FINDING LOVE
(My heart de-sire)
BY BLESSING SILVER
CHAPTER 8
“Um..” He couldn’t find the right choice of words to use as his heartbeat went to an abnormal rate.. His gaze roamed on her like a prey.. He felt his palms go sweaty as he ransacked his head, searching for the right words. How did she find out?
The question popped into his head and many more followed but he couldn’t think of any possible answer..
Noticing her questioning and curious gaze on him he looked away.. Opening his mouth to answer but only a m0@n c@m£ out.
“I thought your name was Damien” her words made him flin-ch a little..
“Uh..I-it is” he stammered.
“So why’d you write Liam there and not Damien? Is that your other name?”
Damien’s gaze sh0t down at once to the paper and he realized that he had written his real name..he was also on the verge of using Gonzalez. He almost sighed out loud, he had thought she had found out who he really was.. Gosh! He almost had a heart attack..
What was he even thinking trying to reveal himself without knowing it?
He’s pretty sure she wouldn’t doubt who he was if he had written his other names.. She’s a smart girl, she’ll just do the sums and then boom..he’ll be totally busted.
“Yes,” he answered her, facing her “It’s my birth name, I’ve used it all my life until I started staying with my Grandma, she gave me Damien and I thought I should stick with it.. I’m kind of used to it now but Liam pops back in sometimes when I want to write my name on a book or paper, I guess it’s cos I’ve used it most of my school days” he falsely explained and Leona nodded..
“So which do you prefer.. Damien or Liam?”
“Damien. plea-se don’t call me Liam, it kind of uh..bring sad memories back” he said thinking about Mae and his other girlfriends that had left him.. Truth is, hearing her pronounce his name in that girly and friendly tone took him back to his real life, Mae had a sweet voice like that too and when she utters his name, he feels like it’s the most sweetest thing he’s ever heard, same goes to the other girls; but not until she broke up with him, that sweet voice wasn’t there any longer, she had become the most heartless person.. Her breakup was worst, it had hit him ha-rd in his che-st and when she had pronounced his name, it sounded like a thun-der roaring.. It was no longer sweet, it was heartless, selfish and scary.
Leonal-ips p@rted as she thought of the possible sad memories he was referring to and she found herself wanting to inquire but instead she jammed herl-ips together, rethought her words and realized she shouldn’t, even if she has to now wasn’t the time.
“O-kay” she said in a calm tone and Damien smiled at her..
“So..um can I just fill this at home instead?” he asked “I feel like I’ll make a mistake cos my f!ngersare a little numb from all the selling and I wouldn’t want to embarras-s myself when a pretty lady’s watching” he said and Leona giggled.
“Sure. You’ll just take it there tomorrow, the address’s written at the back” she said and he nodded. She took her pen from him while he neatly la-id the form in his basket. Leona ru-bbe-d her palm together, trying to suppress them from the cold..
“Are you cold?” He asked.
“Um.. A little” she said, taking her cake and b!tt!g into it
“Uh..I don’t have a jacket on me, should I take off my shi-t?” He asked and Leona st©pped chewing, she gave him a look.
“You’re ki–” she didn’t complete her words when Damien lifted his shi-t off halfway.
“What’re you doing? St©p it” she said and he gave her a look.
“You said you were cold, I’m trying to help”
“By going shi-tless.. Don’t you think you might get cold doing that?” She asked.
” I can handle it Leona, and besides it’s the only way I can think of to make you stay longer”
“I didn’t plan on staying longer in the first place, I promised my mom I’ll be home before dinnertime ” she said and his face fell..
“So I guess it goodbye till whenever?” He asked solemnly.
“Yeah, maybe”
Leona shrugged a response. she was about taking another bite off her cu-pcake when a heavy wind blew it off her hand. Frightened, Leona pu-ll-ed herself towards Damien and noticing the obvious, he pu-ll-ed her to him, hvgging and soothing her.. Leona shut her eyes as the wind scattered her hair, she ti-ght£ñed her grip on Damien’s shi-t, hiding her face in his shoulder..
The wind formed a long de-ep circle with dusts and sand p@rticles, twirling and carrying dirt with it..it kept going round, ma-king Leona grip ti-ght£ñ more. Damien whispered soothing words to her, trying to wave her hair covering his gaze. The wind finally settled, leaving a pile of dirt at a corner.. Moments later, everywhere gradually went back to normal, not feeling the waving of her hair strands or the fierce wind on her skin or the fright. Leona’s eyes fluttered open..
“It’s okay Leona. Everything’s fine now” she heard Damien whisper to her and she realized what had happened, she pu-ll-ed away from him, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Um.. S-sorry I had to hvg you like that. I just–
“I un-derstand Leona, I have a slight phobia for heavy wind too. It’s a normal thing” he said.
“Oh..” She muttered. ” Looks like we should be expecting a downpour tonight” he said.
“We should” she said, raising her head up.. She g@sped. “Oh my, I must’ve smeared my l!pgloss on your shi-t,” she said, pointing to thel-ips mark on his shi-t, Damien gave it a glance.
“I’m so sorry”
“It’s okay. I can wash it off when I get home” he said, Leona stared blankly at him, b!tt!g slightly at herl-ips.
“It looks like it’ll be ha-rd to take off” she said and Damien smiled at her.
“Then I’ll just leave it this way.. It looks kinda cute, I think it made my shi-t more good looking” he said and Leona gave him a questioning look.
“Huh” Leonal-ips p@rted.
“It’s like I just got your autogra-ph. I’ll just put this on or stare at thel-ips mark when you’re not here or when I think of you, it’ll help not to miss you too much. I’ll make this my favorite shi-t” he said with a smile.
“You’re such a joker” she said and he laughed.
“Maybe I am but I’m serious right now”
Leona gave him a long look, gulped and looked away. Feeling uncomfortable.
“I should go” she stood up and bent to gr-ab her bag but he took it before her and they exchanged eye contact.. A wave of déjà vu pas-sed throu-gh her and she didn’t want herself pu-lling in unknowingly. She quic-kly broke the contact and collected her bag.
“Thanks. Goodnight” she said
“Okay, goodnight” he answered and she started walking to her car.
“Drive safely” he said behind her and she turned, gave him a small nod with a smile and walk to her car.. She hopped in and breathed out.
Why does she always seem to lose control when he gives her that *look* .. It definitely can’t be what she’s thinking..
Leona shook her head, as if shaking the thoughts off.. She inser-ted her key and started the car.
🎀
The next morning (day), Leona got herself re-ady for work, had breakfast, emptied her coffee cu-p and k!$$£d her mom cheeks and hurried to her car, throwing her bag to the pas-s£nger’s side, she hopped onto the driver’s and pu-ll-ed out of the driveway, hitting the road to the company.
Leona climbe-d down after parking correctly at the parking lot, she gr@bb£d her bag and locked her car before heading into the office.
“Good morning manager Lee”
“Morning miss Terence”
“Hi Leona”
Greetings flew at her from angles and she answered them all with a smile, her secretary ran to her.
“Good morning, manager Lee” she greeted.
“Morning Kira”
“I gathered up the accounts you asked for, I alre-ady checked them out as you instructed and crossed out the errors after correcting them. You can recheck them
Leona walked to her office seat and plopped herself on it.
“I will, leave them on the table” she started pouring herself a cu-p of coffee “And will you plea-se tell the chef my cream can nee-ds refilling, on your way out?”
“Sure, I will”
“And s£nd my schedule details for today to me” she said and her secretary nodded before leaving.
Leona drew the file pack to herself, she opened it and pu-ll-ed out one of the papers.. Turning, she gr@bb£d her coffee cu-p, realizing she hadn’t added the necessities, she put it down and continued with her work..
🌷
Leona’s eyes fluttered open and she blinked ra-pidly, adapting to the sun rays.. Her eyes rolled around, taking in her environment.. Knowing she was still in her office, she sat up and winced painfully as she felt the snap at her n£¢k when she tilted it, gently she mas-saged the sp©t with her palm, she heard the ringing of her phone on the desk, she picked it up and a knock c@m£ to her office door.
“Come in” she ushered the guest in and answered the phone..
“Leona?” Her mom’s voice c@m£ in an alerting tone “honey, is that you?” She asked.
“Yes mom. Did you lose my number?”
She heard her mother sigh first before replying “No honey, I’ve been calling you all day, I was really worried cos you weren’t picking up”
“Sorry mom, I fell asleep on my desk. Is something wrong?”
“No Lee. It’s just that the Rodriguez are here” her mother said and Leona brows narrowed.
“The Rodriguez? Why, did they approve the contract alre-ady?”
“I don’t know Lee, I’m currently ma-king them a meal in the kitchen, your dad’s talking to them, he’s been trying to reach you. I think they want to speak to you” she said.
“Okay mom. I’ll be on my way home”
“Okay honey, be careful” she said and Leona nodded.
“Sure” she said and hung up.
Leona dropped the phone and faced her secretary.
“Yes Kira”
“Your dad called, he Say’s he’s been trying to reach you and–
” I got the call alre-ady Kira, thank you. And I’ll be heading home now. Take care of things from here and call me if anything serious comes up”
“Okay manager Lee” she said before walking away.
Leona hurriedly packed up and rushed to her car in the lot, she pu-ll-ed out and drove home.
Entering into the open gate, she parked her car beside the unfamiliar one which she knew must belong to the *guests*.. She gr@bb£d her bag and hopped down before moving into the house. Her dad’s obnoxious gaze welcomed her first but she looked away from him and walked towards the Rodriguez in the living room where they we’re having drinks.
“And I guess this must be our charming and ha-rd working Leona” Mr Rodriguez said, flashing her a smile.
“Yes Mr Rodriguez, good afternoon” she walked into his open arms and he pe-cked her forehead, she pu-ll-ed away with a smile “Your dad alre-ady informed us that you were delayed by work.. It’s really impressive to know that you’re this ha-rd working at your age, your father won’t have a problem leaving his company in your guide” he said and Leona pu-ll-ed up the best smile she could find.
“Leona dear, don’t I get a hvg too? I’m sure I’m not too tiny for your eyes to see” Mrs Rodriguez called and Leona faced her, re-ading the hateful remark in her words.
“I’m so sorry ma’am, you’re definitely not tiny” she moved to her with a smile and hvgged her.
“You’re exactly what I want, I’m sure you’ll lead my son well. You’re even more good looking in person than Greg describe-d” Mr Rodriguez said and Leona smile wiped off her face for a moment as she followed his stretched out hand and it landed on Greg, relaxing on a sofa at a corner.
“Hello Leona” he gave her a knowing smile “it’s good to see you again”
She gave him a de-ep frown.
“Oh hey Greg, didn’t see you there” she said, returning his smile.
“I noticed that babe” he said and Leona looked away, irritated.
“Greg honey, are you sure you want to carry on with this?” Mrs Rodriguez asked, giving Leona a hateful look that switched to a concerned one when it landed to Greg.
“Mom, we alre-ady talked about this. It’s what I want” he said.
“But–
“Let him be Margaret,” Mr Rodriguez ch!pped in and Leona wondered if they were talking about approving the contract or not “besides, I think Leona will make a great wife.. She might influence our son positively too, I have no doubt about it”
“Um..sorry, I don’t think I heard that well, by wife; do you mean business p@rtner or is the whole thing a mistake?” Leona asked, confused.
“No Leona, I meant wife” Mr Rodriguez said and Leona frowned.
“I think I’m really lost here, what’s going on dad?” She turned to her dad and he gave her a face sign, requesting her cooperation.
“I’ll tell you what Leona,” Greg said and she gave him a look, a smile rested on hisl-ips “I told my parents I want us to get married” he said authoritatively . Leona didn’t miss the look he gave her..
*I told you Leona, I’ll get you no matter what. I always get what I want* Leona re-ad it and looked away, gobsma-cked.
“Dad, is this true?”
“Um..I think it’s the best thing Leona, Greg’s a really nice guy and they promised us the contract once you both get married, we’ll also work as a team”
“You’re crazy dad,” she said with a scoff “Mr and Mrs Rodriguez, I’m really sorry you’ll have to hear this but I’m never getting married to your br@tty son and I don’t fv¢king care if it affects the contract” she said plainly.
“Leona!”her dad yelled a warning and she gave him a de-ep frown, disappointed.
“Sorry dad.. But your busted this time” she said and walked away, letting her father angry echoes accompany her.
.
So guys, I was told my phone’s beyond repair , I had to use my mom’s Small android phone to type this and it was really stressful trying to hide it from her and typing with it..it took me days 😥. I’ll be typing with it for now until I get a new phone but plea-se know the chapters might come in late cos my mom also use the phone.. Just bear with me for now.
Like, comment and share..plea-se encourage me. Lemme rush and write small of the next chapter before momsy sees me 🏃🏃🏃.
___________________________
T.B.C
.
BY BLESSING SILVER