The next day Aiden enthusiastically got up and headed to Collins Beauty Company head office, prepared and excited to see Sophia. But all his dreams were crushed when her assistant came out to greet him and explain the sales figures he wanted to talk about.

"Where is your boss? I want to talk to her," he asked.

"Sir, Ms. Collins is in another important meeting right now, but I am confident I can answer all your questions," she replied.

"What do you mean by important meeting? So are you telling me I'm not important?" he scoffed.

"Sir, I think you've misunderstood me. Ms. Collins' schedule was already full, and since your request was last minute, she could not move any of her appointments," she tried to plead her case, and not anger the one person that could make or break their funding.

"I'm not accepting that as an answer. Call her now," he demanded.

The assistant tried to see if she could bargain with Aiden, but he had completely ignored her, so she had no choice but to call Sophia. And because she was in the middle of a meeting, she had to leave just to accommodate Aiden.

"Mr. Cooper, I heard you had issues with my assistant and wanted to see me?" she stated.

"Yes, I needed you to explain this figure in your sales report," he pointed.

Sophia explained the figures and how she came up with them, and she definitely had a captive audience. He was lost, and none of the words that came out of her mouth had registered.

"So that's where that came from, did you have anything else to ask?" she said.

"Nope," Aiden shook his head.

"Well, then if there's nothing else, we can sign the contract tomorrow," she stated.

"Sure, how about coffee right now?" he asked.

He liked that she was very intelligent, and professional in dealing with her business. She had definitely explained everything thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned. And at yesterday's meeting, he was impressed when she stood her ground and defended her stance on her beauty products.

Aiden didn't really have any questions about the contract, he just wanted to see her again.

"I'm sorry Mr. Cooper, I left the meeting in the middle of their presentation and called for a small break so I could see you, I should head back so we could wrap it up," she politely declined.

"Ms. Sophia, I insist, there is a very good cafe across the street, and I wanted you to try it," he pressed.

Sophia was not budging, with a stern voice, "Sorry Mr. Cooper, but except for work, I have nothing else to discuss with you. I don't entertain people outside a business deal. Have a good day. I'm heading back to my meeting."

And just like that, she left as fast as she came. Aiden was astonished. Sophia was definitely different from all the other women he had met in his life. She dealt with business and him with her stone-face, looking like a lifeless doll that did not even scrunch her brows in annoyance when he tried to push her to go out with him.

He was baffled at her expression and her demeanor. Most women blush when they see him or get irritated when he challenges them. But she was ice cold, and that made him more curious about her.

The only thing he knew about her at this point is that she was the owner of Collins Beauty company, and that was it, he wanted to learn more about this untouchable beauty.

-=-

Aiden went online to gather all the information he could on her. There was not much there except for the history of her company. She started Collins' beauty company three years ago with a couple of organic soaps, and it just grew from there. Her products were the perfect blend of nature and technology, so she was a hit in the market.

He found nothing about her family, relationships, or anything about her personal life. The last interview she gave was around the same time she started her company, and it only mentioned her products in detail. Rumor was that she never attended any functions or parties, outside of work. There were no suitors either, and everyone had dubbed her the 'Ice Beauty.'

"Hmm... Ice beauty... That name suits her," he thought.

The need to see her again was overwhelming, but there were no more excuses for him to interact with her. But luck was on his side, she was visiting one of the farms that supply a key ingredient in her cosmetics. And because she wanted the international launch to be a success, she had to micromanage everything down to the last detail.

-=-

Sophia was already in the factory, immersed in the process of talking to the foreman regarding the extraction of sunflower oil. Even in her jeans and shirt, she still looked formidable.

When she spotted Aiden, a frown crossed her face for a few seconds, but then she simply walked past him pretending he was not there.

"Ms. Collins, could you please slow down," he said as he ran to catch up with her.

"Mr. Cooper, is there a reason you're here this morning? Is anything wrong?" she asked cooly.

"Why should we talk only when there is something wrong? Can't we chat casually?" He replied.

"I'm not interested in casual conversations," she answered sternly, walking hurriedly across the sunflower fields. Since it rained the previous day, the ground became muddy.

"Don't walk that way," Aiden tried to warn her. She had been really frustrated with him the minute he appeared, and she was getting a headache due to his continuous chattering. So she tried to walk away, not caring where she stepped, and the puddle was deeper than it looked.

"Owww!" she screamed as she fell into the muddy ground.

"Did you not hear me when I told you not to walk this way?" he said with concern in his voice. He tried to help her up, but she swatted his arm away.