What Are The Odds?

Amara Hayes stood at her office window and looked out at the city below. Her thoughts were far off, which seemed to be a more normal occurrence as of late. She could not get the motorcyclist out of her mind. 

Had he survived the crash? The oddity around the people who had shown up swiftly taken him away. His injuries had been so extensive she was unsure how one could survive if not taken to a hospital straight away. 

One of the men had said they were taking him to their hospital, but the nearest one had been in the opposite direction that the SUV had taken off. She prayed that the man had gotten the care that he needed. 

Amara could not stop the other thoughts that continued to creep in. The man had been devilishly handsome. Even with his injuries she could tell that he took great care of his physique. She wondered not for the first time what was wrong with her? The man had been injured and yet here she was thinking about his body. Not that she could see his face clearly through his helmet. 

She had not dared remove it in case it did more damage, but his dark eyes that had stared straight into her had visited her dreams more often than not these last few weeks. 

"Amara?" a soft voice intruded on her thoughts. Amara turned around and smiled at her assistant, Leslie Howard. "Are you alright?" Leslie asked. Amara had said nothing to her about the accident and the injured man. For some reason Amara felt as though she needed to keep the incident to herself. 

"I am fine. Just thinking about tonight’s event," Amara lied. She walked the few steps back to her desk and sat down. "Is everything in order and confirmed?" Amara asked Leslie as she began to push papers around on her glass desk. 

"Yes, the only thing that we are running into a slight issue with is the menu," Leslie walked over to Amara's desk and put down a food menu. "The chef had drawn up the meal plan, but it includes items that should be left out for some of the more elite guests that will be in attendance," Leslie said as Amara looked over the menu. 

"This is ridiculous, most of the items we asked to exclude are somehow or another in each meal," Amara groaned and picked up the menu. She found that chefs were one of the most difficult people to work with when it came to events. They always wanted to cook their preferred food rather than the list of approved foods per their guest list. 

"I will go over to the venue now and check with the kitchens. Can you please have my dress and makeup sent to the venue? I will get ready there. I have some final details to go over anyways while I am there," Amara asked as she handed the menu back to Leslie. Leslie nodded and quickly left the room to do her bosses’ bidding. 

Amara turned back to the window once more and took a deep breath. This is one of the biggest events she had handled on her own since the other marketing manager had left. Leaving everything up to Amara. She wasn’t sure how she was going to manage but she was not a quitter. Where some would be overwhelmed by the amount of work being pushed to her, Amara chose to rise above it and put her gloves on to do the heavy lifting so that others didn’t have to. 

Amara walked over to the small closet that sat near her office door and pulled her cream-colored jacket from its hanger. She shrugged the garment on before grabbing her purse and leaving her office. She knew Leslie would have already had her dress and essentials sent to the venue. Amara thanked Leslie before leaving the small office space and headed in the direction that the banquet would be being held that very evening. 

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"Hello Miss Amara Hayes," a male voice said from behind her. She stopped in her tracks. She had just had one final bout with the chef before he finally submitted and agreed to finish preparing the meals with the food restriction excluded 

Who would be looking for her in the middle of an event? Amara wondered. She turned around and was met with a handsome man who towered over her 5-foot 5 inch frame by at least another foot. Her eyes widened as she took in his appearance and who he was. Gabriel Eros. One of the most elite guests that had accepted the invitation. 

"Hello Mr. Eros. Thank you so much for agreeing to attend tonight’s banquet," she rushed out and she smiled up at the powerful man. He was handsome, but she found that she compared his appearance to that of one in a black shirt and ripped jeans who wore a rain-soaked visor. 

"I have been doing a bit of research on your work," Gabriel said. He noticed the way that Amara had first reacted to his appearance, but then quickly changed her demeanor. She was quite pretty in her red strapless dress. Her blond hair cascaded over her shoulders. Not quite Gabriel's type but he could not lie and say that she was plain. 

"My work?" Amara asked. Confusion clearly written on her face. Why would a millionaire politician be looking into her marketing work? Was he in need of a marketing manager? It could not be possible. There were many others with far more experience than Amara who could take on that role. 

"Yes, and to be quite honest, your discretion that you take care with your clients," Gabriel said. His meaning was not missed to Amara. She prided herself most on the care that she took with their client’s description. In the past there have been some not so tasteful requests made. Although nothing illegal was requested, Amara did her best not to judge those that paid the bills. Amara took great care of her clientele. 

"Are you in need of a new marketing manager, Mr. Eros?" Amara asked plainly. She did not like to beat around the bush when it came to business. Honesty was the best approach and helped to lay everything out on the table in the beginning. 

"Actually, I am," Gabriel said. Amara only noticed then that Gabriel Eros had a man standing behind him. His back was turned so she was not able to clearly see his face. However, something about his build stilled her. 

Gabriel noticed that her attention had been moved to Damascus. It was not the first time, Gabriel chuckled as he patted his friend on the shoulder. Damascus had a dark and alluring aura about him that seemed to pull many women's attention if for nothing else than curiosity. 

"This is my right-hand man and friend, Damascus Arison. D say hello to Miss Hayes," When the man finally turned around, Amara breath caught in her throat. She was greeted by nothing else other than the dark eyes that had plagued her thoughts in the last few weeks. 

She also knew that he had recognized her as well. Damascus's body instantly tensed, and it was visible to anyone passing by. It took quite a few minutes for Amara to catch her breath and remind herself that Gabriel Eros and a few others were now watching their interaction. 

"Hello Mr. Arison. It is nice to make your acquaintance. Amara said quietly. She wasn’t sure why she was so self-conscious of her appearance all of a sudden. It could not be that those dark eyes seemed to be taking in every inch of her. Damascus instead of reciprocating her sentiments, chose silence. Not even a head bob in acknowledgment. 

Gabriel's gaze also turned questioning at the lack of response from his right-hand man. He turned back to Amara to recover the now awkward conversation, "Apologies, he is not used to these types of events. Can I ask if we might meet at your office tomorrow for a meeting to go over things further?" Gabriel asked Amara who was still stealing glances at Damascus. 

"Yes of course," Amara answered quickly and looked back to Gabriel. "I will be in at 8am. I will let my secretary know to prepare our conference room for your arrival," Gabriel nodded and thanked Amara before turning and returning to the event of the evening. Damascus, however, still stood staring after Amara. She swallowed hard as it took everything in her power to return to the kitchens once more. 

Damascus’s stare had done a number on her. Once she was through the double doors, she put her hand to her chest and counted in order to calm her nerves. Normally she would have tried to talk to the man and find out how he was fairing from his injuries that looked all but healed. But the way that he had looked at her had made her uneasy. It was as if he was almost angry at the realization of who she was.