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~Chapter 3: The Change~

As much as Evelyn would like to return home in high spirits after her meeting with Perse, she had a responsibility to her company and that, unfortunately, included her boss Cooper. She dreaded having to ring him up on her drive back to Los Angeles but it was better to get it over and done with earlier, rather than later.

Heaving a deep sigh, she called him up on her car Bluetooth and a few rings later, the phone was picked up. A familiar lovely voice answered,” Avery Oviern, Mr. Alexander Cooper’s personal assistant speaking. Mr. Cooper is currently attending a meeting; do you have a message you wish to relay to him?”

Evelyn thanked the Heavens for this small blessing, “Hey Avie, this is Eve. Could you quote this to Cooper for me? Tell him ‘What you asked of me is done, ⓐⓢⓢⓗⓞⓛⓔ’.”

“Of course, Ms. Summer, I shall pass the message to Mr. Cooper,” the redhead answered without missing a beat with her usual indifferent tone.

“Also, maybe don’t add in the ⓐⓢⓢⓗⓞⓛⓔ part,” Evelyn chuckled, amused at her best friend’s serious attitude at work. She was answered with another curt “Sure, Ms. Summer.”

“Thanks Avie, love you too. I will see you tomorrow,” Evelyn ended the call cheerfully, still riding the high of her meeting with the tanned gorgeous woman.

However, her good mood quickly went down the drain when she arrived home. The main reason being the ringing of her phone and who the caller was. She contemplated ignoring the call, it would be so easy with just one swipe of her finger. Heaving yet another deep sigh, she finally answered her phone.

“Finally! Did nobody tell you not to make your boss wait, Princess?” She was sure the entire block could hear the despicable voice of one Alexander Cooper yelling into his phone. Without a pause, he continued, “Anyways, I want to see you in my office as soon as you’re able to get here.”

Evelyn could not even get a word in before the dial tone of Cooper hanging up on her taunted her. She stared dumbly down at the phone in her hand for a few precious moments. Then she yelled out loud in frustration in the warm belly of her car, she imagined herself pulling off every single hair on Cooper’s head one by one. If only she could do that, it would be so satisfying… but life went on and now she had to drive back to the office at the beck and call of her demon of a boss.

Once she had gotten back to the devil’s lair, Avery paused her work and stared at her for a long moment before she finally greeted her, “Ms. Summer, please take a seat, Mr. Cooper should be with you soon.” Evelyn then mouthed silently to the redhead ‘Is he being serious right now?’ With a rare sympathetic smile, Avery nodded before she resumed her work, sorting through the various files in front of her.
Evelyn slumped heavily onto one of the plush visitor’s chairs, meant only for aesthetics, they were lumpy and incredibly uncomfortable to sit in. She fumed in silence, annoyed that Cooper had called her in just so that he could pull one of his power plays on her.

The blonde watched Avery expertly working on her tablet and answering phone calls. She had no idea how the redhead could stomach working for Cooper day in and day out every day. If it was her, she would either have committed murder or quitted the job a long time ago. Just for this, Avery had more than earned the blonde’s respect.

Evelyn knew that Avery was efficient in her job but she was almost certain that Cooper had only hired Avery for her looks and not her expertise. Whatever the reason may be, that would be the only thing Evelyn would be thankful of Cooper for. Avery was one of the only persons in her life she would consider as an actual friend.

After only God knows how long later, Avery got off the phone and told the blonde that she could finally enter the demon’s office with another rare sympathetic smile, “Sorry for the long wait, Mr. Cooper is ready to see you now.” She nodded her thanks to the redhead, inhaled deeply and got ready to face the music.

As soon as she walked in, Cooper’s despicable voice invaded her ears. “Ahhh, Princess! It’s always such a pleasure to see you, I wasn’t expecting you to come in today! So, what’s the news?” He was leaning his hip against his desk, looking mighty proud of himself when he said that. He probably thought that she would inevitably fail to secure the meeting. Hell, even she had doubted that she could have done it if not for her dumb luck.

Trying to rub her success in his face, she injected as much carefreeness into her voice as possible and with a smile like the cat that ate the canary, she casually mentioned, “Ah yes, Cooper, the meeting with Ms. Enfer ended earlier than I thought it would.”

It took a moment for him to register what she had just said. The moment it did though, his reaction was priceless – first was the shock, followed closely by fear and concluded with scepticism. When he regained his composure, he glared at her disapprovingly with a condescending smile, “Really now? You had a meeting with Ms. Enfer?”

“Yes, I did, Cooper.” She took the business card from her slack pocket with a flourish and showed it to him. Nobody liked a sore winner but also, nobody could blame her for throwing this back into her boss’ face. She went on to her explanation when all Cooper did was to act out his best ever yet goldfish impression, “She told me that she would like to arrange an appointment with our board of directors to talk more in-depth about the contract. She gave me her business card so that they could call her to arrange a suitable time.”

His face was then pumped full of blood resembling that of a watermelon, either in anger or embarrassment, Evelyn couldn’t tell. He was probably regretting his decision of sending Evelyn there to embarrass her and cursing that he hadn’t gone himself so he could have reaped this benefit for himself. He snatched the card from her hands to read more carefully. Cooper huffed out loud at his own backfired plan with a pained smile, “Great job, Ms. Summer, I shall inform Mr. Smith. You may take the rest of the day off now.”

The blonde walked out of that office, feeling much better about her life. That was the first time Cooper had ever called her by her last name. She winked at Avery on her way out.

The days following that, Evelyn noticed that the people around her started to treat her differently. She thought nothing of it initially because she thought that it might have been due to the news that she had secured an appointment with the elusive conglomerate of Enfer Enterprise.

They had started off by giving her odd looks as if they were trying to figure her out, whereas others appeared shocked when they saw her. This was soon replaced by fear and before long, most of them had started to avoid her. What was worse was that this did not only happen in the office, she could notice the same changes in the public. Strangers would shoot her surreptitious glances, gave her a wide berth and steered clear of her. Wherever she walked, the sea of people opened up to allow her through, similar to people making way for someone important. It baffled her to no end, she had no idea what might have caused the change.

When she finally did ask Avery about it, the redhead told her that she did not notice any changes. Evelyn even pointed out while shopping together with Avery, how someone had just hastily scurried away upon the sight of them. The redhead made light of it by shrugging and telling the blonde that he was probably on drugs. Evelyn didn’t really believe her but she laughed anyway because she couldn’t find any other explanation.

It had been a week and a half since Evelyn’s meeting with Perse, this day also marked her 25th birthday. She was evaluating some financial reports when she heard a knock on her door.

“Come in.” She said without glancing up.

“Princess!” As soon as she heard that voice, her head began to throb painfully and she had to hide the cringe from showing on her face. She gave up on the reports, instead, she massaged her temple with her hand.

“What do you want, Cooper?” Evelyn muttered irately. The brunette strode into the office as if it was his. He had a huge grin on his face and arms wide open as if he was showcasing himself.

“My dear, dear little princess, you must have left an impression. Mr. Smith required your presence in conference room 1 right now,” he announced brightly.

“What is this about, Cooper?” the blonde asked cautiously because when Cooper looked this elated, it usually meant bad news for her.

“Beats me, Princess. All I can say is good luck. Now, chop chop, off ya go,” he shrugged nonchalantly then made a chopping motion with his hands. With a self-satisfied grin on his face, he left in high spirits. The blonde sighed wearily and turned her computer off; she could never have a break. She had to at least ensure that she looked presentable for a meeting so she checked her reflection on a compact mirror. Once she deemed herself ready, she left for the conference room.

Outside the door, she took a few deep breaths to steel her nerves. When she knocked on the double wooden doors, she briefly imagined the various nightmarish scenarios that would require Mr. Smith to ask for her presence. The muffled ‘come in’ broke through her disquieting visions and with trembling hands, she pushed the doors open.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she could feel a familiar sensation enveloping her. The tension in the room was at an all-time high, the strain of silence from the board of directors spoke volumes. The heavy tension did not seem to bother the blonde at all. Instead, the slightly warmer air of the room and the smell invading her senses made her feel as if she was coming home for the first time in a long time. The sensation forced her eyes to slam shut so that she could fully relish it. Evelyn couldn’t explain it but somehow, she just knew that Perse was here, she could feel her presence and her galaxy eyes staring at her.

When the blonde finally opened her eyes and their eyes met across the room, she could feel the electricity racing down her spine, tingling her skin. Perse held her gaze for a moment, then with a gentle smile, her voice rang out softly yet clearly, “Evelyn, it’s wonderful to see you again. Please sit with me.” She patted the cushion of the chair beside her.

With Evelyn’s eyes trained on the dark-haired woman, she did not pick up on the board of directors’ eyes tracking both of them. Some of them looked incredulous and some were curious but most of them were cautious as if they were watching for signs of trouble.

Finally facing the gorgeous woman again, the blonde could feel a silly grin stretching her cheeks, “Hello Perse. You are a sight for sore eyes.”

“And you, my dear little bunny,” she stood up to greet the blonde with a warm full-body hug. Evelyn could feel her full breasts pressing into hers and their thighs sliding against each other. She tucked her face into the crook of the other woman’s neck. When she breathed in, she could smell the hints of something floral and earthy, plus the smell of rain when storm clouds were rolling in. Perse had also taken the opportunity to surreptitiously inhale in a lungful of the scent of the blonde at the top of her head. The scent had her involuntarily let out a soft purr from deep within her chest.

Evelyn could imagine losing herself in the woman’s arms forever but she was also aware of the fact that they were in the presence of the board of directors and the hug had also gone on a little longer than was appropriate. She literally had to force herself to step away from the other woman’s arms. A soundless rumble of displeasure in the tanned woman’s chest told Evelyn that she was just as unwilling to let go. Although, even after leaving the embrace to take a seat, she could still feel the sensation of being enclosed in her arms as if they had never let go of each other.

Mr. Smith was seated across the long table, facing the two women directly. He clapped his hands once to gain everyone’s attention, he began, “Well, now that all of us are present, shall we finally begin?” The board of directors nodded their heads in agreement. Once everyone had answered in the affirmative, they all turned in the direction of Perse for her affirmative. However, none of them met her eyes, they were either staring at a spot right in front of her or a spot way behind her.

Perse preened in their need of her approval as everyone sat in silence for a few tense moments. It was only a few seconds but it might as well have been an hour before she finally said, “That sounds excellent, I would like to hear in your own words how this venture could be beneficial for me.”

With that, the lengthy presentations and sales speeches commenced which Evelyn expertly zoned out from. She knew that her presence was not required for this meeting and it was most likely that Perse had personally requested for her presence that led to her being here now. Although that led to her pondering the reason as to why Perse wanted her here. Did the indigo-haired woman also feel the same connection to her and that it wasn’t just in her own head?

When stealing glances at Perse did not answer her questions, she turned her attention to the room. This was the first time Evelyn had ever been in this conference room. The rooms they normally used for their weekly meetings were smaller and less pretentious.

One side of the room consisted of mostly windows but currently, all the blinds had been drawn to block out the sunlight so that the projected screen looked sharper. The walls were clinically white like it had been scrubbed to an inch of its life. The table was long, with twenty chairs on both sides of the table and a plump chair each at both ends of the table. The smaller chair Evelyn was currently sitting on must have been added just for her.

Behind Mr. Smith and to his left sat his personal assistant who was in her thirties, jotting down notes on her tablet. Only when Evelyn glanced behind Perse did she finally notice Paul standing there like a silent shadow. When he met her gaze, he flashed a brief smile that quickly changed back into a neutral mask. The projector was secured onto the ceiling in the middle of the table and a few CCTV’s were scattered around the room. The room was plain – no paintings hung on the wall, and dull when compared to what she had seen in Enfer Enterprise.

Soon, with nothing else interesting to focus on in the room, Evelyn turned her attention to the alluring woman sitting beside her. Perse was dressed in a beautiful red blouse with the top few buttons undone, her ample cleavage was exposed deliciously and a black pencil skirt that hugged her hourglass curves. The clothes almost looked like they were sewn onto her skin with how tight they were clinging to her body. Covering her legs from her toes to somewhere under her skirt was a pair of fishnet stockings that highlighted the shapeliness of her legs. Evelyn unconsciously licked her lips; she could almost feel her mouth-watering at the sight. The things she would give up to have her hands all over the gorgeous woman.

Evelyn shook her head covertly, trying to take her mind off the woman beside her. Just as she turned her sight to the current speaker, she felt something warm cover her hand. She glanced down just in time to see Perse lifting and placing her hand onto her own lap. Evelyn could feel the skin-warm fishnet stocking under her hand and the older woman’s thumb leisurely tracing her knuckles. The blonde could feel the telltale signs of her oncoming blush, she lowered her head so that a few strands of her hair fell across her face to aid in her quest of hiding away her flushed face.

Outwardly, Perse appeared to be interested in the presentation but on the inside, she was all too aware of the blonde sitting beside her. She did not care one way or the other about this ridiculous venture, she had only agreed to show her face here for the chance to meet this intriguing human woman again.

Almost unconsciously, Perse upturned her hand to intertwine their fingers and brought the hand she was holding up to her face where she laid a gentle kiss on the back of the blonde’s hand. It was sweet yet so very sensual at the same time. The blonde’s face turned a pretty red as she stared slack-jawed at Perse who turned to give her a blindingly innocent smile. There was a lull in the room as everyone present also stared dumbfoundedly at the scene before them. Almost as if Perse had not noticed her own action, she returned their joined hands back to her lap, with their fingers still intertwined.

Time seemed to restart by itself when she tilted her head back towards the front of the room. The room came back alive with the voices of the board of directors. With renewed confidence, the blonde moved her thumb to stroke the other woman’s hand. The gesture pleased Perse immensely, a soft purr from deep within her chest and her essence rumbling in response.

When the presentation had finally come to an end, Perse had kissed her hand twice more already. Smith stood up from his seat, he leaned across the table and planted his hands in front of him, he spoke directly to Perse without meeting her eyes, “So, Ms. Enfer, that was all the ins and outs of the plan, everything had been considered down to the smallest detail. We really believe that this joint venture could be beneficial to both of our companies. Do you not agree?” The eagerness in his voice betrayed his professional exterior.

“I believe it is lunchtime now, no? I shall have your answer by the time I returned,” she waved him off. For a moment, he looked like he was going to protest but instead, he bit his tongue and nodded agreeably, “Of course, Ms. Enfer. We shall meet back here in 30 minutes then. Everyone, let’s take a break.”

“I would have to disagree, Grant. I shall take however long I wish for my lunch. Unless you have a thing to say about it… Do you?” She raised an eyebrow, challenging him. Since he did not even dare to look her in the face, the gesture was lost to him. Though he must have sensed her challenge and he easily swallowed back his words. Grant Smith was obviously not used to not having his way with everything and talking to someone with more authority than him.

“Not a problem at all, Ms. Enfer, please take however long you need, we would be waiting here for your return,” his smile was strained but he remained polite. She returned an almost sardonic smile at him, “Don’t let me keep you waiting, men. I shall see you… when I wish to return.”

When Perse stood up, Evelyn was immediately pulled along, following her with their joined hands.