3

"Good, the kiss. Let's talk about it. Let's start from how you kissed me then tell me to forget it then kiss me again." Victoria spat out.

As much as Mr Smith would love to talk to her about it, he felt it was only going to create more misunderstanding which he didn't want.

"I won't be going back to what happened that night at the cabin." He said firmly.

Victoria scoffed. "Wow! What was I expe..." Mr Smith cuts her off.

"Listen to me first." He sighed.

"I kissed you that night because I wanted to. I wasn't drunk and I was in my right mind when I did it. I wanted to forget it and regret it but I couldn't so I'm owning up to it." His words left Victoria speechless as a lump formed in her throat.

She had not expected him to speak this way. She imagined them arguing back and forth but she realized she had imagined wrong when she knew of Mr Smith's personality.

"I didn't intend to hurt you in any way or look down on you. It wasn't in my intentions to make you look like a hoe. Not at all, in fact I look at you in high regards and that's not all. When I kissed you again today at the office, it was because I wanted to and also because I wanted to shut you off. You kept saying words that were not in my mind and words I never put in the same place as you."

Mr Smith waited for Victoria to say something now that he had said what was in his mind. Victoria felt stupid for deciding to start the day with an argument.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and then she exhaled deeply. "You say you kissed me because you wanted to? What do you mean by that? Is it that when you want to kiss someone, you go ahead and do it even if you don't like them?" She asked as her eyes locked with his.

"That's a very good question." He rubbed his palms together as he braced himself for a reply.

"I do not go around kissing just anyone. I'm sure you know much about me as you've always followed Smith technologies on every social media. I'm not one who chases after skirts and can't control himself whenever I see two pairs of legs, two boobs and big ass. I am a very private man. I don't go around kissing anyone and I do not just feel the urge to kiss anyone." He clarified.

"Okay then. Tell me, why did you kiss me?" She asked as she let out a deep sigh.

"I kissed you because I like you." His response had stopped her heart from beating as she froze on spot. She had not expected him to reply to her like that.

Finally when she was able to move, her heart began to beat rapidly, eliciting goosebumps on her skin.

"You like me?" She asked as she pointed an index finger at herself.

Mr Smith stretched his hands forward and grabbed her other hands that were on the table. She felt shivers down her spine from his touch. They made her skin feel warm.

"It's crazy Victoria. Whenever I think of it, I smile. It's funny how you were never on the list of anyone I would be with if u ever wanted someone. Everything about you was different and as I got to know you, I got amazed everyday. The way you talk and your attitude made me laugh even when they were not funny. I don't even know how to explain but that night at my cabin that I kissed you, I wanted to fight it but then I couldn't and did as my instincts told me to. I wanted to make it right that night but you became distant and pushed me off. I was hurt by your attitude and reaction. We were both involved in it and the next minute, you were acting so distant and cold. That's not all..." He tells her as she tries to interject.

She closed back her mouth giving him the chance to keep speaking.

"You left that night. You sneaked out and did you know how I felt when I discovered that the room was empty? I felt stupid and angry. Why did you leave that night?" He asked.

"I was terrified." She muttered.

"Terrified of what?" He questioned.

"Do you know how terrified I was? Do you know how it feels to be kissed by your boss? The man who you work for and he pays you? A lot of things went through my mind as I laid on the bed. I was confused and worried. You kissed me and I kissed you back and we didn't end there we also..." She trailed off as the scene of her grinding him made her cringe.

"You don't even want to know how I felt that day. What I felt while we kissed scared me and I knew then and there that I had to do what was best for me or I'd end up getting hurt." She explained.

"You say you were scared but your reaction showed otherwise. I was actually the one lost in thoughts and confused. I didn't know what to do. One minutes I was glad that it happened and then another minute I was asking myself why I did it and telling myself I shouldn't have done it. It didn't end there, you said to forget it ever happened and do you know how much pain I felt?" Mr Smith asked. All the while they were speaking to one another, their eyes bored each other.

"You said we should forget it, remember?" She referred to the day they were having dinner with Landon.

"You said that first and then you started avoiding me. I only did all of that because of you, your reaction to the kiss and most importantly because of Landon. I felt I have committed a big crime not against you but against Landon who is like a brother to me. I kissed the woman he told me he liked. Do you know how I felt? I wanted to go crazy. I knew from the onset he liked you and he made it clear that he was going to pursue and..." He let out a deep sigh.

Victoria had not noticed Landon fondness towards her. She thought they were friends and just as she saw him as a friend, he saw her that way too. Mr Smith's revelation shocked her. She didn't know all the while Landon took her out, he was trying to build more than friendship with her. She suddenly felt bad that she had not noticed and now that she knew, she felt bad for him as she doesn't see him that way and doesn't have any emotional feelings for him.

Thinking of it, her mind went back to when he had spoken rudely to her when he asked her about the man that made her worried and kept insisting. She mentally face palmed herself. She didn't notice anything and she was too dumb to have realised and so she thought she led Landon on which was why he had acted that way.

"I thought you felt the same for Landon because of how you had made me feel that night at the cabin and so I decided to let go and bless the both of you which was why when Landon told me that he wanted us to be cordial with one another and not as boss and employee, I agreed."

"You knew from the onset that you were going to have dinner with me, yet you came?" She asked him.

He nodded his head. "I knew. I came because Landon Insisted and I didn't want to hurt him." He tells her truthfully.

She sighed deeply. "Wow! Everything is just too much for me to handle. I never expected any of this." She voiced out. Having two friends like her was never part of the life she imagined but here she was, involved in one. She liked Mr Smith but now the fear of being with him at the expense of Landon's feelings feared her.

Thinking about feelings, she scolds herself for thinking Mr Smith would want anything to do with her. She thought he was just telling her all of this to clear the air between them as she didn't want to get her hopes up.

"You do not want to hurt him right? Then did you kiss me again?" Victor questioned sternly.

"Because I like you and I want you for myself." He confessed.

His honest reply had almost made Victoria lost her balance. He didn't try stuttering or rubbing the back of his neck nervously, he did tell how he felt about her without thinking twice.

She always felt there was no chance for the both of them but after hearing this, she couldn't control the emotions she felt.

"Even at the expense of your friends' feelings?" She asked.

"Because I like you and want you for myself doesn't mean I will force you into having a relationship with me. The final decision is in your hands and if it works out well, I will let him know. I consider Landon a brother and I know he would feel betrayed but..." He trailed off as he didn't want to talk about his thoughts about Landon's feelings for Victoria. He knew Landon and he could bet with money that Landon didn't have anything deep for Victoria. Landon could never be in a relationship for too long. He'd rather have a no string attached one than to have a relationship where he was really committed and not cheat on the lady.

"Well we shall see about that. You say you like me and you want me to be yours? To be honest I'm quite surprised by your confession." She tells him honestly as she had not expected their conversation to go this smooth.

"I remember telling you I am not one to lie and I hate liars." His words reminded her of her first day at work and how she had lied about the reason she came late to work.

"That's true. You do not lie. So now that we have cleared the air between us, what's next?" She asked him inquisitively while looking into his eyes.

"I want to properly court you." He tells her firmly, making her heart slip in the process. He wasn't even touching her or trying to seduce her but the way he spoke and how he acted was enough to wow her and make her fall more for him.

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She grabbed the glass of water and the table and down it at a go. She sighed, "I needed that." She tells him.

He was not faltering at all. He was just answering her questions honestly and it terrified and excited her. "You want to date me?" She asked as she pointed her Index finger at her.

"Yes." He tells her.

"You mean you really want to date me? I am stunned. Why me? What is it in me that makes you think I am the right one for you?" She asked inquisitively.

"It is because it's you. There is no mistake in this and I have thought about it a hundred times before finally taking this step." He tells her.

She licked her bottom lips.

"Don't do that." Mr Smith warned.

"Do what?" She asked cluelessly about what he was correcting her for.

"Don't lick and bite your lips in front of me. It's tempting and it makes me want to kiss you." He confessed, making her heart skip.

She had not expected him to be so blunt about it. "And you are doing it again." He tells her and she immediately puts her lips together firmly.

"Victoria Perkins, from now on, I will eventually join in the race to pursue your heart. For now let's eat."