Book 2 Chapter 19
The next morning came too quickly.
Yalda woke to the sound of Ioannis’s soft movements around the room as he moved around fixing his cufflinks, adjusting his watch. She blinked groggily, her body was still heavy from yesterday’s exhaustion, she hadn't realized so much time had passed and Ioannis had probably let her sleep because he wanted her to rest properly. Loki slept curled against her stomach, snoring faintly.
“Good morning,” she murmured, voice thick with sleep.
Ioannis turned immediately, his eyes softened at the sight of her. “Good morning, sweetheart." He replied.
She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes. He approached the bed, leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her head, his lips lingered longer than they needed to, like he was drinking in the quietness of the moment before the day swallowed it.
“Sleep well?” he asked.
She nodded. “i did.”
He smiled faintly. “Good. You needed it.”
A small smile curved her lips.
"Why didn't you wake sooner?" She asked knowing very well what his answer would be.
"How could I? You were so exhausted yesterday." He replied. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm good now, and I should be out of bed." She said as she set Loki aside and climbed out of bed. "I hope I don't end up making you late."
Ioannis rolled his eyes but he glanced at his wristwatch nonetheless.
"I don't think you will." He said, making her smile even more.
"I'll be out shortly." She said before rushing to the bathroom to shower.
Soon enough, she retuened. They got ready together, she applied light makeup to brighten her face, pulled her hair back sleekly, and selected a simple but neat blouse tucked into a pencil skirt. Ioannis watched her appreciatively as she bent over to tend to a thing or two, and his hand swatted her ass slightly as though he couldn't help himself.
Yalda shook her head, feigning displeasure but Ioannis saw eight through her act.
And when they finally headed out and settled in the car, he held her against him closely. It would have seemed clingy to others but Yalda didn't mind at all, she loved being held like that, she loved being loved so gently, so carefully, she loved how patient he was with her.
~~
The morning air inside the Golden Oasis headquarters buzzed with its usual rhythm of papers rustling, phones ringing, footsteps echoing across marble floors. When they entered, Helen approached immediately, her expression was perfectly polite yet that distant look remained in her eyes as she looked at Yalda.
“Good morning, sir,” she greeted Ioannis, smiling professionally, but her smile faded the very second she turned to Yalda. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” Yalda replied warmly, she was still going to try to be nice to her, maybe she'd warm up to her eventually.
Helen held a tablet in one hand, a pen in the other. “The quarterly board meeting is in an hour. I’ve already sorted the files...."
“Yes, that,” Ioannis interrupted gently. “Yalda will come with me today.”
Yalda watched shock registered in Helen's eyes before they darkened, her shoulders stiffened and her irritation became apparent.
“Oh.” She blinked. “Of course, sir. I'll tend to the Supply-Chain review and the vendor correspondence."
Ioannis nodded.
"Sounds good." He replied. "Also, Ms. Harris was rather exhausted yesterday and I don't want that do be a common occurrence."
Yalda wanted to jump in and say it was fine and she could handle the work but she didn't want to undermine his authority so she kept her mouth shut.
Helen’s lips pressed together for a microsecond before she forced a smile. “Understood. Will that be al sir?"
"Yes. Thank you, Helen." Ioannis replied.
"Please excuse me, sir."
She turned sharply, her heels clicked sharply with slightly more force than necessary as she walked away but Ioannis didn't seem to notice.
Yalda swallowed. The fact that ioannis wanted her to follow him to the meeting in place of Helen would undoubtedly make Helen dislike her even more. She tugged gently at his sleeve lightly.
“Are you sure I should come? I can help Helen with something else or tend to ye review."
“Why not?" he said, placing a hand at the small of her back. “You’re coming with me. She'll tend to the review."
“But what if she's not chill with it?"
Ioannis exhaled softly and leaned closer. “You’re not her assistant. You are working with me. And I want you with me at the meeting, unless you'd rather hide from what you were use to."
He said. He probably thought she was uncomfortable being in the same space as cutthroat business people at all, but she wasn't. She mah have changed a lot but she still had that aura and confidence around such people that made her see like one of them.
She lowered her eyes. “It’s not that I’m hiding.” she said, she was simply trying to avoid bad blood between herself and Helen.
He tilted her chin up with a fingertip. “Then come with me.”
His tone was gentle but firm, it left no room for protest. She had no choice but to concede, she followed him quietly.
The boardroom was intimidating even on a good day, it had high ceilings and sharp lighting. Heavy suits and firm handshakes filled the place making it the kind of atmosphere where money talked and weakness was not tolerated.
Yalda straightened her shoulders immediately and held her head up, she was with someone as influential as Ioannis and she had to look the part. She sat beside him, notebook open, pen ready. She could feel curious gazes lingering on her and she met them one by one confidently before returning her gaze to the book.
Ioannis engaged the room effortlessly, he discussed expansions, supply-chain bottlenecks, profit projections, and risk assessments with a calm assertiveness that made even the seasoned executives lean in.
Every so often, he glanced sideways at Yalda, just to check if she was okay. And every time, she gave him a small, steady nod.
The meeting lasted over an hour, it was filled with statistics, tension, proposals, and counterproposals. Yalda kept up, taking structured notes, marking follow-up points, and organizing data in shorthand. She'd missr this, she'd missed being by Alexander's side and doing her thing efficiently.
She missed being the competent Ms. Harris.
When it ended, one of the directors shook her hand. “You look familiar." He said. "Do you work here now?"
And the look in his eyes told Yalda he wasn't trying to flirt, perhaps he'd seen her at an even with Alexander or even at the Monte Carlo event with Ioannis.
She smiled. “I do."
"Ah, see you around then." He said before heading out.
Ioannis’s hand brushed lightly against the small of her back as he began guided her out.
"You're a celebrity." He said, and she couldn't help but laugh. "I should have employed you sooner."
"You should have. I've been told I'm competent more times than one." She replied and he smirked, shaking his head.
They made their way back to his office, and the moment the door closed behind them, Ioannis turned her toward him. His hand slid up her arm, fingers curling gently around her jaw as he lowered his head to claim her lips in a slow, soft, but passionate kiss that stole her breath immediately.
He backed her against the wall before trailing kisses down her jaw to her neck and the exposed skin of her neck causing her to moan quietly. She felt his hand which hand been on the small of her back slide down to cup her ass, and he squeezed her supple flesh before crashing his lips onto hers once more.
“You did well,” he murmured against her lips when the kiss finally broke.
Her heart fluttered. “I just wrote things down.”
"It doesn't matter." He replied.
She took notes without getting distracted or letting her past get to her and affect her work, she held herself together and that was very commendable.
She lowered her eyes bashfully but he tilted her chin back up and gave her one more kiss before letting her go.
“Now,” he said, adjusting his cuffs, “back to work. And remind Helen about the vendor files. She tends to overfocus on one thing and neglect another at times."
Yalda’s stomach tightened at the mention of Helen. But she nodded nonetheless.
"Alright."
"See you at lunch."
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