Chapter 2 Unfavourable Encounter

"Sorry, I held your hand by mistake. My attention was on decoration, that's why..." I was feeling guilty about what I had just done unknowingly.

"It's OK, by the way, I am Edwin Knight." I saw a handsome and dashing man standing in front of me. From his appearance, he seemed to be in his mid-thirties as he introduced himself.

"Oh, I am Erika Smith. Nice to meet you, Edwin." I happily introduced myself, shaking his hand as he introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you too, Erika. So you are the daughter of Mr. Smith. I know him very well. He is a very nice and cooperative person," Edwin said, trying to initiate the conversation with me. He seemed quite enthusiastic and interactive as he prolonged the interaction.

"Uh, yeah, he is, thanks." He was attentively staring at me, all gleeful, when Papa called me, gesturing me to come near him.

"Papa is calling me. I will see you later." With that, I waved my hand and went to my father. On my back, I could feel Edwin's eyes lingering on me and chasing me very far as I reached my papa.

"Erika, go to my cabin and bring my laptop. I have some other matters to take care of," Papa told me, signaling me to go to his cabin.

"OK, and as far as I remember, your cabin is located on the second floor and right side of the CEO's office, right?" I had to confirm beforehand. He nodded his head and went ahead, getting busy in conversation with one of his colleagues in his office.

I walked forward to the elevator and stepped inside. I pressed the button to the second floor. The elevator started moving upward. As it reached, the door opened, and I came out, walking towards the cabin of my father.

I spotted his laptop, picked it up from his table, and turned around to walk out. But before I could take a step and turn around, abruptly, someone grasped me from my waist and pinned me against the wall.

My heart skipped a beat as it took me a moment, and I didn't understand what had just happened. I eased my racing heart and quickly squeezed my eyes. Before I could make a movement and open my eyes, I felt someone's warm breath airing on my face. I quickly opened my eyes, my breath hitched as I saw a devilishly handsome man standing too close to my knowledge. His one hand was wrapped around my waist while the other one was covering my mouth tightly.

"Who are you, and how dare you come here?" He growled in my ear, making me shudder. I raised my face, looking at him. He was so tall and muscular, towering over me, his grip was harsh and tight on my arm to the extent that his fingers were almost digging into my flesh.

I tried to open my mouth to speak, but ended up just mumbling because of his hand. Understanding my gesture, he took away his hand. I looked down and opened my mouth to speak, but my voice sounded so fearful in his proximity.

"Sir, I came here to pick up my father's laptop."

"Father." He gazed attentively at me, arching his brow.

"Yes, sir," I replied obediently. His closeness was affecting me in the wrong way. I don't know why, but my body wasn't in my control in his proximity. I tried to move, but to no avail because on my back I was sticking to the wall and in front this man was standing like a great wall, blocking all my way of running.

"Who is your father?" he asked in a voice laced with extreme rage. His voice was so deep and hoarse that it ran a chill down my spine.

"Smith, my father's name is Smith," I answered hastily; his aura sounded scary. I tried looking into his eyes, and I think I made a mistake by doing so. His eyes were pitch black, deep, emotionless, carrying a wave of cold that made me shudder.

Before he could move further, his mobile rang with an incoming call, and I found it a perfect opportunity to escape from his clutches. I ran out, freeing myself from his hold as he got busy conversing with the person on the other side of the call.

Damien POV

I picked up the call and started conversing with the person on the other side. I would have ignored answering the call if it wasn't urgent. As soon as I hung up the mobile, I ran my eyes around the surroundings, but couldn't find that girl anywhere.

"Where did that bitch go?" I cursed under my breath because of frustration. This girl didn't seem like an ordinary one. I felt myself drawn to her beauty and innocence as I spotted her on my floor.

I came here after listening to noise from this place while heading towards my office. I found it suspicious and got alerted. To teach a lesson to whoever was there, I abruptly barged into this place. I came forward with the intent of killing that person, but when I saw a girl picking up a laptop, I almost rushed to her and pinned her against the wall.

She seemed very small in age and pure by appearance. I inhaled her scent, stepping close to her. As soon as I came to know that she is the daughter of one of our company employees, I lost my cool, and my rage took a stronger hold on me. But before I could say anything else to that girl, she had already escaped from the place.

"Shit...." I growled in wrath, kicking a chair near me. Then I headed straight to the venue of the party to attend and present the annual awards to my promoted staff members.

As soon as I entered the hall, my eyes spotted that girl whom I had collided with upstairs. She was standing with our company employees, who work in our accounts department. I gestured to my secretary to come close and questioned him about that girl.

"Who is she?" I asked, keeping my eyes fixed on that girl.

"Sir, she is the daughter of Mr. Smith." The secretary answered me obediently.

"Who is Smith? Is he the one who works in the accounting department?" I kept my interest intact in the matter because, to some extent, I know that person.

"Yes, sir, today he got a promotion, and now he has become a manager." I smiled mischievously as I listened to the news from my secretary.

"OK, you can go now and find out more information about that pretty girl." With that, I sent him away and gawked at that girl, rubbing my chin.

"Yes, sir." The secretary walked out.

She is a very pretty girl. Her pink plump lips, unknowingly, she ran her tongue over them, and I couldn't stop myself from capturing my lower lip between my teeth .... I am going crazy for her. I should have kissed her when I pinned her against the wall. But by that time, I hadn't been paying close attention to her features. It's good that she told me the truth, otherwise, I wouldn't have spared a second to kill her.

I was keenly staring at her, who was herself, so engrossed in gossiping with her father's colleagues. She seemed so alluring and attractive in that pink dress. Her hair was tied in a messy bun. Her beautiful smile, I growled under my breath as I felt aroused by her gesture.

I picked up the glass of alcohol from a nearby waiter and started drinking it, but still, I couldn't feel like taking my eyes off of her. Before I could get carried away more and ruin my plan for her, I moved further. The only consolation I can give to my inner beast for now is that very soon I will claim this girl to have a taste of her.

And with that, the ceremony for the program started. All the promoted staff of the company approached me and started meeting one by one.

As it was the turn of Mr. Smith, the host, asked everyone to clap as soon as he came onto the stage. He was given an opportunity to give a speech. Mr. Smith delivered a short speech and, in the end, he thanked me, turning towards me. He gestured to his daughter by mentioning her in his speech.

"My daughter, Erika, helped me a lot with my promotion. She is a diamond to me. She always helped me with my presentation. And it's because of her that I'm able to get promoted. Erika, please come up on the stage." Smith praised his daughter and called her up to the stage.

She went onto the stage and thanked her father. Along with him, she received his promotion award and certificate. She seemed very happy and cheerful to her father, and that was apparent from her glowing face.