She opened her mouth in surprise and before she could say anything the secretary spoke up, "I'm sorry sir, she just barged in before I could stop her." The secretary explained apologetically.
The man dismissed his secretary with a wave of his hands before fixing his gaze on Kathleen in a manner that suggested he was amused.
She looked at him in confusion, wasn't the boss supposed to be an elderly man in his late sixties? "Ehmm..." she cleared her throat nervously and decided to try again. This wasn't the time to be wondering why the man in front of her looked so young and gorgeous. Desperate times called for desperate measures! She reminded herself before raising her head to look at him again.
"Yeah?" Pete asked curiously.
Kathleen swallowed nervously, "You're..."
"Oh! I'm Pete Howells, your new boss." Pete said knowing she wasn't sure who he was.
New boss? "Oh! Okay. I'm sorry I arrived late for the presentation. Please I need another chance to show you what I prepared. I promise you're going to love it." she finished with a polite bow.
Pete's lips twitched in amusement even as he tried to maintain his cool. He could tell she was feeling very nervous not just because he was her boss but also because of his handsome looks. His junior staff hardly ever had any reason to meet with him personally since he assumed the office of CEO, so he knew that had to be the reason she looked so stunned. He always had that effect on females of all ages, he was just in his early thirties and damn handsome! He was hot and he knew it.
"What is your name?" he asked with a dimpled grin, wanting to mess with her stability some more.
"Oh, I'm Kathleen. Sorry, I meant Miss Kathleen Okorie." She said not meeting his eyes, he smiled again but said nothing.
"Uhm.. So about the presen..." Before she could continue he cut her off.
"It was postponed. I asked my secretary to pass the message across to everyone. Weren't you informed?" He asked with a cocked brow.
"Oh! Really? Jeez! Thank goodness. That is such a relief. Thank you sir." she said smiling happily as she finally let out the breath she had been holding. She had been so tensed thinking her village people were after her, but it was obviously not them.
Pete cleared his throat, it was time to sound formal. "You can leave now. I'll forgive you for barging into my office this once, I hope you don't try it next time." He said and returned his attention to the window without waiting for her response.
"I'm sorry sir. And thank you." She said politely and turned to leave when the door was suddenly pushed open and a pretty young girl walked into the office.
"Mummy!" The little girl exclaimed as she hugged Kathleen who stood very still as she wondered what was going on.
"Amanda stop that this moment!" Pete ordered in a stern tone and quickly turned around to apologize to Kathleen, but before he could do that Kathleen bolted out of the office.
"Amanda why did you do that?" He asked his little daughter who had a mischievous grin on her face, but she said nothing. She walked over to his office chair and sat on it.
He could vaguely guess what she was trying to do, since she had never ceased to express her desire for a mother in every way possible since they returned from the states. But there was no way he could do that. He couldn't give her a mother yet. He needed to invest his time in the company his father had just unofficially passed on to him.
"You realize you just embarrassed the lady and will have to apologise to her, right?" Pete asked Amanda who was playing with his pen.
"Yes Daddy." Amanda said with a small smile. She didn't mind apologizing if that meant they had to meet the pretty lady again.