Dedicating this chapter to missybadfit for the cute cover on the side. :) Thank you! :)

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CHAPTER - 2

LOVE IS... EMBARRASSING

"Things aren't often what they appear to be at first blush. But embarrassment is.
" 

― Jarod Kintz, A Zebra is the Piano of the Animal Kingdom

"No way!"

"Yes way," I mumbled, taking a sip of my coffee that tasted absolutely tasteless now.

"You're going to meet Ashton Parker?" Steph asked with wide eyes, completely forgetting about the coffee that was placed on her side of the table. I nodded my head in reply and she shook her head as if she wanted to clear it from any confusions. "The infamous Ashton Parker?" Again, I nodded my head and her eyes only widened more. "The very hot, sexy and good for nothing Ashton Parker?" Her voice was way too excited for my liking.

This time, I shook my head and told her, "No." She looked at me with all the excitement from before gone from her face and replaced by confusion. I gave her the most serious look and said, "I'm talking about the janitor in the next building. His name is Ashton Parker."

She let the understanding dawn upon her and as she was about to nod her head in understanding, laughter escaped my lips. "I hate you," she grumbled slightly under her breath and looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"Why? Really? I take that as a compliment." I grinned while taking a sip of my warm coffee as my mind, happily, drifted from the dreadful topic in hand - Ashton Parker.

"Anyways," she said, stressing on the word as she bent towards me with her excited expressions all over again. "You're going to meet Ashton Parker. The Ashton Parker!" She fanned her face as a very delighted and dreamy expression took over her features.

My shoulders slumped as she reminded me of my misery, and I whined, "What am I going to do?"

She straightened her posture and looked at me as if I was dumb. "It's simple." I raised my eyebrows at her and she continued with a sly smirk on her face, "Meet him, kiss him and sleep with him."

Nothing about what Steph had said just now was surprising for me, that's why I rolled my eyes at her suggestions and played along as I took another sip of my coffee. "Okay. That would be for day one. What am I supposed to do on the remaining nineteen days?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, not getting my sarcasm and I took this time to be one of those peace and coffee loving girls, as I simply tried to devour in the taste of this brown heavenly liquid. Currently, I preferred the quieter version of Stephanie Wills because so much was already racing in my mind and I had no clue as to what I was going to do in these twenty days.

"You know what," I started, after a moment of silence, making Steph break away from her thoughts on the question I had asked her. "I think it's actually good that Priscilla gave me this task."

"How?" Steph asked with raised eyebrows as she herself took a sip of the coffee that she had ordered and forgot about because of a certain Mr. Parker.

"This is going to be my last article for this column and if I write it badly, which I'm very sure how it would turn out to be, my readers would love a replacement of me and that's what they are going to get." I smirked triumphantly as I thought about the only positive thing that could occur in this whole ordeal.

She scoffed and replied, "No matter how much you try, you can never write a bad article."

I smiled genuinely at my best friend and said, "But, this time I've no other option."

"Oh, missy... you so have a very good option." She was back to her excited self.

I raised my hand in a gesture to stop her from talking any further and she got the clue. "Options other than meeting him, kissing him and sleeping with him?" I asked with least curiosity.

She giggled as she nodded sheepishly and said, "Yes." I nodded, gesturing her to go on. "Your other option is to make him fall in love with a girl.

Rolling my eyes at her, I mumbled sarcastically, "And that is the solution to all my problems." She was about to something again, but I interrupted her by asking, "How in the world am I going to make someone believe in sh*t?"

"Your articles have done that a lot," she answered her unwelcomed answer.

Ignoring her, I continued, "I hate, hate love, Steph. Don't you know that? Why did Priscilla have to be so cruel and give this impossible task to me?" I was frustrated, and I was trying my best to not take out my frustration on her, but apparently, I was failing.

She sighed and her shoulders slumped down a little, but then she opened her mouth. "Look Lia, I know you 'hate' love and yes, I don't know why Priscilla gave you such a task for this month's article. But, all you need to do is stop hating love for merely the next twenty days and bring back the old 'Liana' who was so madly in love once and who could write a bible on love."

'It's not easy,' I wanted to tell her I wanted to tell her as her words registered in my head along with a lot of pain; pain of being madly in love once.

I tightly shut my eyes and tried to set aside or somehow vanish the pain as I took a deep breath. It took me hardly two seconds as I was very used to do this in the last four months. Smiling at my best friends when I opened my eyes, I said, "I guess, it won't be that difficult." It was true. I mean, C'mon, I could pretend to be a very true believer in love as I was the writer of the famous 'The Love Column'. My mind wandered to the various ideas that I could use for this plan and I smiled in satisfaction. "All I've to do is make him met some gorgeous girls and let them chat." I looked back at Steph who was looking at me with a genuine smile on her face and I said, "It's going to be easy. I'd be a nice cupid. Don't you think?"

She readily nodded her head and grinned at me, seemingly happy with my new found self confidence. "Only if you keep that sarcasm of yours at a bay," she muttered under her breath.

Slight laughter left my lips and I smiled at her. "I'll try."

She let out a good laughter and eyed my face like a man watching his prey. "You're going to be one hot cupid." Hearty laughter escaped my lips as she said this and she continued, "And, your devil is just so much hotter." She sighed dreamily.

My laughter died when my mind drifted back the 'devil' and I added my input, "And an arrogant pervert."

She chuckled and shook her head at me. "A hot, arrogant pervert."

Ha! As if adding 'hot' to the sentence could do anything good for my mood.

Nope. Nada. Nothing at all.

He could be as hot as lava, I was going to complete my task and be his cupid.

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My fondness for the warm heavenly brown liquid that is proudly served in a cup and is fondly known as 'Coffee' goes back to my high school days when I used to study till late night; or whenever I needed some warmth in those winter nights and needed something to warm up my hands. My only companion in those long nights used to be the very liquid I'm talking about - Coffee.

To put it short, I was a Caffeine addict and I knew that it was not something to be proud of, but I didn't care.

That was the only reason that I chose to spend another ten minutes with a new cup of coffee in my hand and highly confused thoughts in my head after Steph took leave from our office cafeteria.

What was I going to do? How was I going to fulfill this task and make someone believe in love? How could Priscilla even come up with something so impractical and impossible? I was a writer, not some stupid cupid or damn matchmaker.

Add to that, I had to deal with the infamous Ashton Parker. As if, dealing with a sour break up and the pain of heartbreak since last four months was not enough.

A bit more and highly important addition to all my miseries were the various rumors that keep spreading through the corridors of this building and every street of this nation; the rumors that were solely related to none other than Ashton Parker.

"He has a huge snake at his apartment. It's so dangerous. But, then it's Ashton parker we are talking about. What else can we expect?" A voice reached my ears and my head snapped towards the girls sitting at the table beside me. The girl who had said this was saying as if it was nothing and she flicked her hair behind her ear, while the other three girls who were listening to her and the fourth one, being me, were looking at her with eyes as wide as saucers and complete horror was etched on our faces.

Snake?

I was shit scared of snakes.

"He must have kept it as a pet after he came back from rehab last month," her friend added thoughtfully and this just added to my already terrorized mood.

I just squirmed deep inside my seat, with my warm cup of coffee long forgotten.

"He went to the rehab? For what?" One of the other two asked looking shocked at the newly gained information. But, of course, she was not as shocked as I was; thanks to the new practical task I was assigned.

The girl who had given information about the presence of a snake in his apartment decided to answer her friend's question, "Of course, he was in a rehab for a few weeks as he was caught with loads of drugs and he was driving in a drunken state, so he almost killed a few people."

I squirmed deeper.

Never had I ever believed in any of such rumors that had been travelling around me, hell, I was the favorite topic of these gossip mongers merely four months back. The rumors that had shocked me at first, but then, I had become too accustomed and prone to them that they didn't matter at all.

But this time was different... very different.

I couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation. I couldn't help but think that what if even one of the hundreds of the things that I've heard about Ashton Parker in the last one year was true, what the hell was I supposed to do?

Not only I had to meet my boss's son, who was known as a huge player and highly notorious, but also a probable drug addict who had just came out of a rehab after he almost killed a few people after getting very drunk. The fact that he could have a snake at his apartment just added to my terror; the terror that made me stand up from my seat with trembling hands and legs.

What if any of these things was true? What if...

I was so lost in my horrifying thoughts and the possibilities of a dreadful meeting that I didn't notice the person who was merely two steps away from my seat and my sudden movement of getting up, made me collide with him.

"Oh... damn!" he cursed.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized as I stared at the now broken cup of my favorite liquid on the floor of the cafeteria. Feeling the slight wetness on my waist, my eyes snapped towards my coat and I noticed that it was all soaked in coffee. "Crap!" A curse escaped my own lips as I saw the stain and felt the wetness on my waist.

"Liana!" the person exclaimed in a rather pleased voice, making me look up from my wet coat to the face of the person I had collided with. My green eyes landed on very sharp blue eyes, which were looking down at me with a very happy expression in them.

"Dylan," I whispered the name of the person I had collided with; the person who was the elder son of my boss; the person on whom I had a tiny crush on since the day I had joined this company; the person who was a huge flirt and a player just like his brother was.

"Liana," he whispered back, looking intently into my green eyes and taking a slight step towards me.

My eyes widened slightly as I knew what he was trying to do, again. "Stop with the flirting already," I told him with a roll of my eyes.

He let out a hearty chuckle and said, "I can't help it when I'm around a woman as beautiful as you."

"Isn't that a pretty old one?" I asked with mock curiosity.

He raised his eyebrows in thoughtfulness and said, "Is it? Why don't you collide with me again?" Laughter escaped my lips at his comeback and he joined me in it. Dylan Parker was one fine man. At twenty nine years of age, he was already a big name in not only the press media but Parker's other ventures as well. He was making his parents proud. Everything about him was a tad too perfect, other than the fact that he was a flirt and he had flirted with me at every opportunity he had gotten in the last eleven months. Of course, I had fallen for his charms when I had joined here and I had developed a huge crush on him despite of being in a very serious relationship at that time. Having a crush on an attractive male when you're in a relationship is perfectly fine. In fact, my boyfriend knew about it and we used to have a good laugh about it too.

Crushes were normal; they were not a big deal. Whereas, cheating was, infidelity definitely was.

We recovered from the slight laughter mode, and he looked down from his six feet one inch frame to me at my five feet seven inches frame. There was always a glint in his eyes that made me feel comfortable around him. He stared at me for a while and unconsciously, my hand went to my wet coat that was clinging to my cotton shirt. His eyes flicked to it and he looked a bit apologetic as he said, "I'm sorry for that."

Shooting him a smile in return, I told him, "It's okay."

"I can get you a new one." He offered seriously and I raised my eyebrows at him in disbelief.

"I can get myself a new one too," I told him and smiled politely.

He grinned at me with something in his eyes and as if remembering something, he said with wide eyes, "You're going to meet my brother, Ashton." It was a statement and not a question. Just this one sentence was enough to bring back my horrified mood and, probably, my panic was clear in my eyes as he himself looked a bit alarmed and mumbled, "Oh yes, you are."

I bit my lips in nervousness and panic and asked him, "Any tips?"

He nodded his head with tightly closed lips and I raised my eyebrows in a questioning manner. He motioned me to come closer and I complied. I felt his breath over my ear and he whispered, "Brace yourself for the worst." That made me shiver, not the closeness or his voice but what he had said.

He stepped back and looked at me with lightly closed lips and a pity look in his eyes.

While all I could do was stare at him with wide eyes filled with terror and think, 'I'm so dead.'

*****

Staring at the address Priscilla had texted me, I lifted my eyes to look at the apartment building in front of me. Yes, I was in front of the right building. Without wasting any more time, I pressed the bell for apartment number twenty. I waited patiently for Mr. Ashton Parker to answer from the other end and open the door, but it was a prolonged wait that made me press the bell five times in five minutes.

I was a patient person... sometimes.

Mt patient worn off when he didn't answer the sixth time as well and I started pressing the bell continuously while cursing a few good words for him. Mind it, my curse words were limited to 'jerk, idiot, stupid, moron and the likes'. And he took that very opportunity to answer, finally. "What the f*ck?" The devil sounded damn pissed as his strong but groggy voice reached my ears.

Just his voice was enough to throw all my irritation out of the New York City and make me feel nervous and scared again. "H... hi. I... I'm.." I stuttered; I stuttered so terribly that even before I could complete my sentence and, thereby, introduce myself, he shut the speaker off.

My eyes widened in utter embarrassment and all I could do was stare at the apartment gate in sheer confusion. Suddenly, there was a sound indicating that the doors were opened. The jerk had decided to let me enter even without knowing who I was. Was he insane?

I started taking wary steps inside the building that was starting to creep me out now. No, it wasn't any downtown or dangerous building; it was just fine... okay. But, I was scared of what was coming next. I was scared of meeting Ashton Parker.

What was surprising was the fact that he chose to live here in a mediocre surrounding; a place that was hardly fifteen minutes walking distance from my own apartment, and not at some condo like his parents or his brother. They were terribly loaded.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, but were just five minutes, I reached in front of his apartment door that was on the second floor of the building. Of course, I had preferred stairs rather than the elevator. This was my way of delaying the meeting for as long as possible. I could have walked all the way from my office to here, but an hour walk was not preferred by me. I needed time to console myself and rant in my head the only mantra I could think of, 'Everything's going to be alright. Make the devil fall in love with an angel.' No matter, how stupid it was, I didn't think the same. For me, it was life and morale saving.

With my wet coat hanging on my left arm along with my purse, and the same mantra that I kept chanting in my head, I gathered all the courage and raised my hand to ring the bell. But, before my finger could make contact with the bell, the door swung open, making me step back in surprise.

The first thing I noticed about the person was his broad shoulders and chest that was covered in a dark grey T-shirt; the T-shirt that was doing nothing in hiding the person's incredible built. He was tall; taller than Dylan by probably an inch. My eyes made their way to his face that was covered in beard and mustache. It looked like he hadn't shaved in about three months. He really needed that. It was almost lunch time and he looked like he had just woken up. But, what captivated my attention was his gorgeous grey eyes; eyes that widened just slightly as he looked at me; eyes that were looking at me from head to toe shamelessly; eyes that were making me blush in complete embarrassment.

He took his complete time in checking me out and I stopped myself from running from this place or better, slapping some sense into him. But, I did neither of these. I decided to go with the third option that required me to start a conversation. Just as I opened my mouth to stop him from checking me out, he interrupted me.

"I need to put a board on my door saying, 'Bears are not allowed inside'." He stared towards my hands in a disgusting manner and then into my eyes, making my cheeks flush dark red in complete embarrassment. And, even before I could say anything else, he stepped back and shut the door in my face.

While I could think as I stared at the closed door in front of my eyes was, 'What. Just. Happened?'

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A/N

No! No need to go on a feminist rant over hair removal and all. I so don't want to hear any of it. Take this story lightly  as it is made for the purpose of enjoyment only. And the world where I live, we definitely get body hair removed & as much as I know, many men actually don't like hair on woman's body. I guess, I have become quite fed up feminist rants. So... yeah... whatever! :D

LOL...how was it?? Was this kind of meeting expected? We met both the brothers in this chapter :D

Tell me, whether you like it or