The President's Affair

1

Sebastian Walker stretched on his over sized chair, his knees bouncing his desk as he did so.  The CEO and President of Walker Inc, an engineering firm that he built from the bottom up, he was accustomed to achieving any set goal in an even shorter short time frame.  However, since he allowed the partnership to go public, he was advised by his Board of Directors to take it easy and to delegate some authority.  The firm, he was told, will benefit more by him being alive and healthy than by him running himself ragged on some project.  Though he did not agree, he nonetheless acquiesced to their decision.

Now he was bored to death with absolutely nothing to do.  His team was currently undergoing negotiations for a merger with a former competitor, which was expected to catapult Walker Inc to the top of the list of most sought after engineering firms.  He was allowed to view the proceedings as much as he wished, but didn't want his team to feel as though he didn't have faith in them, so he stayed away, only entering when he was summoned.  Even the internet had lost its allure.  Sebastian picked up his phone and pushed a button.  It rang once.
"How may I help you, Mr. Walker?" a pleasant voice answered.
"Hello Nikola.  How does my calendar look?"  There was a slight pause.
"Besides the two appearances that you have booked for Friday and Sunday, you are virtually free Sir."
Sebastian sighed, "Thank you Nikola."
"You're welcome Sir."
Sebastian placed the phone back on its cradle and rose, pacing the floor restlessly as he tugged on his tie.  He was tall and well defined, and despite his 37 years, he tended to look like he just was in his early 30's. Running a hand through his thick, wavy chestnut hair, he decided that he would take a stroll through the company.  After all, he thought, isn't it necessary to keep company morale up during this time?  He ducked into the small but neat bathroom which was nestled into a corner of his office, to check his tie and smoothen his hair.  Satisfied with his appearance, he re entered his office, picked up his jacket and exited, leaving instructions with Nikola to take all his messages and inform anyone else of his absence, with his apologies.  He then made his way to the elevators.

*****
It was about 3pm when Sebastian made his way towards his office.  Though it was a most tiring day, it was also quite fruitful.  His employees were surprised at his sudden appearance, but loosened up enough to tell him what was going on in the departments.  While he did received his share of complaints, they were minor, and he was reassured that most employees were satisfied with their jobs.

He had opted to use the stairs to return to his office, and was surprised to realize that he was huffing and puffing after the 3rd flight.  "Guess I wasn't as fit as I thought," he muttered to himself as he commenced the second to last flight of stairs, making a mental note to hire a personal trainer.  He needed his ass whipped into shape it seemed.  His lungs felt as though it was going to burst as he reached the top of the fourth flight, and he leaned against the wall, breathing deeply.  There were double glass doors embossed with the company's logo, under which were the listing of departments situated on this floor.  Engineering and Finance were housed on this floor, according to the doors.  Sebastian decided to explore; he didn't remember ever being on this floor before.  Upon entering, he found himself in the reception area, sans a receptionist.  Besides the unoccupied desk, there was a suit of expensive chairs and a rack of magazines.  There was a partition separating the reception area from the main working area, which he stepped behind.  Inside was as empty as reception, he thought in chagrin.  He'd have to have a talk with the VP Engineering about that.

Spying a water cooler, he approached it to quench his thirst, while frequently glancing around his surroundings.  A sudden movement caught his eye.  Still drinking, he turned toward the direction of the sudden movement.  His breath caught in his throat as his eyes fell upon a stunningly built blonde.  She was only partially visible behind her half opened office door, but it was plain to see that she was undressed.  She rummaged through an opened gym bag and produced a pair of jeans, which she hastily dragged on.  He felt like a Peeping Tom for continuing to stare as she moved in and out of his range of vision.  Yet he stood there, riveted to the spot, the cup still touching his lips, eyes crying out for another glimpse of her tanned, toned body.

The door suddenly swung shut, its bang shocking him back to life.  Embarrassed, he fled the offices, sprinting up the stairs with a sudden energy and startling Nikola, who was beginning to clear her desk.  Murmuring an amused apology to his surprised assistant, he entered his office and sat onto his seat.  Images of the young woman and her nubile body clouded his brain and tormented him, till finally, he picked up the phone.
"Nik, who is the blonde in Engineering?"
"There are many blondes in engineering Sir," Nikola replied dryly.
Sebastian sighed, "The young woman, Nik.  I've never seen her before."
"She's new Sir.  Her name is Barbara Arias."
Sebastian mused thoughtfully as he replaced the phone on its cradle.  He had never seen such a beauty.  Sure, he had been in the company of beautiful women; it was package and parcel of being wealthy.  But her's was different, and yet, he could not explain how, or why.  All he knew is that he had to get to know her better.  Yes, he thought, just to get to know her better. What harm could that bring?

2

Sebastian entered the offices bright and early the next morning, as was his custom.  He was greeted cordially by the security, which he warmly reciprocated as he made his way towards the elevators.  Punching the level 5 button, he relaxed, waited for the doors to clothes.
"Hold the elevator!" a female voice cried out.  Immediately, Sebastian held out his hands, causing the doors to reopen.  A smiling Barbara Arias entered.
"Thank you," she said softly, punching the level 4 button.
"You're welcome," he murmured.  They both stood quietly as the elevator shot past levels 1 and 2 uninterrupted.
"So you're the new hire from engineering?" he said conversationally.  She blushed self consciously.
"Yes, I just started last week.  I'm Barbara Arias."  She extended her hand.
"Nice to meet you Barbara. I'm Sebastian Walker," he replied, accepting her hand, which suddenly went limp.
"The 'Sebastian Walker'?  As in the CEO of this firm?" she asked, her eyes wide.
"I'm afraid so."  He smiled.  "Do I disappoint?"
"No, no!" she protested.  "You're even better looking than I thought."  She froze immediately after her comment, turning away to hide her rapidly redding cheeks. 
"Well this is a first," he said after a brief pause.  Hearing the amusement in his voice, she sneaked a look at his face.  He was smiling down at her, his green eyes twinkling.
She quickly averted her head.
"I never knew a girl to be so shy after such a bold statement," he said, turning her to face him.  His expression had changed slightly; though the amusement was still there, it was evident that he was attracted to her.  She stood there, mesmerized by his eyes as his head came closer and closer to hers.  Just as his lips were about to brush hers, the ding of the elevator doors opening brought her back to consciousness.

"This is my stop," she said, a little too brightly.  "Nice to meet you Sir," she added, shaking his hand furtively, then fled towards the safety of her office.  Sebastian chuckled at her hasty retreat.  "It's futile to run now," he murmured, "when I have you in sight."
*****
Barbara gave a hasty greeting to her best friend Becky, who also happened to be the receptionist on the floor.  She ignored her best friend's call, making a beeline for her office.  Once there, she closed the door and exhaled loudly.  For a moment there, she thought Mr. Walker was going to pursue her.  Sighing, she raked back the hair that fell over her face.  Of course he wasn't going to follow her.  It was preposterous; the CEO and the newbie?  That worked only in the romance novels, something she would need to stop reading if she persisted on this ridiculous train of thought.

And yet, was it?  It certainly looked as though he was going to kiss her, and would have done so had the elevator doors not opened.  His eyes were like a spell, it held her captive.  Was it just that, the heady feeling of superficial attraction, or was it something more that kept her riveted to the spot?  Barbara shook her head.  This wouldn't do.  What she needed was to bury herself into her work.  She could not let what could've happened take any more control over her thoughts, or her life.  There was already too much at stake here.  She already had what she wanted out of life; mooning over the boss, especially one who most likely had already forgotten about her was stupid.  Not to mention counter-productive.  Emboldened by her resolve, she walked across to her desk, switched on the computer and took a seat.  Very soon she was engrossed in her work - searching for properties which Walker Engineering would be interested in.

*****
The elevator doors opened, releasing Sebastian into the penthouse offices of the fifth floor.  Besides his office, this floor also contained the offices of high level executives and the grand conference room.  Similar in build to the fourth floor, it greeted entrants with double glass doors embossed with the company's logo and the directory of offices.  Sebastian was pleased to see the receptionist at her post as he breezed past with a general greeting.  The empty engineering department was not lost on him; he needed to get that nipped in the bud.

Nodding and murmuring greetings to various execs that he passed, he finally arrived at the familiar corridor that would take him to his private lobby and office.  Nikola was there, early and impeccably dressed as usual.  She looked up and beamed.
"Good morning, Mr. Walker.  Shall I bring you some coffee?"  He smiled
"Thank you Nikola.  That will be lovely."  He made a show of going through the messages while she made the coffee, all the while admiring her grace and beauty.  Her complexion was mocha coloured, which was highlighted more so by the linen suit that she was wearing, a light cream.  Her shoulder length black hair was pulled into a loose pony-tail, showing more of her pretty face.  She was tall and slender, and as she moved to bring him his coffee, he was struck by how effortless and smooth her gait was.  Especially in those heels she was wearing.
"Ever thought of being a model Nik?"  He sipped his coffee.
"Oh Mr. Walker!" she half chided, half laughed.  This was a running joke between them.  "You want to get rid of me, is that it?"
"Not in the least.  But I wonder sometimes if being my personal assistant utilizes all of your skills."
Nikola scoffed.  "Skills indeed," she snorted, shaking her head.
"You must know how beautiful you are, Nik," he insisted.  Nikola blushed.
"Thank you Sir.  I hope my 'other' skills in running your office are also worth mentioning too."
"They are Nik, most definitely," reassured Sebastian with a smile.  Raising his cup, he entered his office, leaving a flustered and amused Nikola looking after him.
"I wonder what's gotten into him?" she mused thoughtfully.

As soon as Sebastian made himself comfortable on his over-sized chair, he picked up the phone and dialed an extension.  A pleasant female voice responded.
"This is Walker Engineering.  How may I be of service?"
"Is Mr. McClain there?"  There was a slight pause
"He's busy at the moment.  May I take a message?"
"Tell him its the CEO.  Make time."  Sebastian's snappy response seemed to startle the receptionist.
"H-hold the line please," she stammered.  The edges of his lips quirked upwards unwillingly.  There was an even longer pause.
"Good morning Mr. Walker, sorry for the delay," a smooth sounding voice suddenly said on the line.  "How may I help you sir?"
McClain's voice irritated him.  "I hope the delay was to catch up on work that your staff didn't do yesterday."
"I beg your pardon?"  The voice sounded slightly less controlled.
"Your offices were deserted yesterday, around 3pm."
"Oh."  The voice regained composure.  "We conducted a site visit after lunch."
Fair enough.  "Do you generally include receptionists on such visits?  Because no one was here on the floor when I dropped in."
"My apologies sir.  I shall see to it that it doesn't happen in future.  Anything else I can help you with?"  They chatted for a while about the department, the projects that were being worked on and the staff.
As an afterthought, Sebastian asked, "I heard you have some new staff?  How are they fitting in?"  McClain sounded surprised, but he briefly brought him up to speed.  "They are trainees," he explained, "so we are giving them a crash course in the different facets of the department."  Sebastian thanked him for the information, ringing off soon after.  He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced.  He hated lukewarm coffee.  Sighing, he switched on his computer.  It looked like it was going to be another long and boring day.

*****
Barbara's cell phone vibrated, then beeped loudly.  She picked it up, checked it, then pressed the snooze button.  It was 1 pm, perfect time to grab a bite to eat.  Unfortunately, she forgot to pack lunch, so she had to venture outside to get a meal.  She stretched, yawned then grabbed her purse.  'I wonder if there are any good restaurants around here,' she thought absently as she exited her office and headed to the elevators.

She pressed the down button and leaned against the wall as she waited for the elevator to reach her floor.  Fortunately, she didn't have to wait for long.  With a ding, the doors opened, revealing it to be empty, to her relief.  Surprised at her sudden emotion, she entered, punching the ground floor button.  As she waited, she kept her mind deliberately blank, refusing to let her thoughts wander back to what happened earlier this morning.  The elevator doors opened, and she exited onto the ground floor, heading towards the front entrance of the building and the security booth.  A brief conversation with the guard revealed that there were 2 restaurants within walking distance, both offering decent fare.  Thanking the guard, she set off towards her destination.
*****