BURNING SOUL: Forget about the CEO.

The ceilings were about twenty feet high. Designs of fruit and flowers were carved into the moulding. There are mixture of endearingly vibrant colours of purple around the walls and white from the top. All these made the modern, multi functional event hall come to amazing to those seeing it for the first time. Different sets round-tables surrounded by seven chairs are fashioned with pricey and flowered-designed clothings. Almost everyone in the hall is concerned with the exceptional and majestic hall.

Amazing look struck everyone in the hall, way from the guest, to the families of the birthday man. But getting to Stefen, he cared not about the hall. Not even a microminiacture bit did Stefen care about the building. His soul took his mind alongside, from his actual position but long away to the imagination of the elegant beauty he never had seen in his life before until this moment.

He wondered the greatness of God in creation as he saw this woman. She was one of a kind he will be seeing for the first time. His long way got him unnoticed that everyone on the round vips table where he was seated stood up a little bit towards the center of the table. They all set their left ears to the whispering of one among them. In a moment, they burst into laughter and returned to their seats.

"Have I been always blind from seeing the greatness of God in creation or I've never seen this one before?" Stefen said to himself, barely above whisper.

The feeling is completely different; he was having the kind for the first time. He never has a feeling to a woman since he was small. He used to have dozens of girlfriends when he was in school. His handsome looking face did not account for this, and neither did he was that brainy. It was all because he is from a rich home. His father is the richest billionaire in the town and one if the richest ones in the nation. It was more than enough reason for women to run after him.

But he felt quite different in this condition. He fixated his gaze on this woman, with his mind in deep thought of him and her together in a closure.

A beautiful petite figure from the woman's hand pushed and tossed on the ground. Stefen's face follows her head as it moved towards the group while she picks the bangles that fell. His sight followed her head's motion up again while she rose from scouting, just like he's being programmed to follow her reaction.

Stefen's view on her got overlapped by one of her friends after she got to her feet. He adjusted his sitting more than a couple of times just to smuggle his way back to the lane that leads to her face.

"Smiles of not a scarce commodity on her face." He muttered and proceeded in a low voice. "I wonder what made up her endless grins. Her glowing skin sparked the surving list in me. Her glittering skin concided with my taste for woman." He continued saying to himself.

"Attention everyone please!!!" Stefan's Uncle, Mr Anderson, the birthday man calls out for everyone's attention. He was sitting third seat away from Stefen, but they could all see themselves because it's in a round-table. He's on his feet now as his call for attention made the murmurings of the people around come to halt.

"Thank you, thank you...Yeah yeah". He said to the dj as the music continued getting lower in volume till it stopped.

Stefen buried his face unto his palms, got worried about how his Uncle's speech disrupted his amusing minutes. He got in his feet, pulled his chair to the back and set to leave the table.

"Where are you going to at the moment of this event?" His father asked. He always cared about him more than almost every other thing. Even though, his mother was the cleaner of his office years ago before he cheated on his wife. He felt the best way to run away from the shame was to get married to her. His opinion turned to be of advantage as the only child he had before his first wife's death was a complete psychopath.

"I need to visit the restroom dad." He replied.

"Okay".

Stefen left the table went straight to the exit of the hall and on his way there, he tapped his favorite pal, Mark.

He waited for Mark outside the luxurious hall where two security men are staying.

"Hey, what's up dude?" mark said to him as he strolled out of the hall with a cup of wine on his right hand.

Stefen stayed right at his front, layed his left hand on the right shoulder or his suit."Guy, I don't...I don't understand what's wrong but...I think...Whoop". He stammered and made a short-term progressive outlet of air from his mouth in exhaustion.

"What's wrong Bro, talk to me".

"I feel like I'm falling in love or something". He said with his right hand second and middle finger scratching his face in shyness".

"Ooh my God! You never told me such a thing since we've been together for year Stefen. Thank God you finally fall in love with someone. Whoa!!!" He shouted aloud and raised his arms up that Stefen covered his mouth and put down his arms. Stefen looked around to check in anyone wasn't aware of their conversation. He could only see the security men standing still.

"Let's go in, let's go in, let's go in Brooo." Mark said to him as he tickled his left abdominal part with his finger.

"It's okay, that's tickling". Stefen replied with smile on his face.

The two entered the hall, where everything was back to partying again.

"There she is." Stefen pointed at the lady.

"Whoa, you've got great eyes Bro. Are you an AI 670 mega pixel haa? But honestly she is very beautiful. And you never asked me of this help throughout our days in high school, even in college. But as I always tell you, woman is one of the smallest things you can attain at any cost.

Mark bluffed with Stefen's wealthy pride. He did not think otherwise about the lady as he moved towards her. He thought she's the same as those he's always seen who easily fall for wealthy guys with luxurious cars, expensive gifts. He skidded flamboyantly along the way till he got to the back of the ladies.

"Hello!! Good morning. Trust you're all doing well." He said after greeting with a wide smile showing his first set of incisors.

"Hello, Hi, hello... They replied him in chorus.

"I would like to see you." He said without pointing at anyone. They three of them looked at themselves in confusion of what he meant.

"I mean you." He said again pointing at the one at the middle.

"Me." She asked softly.

"Yeah you."

Stefen looked from one side of the corner, seeing the two of them working out of the group. He wondered what his friend would say to her.

"Would he not mess the whole thing up? He plays and flirts with women a lot. What if she falls for him?" Different thoughts ran through his mind.

"No no no". He shaked his head quickly, cutting him off the train of unbearable thought.

Stefen had a seat on a chair with no one around the table. In a moment, a loud voice scared him from his left ear.

"Boooom!!."

"What's.. who's that?. Oh, it's you. You scared me man."

"Phase one in stealing her heart, done and dusted. The next phase is going to be your turn Stefen." Mark said to him.

"What do...how?" He asked in surprise. After a couple of minutes which a server stole form them by changing the cups wine on the table with another one, he proceeded.

"I was thinking you have done everything and..." He stammeringly spoke in surprise and shrugged.

"And what? And I should tell her you are asking her out? That's not going to be mine this time around Bro. You're grown enough to ask a woman out. This isn't your first time dating someone anyways."

"But it's my first time asking someone out."

"Oh my God Haha, think about it. Isn't this comical? You have dated scores of women but never asked one of them out. They followed u because they enjoyed your money and you did not date any of them because you have feeling for them, all because you could form big boy like others and maintain the same tradition of having girlfriends. This time around, you've got feeling and you'll surely ask her out. Now go go goo!!."

Stefen looks at the lady where she stands after discussing with Mark. He looked back at Mark and got a thump up sign from him to keep on moving. "Mark must have asked her to wait for me there. Why couldn't he work everything out for me, so she'll just come and be mine like other girls used to. Gosh!!." He said to himself.

While he moves closer to her in hesitation, he noticed she did not even take a glance at his movement.

"Can we enter the room for discussion, I feel nervous out here." He asked as he gently looked at her eyes while pointing at the door she rested on.

"Isn't it safe here?" She probe

"I feel nervous out here. Just for privacy." She made a numb face and entered the room.

"Hi." Stefen said with heavy exhalation from his mouth.

"Hi." She replied loudly and simultaneously replied that incoming messages on her phone.

Stefen stays quietly at her front, rubbing his two hands together in search of what to say. "Uhm..my name is Ste.."

"I know your name Mister. You are Stefen Michelson. You're known acrossed the nation. Why would you want to introduce yourself for me?"

"Oh! Sorry, Actually...I asked my friend to uhmm.. called you." He stammered after two seconds of speaking words. Her replied got his heart thudding alarmingly from his chest. He was not only afraid of getting on her angry with words but the natural gynophobia lives in him.

"I asked my friend to tell you I wanted to see you separately."

" Oh that's nice. I'm May Jones, nice to meet you. I'm here already so"

"I uhmm.." His hands got sweater and he was unable to find the best statement to use for her. He started to play with his shoes, placing one on top of the other. He pried into his memory bank, in search of the best words to use. Immediately he got one, he is wide awake from his deep thought.

"If there is something I am going to change in you..." He said, expecting words by he finishes it.

"Okay, continue."

"It is gonna be your surname."

"She bursted into laughter. "Interesting but not enticing." She whispered.

"What'd you say." He asked.

"Nothing, I said nothing. You will have to explain yourself because I don't get you." She surprised him with her words.

He knew she understood him, but had to pretend as if she didn't.

"Since you walked into the, on this Friday afternoon, you got my tongue stuck cause I was paralyzed."

"Are you a poet?" She asked with an innocent face.

"Actually...my heart's been empty for so long and seeing you this morning, I found a new delight."

"So, what's the point." She asked.

He was starting to feel frustrated as she kept on turning his words down as if they meant nothing to him.

"I wish we can... Uhm go on a date." He said

She looked into her phone again and replied, " well, most of our wish will only come true if they concide with reality."

"Okay, I just want to ask you out. I.. I'll give you anything you want, I have them, you name it."

"So, that is the statement that took you a journey out of the universe to spill. Let's come to real discussion. Firstly, you do not know m about me because if you do, you wouldn't come near me for such a thing." Stefen got shocked with her courage and how she spoke incessantly.

"Secondly," she continued. "My friend Annie who invited me to your Uncle's birthday told me lot of things about you."

Counting with her fingers; " the number of girls you dated; how easily ladies followed you around to during your time in colleges. Even high school; also that you've slept with a number of women with money that means so much nothing to you. Isn't it?."

He looked at her in pain, he felt remorse after she highlighted how he lived his live carelessly. He never realized those act could bring him regret.

"What are you going to call it?" She asked.

"What? What is that?" He mumbled

"Your past!" She replied firmly.

After few minutes of no reply, she replied herself. "Achievements. You call it achievements."

"Listen, Mr Stefen, Money isn't everything and I am not like others. Do not think I will fall for money, just like other irrelevant women do. No. I deserve my own respect also. Every respect you're being given aren't because of the kind of person you are but for your wealth. Not even your wealth but your father's wealth. Someone like you never can have true love."

Stefen couldn't hold the shades she was throwing any longer, he feels the worse feeling in his entire life. Even though it is an enclosed discussion, he felt more than an humiliation. He has thought so much about himself being with her. But the opposite happened. Each words he heard from her hurts him as if they were peircing thirty centimeters holes in his earth.

"Please hold on." He spoke to wince out of the pain. May came to halt to hear him out.

"We are meeting for the first time, you should at least be nice." He tried willing strength into himself to not die of her words.

He lifted his gaze to see her face's reaction. He returned his gaze immediately after meeting a deadly glare she shot him.

"Sorry, we are not of the same match. Bye."

The door creaked out as she opened it and left him inside the room.

Stefen stayed quietly, resting his back on a load of plastic chairs packed together. His hands feel cold as he grew timid. His mind isn't at rest as he felt pain from his chest as if he carried a load for hours. He started slipping his back downward till he's buttock hits the ground where he folded his legs with his arms like a child. Tears became inevitable. It was more like an involuntary actions this moment. He had no choice but to allow it. It began with a muted and heavily breathing tears. In a moment, his voice got louder as he cried out like a baby. Face filled with tears and mucus.

The door opened from the outside but got stuck at half-way. It was Stefen's leg stopping it from getting opened wildly. It was pulled harder than he couldn't endure it, then he took his leg out of the way.

Mark entered the room, and found his pal sobbing on the floor.

**TWO HOURS LATER**

The two pals are sitting on a table, doing nothing but listening to the party going on. Mark broke the silence on their table in a moment.

"I can't believe she did this." Mark beat the table with the cup of wine he just emptied.

"I think I'll be getting sick." Stefen grumbled. Mark, who was giving May and her friend a fleeting look returned his sight to Stefen immediately.

"What do you mean? This isn't the end Bro. It's normal for someone to get rejected by one's crush, understand?" You'll have her, don't worry bro." He tried giving him hope.

"Just believe me Stefen. Do you believe she'll later accept you?"

"I..I, I believe."

"You're in doubt dude. Gosh, all these days you've never approached a woman to ask her out. They all will come to you and you'll think that's how it'll continue to be."

Stefen lowered his head, facing the table. It's covered with pink designs of flower on it.

"Money isn't everything Bro." Mark said to him. Stefen raised his head in hesitation. He catched a glimpse of his chiseled face friend for fee seconds.

"You're surprised with what I said. You should be, I think you've never heard of such a think before."

"No, I have heard it before." He replied with low voice.

"Hmmhmmm."

"Yes, May said that when we were discussing."

"Oh! I get that. Did you try to lure her with something materialistic? Or money?."

"Not exactly..but I said I would give her anything and uhm..."

"Gosh! You spoiled it Bro. You weren't supposed to say such easily. Real people will not demand for money in exchange for love. Is there anything else she said which relates to what she likes or wants."

Stefen stayed quiet racking his brain to remember, what they discussed. He went on a train of thought for minutes within which Mark answered a call and ended the call.

"Is this going to take you a century?" Mark scowled

"I don't think so." He replied

"Oh, damn! Means we're going to find something she likes, to...."

"I remember, I remember something." He interrupted. "She said, 'someone like you can never have true love for someone'."

Mark made a scathing glance through the surrounding before speaking out. "it's easy Stefen."

"How?" He replied desperately.

"She thought you did not have true feeling for her and only wanted to have a taste. All you need to do is to prove to her you truly love her!!." He hit thr table as he finished speaking.

"You really are somehow naive Stefen. You can do this in different ways. I'll be back, give me ten minutes."

While Stefen sat on the chair, going through some images of himself in his phone, a hand came from behind, and grabbed his shoulder in a viselike grip. His heart thudded in his chest all of sudden.

"It I dude, no need to fear." Mark said as took his had away from his shoulder and had a seat.

"Where did you went to?"

Mark showed him a progressive smile, and flaunt randomly with hand claps. "I told you it's all going to be easy dude."

"What did you do? Did you talk with her for me?" Stefen asked with an innocent face.

"Uhn, I should talk with her for you? Again? That's never gonna happen dude. All the jobs left are unto your hands. I got you pictures of May and informations about her." He placed his phone on that table, moved it to Stefen's front.

Stefen looked at the screen and saw her phone number, email, address, pictures and other information.

"Where'd you get all these stuff?" He said in amazement.

"Don't worry about that Bro, I'm always to help you." He answered with a stylish tone, place the tips of his two hands fingers on one another to form a triangle pattern at Stefen's front.

"Sorry about your first time Bro. It's gone be fascinating at the end."

"THANK YOU EVERYONE!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Mr Anderson said to the crowd some started moving out of the hall.

"What's my next move?" Stefen said to his buddy who's busy looking at Mr Anderson exchanging handshakes with some special guests.

Mark returned to his attention, not caring about his question. "Wait, is your Uncle returning to New Orleans after the birthday? I heard there's gonna be a kind of Symposium among the Mayors candidates of New Orleans. You know, he's a Mayor."

"I was literally asking you about how I'm going to start with the information I have about May." He said to him thwartly.

"Ok, should we start with you calling or texting her. Yeah! You're going to start with phone calls. Give her phone calls and try your best, telling her you're not trying to lure her with your wealth. Let her know you truly love her. If she starts to ignore your call, make use of her telegram. I heard she's used to using telegram. If that doesn't work neither, send series of mail. And if that doesn't work too, end it with a visitation."

Stefen huffed.

"What is it?" Mark asked after making a shot laughter.

"It's so tense and intense."

"Of course it will be. That's what you get from being the son of a CEO, nephew to a Mayor."

***FIVE HOURS LATER***

The cloud wasn't predictable. Moment ago there was huge thunderstorm, from the sky as the clouds' water were getting precipitated. But momentarily, it got bright as sun started shining clouds sitting up there. A ray of light, from the outside falls keeps the golden dressings of May's picture on Stefen's phone shining. He is at the window part of his fashion bed. The room's size is almost comparable to the size of Connecticut. He maintained the same posture for minutes as he went through the pictures of May in her Facebook account. He made a short pause while viewing at the picture of when she dressed in a golden gown. Reflection from the outside falling on his phone's screen made it to shine as if it were a real gold. Suddenly, a fairly dark shadow blocked the way of the ray's reflection. That drew his attention away from staring at mere pics.

"I've been sitting for so long. It's high time I stopped sitting and start some standings." He said to himself, willing courage to himself as he dialed May's number. He made inhalation and exhalation followed one another to provide relaxation form himself while dialing the number. His call was answered while making a heavy inhalation, he held his breathing tightly. Then dropped it gently.

"Hello, Hello, Hello." the softly spoken voice vibrated upon his tympanic membrane, consecutively.

"It's I... Stefen."

She went mute for the first five seconds before replying. "Where'd you get my number?"

"Wait May, please wait..."

"WHERE'D YOU GET IT??! WHERE'D YOU GET IT!!!?" She shouted.

"My friend got it for me. Please listen to me."

"Okay. What'd you want to say?" She asked gently.

"I want to tell you that...since the first time I saw you in my Uncle's birthday this morning, I fell in love with you. And I mean it. It's truly real."

May decided not to be harsh in her reply because he just got subdue after short quarrel with her dad. She's a daughter to a deceased mother. Her mother and her grandma used to be her best advisors when it comes to intergender relationship. But since she died as a result of Mr Jones' resistance in fighting corrupt politicians, May stayed away from being a freedom fighter like her father. She started working in the same Law firm where she did her intern, rejecting her dad's opinion of her collaboration in his law firm. Mr Jones never left the habit of being a Philanthropist Lawyer despite his wife's death. This stirr up argument between the father and daughter once in a while.

"So, what should I do about it. That was past tense as you expressed, 'fell'."

"I know you're thinking I just want to lure you with money and dump you after using you for a while. But..." He went to state of oblivion.

"But what?" She eluded from where he was heading to.

"But it isn't so. I've just been driven by the love I have for you. I went through your details and saw you're a genius. You batched first class from University of California, Berkeley, school of Law. That's superb." He giggled.

"Thanks for the compliments. So would you please stop disturbing me?"

"Okay, is there a way I could prove my love for you?"

"I don't know. I'm uninterested in this conversation. I'm hanging up right now. bye!" She hang up.

"Hmhnnnn.."May signs in exasperation. Her dad sitting on the couch opposite to her stopped the paper documents he was viewing and looked at his daughter as she reacted to the phone call.

She was on her way to lay her back on the couch to have a nice rest, that the kid-laughing ringing tone of her Samsung mobile got her returned to the phone on table. She had a look, only to found that it was the same number, Stefen's. She rejected the call. Her father looked at her scathing look on her face.

"You got offended?" The flapping sound of the stapled papers he's opening crumpled after his statement.

May looked at him and saw his face with his long-term glassed focusing on the documents he's handling after speaking to her.

"It's nothing. She said to her.

"Of course, nothing it would be. You always keep things away from me and at the end, you return it all to me for solution.

"Don't worry, this isn't something your attention would be needed for solution." Her phone beeps for notification immediately after she finished speaking. She took up her phone, opened it and found it to be from Stefen, saying, 'It's I Stefen. Pardon me. I truly do not know how to ask a woman out. But I'm driven by the desire of love I have for you."

She deleted the message, dropped the phone and rested her back on the couch. Another notification beep dropped in after five seconds. She checked it and found to be from the same person. She dropped he phone on the table again and series of messages followed one another making the beeping sounds unbroken for couple of minutes.

"Has your ex decided to return?" Mr Jones said. He looked at her with a smile and only met a deadly glare from her. He quickly returned to his work.

"I wish I don't see that bitch again." She said after sipping a cup of coffee she took from the table.

"I have to call nanny". She said to herself referring to her aunt.

It's nine o'clock pm. May received another text after number of texts that dropped in every hour from different numbers used by Stefen after blocking his real line. They are of different statements.

May looked at her phone's messages box and saw seventy-five unread messages. She lied on her bed with her chest, started to read the messages. She commenced the reading with an unpleasant thought and harshly looking face on the messages for first few messages she was reading where his composed poems.

Her mind started to get lightened as she read about where he typed things that were supposed to be secretive and unleashed. The more she read about him in the messages, the more she felt calm. She started to feel excite in some funny places but nervousness interrupted her, say's she's got to be careful in her mind. As she read further, she got interested in reading and felt satisfied with the way he is being driven by love which is the complete opposite to her ex. She got goosebumps towards the end it the messages where he typed jokes and silly things he could do to own her heart.

"Could he truly be serious with this as he said." She said to herself. "Nah, men are unpredictable. It's easy for them to be like this before they started dating and besides, I can't even date this guy. My dad would kill me." She said to herself trying to get the feeling away from herself.

She remembered how her ex would cheat on her and later apologize for it was mistaken. She would accept his apology countless times before he did the worse thing. He did not care about her as she cared about him. He toyed with her feeling and at last broke her heart.

When her heart got broken, the first thing that she did was blaming herself. She did not even blame the person that broke it. She asked herself why she trusted him the first place and why she didn't trust her grandma about dating the guy. She analyzed why she fell for him and realize it didn't worth it, he was handsome and famous among the other colleagues during her internship. She also analyze how she ignored the very first sign of his heartbreak, when he started getting himself spaced from me.

She cried her heart out at night in an effort to keep anyone from hearing her sobbing and when the morning came, she became the woman she used to be. She finished all of her tasks and responsibilities like nothing happened. And Im okay was her automatic reply for everyone who asked her.

When she got ready, she began to talk about her pain to one or two of her loved ones such as her dad, her grandma and her friends. She didn't share her pain with everyone because shes not an attention seeker and she knew that she would be alright sooner or later. At last, she got better like she never dated someone.

But this time around, she felt like Stefen is more innocent than she had always thought. He didn't just know how to be a free thinker yet. She thought what he ever looked for in a man, love, attention and other things with the most of them which is care is present in what he's showing her at that moment. The same nervous feeling would come along the way to stirr up her thought about him, carrying alongside is the remembrance of what David, her ex did to her. And also the fact that he is the son of a CEO. He's a richard, Mr Jones would never accept such a thing