Capture Me - Book cover

Capture Me

Daphne Watson

Chapter 2

For a moment, all of the things they had said on the news about Xavier fired through my head.

But then I remembered how late I was, and my annoyance overpowered my fear.

Trying to keep my voice even, I retorted, “Excuse me, I was walking here, and you jumped in front of me. It was so sudden that I didn’t have time to stop. And I did apologize for it.”

With that, I turned around and left before he could say anything. From the few things I’d heard about him, I didn’t want to pick a fight with him.

I practically ran down the street to get away from him. Once I was far enough away from him, I turned around. He was still standing there, watching me. Shivers ran down my spine, and I felt cold. Did I make a huge mistake?

I picked up my pace and sprinted toward the office, unable to keep his icy blue eyes from invading my mind.

***

I was five minutes late.

I was never late. How could I have let this happen?

Fuck it. I ran like a madwoman till I came to a halt at the reception of the building. I didn’t even have the time to check if the building was the right one. I hoped it was.

“Hello, my name is Katherine Carlone. I am supposed to start work today.”

The receptionist was a young woman, probably in her mid-thirties. She had dark red shoulder-length hair and wore a long black dress with black heels. Simple but stunning. Her name tag said “Emilia Smith.”

“Oh yes, Miss Carlone. You are a few minutes late but don’t worry, the director is very nice.” She smiled, adding that I should take the elevator on the left to the seventh floor.

I thanked her and hurried to the elevator, which took me up seven floors.

When I finally stepped out of the elevator, a young woman was waiting for me.

“Hello, I am Arabella Brown, your assistant.” She smiled and held her hand out for me to shake.

I gave her my hand, laughing. “Hello, nice to meet you.”

She shook my hand and turned around. “I’ll take you to your office.”

I followed her, and she led me into a big, spacious office with a view over the entire city. I loved it.

“You are the newest addition to our company, so of course you get an assistant,” she said. “The boss will be ready for you in an hour, so you still have time to get settled in. And what do you say, shall we have lunch together?”

My gaze still trained on the view out the window, I replied, “Sure, I would love to go to lunch with you. I think we’ll be great friends. And where do I have to go to meet the boss?”

“Mr. Adams’s office is on the top floor—it’s the only one on that floor. I should get back to work. If you need anything, just call me. My number is on the note I left for you.

“Take your time in settling in. Excuse me,” she replied before leaving me in my new office.

As the clock struck 9 a.m., I got up and headed to the elevator again. Pressing the button for the eleventh floor, I started to feel a bit nervous.

I had had a job before, and the boss had loved me, but this was a new country, and I was scared. If the boss didn’t like me, then work would be hell.

The elevator came to a halt. Stepping out, I made my way to the office door and knocked.

“Come in.”

An older man with graying hair sat behind a big mahogany table, going through stacks of papers.

“Good morning, sir,” I said, entering the office.

Mr. Adams looked up and smiled. “Good morning, Ms. Carlone.” He gestured to the chairs on the other side of the table. “Please sit.”

He waited for me to take a seat before starting to speak.

“Well, I would like to welcome you officially to our company. As you may know, the company only works with high-paying customers. So they pay a lot of money for the perfect place.

“And this is where you come in. We do have other interior designers working here, but they did not come as highly recommended as you.” He smiled.

“Oh, thank you,” I said.

“So I heard you have already settled in at your apartment. Well, I do expect hard work from you. I am counting on only the best designs,” he added.

“Of course, that’s why I’m here after all,” I replied.

“Great. Well, I think that’s all for now.”

I nodded, rising to my feet. I was almost at the door when Mr. Adams called out to me.

“Ms. Carlone, I almost forgot. There is a ball this weekend, and all employees must attend. So do not even think of skipping.

“The event is mostly for our recent clients who are just starting to work with us. And it is also an opportunity to meet new clients. Yes?”

A ball? Really? I did not want to go, but if it was mandatory, then I had better get started on finding a dress to wear.

“Of course, I’ll be there.”

***

I had been working for about three hours when Arabella stopped by.

“Hey, Katherine. Do you want to get lunch now?” she asked.

As if on cue, my stomach growled. Laughing, I got up. “Sure, let’s go.”

We were sitting in a small Italian restaurant beside the busy streets. I had ordered lasagna, because I was starving, while Arabella had decided on a pizza.

“So, for how long have you worked at the company?” I asked, starting a conversation.

“Um…for about four years. I was twenty-four when I started, just out of university. And what about you? What made you move across the globe?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows. “A man, perhaps?”

Maybe he is a model or something, I thought.

“Oh, I am so sorry about your mother. I know what it’s like to lose a parent. I lost my father a few years ago, and I still miss him sometimes. But it does get better. Time heals everything.” She smiled sadly at me.

“So, is there a man in your life?” I asked, just to change the topic of our conversation.

“Well...yes and no. It’s complicated, you know. One day, we are together, and we are the happiest, and the next, we are fighting, and we hate each other.”

She cupped her chin in her hands, her elbows on the table, before continuing, “You know, when I got this job, I thought now is the time to find a man, fall in love, have a family and all.”

“But turns out that all I get is a man who says that he loves me one day and that he hates me the next.” She shook her head and looked up.

“Hey, don’t worry. Everything will be fine. All men are like that. One moment you love him, the next you hate him. I broke up with my last boyfriend because I couldn’t keep up with his shit,” I said. She giggled.

“Hey, what do you say we go dress shopping with some of my friends after work? I know you probably need a nice dress for the ball this weekend.”

“Oh, yes, thank God,” I said, beaming. “I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

“It’s a deal!” she smiled.

We finished our meal and headed back to work.

***

That evening at 5 p.m. sharp, Arabella showed up at my office door.

“Hey, you ready to go? The girls are meeting us there,” she said with a beaming smile.

“Yeah, just let me get my bag, and off we go.”

There were already two people—a man and a woman—in the elevator when the doors slid open. Arabella greeted them, and they smiled back at us.

“Hey guys, this is Katherine. She just started working here yesterday,” Arabella introduced me. “Katherine, this is John from accounting and Maria from designing.”

“Hello, lovely to meet you.” I smiled and nodded.

“So, how is your week so far, Miss Katherine?” John asked.

“Well, so far, I haven’t gotten much work, but I do like it here. And please call me Katherine.”

The elevator finally reached the lobby, and we all said goodbye before stepping out. Arabella pulled me to the side and led me outside.

“Come, the shop isn’t far.”

And she was right. The shop was located in the middle of London. There were people bustling about and running errands, sometimes with children tagging along.

Three women were standing in front of the shop.

“Okay, everyone,” Arabella called as we approached them. “This is Katherine, my boss. Katherine, this is Lana, Isa, and Mara.”

The woman named Lana had short black hair and was dressed in a black pantsuit. Isa had long, wavy blond hair and blue eyes and was wearing a long ruby-red dress, while Mara was dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt.

They all wore high heels and looked like models.

“Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope we can be friends. It does get a bit lonely being new in town.” I smiled at them.

They all smiled back at me.

“Don’t worry. We got your back,” said Isa. “We were all the new girl in town once. Well, now that we are done with the introductions, let’s get you a dress.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me inside.

The shop was beautiful. It looked like a place straight out of a fairy tale. There were hundreds of dresses of all kinds, and they were all stunning.

We all tried on dress after dress, even if Arabella and I were the only ones who had to buy one.

Arabella found a long black princess dress that made her look stunning, while I found a long fitted golden dress, which had a high cut up the right leg.

The girls lounged around, throwing compliments at me and saying that I would definitely find a man to go home with.

All I did was roll my eyes.

After getting the dresses, we went out for dinner, deciding on a very expensive restaurant to celebrate my move to London.

The hostess led us to a table near the far end of the restaurant. We ordered drinks first before deciding on the food.

I went with a shrimp salad, Arabella got the chicken salad, and Lara settled on the soup. Isa and Mara ordered steak, declaring that they were starving.

Dinner was a blast. Soon, we were all laughing and telling each other funny stories.

We were halfway through our meal when a waitress approached us, setting a cocktail down in front of me.

I looked up, confused. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t order this.”

The waitress smiled, replying, “The drink was sent from the man at the bar.” She turned to show me who she meant.

I followed her gaze, only to be rendered speechless.

There he was, sitting at the bar. His gaze was fixed on me with a sort of intensity I didn’t know was possible.

Xavier.

Fucking.

Lexington.

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