Calah
I get out of bed and into the shower, at first I’m feeling a little sluggish, but the hot water does wonders and I feel refreshed and ready when I emerge. Time to pick out something to wear that makes me feel confident, the brand new navy blue power suit seems to fit the bill. I put on some make-up and style my dark brown hair. It’s a little bit early but I decide to head down anyway, maybe I can wander and find a coffee or something.
When I get to the lobby there is a very long line at the front desk so I decide to just wait in line so I don’t risk being late. I can’t help scanning the lobby for Mateo but even if I saw him I have no idea what I would say. It’s not like I really have time for a conversation right now. I get a little bit lost thinking about my Mateo and before I know it I’m at the front of the line.
“How may I help you?” a beautiful woman with bright, highlighted hair asks.
“Hi, I’m Calah Levine, I have a meeting with the hotel management this morning.”
“One moment, please,” she picks up the phone and dials an extension. After she tells someone my name she hangs up and smiles, “If you’ll walk down to the end there is a door, someone will be there to meet you.”
“Thank you for your help.”
I make my way to the end of the reception desk where a sharply dressed older man is standing and smiling at me, “Miss Levine?”
“Yes, hello,” I smile and extend my hand to the man and he gives it a firm shake.
“I am Jorge De Leon, it is a pleasure to meet you. Will you follow me?”
I smile and nod then he walks me down a long hallway to a conference room. When we step into the room there are a few other people sitting around the table but they don’t look up.
“Is there anything you need to help set up?” Jorge asks.
He gestures at the projector and it’s pretty standard so I smile and tell him I’ll be fine. I pull out my computer and start to plug everything in and then I test the presentation. Everything seems to be working and I feel optimistic about the meeting, confident even until the air in the room shifts. When I look up I see none other than Mateo walking through the door. When he sees me he smiles and I smile back instinctively but then realize what is happening.
“Good morning Mateo, this is Calah Levine,” Jorge says.
Mateo meets my eyes and gives me the shy grin. Did he know? Or is he just as surprised as me?
“Nice to meet you, I’m Mateo DeLeon,” he grins but he’s flirting with his eyes,
Holy cow! What are the chances? More importantly what happens now? He seems like he’s going to play this professionally. I can tell by the look in his eyes he remembers me, I guess I’ll just follow his lead.
“Yes, it’s very nice to meet you.”
“I heard about the pitch and was interested. I hope you don’t mind if I sit in on your meeting today,” Mateo grins.
“The more, the merrier,” that’s what I said but yes I mind. I mind a lot, how am I supposed to focus with him here?
After that Mateo takes the seat right across the table from me and Jorge goes around the room introducing me to the other people at the table.
“Alright well I’ll just get started then. I’m Calah Levine, I’m a junior executive at my parent’s company Levine Souvenirs. We’ve been in business for over thirty years starting at one small souvenir shop at the beach.”
I go through a basic company history and then run through some of the products I would suggest for their resort, “I can go into more detail about any of our product lines or answer any questions you may have.”
“A huge selling point for us was the customization you offer. Can you tell us more about that?” Jorge asks.
“We’re not a standard souvenir shop stocked with necessities, we specialize in creating boutique experiences based on each location. We don’t send the same stock to all of our stores so basically every account is managed independently by the management on site and a home office representative.”
“How is the home office representative selected?” Mateo asks, “It seems like someone from our staff would be working very closely with them,” he has extended his foot to touch mine under the table and he smiles flirtatiously.
I coach myself in my mind, trying to imagine what Rhea would say. Just like last night, be direct. I take a deep breath and say the first thing that comes to mind.
"Well, going international would be new for us, for the time being I would take on the representative position until we had everything flowing smoothly then one of our talented reps could take the account over."
Jorge continues with his questions and Mateo just watches me with a smile on his face. Whenever I answer a question he looks at me with a proud smile. It feels good to think I may be impressing him but I'm still not sure how to navigate this. Can I work with him and in what capacity?
"I suppose I’m all done unless you have any more questions?" I say trying to wrap up the meeting.
"I have a question if you’ll stay for just a minute," Mateo says sweetly.
I smile and nod at him and then he dismisses the rest of the meeting attendees. As soon as we're alone he locks the door and closes the distance between us. He walks me back to the wall and cages me in with his arms. The energy that is rolling off of him is intense but I'm not scared instead I'm strangely aroused. He presses his body against mine and takes my lips in a passionate kiss. When he breaks away he drops his lips to the soft slope where my neck meets my shoulder and inhales deeply.
"Calah, I have to have you… I cannot go on without you," he exhales.
"Mateo…"
"I’ve thought of nothing but you since you left last night," he says as he cups my cheeks and holds my face so he can lock eyes with me. "Calah, tell me you don’t feel it and I’ll leave you alone…"
"Feel what?" I peep.
He trails his fingers down my arm and sends shivers throughout my body as he says, "Tell me you don’t like it when I touch you… tell me you don’t want me to kiss you anymore."
"Mateo…" my chest is heaving and right now all I want to do is feel his lips, "Kiss me again…"
He obliges and kisses me passionately for a few blissful moments before he breaks away.
He runs his thumb over my lips, "You're even more beautiful when your lips are swollen from my kiss…"
My core clenches and I feel like I'm trembling.
"Come with me to dinner tonight," he compels me.
"Mateo, I don’t know if we should…"
"I don’t care who you work for, we’ll figure it out," he insists, "Calah…"
The desperation in his voice is making me weak and the way he says my name is beautiful like a song, "Okay dinner."
