THIRD PERSON POV
The only one who seemed pleased with the kiss was the diligent photographer. On the sidelines, the employees were frozen in shock, jaws hit the floor, and the set erupted in booming whispers.
But the one who was affected the most wore a tight smile. The CEO was a master of disguise, and now he masked his emotions with acute professionalism. He couldn’t make a scene here, not in front of so many witnesses.
No, he had to protect his image.
So for now, he bit his tongue behind a grin, his knuckles whitening as he tucked his fists in his pockets. It took him everything to tear his gaze away from the scene, nodding his head as Aurelia’s boss gave him information he could care less about.
All he could note was the reason why Aurelia posed as a model, and honestly, he wanted to fire the bumbling woman on the spot.
But that was the least of his concerns.
Just what was he doing here?! He thought. Luke’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at the silver-haired man who towered over what belonged to him.
Why the hell was Ezekiel Sterling in his company?!
“Another pose!” The photographer yelled in excitement, and Luke’s eyes twitched, his calm face cracking.
Aurelia was wide-eyed and stunned as Ezekiel pulled back from the kiss, his hands caressing her blazing cheeks.
“You didn’t kiss me back?” He asked softly, his thump tracing her parted lips. Every woman he’d kissed on screen or in a shoot never failed to seize the opportunity to thrust their needy tongues in his mouth, so he was surprised to realize Aurelia had not taken the initiative. He was surprised, and a little disappointed. Did she not find him attractive?
Aurelia blinked once, then twice, unable to comprehend his words, she was too busy calculating how many spanks on the butt she would receive from the daunting CEO, for she feared she’d unknowingly breached a clause in the contract.
Ezekiel cocked a brow at her silence, his lips jutting out in a small pout, but then he noticed she wasn’t looking at him, instead, her gaze drifted behind him.
The young man looked over his shoulder, curious to know what could possibly pull her attention away from him.
“Ah.” His lips spread into a wicked grin as he met Luke’s icy glare. “This is going to be fun.”
Aurelia gasped as Ezekiel switched their positions once more. She was forcefully pulled out of her trance as her back hit the mattress, her breath catching in her throat as he pinned her hands high above her head.
“What are you-ahh!” Aurelia winced as she soon felt Ezekiel’s knee between her legs, parting them with a force that took her by surprise. Her chest heaved as she looked up at him, her gray eyes searching his face for any possible reason for his actions, but unfortunately, she found none.
The camera flashed, capturing the intense moment, and Ezekiel stole a glance at Luke. He pressed his lips into a thin line, fighting hard to suppress his laughter. This was too fun; he thought.
“I’ve never seen him make such an expression,” Ezekiel muttered under his breath, and Aurelia’s brows furrowed in confusion.
Does he know the CEO? She thought, her gaze flickering between both men who were currently engaged in a heated staring contest, and only Aurelia seemed to notice the sizzling tension between them.
Luke’s professional smile was long gone, and now his gaze darkened with malice, but Ezekiel was far from intimated, he returned the CEO’s glare with a mockingly sweet smile.
“Another-” The photographer choked on his words as Luke gave him a friendly pat on the back. The poor man feared for his fate as he reluctantly raised his gaze, his fingers trembling against his camera as Luke’s menacing aura enveloped his form.
Fuck professionalism, he couldn’t stand it any longer.
“I think that’ll do for today.” The CEO said curtly, his grip on the man’s shoulder tightening. “Haven’t you gotten enough shots?”
“Y-Yes sir.” The photographer quickly took heed, nodding his head frantically as he announced the end of the shoot with haste. “T-That’s a wrap.”
On hearing the announcement, Aurelia heaved out a sigh of relief. She expected Ezekiel to move over, but he maintained his position.
She waited, but he still didn’t move an inch. What was this constant wave of awkwardness that plagued her today, how unlucky can a person get? “Uhm…C-Can you move?” Aurelia mentally cursed herself for stuttering but was clueless about how to handle the situation.
She had yet to fully proceed with everything that had happened in the last thirty minutes.
Ezekiel returned his gaze to her, then he hummed to himself thoughtfully, taking his sweet time before replying,
“Only if you agree to give me your number?”
Aurelia didn’t think her eyes could grow wider. “Huh?” Did she hear that right? or was she hallucinating? “My number?”
Ezekiel was more than amused by her shock, a suggestive smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. “Yes, your number.”
“B-but…”
“Sterling!” Aurelia was cut off by the CEO’s cheerful laughter.
She watches in awe as Luke swings his arms over Ezekiel’s shoulder, forcing him out of the bed and pulling him into a hug one would give an old friend.
Ezekiel was slightly taken aback by this, but he played along, returning the hug with a bubbly chuckle; “Arroyal, Long time no see.”
“It seems the CEO and Mr Ezekiel are friends.” Aurelia overheard the employees whispering among themselves.
“Is that a nickname, they must be close then.”
“Well, they’re both multimillionaires so it’s only normal right?”
Aurelia on the other hand wasn’t convinced, she noticed the hitch in Luke’s laughter on hearing Ezekiel refer to him as Arroyal, and she also took note of Ezekiel’s stiffness when Luke hugged him. Or was she just overthinking again?
Both men walked out of the room together, leaving poor Aurelia with question marks floating around her head.
“What the hell just happened?”
******
“So did you like it?”
“uhm…”
Unfortunately for her, Aurelia couldn’t escape the inevitable probing from her colleagues. She wished she could have skipped this week’s team dinner, but Oliva had caught her trying to leave the office early and dragged her along. So now she was faced with four eager pairs of ears wanting to hear her take on the spicy kiss.
“Of course she liked it,” Kendall said with a teasing grin. He raised his cup of beer, gesturing towards Aurelia’s rosy cheeks, “Her cheeks are all red from the mere thought of it.”
“Hush you! That’s probably because of the alcohol.”Olivia argued, and Kendall shrugged his shoulders, he was far from convinced.
Aurelia silently stared down at her cup of beer. It was her fourth glass, and she was far from tipsy, which was the opposite of what she wanted. “I don’t know if I liked it,” she confesses as she brings her drink to her lips.
Would it be wrong if she did? Although she’d tried to ignore the whole situation, it was easier said than done. She could still remember how he’d tasted, Ezekiel. He’d tasted like cotton candy, melting against her tongue and teasing her taste buds.
Aurelia refilled her glass, shaking her head as if to shake off her intrusive thoughts.”The kiss was…. like any other kiss.” She finally said, unsure of herself and her words
“That’s a blatant lie,” Mathew added, nonchalantly tossing a piece of candy in his mouth. Triggered, Aurelia glared at him, and he raised his hands in surrender. “Wasn’t he on your sex bucket list”
“Mathew.” Mrs Juniper reprimanded, her tone firm. Mathew took heed, drawing a line over his lips to mime a zip. The table went silent for a moment, and in this silence, Aurelia wanted to crawl into a hole. The bucket list was like a sore wound, one she’d slapped a bandage on and pretended it healed.
She’s fooled herself into thinking it was forgotten, but it was the same list that gave way to all the crazy things that had happened to her.
If she’d known that this would be the outcome of creating the list, she would have never accepted that anonymous gift.
And maybe if she did, she wouldn’t be in an entangling relationship with her boss.
She wouldn’t have signed that damned contract, she wouldn’t be anxious about what he thought of her, and….
She wouldn’t have witnessed his genuine smile or the sound of his hearty laughter….
“Aurelia.”
“Huh?” Aurelia blinked back to reality, raising her gaze to meet Mrs Juniper’s apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry for putting you in an uncomfortable situation.” She said, taking Aurelia’s hand in hers. “I’m really sorry.”
“It’s alright Mrs Juniper, I understand you had no other choice.” Just then, her phone rang, and she sent Mrs Juniper a polite smile before retrieving the device.
Aurelia’s eyes widened as she read the text that popped on the screen, her grip on the phone tightening as her heart rate picked up.
MR. CEO; CAN I SEE YOU? I’M OUTSIDE THE RESTAURANT