"Even though it was annoyance..."

After making Allea familiar, Mr. Schmidt left and she took her seat at the head of the table, which served as the indication for the team to present their collected data and speculations. They did their work, explaining it from the projector while Allea was looking down at the iPhone in her hands. She was going over her own work, not caring about people who kept glancing at her, they were not in the position to say anything so, silently carried on what they have been told to do. Allea's whole focus was on the words she was reading, and suddenly the man sitting on her left leaned over the table as his face turned near Allea and began whispering words in a hushed tone.

"...but I finally managed to make you feel something."

Toward his words, Allea remained unresponsive, just like the presenter's talk, his words too mixed in the voices of background; not worth for her to put her attention on.

Seeing that Allea was entirely impassive, the man with an inconspicuous 'tch' leaned against his chair, his eyes staring straight at Allea. Today his long hair, which usually covers his face with an uneven length, was still around his face but to keep the professional look, it was neat and combed perfectly. His features were still hidden underneath the obscurity of his facial hair, not letting anyone see past them to find his certain outlines of the face. Still, the vagueness of his features was contrasting befittingly with the classy royal-blue suit his lean and tall figure was dressed in, giving him a rough yet oddly proper look. At one look glance, one might turn his head away and not look at him again, but the more one will look, the more fascinating his peculiarities will seem.

The gazes of the team member that were turning toward Allea from time to time, the interaction or more like audaciousness of their new sub-ordinate didn't go unnoticed by them. With inquisitive gazes, they kept silent in the observations and just presented their accumulated data one by one. And at last, when they thought there would be no indication of making them stop as the woman in front of them was fully focused on her own doing, they heard their salvation.

"You can stop now."

Despite the voices in the room, Allea's voice was clear and loud over the presenter. A sudden silence fell at her command, with that, placing the iPhone in her hands over the table Allea raised her head toward whom she directed her words. Raising her hand she gestured to the stunned man to take his seat.

She leaned against the chair and looked at the marketing manager, when she spoke again, her tone was plain, too plain "That's enough, I told Mr. Schmidt to keep things concise but seems like I have to define that word to him." So, when her words reached the listeners they made them hold their breath, especially the manager who nodded his head hastily after perceiving Allea's calm gaze.

Her gaze flickered toward her wristwatch, and she once again moved toward people in front of her as she spoke again, "Give me the file," her words accompanied by the gesture of moving her hand forward, and a file was quickly placed on it, leaning against the chair, taking in the outlines of the useless data, she went over it anyhow.

"So, tell me in real limited words, what is that you here to convince me for?"

Closing the file, she threw it on the table and waited for the people to speak. As her eyes raised toward the exclusively selected team, they avoided meeting them and their mouths were silent, not sure of what and how to say. Her gaze halted on the man seated to her left, and for the second time, she met his eyes. Raising an eyebrow she ridiculed, "I see, Mr. Ahlstrom is a legal advisor now, mind playing your role?"

Allea pretended to go with his cover, but at the same time with the utterance of his real name, disregarded it. Others who heard the name, felt a little confused, although they understood that the man was called wrong, still, no one dared to correct the women in front of them. In their hearts they were hopeful that he was the one who dared to converse with her so, he also might be the one who'd save them.

Zyair Ahlstrom, whose eyes this whole time were reflecting with the image of the girl seated before him, hearing her words, his lips again rose in an indistinct curve and was quick to answer with his carefree words, "We're here to persuade you to give Mr. Schmidt his forty percent back."

Another stillness fell in the room and other team members turned extremely silent after comprehending the man's reckless words —instead of saving, this man was burying them deeper.

Neither was there any change on Allea's face nor in her neutral tone, when she nonchalantly nodded her head and continued, "For me to do so, I'm yet to hear any efficacious reason."

Holding Allea's gaze, he shrugged and casually stated as a matter of fact, "They'll soon be worthless, a dark pit of loss," adding a subtle dramatic tone in the latter part his smile widened a little as he leaned toward Allea and winked, "How about saving my commission by taking my advice?"

Tilting her head toward him, Allea impassively dismissed his words with her sardonic tone, "Mr. Ahlstorm, you sure have a rather pretentious self."

Hearing Allea's words, his chin raised with his unfaltering smile, he leaned against the chair as he enunciated pridefully, "You also think so, many other people do too."

At his uttered words, Allea wasn't looking at him, without waiting for his response she has already turned her head toward the other people. Before leaving, she gave her last words, "Tomorrow, if possible, I'll have only an hour or less to spare, prepare your words well. " With that, she stood up to leave; not bothering to hear or give any look.

Knowing well that they will tell Mr. Schmidt what happened, taking the elevator Allea made her way directly out of the building. Her eyes didn't look but she was well aware of the man who hurried out of the meeting room behind her, and as she left he moved toward the employee elevator. When the doors closed, her brows frowned subtly and a thoughtful look passed over her face which didn't last long as her eyes looked down on the screen of her iPhone and her face retained its indifference when she stepped inside the lobby.

Pushing the people out of his way and rushing out of the crowded elevator and in return gaining their grumbles and narrowed eyes, Zyair Ahlstrom hurriedly made his way toward the entrance. His amber eyes searched for the aloof figure of the girl, looking around restlessly but not a single shadow of her was in sight. A sigh escaped his lips and his face turned blank, not giving a hint of what he was thinking, with this thoughtless look he shrugged.

To go back as he turned around, Zyair's eyes fell on the girl seated cross-legged on the lobby's sofa, her eyes uninterestingly going through the magazine being held in her hand.

Raising her head, the cold gaze of Allea's light brown eyes met the man's —making her image glistening in the golden tint of his eyes. Her eyes turned sharper as throwing the magazine aside, she stood and walked toward him.

Her unfaltering steps, the straight posture, and the cold gaze added an exceptional arrogancy in her stance.

Halting in front of him, with her hands resting inside her pockets, before she could speak, the man in front of her regained his impudent smile and urged jocularly, "Were you waiting for me?"

In response, after a pause of silence in which she ignored his words, she offered, "Mr. Ahlstrom, how about a coffee?"

With this utterance, Allea's lips curved in her false smile, creating a riveting contrast against her cold gaze.

Zyair Ahlstrom's smile wavered at the unexpected words and he just halted, but in the next second came his agreeing exclamation, "Of course!"

Giving him a nod, Allea walked past him and out of the company —her face too turned expressionless. She didn't turn to look whether he was following her or not but soon his words reached her ears --giving the proof of his presence as he caught up with Allea.

"You know what, I never thought you would be one asking for our first date."

Instead of rebuking his words, Allea felt the answer of silence more suitable. She had no desire of wasting words that are not needed; like a wind touching past her, she let the wind also carry his vain words.

Zyair Ahlstrom looked side-way at the girl walking a step ahead of him, her eyes were looking ahead, back straight and proud, each step she took was full of her confidence and aloofness. What has he not seen in his life, but nothing that could hold his eyes, no one who could let him follow their steps but here he was —his steps are following her direction and his eyes are fixed on her charismatics.

He didn't know until he met her that for him she's the only one he can't bear to provoke, not yet. He has yet to use the masks he wears, he can't let her do something against him, it will end everything for him.

Someone had told him once; be careful in creating traps for others as one day your own foot can entangle in it. By her, his arrogance was shattered in a second, and his fears were evoked in the next, when the latter pushed him toward her to end the threat, he never thought that in his own trap the one heart-beat he felt would become a hurdle --and that hurdle became his reason to stay.

And that something is telling him that this was definitely not an invitation of the date, still he felt no harm in testing his luck. He only wanted to know how far will she let him test her limits and in response, she didn't let him even touch the threshold. Her offer doesn't prove that he has been able to provoke her but the fact that she doesn't put up with other's bullshit, she doesn't need to. Whatever he did or uttered to elicit her, it seemed that nothing can touch her, nothing can evoke anything inside her, like she's someone who will be standing in front of you, yet so far that no voice, no touch can even leave its trails on her.

How tall she has built her boundaries, how depth must they hold that she doesn't let anyone have a trace of them and truly doesn't waste them on insignificant people.

How far will he have to go if he truly wants to reach her, how much he will have to give if he wants her to return the same, how much longer he will have to walk until he'll see her standing on the same path.

Too far, too much, too long.

And now Zyair seems to ask himself, staring at the indifferent girl, are these all 'too' worth to be a hurdle in the path he has chosen.

Zyair's eyes glimmered with her reflection as his lips curved in a slight curve, a single thought that dominated all the other shined through the golden tint —this emotionlessness of her is turning into allurement for him.

[Disclaimer: This work is only published on watt/pad under profile: itsrujihere. The complete rights of the work: Allea belongs under this profile and Ruji. If you're reading [Allea] on some platform other than watt/pad(Unless I, Ruji, say so) then, I'm pretty sure they are stealing my work (i.e, a site that starts with novel), please don't support the thief.]