone; she suppressed her gasp. She thought that she must be going crazy, possibly imagining the touch of Perse’s hands on her own body. Even though the touch of warmth felt more realistic than she could have drummed up.

When Evelyn glanced at Perse again, the woman looked busy scanning through the thick pile of papers. As the feeling of warmth started encompassing her entire body, pushing away the sense of familiarity, her breath started coming quicker and her heart beating faster.

An image assaulted her head forcing her eyes closed. Behind her eyelids, she could see Perse Enfer straddling her lap in this very chair and kissing her possessively. She bit her lower lip to stifle the moan that wanted to escape her lips when she saw the flicker of Perse’s pink tongue. As soon as the image came, it was gone, allowing her to open her eyes again. When reality came back to her, she could hear herself panting loudly, with her right hand on the desk and her left on her lap.

It was at that point when Perse finally looked at Evelyn and her lips started to move as she spoke. It took Evelyn several moments to regain her wits and by that time, she had missed everything the other woman had just told her.

And it was during those precious moments when Perse’s essence caressed Evelyn’s body sensually – around her waist, the sides of her breasts, her belly and her lower back. Perse could see the other woman’s desire for her through her heavy pants, soft whimpers and blown pupils. Her essence, reacting to her thoughts, unconsciously crept up the other woman’s inner thigh again when she finally decided to be merciful. With an amused quirk of her lips, she retracted her essence away from Evelyn’s body, causing the other woman to involuntarily gasp at the loss of the warm sensation.

When Evelyn could finally form a coherent thought again, Perse had already stopped speaking. Perse tried to make herself appear innocent as she waited for an answer from the blonde who she knew had not heard a word she had just uttered. Feeling immensely embarrassed, a deep red hue rose in Evelyn’s cheeks when she asked the tanned woman to repeat herself.

Perse patiently repeated herself for the blonde, “This contract looks agreeable, but I would not be so quick to sign it. I would like to arrange a meeting with your board of directors, please relay that message to them and have them call my PA when they have agreed on a suitable time. I shall be in the state for a few more days.” With that, she handed Evelyn her business card.

“Of course, Ms. Enfer-” Evelyn was saying when she was once again cut off.

“Perse,” She said it softly and the sound was barely above a whisper.

“Pardon?” Evelyn questioned, tilting her head in confusion.

“Just call me Perse, I think we’re past the last name basis at this point,” The indigo-haired woman explained in a clearer voice.

“Oh, you’re probably right about that… Perse. Please also call me Evelyn then,” The blonde replied with a light blush still dusting her cheeks. Sometimes she really hated her fair skin.

With an amused chuckle, Perse purred seductively, “Oh, don’t worry, honey. I fully intended to.” This caused pleasant shivers to travel down Evelyn’s spine, goosebumps rising on her skin and her throat tightened with desire. Dizziness ensued when the tanned woman’s hand reached out to rest on her right hand, feeling more like a whole-body embrace than a hand-holding had any right to feel like.

Another amused sound resounded from her, “Don’t forget to breathe, sweetheart.” Only then did the spell of dizziness pass when the blonde realized that she had been holding her breath. The adoring smile adorning Perse’s face was brilliantly beautiful although it looked foreign on her face. Perse wasn’t one of those easy-going, smiley, happy-go-lucky types of people, real smiles on her facial features were rare occurrences.

“I shall see you soon, Evelyn,” The sound of her own name rolling off the tongue of the tanned woman brought about another round of shivers to Evelyn’s body. With one last brush of hands and Perse’s essence returning to nuzzle her cheeks, Evelyn stood up to leave. Her legs were wobbly when she did get up.

“See you soon, Perse,” She whispered back softly and the sweet smile on Perse’s face caused her heart to skip a beat. She briefly wondered if she might be having heart attacks early in life if she saw too much of this side of the other woman. She decided to leave while she still had her heart firmly beating in her own chest.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, leaving behind the enticing woman and her tantalizing presence, she felt as if she had walked back into the real world, where the recycled air was cooler and lighter. An intense sense of longing almost floored her, she took a few deep breaths and exhaled slowly. She breathed easier when the longing subsided and her heart felt fuller than before, filling the gaps in her heart.

With a new sense of finally fitting into the world, Evelyn left happier than when she arrived. Just imagining Cooper’s face when she told him that she had achieved the near-impossible had her in high spirits. She smiled at Paul on her way out of the building. What she did not notice was the envious look Paul was shooting her back as she turned and left.

At around the same time, a woman gasped as her essence returned to her being. She was on the verge of a panic attack when she dialled a familiar number, hoping against all hopes that it would be picked up.

After three rings, she was in near hysteria when the call was finally picked up and a familiar voice answered her. She was relieved to hear the other’s voice but also afraid…