Chapter 3 Leo Warner

He advanced towards her and touched her face as he bent his head and whispered, "Quite the audacious move; never let me see you anywhere around me ever, or you won't like what I'll do to you," the handsome stranger said to her. Ellen watched him walk away, wishing the ground would open and swallow her.

*******

"Have you seen her?" Alex Gilbert asked Mary, the caretaker of Mrs. Warner, wife of the late Paul Warner, founder of Warner Haven Corporation.

Yes, I have; she is in her room now; a young lady assisted her," Mary informed Alex.

"Come with me; Mr. Warner is at the club; he'd like to hear it from you himself," Alex said to her as they walked towards the club.

*******

Leo Warner is the CEO of Warner Haven Corporation, the fastest-growing hotel chain in the country.

He was the only grandchild of the Warner family, and at thirty years old, he was in charge of the company.

Today was a memorable day for him as he was finally made CEO and was now in total charge of the company. He has finally taken over the family company that his father and uncle founded.

"It's one of those days, Mr. Warner; should I bring her over?" Mary had told him when she called to inform him about his grandma's episode.

"Okay, Mary, bring her," Leo instructed her.

He had instructed his assistant, Alex Gilbert, to get her room ready and ensure she was monitored.

When she arrived, he had met her at the lobby.

"Hello, grandma," Leo said to his grandmother, smiling at her affectionately.

"Leo, what are you doing here? Don't go running around the lobby," she said, patting him on the head.

"I won't, gran; I'm here to see you," he told her, holding her hands with affection as he walked her to the elevator.

"Oh, my little Leo, run along; you should be in bed," she said, shooing him away.

"I'm going to wait for your grandpa, okay? Mrs. Warner told him.

"Okay, gran, I'll see you in the morning," Leo told her, leaving her in the care of Mary.

Leo was informed later that his grandmother had gone up alone and had told Mary to come up later.

Leo looked up from his inspection of the club below him as Alex walked in with Mary.

"Where did you find her?" he asked them.

"She is in the room and sleeping now," Mary responded.

"Where were you? Why weren't you with her?" Leo was glaring at her.

He had a reputation for not entertaining excuses, and the authority with which he spoke had Mary choosing her words carefully.

"She insisted on going up alone and asked me to go get her purse from the car," Mary explained. "When I got up, the door was still locked, and I came back down to check for her," Mary continued.

"When I got back to the room the second time she was inside, a young lady had assisted her," she concluded.

"Make sure you keep an eye on her and ensure she gets back home safely in the morning."

"Yes, Mr. Warner, it won't happen again."

As Mary turned to leave, she saw the lady who had assisted Leo's grandmother.

"Oh, that's the lady who assisted Mrs. Warner," Mary said, pointing at a lady who was at the bar.

Leo turned to look in the direction Mary pointed. Her back was to him, and her curly brunette hair cascaded down her back.

"You can go, Mary," Leo said in that hard voice of his.

"Mr. Warner, the documents are ready," Alex reminded him.

Leo's attention was fixed on the lady; they were standing on the upper level of the club. It was the last part of the hotel he was inspecting today.

"Okay, I hope you've gone through them before bringing them to me, and you've included the clauses I asked you to," Leo emphasized as he moved to remove his suit and roll up the sleeves of his shirt.

"Yes, they've been included, Mr. Warner." Alex, who was aware that his boss didn't like excuses, nodded as he assured him.

Leo took the documents and went through them; he was acquiring a smaller hotel in the city as part of his plan to expand Warner Haven Corporation.

By the time Leo was done with the papers and looked down to the club below, he saw the lady moving from the dance floor back to the bar.

"She is drunk and should be on her way home," Leo said as he stood up.

"Who? Mr. Warner, I can have a bodyguard see her out," Alex replied.

He had gone around the hotel and was done. I might as well see her out," he said as he went down the stairs.

Despite his skeptical view of women, he decides to return the favor to the strange lady and help her out of the club before she drinks herself into a stupor.

He came down the stairs, not bothering to put his suit back on. Alex followed him with the suit.

As Leo walked up to her, she was about to fall, so he reached out and held her waist.

"Oh...boy...wheew... That was close," she said, and she giggled as she raised her eye to Leo.

"Oh, man, you look so good," she said again, obviously drunk.

"I'll escort you to the door," Leo told her. The fact that she had rendered help to his grandmother was the only privilege she was enjoying right now. He was weary of women, as they used every means to get close to him.

"Oh, I could follow you anywhere, handsome," she said as she kept giggling.

Leo took her purse and gave it to Alex as he assisted her out of the club. He handed her to a bodyguard to help her get a cab.

"Thank you," the lady said, despite her drunken state.

Leaving them at the door, Leo walked to the reception with Alex right behind him.

"Ensure you get the documents across to them," Leo said to Alex.

Yes, Mr. Warner, I'll ensure the deal is completed over the weekend," Alex replied.

Leo took his suite from his assistant and dismissed him. As he turned to head up to his penthouse, he felt someone tap his shoulders.

Turning back, he saw the lady he had assisted earlier. She had a determined expression on her face as she said, "Help me one last time, will you?"

Without waiting for a response, she moved closer to him and kissed him!

Leo went rigid; no lady had ever gotten this close to him without his permission. His mind went blank as he felt his heart race.

A few minutes later, the kiss ended, and the lady stepped back from him.

Regaining his composure, he hardened his face as he raised his right hand to touch her face.

He stepped close to her and whispered in her ears "Quite the audacious move; never let me see you anywhere around me ever, or you won't like what I'll do to you"

.

He turned and walked to the elevator, leaving her standing there. She was lucky she'd helped his grandmother earlier; that was her saving grace, Leo thought. Various women had devised means to get close to him, but this was by far the closest.