C H A P T E R  2  : H I S  C U R I O S I T Y

Javier Summers settled at his desk and logged into his computer. At first, he checked his email and made sure that he had not missed any important news before opening the files Ella had given him.

He was halfway through reading the document when an odd question came to mind.

Would she come with her beau? 

She had never talked about her private life and he could not deny that he was beginning to feel curious. Most women would open up with him but never Ella. But again, most women would fall into his charm except her. It was a rather frustrating thing, really. It had made him wonder occasionally whether he had started to lose his touch or that she was simply interested in the same sex. 

One thing for sure, Ella was a buttoned-up, uptight girl and she would never lose her head over anything. Even his impeccable charm on the ladies. This had made her the perfect assistant both in his line of work, where artists or actresses were all too temperamental and Ella could ground and reason with them. And also, in his company's retaining rates. God knew he had to fire at least a dozen women who had been his secretary and all because they had fallen for him. The last one was even crazier for she had thrown herself naked at him during office hours! It had been quite embarrassing and such a nuisance to sort out. How would he explain to HR about that incident? Javier shook his head exasperatedly. 

Then once again, his mind went back to his secretary, Ella Stanford. Even if he would not admit it to anyone, he had started thinking about her. Even when he had been with other women. And sometimes when his mind dared to breach to the other territory, he even wondered what she might be like in bed. He knew he had to stop thinking this way about her. He was not, he could not mess with the best secretary he had ever had. 

The telephone beside his arm rang and his mind was back to his office as he picked up the receiver.

"London Star is waiting for you on line one," said Ella plainly. 

"Thank you, Stanford. I will take it from here." He hit the button to take the call. Unlike his mysterious secretary that was Ella Stanford, there was nothing hidden when it came to London Star. She was never one to be embarrassed by showing off her figure in public or having men drooling over her. And in all honesty, Javier was fine with it. She was fun to be around.

"Hey, London," he greeted warmly, still remembering her exquisite figure from their impromptu sex this afternoon. 

* * *

After he was done with his call, he called Ella into his office and given her back the files along with clear instructions clipped onto the document. As she moved about his office, he had his eyes glued on her. She was wearing a blouse with a skirt that ended modestly, just above her knees. She had always dressed appropriately. And it seemed that only now he noticed how beautiful her legs were and the way her hips swayed as she walked. It was both distracting and tempting.

Javier stifled these wayward thoughts and fixed his gaze on her face. She was pretty, not stunningly beautiful like all the women he had been with but it could be because she had barely worn any makeup. And if only she could switch those thick glasses of hers with soft lenses. Then her hair was pulled back and pinned into a chignon too tight for her own good. Suddenly Javier had the urge to remove those pins and feel her soft dark hair with his hands. 

As his gaze finally arrived in her eyes, all he saw was a bright intelligence looking at him expectantly, nothing but business on her mind. Her indifference towards him was so apparent that it was almost insulting. 

"Are you going to bring someone?" he finally asked, deciding that he should get on with it instead of being all curious and being left in the dark.

Her brows lifted, eyes widened in confusion. "Pardon?"

"To the party. Will you be bringing anyone?"

She was quiet for a few seconds before she answered, "Yes, a friend."

His eyebrow arched teasingly. "A guy?"

"Yes," her eyes twitched. "Is that a problem for you?" challenged him albeit her tone was still appropriately within the politeness meter. 

"Not at all." He shrugged as if it had meant nothing to him whether she was going to bring her boyfriend or her brother. Although in all honesty, it did matter. Because his next question was more of a jab than a mere friendly question. "Is he an accountant or a tax advisor?"

Her smooth creamy forehead creased as she asked incredulously, "You want to know if he is an accountant or a tax advisor?"

"That is what I asked," answered Javier with another shrug. "So, which one is he?"

"Do you need an accountant or a tax advisor or something?" 

"No."

Her eyes narrowed in blatant suspicion. "Then why did you ask?"

"Because I am the host. It would be odd if I did not know at least a little about him, especially since you are bringing him to my birthday party. Don't you think so?" 

She stared at him, not saying anything. Her shoulders squared and her body went rigid. Even her hands were clenched into a ball of fist on each side of her small figure. Javier wondered if she was going to hit him or perhaps slap him for being so condescending. At last, she asked, "What makes you think he is an accountant or a tax advisor?" Her voice was as cold as the North Pole.

"Is he one of them? Or maybe both?" he persisted, a little annoyed that she was avoiding the question. 

Her mouth set into a flat grimace. "No."

"Okay." Javier shifted his gaze to his computer screen, pretending to be busy with whatever was on there then asked casually, "What is his name?"

"Damon. Damon Matthews." 

Javier blinked. That name sounded familiar. "Does he own that stove company?" 

"No," Ella answered with a rather defensive tone. Then as if she had noticed that, her next tone was back to natural. "That is Davon Matthews."

"Ah, you are right." Javier spared her a glance before turning back to his monitor.

From his peripheral vision, he could see her lips had softened and her mouth slightly parted. Driven by curiosity, he brought his attention back to her again. "Actually I do not think Damon would mind you mistaking him for Davon," her tongue slipped out of her parted mouth and licked her bottom lip. "He is sizzling hot."

Javier could feel his temperature rising for no apparent reason, at least nothing he could come up with. "I will make sure to remember that!" he snapped then pushed the files towards her. "You can take these files and get back to your desk. Make sure you plan the meetings accordingly and do not forget to bring additional files needed should we proceed with the acquisition."

"Of course." She smiled at him as she stepped forward and grabbed the files off the desk. Then she walked out of the office with her hips tantalizing his every nerve. 

Javier cursed under his breath, low enough that no one but himself could hear. This was insane! He had just had sex with London Star merely a few hours ago and now his body was gripped by desire. And he did not even think of the artist with a sultry voice and lush curves. No, he was thinking of his goddamn uptight secretary! 

"Hell to the damnation!" he finally swore. 

* * *