Chapter 4 Mr. Tattooed Billionaire's Hot Stares
KARA’S POV
I don’t know why, but despite everything that has happened these past few months, he is still the one who keeps returning to my mind. The warmth of his skin, the way his eyes seem to choke me with a single stare, and the way he carries himself as if he owns the entire night. No matter how hard I try to brush it off, no matter how much I force myself to focus on our internship period, I can’t erase him from my thoughts. And it affects me even more when I find out that… he is our CEO.
I don’t tell Sancha and Louisse because I can’t bring myself to say it, and I can’t face their reactions, especially when I don’t even understand what really happened or how I feel about it. So I stay silent. I do everything to avoid him, to avoid passing by his office, even though we’re only on the same floor. Every time I pass by, I feel the light spilling out from the glass wall of his office, and every time, I feel as if a pair of eyes follows my every step.
But fate is playful.
“Kara, please get Mr. Stewheinz’s signature for these papers. Be quick!” Ma’am Arroi orders, one eyebrow raised.
It feels like cold water is suddenly poured down my neck.
“M-me? Me, ma’am?” I almost whisper as I take the papers.
“Yes, you. Go.”
I have no choice.
As I walk toward his office, I feel my knees trembling. I feel like a child being pushed into a wolf’s den.
The hallway seems to stretch longer, the air-conditioning feels colder the closer I get to the door I’ve been avoiding for so long, and when I finally stand in front of it, a deep nervousness rises, heat creeping up my face. I knock softly, as if hoping he won’t hear it.
But he does.
“Come in.”
His voice is deep, firm, and more terrifying now because we are both sober, it isn’t dark, and I have nowhere to run.
I step inside slowly. The cold of the office seeps into my skin. He is there, seated on his swivel chair, leaning back, wearing a white polo with the top two buttons undone, exposing the tattoos spread across his chest. His presence feels even larger when he is on his own territory.
I walk toward his desk and hand him the papers.
“Documents for signature, sir,” I say softly, forcing myself not to look into his eyes.
I hear him breathe, slow and deliberate, as if he is studying me.
“Sit,” he orders.
But I don’t. I shake my head slightly.
“I’m fine standing, sir. It’s okay.”
A low chuckle escapes him, and I don’t know why it sends a shiver through me. He takes the papers, and as he signs them, I notice the way he glances at me, the kind of look you know you shouldn’t acknowledge, yet can’t escape. He bites the end of his ballpen, as if deciding where to strike first, my nerves or my weakness.
When he places the pen back on the table, I know he’s done. I take a step back, ready to leave.
“Thank you, sir, I’ll—”
“Why are you in a rush?”
My feet freeze. My back stiffens. I don’t turn around, but I feel him move, standing up and slowly approaching. When I feel his warm breath against my neck, I almost clutch myself just to keep from collapsing.
“How are you?” he whispers, so close that one wrong move and his chest will brush against my back. “It’s been a while… I never thought you’re four years younger than me.”
My jaw nearly drops. It feels like a bucket of ice crashes over me.
“But you look hotter than before.”
Heat explodes on my face, and my blouse suddenly feels too tight. My fingers tighten around the documents until the edges nearly crumple. I can’t bring myself to face him, even as my knees shake.
“T-thank you, sir… but I really need to go now,” I force a smile, though my lips are clearly trembling.
He smirks.
That smirk, the kind that tells me he knows he has complete control over the situation.
“Shesh, are you nervous?” he asks, his low voice playing against my ear.
Before I can react, he steps closer, closer than before. Close enough for him to lower his head, close enough for me to feel the tip of his nose against mine. He presses his lips to mine, quick and light.
But it’s enough to knock me completely off balance.
“You may go now,” he whispers, his lips still dangerously close. “See you later, baby,” he adds, as if he did nothing, as if he didn’t just unravel me.
I hear his low laugh as he returns to his chair, sitting down as if everything is normal. But his grin, that’s what I can’t forget. It’s as if he holds my entire world in his hands, as if he knows exactly how strong his effect on me is.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment. When I open them again, I walk straight out the door without looking back, without looking at him, even though I can feel his gaze on me as I leave his office.
For the first time, I realize just how much this man has disrupted my system, and I have no idea how to remove him from it.