-Three-
"I—I came here to—"
"I know why you are here."
"... You do?"
"Yes."
My mind is reeling. The atmosphere seems to be being sucked away, heavy, yet absent. The warmth and scent of roasting cocoa beans, distinct notes of vanilla, something floral-- perhaps lavender, and something I can't equate to anything but a sickening, salty fishiness are becoming so intense I can't seem to even think straight; it's all close.
So close.
Too close.
And damn, my body is in overdrive. I'm perspiring and breathing shallowly. My head is beginning to spin but his arms around me never falter. I don't know whether to feel safe, or terrified.
"I—I think I'm going to pass out."
I hear him sigh deeply from behind me, his mouth just behind my left ear. Reluctantly, he says, "Here, to my office."
Through the blackness, I'm delivered through an equally black doorway into an equally black room. I'm completely disoriented and off-kilter until suddenly, a large hearth lights ablaze and the room glows with orange light. A small desk lamp turns on seemingly without aide, the same going for a very elaborate, expensive looking Tiffany style floor lamp on the other side of the room, and I realize we are standing in a windowless office. The walls are painted matte black and the furniture is sleek with modern, clean lines and an exotic looking dark wood. I plop into the nearest seat in a very disgraceful manner, unsure of whether I set myself down or he had forced me to sit. My head is spinning.
"Marina Christianson--" His voice booms unnaturally; startling me. My head snaps in his direction and for a moment, I am jolted awake and alert from my stupor. When I look at him however, standing near the fire, I begin to swoon once more. The light flickers on his pale, olive-toned skin in a hypnotic dance that makes me feel dizzy and lightheaded. His hair is impossibly shiny and black, slicked back from a dashing widow's peak and long enough to just touch the collar of his fine, black suit which is masterfully cut to his tall, lean body. The material has a subtle gloss to it that you don't have to touch to know is expensive. I'm held mesmerized by what I can only describe as an exquisite masculine grace and beauty, the likes of which I have nothing to compare to. The firelight bounces off his rugged and yet, refined features; high check bones, square jaw line, nose as straight as an arrow and narrow hawk-like eyes—which appear to be alternating between a bright emerald-green and black, back and forth, terrifying and beautiful. I stare into this impossible constant transition, my heart beginning to quicken once more and yet I cannot look away.
"Your eyes—"
"Your father has passed away, leaving you Christianson Confectionaries." His dancing irises seem to be melding into solid green as he speaks matter-of-factly.
Trying to come to my senses, "You--you've heard." My voice to my own ears sounds as if I'm speaking in a dream; breathy and slow.
"You could say that."
My head nods slowly.
"As your sole supplier of chocolate, you thought it wise to just show up here on my proverbial doorstep, to what?" He twirls his long, graceful finger in the air, "Question me? Demand an inspection?" He laughs, his teeth impossibly white and perfect. "Demand exclusivity?"