Chapter 5 Like A Ray Of Sunshine

"Sir!" The girl's loud exclamation was enough to pull Wilson out of his trance.

He'd thought that the woman would pretend to refuse him the way all women did with a shy smile and in a coy manner. And like most women he'd met, she'd play hard to get. Wilson had become convinced that all women he met would play that kind of trick on him. It didn't matter whether they knew him or not. Even after they'd refused him, he never had to wait long until those same women were throwing themselves at him.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm really sorry... "

the girl said as she patted the soil off his clothes with one hand. In the other she held the flowerpot. He hadn't even noticed the soil on his clothes until now. It must have spilled on him when he'd grabbed her out of the way of the car. Judging by how damp the soil was, the orchid must have been newly planted. The girl's efforts of trying to rid him of the soil were futile. The only thing she was succeeding in doing was leaving smudges all over his expensive suit.

As hard as it was for Wilson to believe, this girl seemed to have no ulterior motives for what she was doing. There was no indication that she was one of those women who liked to play games. She gave him an apologetic smile and then lowered her head in embarrassment when she saw the soil marks on his suit. She raised her hand as though she were going to try again, but then she lowered her arm to her side when she decided against it.

"Sir, I'm sorry..." She nibbled on her bottom lip. This had been a total accident. He'd saved her, and all she'd done was smear his suit with mud.

Wilson chuckled good-naturedly when he saw how she was acting. "What are we going to do about this situation?" he said mischievously as he raised his eyebrows. "I saved you, and in return you messed up my suit. Do you know how expensive this material is?"

The girl slowly raised her head to look at him. Her long lashes hooded clear, dark eyes full of guilt. Of course she knew how expensive his shirt was! That was why she was so nervous for what came next. She'd tried to help him get rid of the soil but had only ended up making it worse.

The least she could do was offer to take his dirty shirt, clean it, iron it and return it to him.

She set the orchid pot down and held out her hands to him, offering to help him out of his dirty clothing. The moment her fingers touched him, she realized just how inappropriate her action was. The two of them were strangers, and here she was, offering to remove his shirt!

A wide smile spread over Wilson's lips. He couldn't help it. There was something so bashful about the girl's hesitant movements that he just had to smile. He barely managed to keep that condescending look on his face and prevent himself from laughing.

The girl stared at him for a while, nibbling on her bottom lip in thought. Then she picked up the orchid pot and handed it to Wilson. "Sir," she said in a soft, melodious voice, "I can offer you this orchid as compensation. I was going to give it to my professor but..."

"Orchid..." Wilson's wide smile softened as he studied her. Slowly, he reached out and carefully touched her beautiful, delicate face. "I think you are more beautiful than any orchid you could offer me. How about... How about you give yourself to me?" He took a step forward, closing the space between them. He was standing so close now that the girl could feel his warm breath fanning over her face.

The girl stiffened and stared up at Wilson in astonishment. Now that he was closer, she could see just how painfully handsome he was. But she could also feel the strong, cold aura he exuded. For a moment, her mind was a mess as she stared up at him. Finally, that teasing look on his face brought her back to her senses.

'I thought he was a good man! That was why I felt so damn guilty! Clearly I was wrong about him, ' she thought to herself.

Her submissive manner disappeared at that instance. She stared at him with her dark eyes, then turned and marched towards the gate of the college without another word. She didn't have time for this.

"Hey!" Colin called after her and took a step forward to stop her.

Wilson grabbed him by his upper arm and looked at him with a smile. "Forget it. She's just a silly girl. Come on, let's get going."

"Just a silly girl? Seriously? Judging from the way you were staring at her now, it looks like you really like her!" Nova poked his head out the car window. "Why don't you find out who she is and where she comes from? Then..."

Wilson had already stopped listening. He raised his hand and tried to pat the damp soil off his clothes again. He was unsuccessful. He suppressed an exasperated sigh and climbed back in the car. "Let's go back," he said in his usual cold voice. "I need to change my clothes."

As he sat there in the car, he was overcome with the strangest feeling that the girl didn't belong to his world at all. Furthermore, he felt that he had no right to interrupt her normal life. But no matter how hard he tried to put her out of his mind, he smiled the entire car ride back. This was quite unusual for someone who was usually so cold. All he could think of was that girl.

She was like a ray of sunshine, lighting up his otherwise dark world.

The mere thought of her made his heart swell with joy.

When he was sitting in his office, the scene of their first encounter from two years ago played through his mind. He smiled, and there was once again a mischievous look twinkling in his eyes.