Wednesday, September 5, 2017, 2:47 pm

Hato Enterprise

….

"Mr. Uri, do you have any plans later? I have been having some difficulties with some of the lower branches."

Amia shifted uncomfortably in her seat and slid her chair over slightly to allow the blonde woman to squeeze between her and Sylas. There was plenty of room around the large circular conference table. Yet, so many of the women saw fit to crowd around Sylas to get their 'proposals' heard or their requisitions signed. The dynamics of Hato employees were so much different from the Uri. Only an hour earlier, this same room had been surrounded by Hato Enterprise's main branch department heads. None of them would have dared to take the liberties that many of the Uri women seemed to take.

They talked over each other and undercut one another's accomplishments at every turn. Amia wasn't naive to think that the office politics of her family's company was above the fray. Whenever Aviva wandered around the different floors, she always returned with juicy gossip and office intrigue. The only difference between the Hato and the Uri was that the former was more stealthy while the latter stabbed each other in the open.

"I could have sworn that you said you had your divisions under control." A tall, dark-haired woman interjected. She raised a hand and covered her mouth in mock shock. "If you needed help you could have just asked. My department is more than capable of picking up your slack."

Amia looked up from the papers before her to observe the squabbling women. It was a scene much like the one on Monday night with the Santiago's. Sara's words from before had been reiterating themselves over and over again throughout this meeting.

Many of them are just trying to fuck their way to power.

The thinly veiled flirtations and the sly invitations to stay after to help with a project were more salacious than Amia had expected. Aside from the fact that they kept touching him, their petty power plays were eating up time that could have been spent doing more productive things. Things like...her mind drew a blank. She wasn't quite sure what else they had on the agenda for that afternoon but she knew she wanted to get as far away from this room as possible. As uncomfortable as she was, she resisted the urge to fidget.

"Thank you, Mr. Uri." A man said with a bow as Sylas passed a now-approved requisition his way. Another man stood up to hand the Uri yet another stack of contracts that needed his signature.

She watched as Sylas’ dark eyes glided smoothly over each page and his brow furrowed slightly in concentration. Even without trying, he still looked handsome. She frowned at the thought and bit her bottom lip. She should not be having these kinds of thoughts. After her gut-wrenching display yesterday morning he probably found her to be rather disgusting now. She sank deeper into her chair as the embarrassment she had felt in waves throughout the day rolled back through. It only served to sour her mood further as she looked around at some of the gorgeous employees that surrounded him like moths to a flame.

Just as Amia thought they were finished another folder slid his way, its owner placed a hand on Sylas’ forearm and batted their eyelashes excessively. Amia felt her chest tighten with an unfamiliar feeling at the anything-but-innocent gesture. Why did this bother her? Amia was used to being ignored. She favored shying away from the spotlight in most instances. However, she was unwilling to subject herself to another minute of 'who can fuck the boss' any longer. She closed her folder of documents and stood up from her chair.

"Where are you going?" Sylas asked and she didn't look at him, instead focusing on a random spot on the glass table.

"I am heading back up to the office. My services are not required here. I trust that you can handle everything on your own." She said as diplomatically as possible.

They had been getting along well all week and she didn't want to rock the boat just because she felt uncomfortable. Sylas didn't seem to approve of her self-dismissal as he closed his folder and leaned back in his chair.

"That will be all for today." Sylas announced and a grumble tumbled through the room.

The employees all bowed to Sylas and filed out of the room. The woman who had inserted herself between them purposefully bumped against Amia's shoulder as she left. When the last person left and the door closed, Amia finally spoke up.

"You didn't have to tell them to leave." She said softly.

"They were beginning to bother me." Sylas said with a shrug of his shoulders. Amia frowned.

"Sylas-" She started but he held up his hand to silence her protest.

"Do you hear that?" He asked.

Amia looked at him curiously. All she could hear was the distant ringing of phones and the constant muffled rushing of people passing by the conference room door. Sylas closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at her again.

"That's the sound of no one demanding your attention and time." He explained. "Enjoy it while it lasts."

"I think it wouldn't be so bad if you actually responded to requests in a timely manner and didn't let your female employees run rag shot over each other to get to you." Amia grumbled under her breath but he caught every word.

"Jealous Hato?"

"Wh-what?" She stammered, a blush creeping up her cheeks as he rose from his chair and towered over her.

"Do you feel uncomfortable seeing other women near me?"

Amia glared at him but couldn't refute his statement. It did make her uncomfortable. She was unsure of why that was so but knew she wasn't jealous. She had never been jealous of anything in her whole life!

"N-n-no!"

She cursed herself for her unconvincing denial. Sylas grinned as he cornered her against the edge of the glass; hands automatically flew up to his chest to push him away but he didn't budge an inch.

"You shouldn't be this close! This is unprofessional!" She squeaked as she looked everywhere but at him and he chuckled.

"I didn't hear this much protest from you the other day…in the elevator."

"You surprised me!"

"You didn't seem to mind it."

His fingers brushed her warm cheek as he wound his fingers through her hair and forced her to look up at him.

"I can try again if you want to test my theory."

Amia blushed and opened her mouth to protest but held her weak retort. A more significant part of her wanted to feel his lips on hers again. In his embrace, she felt desired. Sinful. It was an intoxicating feeling and despite all of her training and modesty, she couldn't help but covet him as well.

Would it truly be so wrong to give in to the tension she felt whenever she was around him? It wasn't like anyone had to know what they did behind closed doors. His dark eyes slid close as he leaned down and captured her lips. The same tingle she always felt when he kissed her surged through her veins. The tightening she had felt in her chest earlier lessened as he picked up the intensity of the kiss. A little voice in the back of her mind urged her to put a stop to this. She wasn’t supposed to be doing this!

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Sylas groaned when rubbed up against his prominent erection and she smiled against his lips, knowing that none of the women from earlier would have the privilege of hearing that lustful sound. Not if she could help it. She tangled her fingers in his dark hair and allowed the little resolve she had built against him to slip. Why did kissing him have to feel so good? They were standing at the precipice of something unspoken and dangerous. Something that they would both surely regret once they were thinking clearly. A soft knock on the conference room dragged her back to reality. Sylas stepped back from her with a satisfied smirk as he tried to wipe her pale pink lipstick from his lips.

"I heard some of the harpies down the hall complaining," Sara smiled as she waltzed into the conference room. "Apparently you forced Mr. Uri to kick them all out? Well done!"

Her bubbly friend looked between Amia and Sylas with concern at the tense air between them.

"Everything okay?"

….

"Are we done yet?"

The grumbled question begged to be answered with a resounding yes but they both knew the event was far from over. Amia forced a smile on her face as she held an oversized pair of gold scissors in her hand, ignoring how heavy they were becoming in this pose. One of the many engagements she'd agreed Sylas to was the inaugural opening of a new bank. The Uri had invested enough money in the venture that they'd earned an invite to its grand opening. Although grand was far from how she would describe it.

It was a sweltering September afternoon. She could feel her hair frizzing in the humidity but forced herself to ignore it. All she had to do was smile for one more photo. Just one more. Sylas, though stoic, was not faring much better. His cranky question was evidence of that.

"We could not have opened this revolutionary branch without the backing of our generous investors!"

The small crowd of press clicked away as the bank's spokesperson continued to drone on with his platitudes. It felt like an eternity went by before the man stopped speaking and turned to the line of investors. They all held golden scissors, much like her own, primed to snip the bright red ribbon behind them. The press clicked away, getting as many pictures as they could. At the spokesperson's signal, they all snipped the ribbon simultaneously and the cameras went off even more rapidly than before. Amia let out a long breath of relief as the ribbon fell. The event was almost over.

"Uri! My boy!"

Amia turned to see a boisterous man with a head full of grey hair approach Sylas with his arms outstretched. He held a small notepad full of scribblings in one hand and a half-chewed pencil in the other. Sylas did not appear excited to see the man but then again he never looked excited about anyone.

"It's been so long since I last saw you! You had to have been what nineteen?" the man teased. "You used to never come to these kinds of events! I'm glad to see you embracing your role more!"

"Clyde." Sylas said tersely but the man was unphased by his icy demeanor.

Amia looked worriedly between the two. Clyde was clearly press. Treating him harshly could land them in an unflattering op-ed article pointed at the Uri. Any negative press during the merger would be taken as a mini-crisis. Stepping closer, Amia held out a hand to the reporter. Clyde looked at her curiously before breaking out into a huge smile.

"Well, well, well. Who might you be?"

A chill ran down her spine as he looked her up and down. She didn't feel any danger from him just that he was…sleezy. Everything from his grin to his odd gaze just rubbed her the wrong way.

"Amia, Amia Hato." She said with more confidence than she felt.

"A Hato. Now that is new. Tell me Amia, what brings you here to this fabulous grand opening?"

'Right out of the gate with questions.' She thought.

She would have to handle this as tactfully as possible. They hadn't gone public with the merger yet and she didn't want to give this man the inside scoop. Sylas looked as if he wanted to intercept the question but was already being pulled into another conversation. It would take both of them to field all the people wanting their attention. This was precisely what her father wanted. Swallowing her discomfort, Amia pressed on.

"My father has seen Century Bank as his next potential venture. I wanted to observe the endeavor and see how wonderful it truly is.

"Wonderful indeed!"

….

Thursday, September 6, 2017, 12:19 pm

Hato Enterprise

...

"I must say that I'm impressed," Ezra said as he finally put down his tablet and looked up at them.

Amia beamed at her cousin's approval while Sylas knew that he looked bored out of his mind. The day was almost over and he wanted nothing more than to finally get some sleep after a hectic week.

"I honestly thought that the two of you would be a disaster together but from what I've gathered that was the incorrect assumption."

Amia blushed. They got along a little too well in her opinion.

"I have heard nothing but positive feedback from Sara on how your meetings went. There were even partners asking about you specifically Amia. So, that presents us with a new opportunity."

The Hato male stood up from his desk, grabbed two thick manila folders, and handed one to each of them. He then leaned against the front of his desk with his arms crossed. While Amia poured over the material, he didn't bother to even open the folder. He'd already been forwarded all the information by his brother that morning. It wasn't necessary to look at it again. When Amia finished reading her folder, she looked up at Ezra with eyes as wide as saucers. Her cousin just smiled and shook his head.

"It is only a press release Ami. It has to be done sooner or later and since this will be a rather high-profile merger, sooner is always better."

Amia glanced over at him but there wasn't much he could do to reassure her. This press release had nothing to do with him and everything to do with his brother. Ira was the heir, not him. There was not a single thing he could do to help her when she was up on that stage.

"Don't worry Amia, I have heard that you have done a very good job this week. Ira will be in tomorrow to help you with your joint speech for next week."

Amia didn't appear too reassured by her cousin's words but she nodded her head anyway. Sylas glanced down at his watch; Ira's plane would be landing soon. His brow furrowed slightly as the Hatos continued prattling on about things he had no idea about. For a family that appeared as cold as this one, they seemed warm toward each other. It was almost a shame that he had to cut their little reunion short. He stood up from his chair and headed for the door. Amia looked at the clock and jumped up as well.

"Sorry, Ezra! We have to go pick up Ira from the airport!" He heard her say hurriedly as she tried to catch up with him down the hall.

Her light footsteps racing to catch up with him was amusing but he slowed down his stride slightly to keep her from struggling too much.

"Wait up!" She called but he kept going. "Sylas!"

He stopped suddenly in the middle of the hallway and she hit his back with an oomph and landed on her butt. He looked down at the woman on the ground with a sense of amusement as he watched her rub her butt from the rough impact of the floor. She glared up at him as best as she could and it only further served to amuse him.

"You should watch where you're going Hato." he teased and had to stop himself from laughing when her cheeks puffed up in irritation. She was so easy to mess with.

He held out his hand to her to help her up from the floor but she smacked the hand away and got up on her own. She crossed her arms over her chest and quickly walked down the hall. Since his legs were longer, he easily caught up to her. She shot him a glare and picked up her pace. Each time he met her speed, she sped up more until she was almost running down the hall. Sylas chuckled at her desperate attempts to stay mad at him and leave him behind. It was... cute. When they finally got to their office door, he grabbed her wrist and pressed her up against the door before she could open it. He enjoyed the way her pale eyes widened and the blush that spread across her cheeks. Since the night he’d met her, she’d consumed most of his waking thoughts. Life had somehow gotten less boring and now he couldn’t help but indulge.

He looked to the left and the right and, seeing that the hallway was empty, kissed her. Small hands hit his chest in protest but he ignored them. He had been thinking about kissing her since yesterday. They barely had any time alone the last forty-eight hours and her lips had been taunting him. When they finally broke apart, she glared up at him weakly but pulled him back down for another kiss. Even though he thoroughly enjoyed kissing the Hato princess in the middle of the hallway, they had other things that required their immediate attention, namely collecting his brother from the airport. He pecked her on the lips one last time before stepping away and smoothing down the front of his shirt which had become wrinkled. Amia cleared her throat awkwardly and he couldn't help but feel smug that the blush on her cheeks didn't go away.

When she finally didn't look so flustered, Sylas reached around her and opened the door to their office. Inside, Sara was arranging a startlingly large bouquet of red roses on the low table in the middle of the room. Sylas wrinkled his nose as the sappy sweet smell engulfed his senses. Sara was beaming from ear to ear like she was about to explode. He glanced down at Amia who looked just as perplexed as he felt on the inside.

"Where did those come from?" Sylas asked and Sara squealed.

"I haven't opened the letter yet!"

"Who are they for?" Amia asked, genuine confusion laced in her voice.

"Silly, like you don't know!" Sara said slyly, grinning from ear to ear. Her smile faltered a bit as she noticed the perplexed look on Amia's face.

She stood up from the low table and skipped over to where they stood in the doorway. In her hand was a red envelope, the name 'Amia Hato' elegantly written across the front.

"They're for you!"