Chapter 23 Flustered by His Presence
“… the man who bumped into my car.”
Now the murmurs made sense. I felt the same way the first time I saw him too.
He stood near the entrance of the site, tall and well-dressed. He was so handsome, so much that his presence didn’t even demand attention, he commanded it.
“No way!” my inner voice whispered.
Our eyes met for a split second, but I knew that he recognized me immediately.
I hurriedly looked away and turned back to face the table.
Then he began examining the site.
I watched him as he moved with authority. One of the supervisors followed closely behind him and they spoke in hushed tones.
“Is he perhaps one of the owners of this project?” I thought to myself, my eyes following him as he walked around the site.
After examining every material and everywhere on the site, he walked towards his car and stopped beside it. Then he turned slightly and gestured at one of the workers nearby.
He leaned in and said something I couldn’t hear. Then he pointed… directly at me.
I felt a knot in my stomach.
“No, no, no… please no,” I muttered silently, a mixture of panic and embarrassment rumbling within me.
“What if he says the money was a mistake and asks for it back?”
The thought of it alone made my palms wet.
Then the worker approached me.
“That man wants to see you,” the worker said, pointing in the direction of his car.
“Okay,” I replied.
I let out a heavy sigh and walked up to him anyway, my mind thinking of explanations, apologies, or justifications.
Anything that would make it less humiliating.
“Good afternoon sir,” I said politely as I straightened my shoulder.
He looked at me quietly as if he was waiting for me to say something else.
“I got the money you sent that day and I noticed there was a mistake with the digits,” I quickly said, nervously.
“I actually wanted to reach out, but I didn’t have your contact. I was going to refund the excess amount immediately,” I added, forcing a polite smile.
Still, he didn’t take his eyes off me.
Then he smirked.
“It wasn’t a mistake,” he said calmly.
“I meant to send that amount.”
“I… I…” I wanted to talk but my breath stopped.
“Then I truly appreciate it. But it was too much for a minor repair,” I finally said.
He smirked again, deeply this time.
“For you maybe, not for me,” he replied.
I didn’t know how to feel about that statement. But before I could respond, footsteps approached behind us.
It was one of the clients, the one we knew as the owner of the project.
He hurried over, clearly nervous.
“Sir,” he said, almost out of breath.
“We didn’t realize you’d be coming today,” he added.
The man didn’t look away from me, despite the fact that someone else was talking to him.
“I was in the area and I thought to inspect the site myself,” he replied.
“Wait… is he the owner of this building?” I thought to myself.
“Of course,” the client nodded.
“Work is progressing really fast and according to schedule. I’m sure you’ve looked around, if there’s anything you’d like to adjust…”
“There is,” he said, cutting the man off and finally taking his gaze off me.
“But we will discuss that later,” he added and turned back to me.
“Allow me to introduce myself properly,” he said, extending his hand for a handshake.
“I’m Dave Wilton.”
“Dave Wilton… I’ve heard that name before,” I thought to myself.
“Mr. Wilton owns the whole place,” the supervisor straightened as he said.
I gasped softly and my fingers froze a few inches from his hand.
“The whole project… isn’t this place too big and expensive to be owned by one person?”
“I’m Joan Cole,” I replied, finally taking his hand.
His grip was firm and he rubbed his thumb slightly on my skin.
“You are the interior designer,” he said casually.
“Yes,” I replied, my voice barely audible.
“I don’t overpay by accident though, especially not to strangers,” he said.
“Wait… is he just rude or blunt?” I thought to myself.
This time, the client awkwardly cleared his throat.
“Should I inform the rest of the team that you are here?”
Still, Dave didn’t take his eyes off me nor release my hands from his.
“Not yet. I’m still having a conversation,” he said.
The man hesitated at first, then glanced at me before leaving.
Just a few seconds after he left, Dave leaned slightly closer to me.
“Now… I’m curious what else I’ve accidentally bumped into,” he said, his voice low that only I could hear.
“What does this mean?”
ALEX HART’S POV
I noticed the way all heads turned when this man walked into the site. Then I looked at Joan, and she was clearly flustered by his presence too.
“What’s special about him?” I thought to myself as I turned to look at him.
To me, he looked too casual for someone they were hyping up like that.
Maybe it was my jealousy that was in charge.
The supervisors were suddenly bending over backwards for him and his posture was easy… too easy as if he owned the place.
He walked around the site inspecting our work and the materials that were on the ground.
Then after a few minutes, I noticed Joan standing beside his car… with him!
“What is he doing with him?”
“Does she know him before?”
Different thoughts ran through my head.
I watched them closely and I saw Joan moving her lips quickly, almost nervously.
“Why is she nervous?” I muttered to myself, my gaze focused on them.
Then the man replied with a faint smirk.
I didn’t like that.
“They are probably talking about work,” I mumbled under my breath.
I told myself to look away and mind my work, but my eyes stayed locked on them.
Then I saw the man smirk again.
“What the hell are they talking about?” I whispered, my fingers curling slowly beside me.
A few moments later, I saw their hands lock as the man looked at her in a way that made me mad.
And just as if he wanted me to lose control, I saw him lean in closely to Joan.
I didn’t like that he was that close to her.
“What the hell!” I scoffed, my fists clenched.
Just then, his gaze shifted to me, and he pointed at me.
“Did he notice my uneasiness?”