Hate at First Sight

by Diana Nixon

  “Well, I would have probably been able to enjoy it, if it wasn’t for you and Megan running away, hiding and scaring the hell out of me!”

  “I’m sorry, Owen. It wasn’t supposed to be like that.”

  “Exactly! I told you to be good to my sister, and now….”

  “Slow down, man. Okay? It’s not my fault that your sister and I … well, I didn’t do anything to upset her.”

  There was a short pause, and then Owen said, “I guess you haven’t talked to her after the wedding, have you?”

  I didn’t answer.

  “Don’t you think it would be better if you at least tried to discuss whatever happened between you two?”

  “Bad idea.”

  “Well, I hope everything is going to be fine. With or without you two talking to each other.”

  “Don’t think about it too much, Owen. Enjoy the sun and the company of your beautiful wife. And let time do its magical job, and clean up the mess we’ve made.”

  “I will follow your advice, but if you need someone to talk to, you can always call me.”

  “I know. Thanks, man. Have a good time in Hawaii.”

  I hung up the phone and got back to the papers I needed to read. I had already had enough pointless talks for one day.

  The week passed in a blur: home, work, home; a glass of whiskey here and there, and a few boring parties that I had to attend, being a part of what people called a swell society. Every time I saw another beautiful girl staring at me, I left. I didn’t need any more drama in my life. Sex had never been a problem, but right now I felt like I didn’t need even that.

  Something was obviously wrong with me. I couldn’t imagine anyone but Megan to make love to. And she wasn’t with me, and I still couldn’t move on and forgive her for the damn kiss. Even for me I looked like a lost puppy, and it sucked….

  Chapter 23

  Megan

  Today was one of the most important days of my life. My boss had gone to New York, and I had to prepare a presentation of her financial report for the meeting of the O’Brian’s founders. And I was as nervous as never before. My palms were sweating, and I couldn’t remember the names of the founders. I didn’t want to look unprofessional, so I had to get a damn grip on myself and show the best of my financial expert talents.

  “How are things with the report going?” Josh was standing at the door. His encouraging tone and smile didn’t help a thing.

  “This is going to be a disaster,” I said, frustrated.

  “Okay, let’s see what you have already done by now.” He came to my table and stood behind me. “Let’s watch the presentation.”

  I opened the file and crossed my fingers, waiting for Josh’s opinion. He was a smart guy, and one week working with him was more than enough to see it. He was always there for me if I had any questions, and I was sure he would never say anything just to seem polite; it wasn’t easy to win a compliment from him.

  “Great job, Megan. Really,” Josh said after a while. “I like the way you showed the differences between last year’s incomings and what we have managed to gain during six months of this year.”

  “Do you think they will like it?”

  “I’m sure they will. Don’t be a coward. You know what to do. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

  “I still can’t remember the founders’ names.”

  “You can make notes for yourself. I always do that.”

  “Don’t you think it will be embarrassing if I start looking through the notes to find the right name?”

  “I think it will be more embarrassing if you get their names wrong.”

  I looked at him hopefully. “I can do this, can’t I?”

  “Everything’s gonna be all right. Do you want me to go with you?”

  “Oh, no. Thanks, Josh. It’s my first serious assignment and I need to do it on my own.”

  “Okay.”

  “Wait … what can you say about the owner of the company?”

  “Mr. O’Brian? Well, he’s a very good man. Strict when it comes to his business, but really nice when it comes to his co-workers and personal communication. You will like him.”

  At least something good about the whole meeting thing, I thought to myself.

  A few hours later I was ready to face the founders of the company, and my presentation looked really good. I went to the boardroom to make sure that I hadn’t forgotten anything I needed. The printed reports were in their places, along with the bottles of water, notebooks and pens.

  Josh stopped by a few times to make sure that I was okay and didn’t need any tranquilizers or help. I needed both actually, but it was the worst time to admit it — the founders had already begun to take their places.

  Ten minutes later all the seats were taken, except for one. We were still waiting for Mr. O’Brian to join us.

  I looked at my watch. Of course the owners of the big companies had every right to be late, but I already didn’t like the way the meeting started.

  “I’m awfully sorry for being late, gentlemen and … lady.”

  I think my mouth hit the floor the moment I looked at the person standing at the threshold.

  “What a pleasant surprise, Miss Brawley,” Aiden said, taking his seat.

  My knees trembled. “Indeed,” I mumbled, trying not to lose my balance. What the hell was he doing here?

  Angry was not the right word to describe what I felt. I was furious. I was so freaking furious, I wanted to slap Aiden in the face and leave the room, not bothering about getting fired. I couldn’t stand breathing the same air with him; I hated him more than ever and I….

  “Who’s going to show us the reports?” Aiden asked.

  “Miss Brawley is our new financial expert,” the secretary said. “She has prepared a presentation.”

  “Great. Then why don’t we ask her to begin?”

  Now, he was going to talk to me through the secretary? Fine by me, asshole, I thought to myself, meeting his stare. The coldness of his eyes surprised me. As if it was me who left him a few hours after we spent a night in one bed.

  I took a few sips of water, smiled pleasantly at everyone, except for Mr. Impossible, and started my speech. It lasted no more than thirty minutes, but it felt like forever. I could feel Aiden’s gaze on me. And once or twice I forgot what to say next, because our eyes met. Thank God, he and I were the only people who noticed that, and the rest of the founders didn’t pay attention to anything but the diagrams and numbers on the screen.

  When my speech was over, I answered a few questions and was just about to leave, when Aiden stopped me.

  “You forgot to mention one very important thing, Miss Brawley.”

  “Did I?” I stopped right in front of him, waiting for whatever he was about to say next.

  “What about your own vision of the situation of the market? Do our products meet the requirements of our customers?”

  He really wanted to know my opinion?

  “I think that in general things are going well, but I think we need to create a greater variety of products. It will attract new customers, and the old ones will have a reason to come back to our shops.”

  “So you think our old list of products is not good enough to keep attracting new customers?” Aiden was obviously after something I was missing. “What about the quality of the technical support services we provide? Are they satisfactory?” I didn’t think the last question had anything to do with the agenda, but apparently the topic of satisfaction bothered Aiden a lot.

  “It’s hard to say, Mr. Murphy, as I didn’t have enough time to read the full list of the services you provide. Your company I mean.” Aiden smirked at my response, but no one else noticed the irony of our conversation.

  “Maybe if you spent more time studying the services that I, I mean our company provides, you would be able to see the true value of the things we do.”

  “Maybe,” I said, gathering my papers. “I promise to look through the list by the next time we meet. Ha
ve a good day, gentlemen.” I turned on my heels, and headed for the doors, feeling Aiden’s eyes on my back all the way there.

  The moment I left the boardroom, I rushed to my office breathing heavily. I was afraid I would faint, and I didn’t want anyone to see me like that. I was sure I looked like a person who had just seen a ghost.

  I closed the door behind me and took off my jacket, dropping it to the table. Then I went to the window and opened it, trying to catch my breath. Aiden had that weird effect on me, I felt like I was suffocating.

  I couldn’t believe it was actually him owning the company that I had been dying to get a job at for months. My thoughts were in a mess. I sat in a chair and hid my face in my hands.

  “This is not happening, this is not happening,” I muttered, feeling the wild beating of my heart. I hoped I wouldn’t have a heart attack.

  “Megan, are you there?” Josh called from behind the closed door. “Someone wants to see you.”

  Ugh, not now….

  “I’m coming,” I said, looking into the mirror. My appearance left much to be desired, but I hardly cared, as the only thing I wanted at the moment was to get away from the office as soon and as far away as possible. I wasn’t going to quit or anything, but I needed some time to get over the shock I felt the moment I saw Aiden.

  I put on my jacket and went into the hall.

  “Who wanted to see me?” I asked Josh.

  “Mr. O’Brian’s son. He said he liked your presentation and wanted to discuss a few more things with you.”

  “Can I ask you something? It might sound stupid, but … is Aiden Murphy Mr. O’Brian’s son?”

  “Yes.” Josh smiled. “No one knew he was coming to the meeting, but apparently his father couldn’t make it here today.”

  “Why do they have different names?”

  “As far as I know, Murphy is Aiden’s mother’s name.”

  “Oh, okay. So where is he?”

  “He’s still at the boardroom.”

  I nodded silently and went to face the devil.

  “Come in,” Aiden said, as I knocked.

  “You wanted to see me, Mr. Murphy?”

  “Yes, Miss Brawley. Please, take a seat,” he said without even looking at me.

  My pulse accelerated. If that was even possible, considering that I could barely control myself.

  “What did you want to talk about?” I asked, getting down to business. I didn’t feel like talking to him, but I didn’t want to lose my job either.

  Aiden’s eyes slowly moved across the lines of my jacket and blouse, and I felt like I was naked, because he obviously liked what he saw.

  “Black silk always looked good on you.”

  “Did you ask me to come here to discuss my outfit?”

  “It was one of the reasons,” he said, smiling at me. “I didn’t know you got a job in one of our companies.”

  “Neither did I.”

  “I’m sure you already regret working here.”

  “No. Why would I?” I crossed my arms in a defensive gesture. “Sleeping with the boss had always been a huge advantage when it came to getting a good job.”

  Aiden’s smile vanished. “I’m not your boss, Megan. And I’m not going to take your job away from you. So you shouldn’t be worried about pleasing me in order to keep your place.” The familiar sparkles flashed in his eyes. “Unless you want to do that just for fun.”

  That was enough. “Why don’t you go to hell, Aiden,” I said, rising to my feet.

  “Not so fast, Sweetheart,” he said, catching me by the hand. “I have a few more questions for you.”

  “If you are going to keep laughing at me, I’d better go and read the mentioned above list of the services your company provides.”

  “What about my own services that you used so willingly?” Aiden took a step forward, and I got trapped in between his body and the table behind me.

  “And here I thought you didn’t mind me using them.” I met his stare without hesitation. The situation was getting on my nerves, and I badly wanted our conversation to end.

  “You can’t even imagine how much I missed you, Megan.”

  And before I could stop him, Aiden put my arms behind me and kissed me on the lips.

  Chapter 24

  Aiden

  The kiss was nothing but a tempting exploration. I didn’t realize how much I actually wanted to taste those lips again. Nothing changed, I was still crazy about Megan. I kissed her hungrily, as if we hadn’t kissed for centuries and not just a week. But the most surprising thing was her reaction to my kiss. She didn’t even try to stop me. She responded to it, as if she still wanted the same things I did.

  I let her hands go and squeezed her hips lightly, enjoying the way our bodies reacted to each other. Where was my common sense at the moment? I had no idea….

  All I could think about now was Megan. And no matter how angry I was at her, right now and there I didn’t care. I wanted to be with her, and I knew that she wanted to be with me too.

  Suddenly she broke the kiss.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, breathing heavily.

  “Have you lost your mind, Aiden?” She stepped aside, readjusting her jacket and skirt. God, they looked so sexy, outlining every curve of her body that I was dying to touch.

  “You didn’t seem to mind kissing me a few seconds ago.”

  “Exactly! It took me too long to realize what was going on!”

  Ouch….

  “Stop fooling yourself, Megs. We both liked it.”

  “Don’t you dare to touch me, Aiden. Ever again,” she hissed, looking at me angrily.

  “As you wish, Dear. But if you ever change your mind, call me. Maybe I will be able to find some time for you.”

  “In your dreams!” she snapped, before she left, shutting the door behind her.

  And here I thought that my life couldn’t get any worse.

  “Serves you right, idiot,” I muttered to myself.

  Why on earth couldn’t I leave without seeing her? I didn’t have any questions. All I wanted was to see her one last time. And I wasn’t going to kiss her, but apparently I couldn’t help myself. She had some power that I couldn’t resist, and she knew it.

  The moment I entered the boardroom and saw her, standing near the table in that black suit of hers, and heels that reminded me of the night we spent together, I could barely concentrate on anything, but her lips and her voice that were slowly taking me into the vortex of the dreams that had been haunting me for nights; with her and me, making love, again and again. I thought the meeting would never end. The list of questions seemed endless, and even though I could barely hear what those questions were about, I could see how well Megan managed to answer all of them. She knew what she was doing, and I liked it. Beautiful, smart and sexy….

  “Mr. Murphy, I’m sorry for bothering you,” the secretary said. “But I would like to know if you are going to stay for tonight’s cocktail party?”

  “What’s the occasion?”

  “It’s a traditional thing here. Every time new people join our team, we arrange a party for them. And there are a few new employees we haven’t welcomed properly yet.”

  “Oh …” So that meant Megan would be there too. “Sure, count on me. Where is the party taking place?”

  “Downstairs, in the café.”

  “Okay, thanks for the invitation.”

  “It will be our pleasure to see you there, Sir. Your father never misses our parties.”

  Yeah, my father always cared about his employees. Everyone knew that if he or she had any questions or problems, they would be answered and solved in no time.

  I wasn’t going to stay in London for that long, but my plans changed, and I needed to call to Bristol to ask Shelli to take care about the appointments that I was going to miss. I didn’t tell her about the date of my return, because I didn’t know how long it would take me to get the answers to the questions that I couldn’t let go. Owen was right, Megan and I needed
to talk.

  The greeting party started at about six, and I immediately became the center of everyone’s attention. Not that I was thrilled about everything going on around me, but I couldn’t let my dad down, and I needed to impress the audience. So I thought it would be great to start with a short speech. I took the microphone and turned to the guests, my eyes immediately found Megan’s. She was standing right in front of me, with that mysterious smile I never knew how to decipher. She took a sip of her champagne, her eyes never left mine.

  I cleared my throat and looked back at her, saying, “First of all I’d like to welcome the new members of our team. I’m sure everyone of you is special and worth being here. I hope you will enjoy every day of your work, and if you ever have any questions or complaints, don’t hesitate to contact me.”

  Even from a distance I could see Megan’s smirk. Well, my last words were mostly addressed to her, and she knew it. She shook her head slightly, emptied her glass and headed for the exit. I thanked everyone for their attention and ran after her. The party wasn’t supposed to end so soon.

  “Already leaving?” I asked, closing the door of her office. She didn’t look like she was surprised to see me there. Did she know I would follow her upstairs?

  She put some documents into her bag, closed her laptop and looked up at me. “Yes. It was a long day, and I need to get some rest before tomorrow.”

  “How about a drink?”

  “I already had one, Aiden. And I’m too tired to go anywhere, but home.”

  “What if I give you a lift?”

  She crossed her arms and stared at me. “Do you really think I will say yes?

  “Um … yes?”

  “Huh, and I thought you were so much smarter than that.” She took her bag and was just about to leave the office, when I caught her by the hand.

  “You are running away, again. May I ask why you keep doing that?”

  “Doing what, Aiden?” Her eyes flashed angrily, as she turned to face me. “Don’t you think it’s rather late for drinks and friendly talks?”

  “Actually I think it’s about time to talk.”