14. Strictly Professional

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Amber's P.O.V.:

It's been two weeks that he's been acting like his old self. He has become more aloof and rude than he was before and honestly, I have learnt to live with it. Maybe that day he just had a mood swing like we girls have when we are PMSing.

But do men get mood swings?

Anyways, I have stopped trying to find out what has made him this way. I drew my own conclusion that maybe his grandma's condition has something to do with it. I even forgot about him asking me out. Well not exactly asking out, but putting it into his words, 'A boss taking out his employee for an outing'. I don't even know what does that suppose to mean. But, now I have decided to maintain a strictly professional relationship with him. I know I said the same thing the last time but this time I won't let my guards down. I will become tougher.

You can do this, Amber! Let's go!

I am in the taxi and and I am heading towards his mansion. Due to his grandmother's condition, he decided to work from home. So, he has been working from his mansion and me being his personal assistant, I am obliged to accompany him.

So, here I am standing in front of the huge wooden gate of his mansion to be opened by one of the house help. It has been this way for about two weeks now. At first it was uncomfortable and awkward working from his mansion but now I have become habituated to it. And the fact that during this period I have grown closer to his step mom, Hee Young has helped a lot in adjusting in this new environment.

She's a sweetheart. She is really kind and warm and treats me like a friend and a family. She never makes me feel like an outsider. It feels like she treats me as her best friend. She once told me that she is a very shy person and since she came from a middle class home, she could never really mingle with the high class females who always talked about jwelleries, designer clothes and stuffs. I remind her of her young days. We could really relate to each other. The only best thing that has happened since I have started working from his mansion is her. It really means a lot. It is really hard to find an extremely rich person who is so kind and down to earth. We hang out during my lunch breaks. Since, we are working from home, Chris has increased my lunch break from half an hour to an hour so that he could get enough time with his grandma. It gave me and his step mom the opportunity to sometimes go out to eat. I also got the chance to meet his dad, Mr. Stavros Collins. He is a gentleman and is really humble. He doesn't have any arrogance and anger issues or mood swings like his son. I also got the chance to learn few of the business tactics from him. I can totally see where did Chris get his fantastic business skills from. It's in his genes. 

Talking about his grandma, she is still on a bed rest so she rarely comes out of her bedroom. Though, I have visited her once or twice with his step-mom but that's that. She seems really weak and didn't speak much. But, fortunately, she is getting back to her healthy self. Within few days she will be able to walk and talk like old times. Ryan also comes often to check her. 

Also, I forgot to mention that Ryan asked Jade to be his cook. Jade didn't accept the offer at first because she didn't know him much but when I explained that he seems to be a good person and also she would need money to pay back her debt, she agreed. So, now she is Ryan's full time cook and stays in his apartment. She was hesitant in staying with him in his apartment but apparently his little sister will be staying with them because her high school is closer to his apartment. 

Finally, the door was opened and I entered into his insanely huge mansion. I was frightened as hell when for the first time I came here. It was really intimidating and I was afraid to touch anything because I was scared that I might break or ruin those insanely expensive looking things. I am still intimidated but like I said, I have grown habituated to all these things.

"Ms. Milburn, Mr. Collins is waiting for you in his office." Christen, one of the house help informed me. I nodded my head and smiled at her, She is very sweet and has always been kind to me.

I walked up the stairs towards his home office. It is one of the biggest rooms in the mansion and looks similar to his office back at the company. I have grown to know a lot of things about him during past few days. He is a perfectionist, has an extreme level of O.C.D. and he is very particular about everything. For instance, if he wants coffee with no sugar then it means no sugar at all. If he finds even a little bit of sugar in his coffee then the person who dared to make that coffee is either fired or is humiliated to bits. And no one dares to speak against him in the house. Not even his family members. If he has taken any decision then the whole mansion is obliged to respect his decision. Though he loves his family more than anything but even they are not allowed to interfere in his decisions. He also respects his step mom and thinks highly of her but he never calls her 'mom'. He addresses her by her last name. She doesn't have any problem with that though because she says that it's difficult for him to call anyone 'mom'. I didn't dig much into the matter. He has already made it clear to stay out of his personal life. So, I never tried to much about him or his personal life. I know my limits now. 

Luckily, I am obedient enough to do as told. I never dared to oppose him or go against his orders. I really don't want any negative remarks on my resume. I have worked really hard to get straight As and excellent GPAs. I would not let anything ruin it. 

Also, he never apologized to me for being an asshole to me that day but it doesn't matter anymore. Honestly, it was my fault. I was dumb to come and visit him. I should have restraint myself from coming here that day. I should have known that we could be nothing more than just a boss and an intern. But it doesn't mean that I am not angry at him. I am really furious at him not because he yelled at me that day but because he gave me false hopes that day and many times before that day. I am furious at him because he tried to play with my feelings. I was dumb to not react when he used to come close to me and kiss me, but now, I will never allow him to kiss me again. I will forget about professionalism if he ever tries to kiss me again. I am done with him and his mood swings. 

I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts and took a deep breathe to calm myself down.

"Ms. Milburn, give me the file of Dames' company. It's in the cabinet on the right." Chris said as soon as I entered the office.

"Sure, sir!" I said as I went straight to the cabinet and took out the file.

"Here's the file." I said as I put the file in front of him on the table.

"Bring me my coffee." he ordered.

"Sure, sir." I said as I went to the coffee machine installed in the same room.

"Here's your coffee, sir." I said as I put the coffee mug on his table on the exact spot it is supposed to be put at. I stressed on the word 'Sir' after my every sentence. Professionalism you see!

See, it's so easy to be strictly professional.

Good going, Amber! I internally patted on my shoulder.

It feels good to have no complicated emotions. I have learnt it now. I have understood that Chris is never gonna have any sort of feelings for me so it's logical to not have hopes at all. It's better to draw a line in between us before I get my heart broken.

A heart break is the last thing I need in my life right now.

"Ms. Milburn, get me the list of all the past projects of Dames'." he said whilst going through the company's file.

"Right away, sir!" I said as I started working on my laptop to get the list he asked for.

"Here's the list." I handed him the list after about 20 minutes.

Now you know how our life's been going past few days. I guess, it's better this way.

I didn't even know how the time went by and it was the lunch break already. He went to meet his grandma whereas I decided to go and visit his step-mom in the garden. She texted me to join her for a cup of tea in the garden. She is a huge fan of teas, be it any sort. And she enjoys having tea even more when there's someone to give her a company. Chris' father is mostly out for business purposes so she rarely gets time to spend with him but whenever he's home, he makes sure to give her enough time.

"Oh, dear, you're here. Come and join me for a cup of tea. You will love today's flavor. This is my favorite one." she said excitedly, as she poured me a cup of tea.

We sat on the wooden chair and enjoyed the tea and talked about random stuffs.

She shared about the days when she was of my age and also shared how she met and got married to Chris' father.

"I was Chris' mathematics teacher in his primary school. As far as I remember, he has always been a very aloof kind of boy. He didn't like talking much to anyone. He only had one friend, Ryan Williams. You might know him as well." she said looking at me.

I nodded my head.

"One day, Chris' grandma came to pick him from the school and saw me with him. He was having a high fever that day and I didn't want to leave him alone in the clinic so I decided to stay with him until someone came to pick him up. His grandma saw me taking care of him. We talked for sometime. After few days, I got a call from her. She called me to have a tea with her and during having tea, she asked me to marry Chris' father, Stavros. Chris' parents were divorced. So, she wanted me to marry her son because she thought I would be able to help her son and grandson to get over Chris' mother. I hesitated but when I saw that Chris really needed a mother to take care of him, I accepted and got married to his father. With time, I was able to help his father move on from his ex-wife but I couldn't help Chris in this matter. He never forgot about his mother." she said remembering the old times.

"Mr. Collins must really love his mother that's why it's difficult for him to move on from her." I said.

"No. He actually hates her to bits." she said, sadly.

"Hates his own mother? But why?" I asked. Before she could reply, I received a text from Chris to come to the office. We were talking for so long that I didn't even realize when the lunch time got over.

I excused myself and continued my work in the office. Chris was busy working on his laptop. He looked really focused when he was working. He is really passionate about his work. I have got to learn a lot of things from him in the past few days. He is really a good businessman. He knows not only how to handle his clients but he also takes care about their wants, needs and satisfaction. He says, we should always put our customers on the top of everything. If they are happy then our company will be happy. He also knows how to deal with his competitors. He believes in healthy competition. One day, I remember, when one of the employees of his biggest competitor's company came to him to trade it's biggest secrets with him in exchange of few million dollars, Chris immediately called the police and his competitor's company and got the man arrested. He hates when someone tries to cheat. Though he is a pain in the ass but when it comes to professionalism, he is worth idolizing. 

******

"Sir, is there anything I need to do before I go?" I asked as I stood in front of him.

He looked up from his laptop and then at the clock hung on the wall. He didn't seem to realize that the working hours were over. He seemed to be in a deep thought.

"Yes, you can go." he said after a long silence. Though I could sense that it wasn't what he wanted to say. He seemed to have been wanting to say something else. 

"Thank you." I said as I started packing my stuffs in my hand bag.

I was about to leave when he spoke again.

"Ms. Milburn, you can take a day off tomorrow. You don't need to come tomorrow. I have some work tomorrow." he said, without looking at me.

"Okay, sir!" I said and exited from the room.

I also needed a small break from the work. It has been a very hectic couple of weeks. I can use tomorrow to pamper myself. 

Third Person's P.O.V.:

Chris saw as Amber walked to the door and exited. 

He wanted to apologize to her for his bad behavior that day. He wanted to tell her why he behaved the way he did that day. He knew that she came to his mansion that day with pure intentions but he had to push her away from him. He could no longer afford to be with her. He wanted to tell her the truth but no words seem to come out from his mouth. He has never been good at expressing his feelings and showing emotions to others. Like every other day, he closed his eyes in frustration and took deep breathes to calm himself. 


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