It's Not A Date

Chapter 7: It's not a date

Ivy

“Let your hair down,” Ivy repeated in her head.

“What is wrong with the way I packed it? Is there some kind of dress code that I'm not aware of? She thought.

This was not the first day at work she envisioned. She sighed as she thought back to how shocked she was to find out she was going to be working as an assistant to the company's ceo.

As if that wasn't enough, now she has to have lunch with him in twenty minutes. 

“How am I supposed to act around him?”

Ivy knew there was a lot of tension between them, and she felt it hard whenever he was in his presence. The way he stared at her intensely when she went to his office earlier was not helping matters.

It's been 10 minutes already, and Ivy wasn't in any way ready for lunch. She tried to take in deep breath to calm her nerves, but all was to no avail. Her phone beeped. It was a message from Charlotte asking how her day was going.

As if coming to a sudden realization, Ivy smiled.

“Of course, Charlotte would know what to do,” she said as she dialed her best friend's number.

She picked up on the second ring.

“Hey girl, what's up? Charlotte's voice beamed from the other end.

“Char, I need your advice on something real quick.”

“Woah, you sound so serious, I’m so scared,” Charlotte joked

“Char, this is serious and urgent.”

“Okay, okay, sorry, what's the problem?”

“What does it mean when your boss asks you to have lunch with him?” Ivy asked

“Wait, what? he asked you out to lunch? On your first day?

Damn! A straightforward guy.” Ivy yelled at the other end

Ivy winced as she moved the phone away from her ears. “Char, come on, I don't have much time left.”

“Uhmmm okay, let's see. How did he ask you? Was it something grand or just a simple Have lunch with me now kind of way?”

“Uhmm, I went to his office earlier to submit some important files for him to sign, as I was about to leave he asked me what my plans for lunch were, and I told him I was going to grab something from the cafeteria, which I'm not sure he heard because he was too busy undressing me with his eyes to even listen. That was when—” Ivy narrated all in one breath, but was interrupted by Charlotte 

“Wait, why did you have to submit files to him? Doesn't he have like an assistant to do —” Charlotte was asking, but came to a realization and screamed, “Oh my God, you are the assistant 

“My best friend is an assistant to the ceo of fucking Hartwell corporations” girl you sure did climb the ladder fast. I'm so proud of you.” Charlotte said dramatically.

“Char, that's not the main point here, you can be proud of me later. I need you to tell me what to do here.” Ivy said

“Oh, right, sorry, I got carried away.” 

“You don't need to worry about it too much, love, it’s probably just a formality done to every new employee. Stop overthinking it.”

“You think so? Ivy asked

“Yup, trust me. Charlotte answered 

it's definitely not a DATE with the ceo, Charlotte ended making Ivy more nervous than she already was.

“Date? What do you mean?” Ivy asked nervously

“Ooops, did I say date? I meant a meeting, a meeting with your boss. I've got to go. Love you” 

“Char, wait, don't hang—” Ivy started, but the call had been disconnected.

She checked the time on her phone, it was 11:58.

Shit! She has been on the phone for 8 minutes. She quickly combed through her hair with her fingers, checked her reflection on her phone to see if anything was off on her face.

“What was she supposed to do now? Wait? She thought.

Her heart jumped in her chest when the telephone rang suddenly.

“Hatwell’s office, how can I help you? She said immediately, she picked up the phone.

“Are you ready?” The voice at the other end of the phone asked.

Ivy didn’t need to be told who it was.

“Yes, sir, she replied.

“Okay,” then beep, the call was disconnected.

Shortly after, she heard a knock on her door.

She moved to open the door, and there he was, standing with his hands dipped into his pockets.

“Let’s go,” Liam said and started walking away 

Ivy shut the door and followed him with her heart hammering against her chest.

They took the elevator down to the first floor.

She watched as a lot of people bowed their heads as they walked past. Some of them stared at her wondering who she was but didn’t dare to voice their thoughts out. The hall was so quiet that you could almost hear a pin drop.

A lot of stares were directed towards her, making her feel uneasy. Some confusion , some pity and a little bit of envy mostly from the females.

Liam just walked past without sparing any of them a glance, nor acknowledging any of their greetings.

Ivy was so focused on the people looking at her that she didn’t realise Liam had stopped walking until she bumped into his back.

“I’m sorry, sir,” she quickly apologised as she rubbed her head 

“It's fine. Watch where you’re going next time,” Liam answered as he entered his car, as his driver opened the door.

Ivy stood with her jaw dropped as she saw the car in front of her. It was a Mercedes-Benz AMG G63. She saw a video on it when she was scrolling the internet months ago. One look and she knew how expensive this would cost.

“We are going in this!” she screams internally, still standing and gawking at the car

“Are you coming in, or do I have to come carry you?” Liam asked, making Ivy jolt from embarrassment 

Ivy climbed into the car with the help of the driver, who was still holding the door. The car sped off, leaving the company's premises.

Silence filled the car as none of them said a word. Ivy racked her brain for what to say to break the silence, but nothing was coming to mind. She peeked at Liam. His eyes were closed as his hand rested on his forehead, leaving just his lips exposed.

Ivy watched the veins in his neck and how his Adam's apple moved, and she swallowed her saliva

“Would you like to take a picture?” Liam asked with his eyes still closed and a smirk on his face.

Ivy turned to face the window in a swift motion. Her face was red, and her cheeks burned with embarrassment. 

She was saved by the car coming to a halt. The driver got out and opened the door. She alighted in a hurry as if staying any longer a second in the car would kill her. 

Liam came down after her and made his way into the restaurant with Ivy following behind him.

Ivy said a silent “wow” as she entered the building.

The aesthetic of the place gave a five-star rating. Everything was so shiny and bright.

A waiter walked up to them and directed them to a table.

“Welcome to Julian's lunch and brunch, what would you like to have?” the waiter asked politely 

“Give us a few minutes, we'll call for you when we've made our decision,” Liam responded.

The waiter smiled and left.

“What would you like to have? Liam asked as he picked up the menu to go through it.

Ivy picked up the menu as well, her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when she saw the price of just a cup of coffee.

“$ 75 for just a cup of coffee,” she mouthed. She went through the rest of the menu, everything was overpriced. She couldn't make a choice.

As if noticing her struggle, Liam asked, “Would you like me to order for you?”

“Yes, please,” Ivy replied

Liam signaled the waiter to come and told him their order.

In less than twenty minutes, their food arrived.

Ivy's stomach rumbled as the aroma of the different dishes wafted into her nose. She mouthed a thank you to the waiter, who smiled and nodded in return. 

“Help yourself,” Liam said 

Ivy closed her eyes and moaned with satisfaction as she put a spoonful of burrata salad in her mouth.

Her actions made Liam chuckle as he watched her,  abandoning his food. 

Ivy almost forgot Liam's presence as she tasted every dish on the table, and moaned every time a new flavor came in contact with her taste buds.

“No wonder they were so expensive, because they tasted this good,” she thought. She sighed in satisfaction and looked up to see Liam staring at her. 

She choked on her breath, “Had he been watching her all this while she had been munching down on everything like a glutton,” she thought loudly in her head.

He handed her a glass of water. She gulped it down, trying to stabilize her breath.

Ivy wished the floor would just open and swallow her at that moment to save her from the embarrassment.

“Did you enjoy your lunch? Liam asked