Chapter 303 - I'll be doing more than holding hands

''She made you cry, I won't forgive anyone that made you cry. ''

Diana's breath hitched at his words, this man, did he know how much he made her heart flutter?

She looked away as her cheeks flushed;

''No-one is here, so you can tell me now, what did she do? '' he was leaning against his office table ad she was in front of him, so he put one hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him. 

Diana gulped when she saw that there was nearly no space between them, but at the same time, he wasn't taking his hand off her.

She gulped;

''I asked her if you were in, and she said you were in a meeting and that you wouldn't be seeing anyone. I decided to drop a message before leaving, but she quickly barked at me, and asked me why I just won't leave. I didn't even do anything… ''

Diana's words stopped on her lips when she felt his second hand join the first one around her waist.

''And I asked you what she did and you said nothing; '' Diana raised her eyes to look at him. He was staring at her scorchingly like she was a nicely prepared meal, she felt her cheeks burn under his gaze but at the same time, she couldn't ask him to let her go.

If they stayed like this any longer, she was going to get beet red.

''... I didn't want to say it in front of your employees; you might never know who is around until you see your name on the headlines. ''

Michael smiled and pushed some strands of hair away from her face.

''Well I'm glad I came out at that time, I don't know how many people she would have acted like that to in the past. ''

Diana's brows puckered; ''Um… so a lot of women come to see you? ''

Michael gazed at her amused; ''No, I'm talking of anyone that comes to see me, she might have been rude to them.'' He chuckled; was she jealous?

''oh; '' Diana nodded;

''And I was so glad to see you, you just made my day. My meeting didn't end well, but seeing you now, I'm just so happy. ''

Michael smiled as he rubbed her cheeks, making it redden the more. 

For a second, Diana thought she was intentionally doing it so he could watch her turn all shades of red.

''Well, there's a reason I came; '' Now she thought about it, it wasn't enough reason to come all the way there, but then, she couldn't out rightly tell him she had come to see him.

''The role has been given to you officially; you just need to sign the contract. And the welcome party is next week Saturday. ''

''Wow, everything is happening so fast. ''

Diana smiled; ''yeah, I've looked through the script, you'll be given tomorrow after the contract signing.''

Her ears reddened when she remembered the extra bed scenes she had added to their part. Damn, she was shameless!

''Alright, what time is it? ''

''Twelve noon, I'll come here so we can go together. '' he smiled, 

'' that would be perfect.'' He loved how she was ecstatic about them filming together. What she didn't know was that he wanted it more than she could ever imagine.

He didn't know if he could be a good actor, but he was sure he wouldn't mess anything up as long as she was there.

''Have you had lunch? ''

He asked and she shook her head;

''Alright, let's go have lunch… '' Michael said, but when he remembered she was a celebrity, he stopped;

''oh, paparazzi might be around, what do we do, should I order? ''

Diana shook her head; ''No, there's no problem. We can eat out, we are friends, and besides, we are going to be filming together, they can say whatever they want to say. ''

Michael smiled; ''Alright, let me get my keys. ''

A smile plastered on her face as they walked towards the elevator. She actually liked this man a lot, a huge lot. She was sure if he made a move at her she wasn't going to be able to resist. In fact, she wanted him to make a move.

They stood close to each other in the elevator, their hands almost touching, almost.

Diana gulped as the tension grew in the elevator. She wanted him to hold her hand but she watched the numbers read and to the last, but he didn't. She felt bad, but she didn't think much of it. They weren't dating, neither was he obligated to…

Just when she thought about it, Michael took her hand in his and walked out of the elevator holding her.

Diana's eyes widened but she quickly composed herself knowing that people were watching.

The people going about their business peeked at them.

They would have ordinarily minded their business, Michael had been with women in the past, but this was Diana, and there were rumors about them dating.

Some just looked while a few gossipy ones took some pictures.

When they got into the car, Diana laughed;

''There's a lot for the media to talk about now. ''

''Mm; and there would be a lot more in the future, 'cause I'll be doing more than just holding hands. ''

Michael replied and intertwined their hands. Diana breath hitched as her face blushed;

Why the hell was she thinking a thousand dirty thoughts!!

…

Leo was surprised when he got an invitation to the white house. He read the letter over and over again; to be sure he knew what he was reading.

The president had invited him over.

Ordinarily, he should be happy reading this, but the only feeling that overwhelmed him was sadness. It was terrible without her. Every single day was like poison, a slow and deadly poison.

He had tried to call her, but he couldn't get her when he tried calling her with other numbers, it disconnects as soon as it connects, he wondered what was wrong.

He knew she wouldn't intentionally shut him off, so it must surely have something to do with her father.

He was still reading the letter when a knock came on the door, he let the person in and he was surprised to see men dressed in suits.

''Good day, Mr. Leo; we're here to escort you to the white house. ''

Leo's eyes glanced at them briefly, and then sent a message to someone on his phone, in case anything happened to him, but he doubted that.

''Do I have a choice? '' he asked and they didn't respond. After a few seconds, the one who had spoken earlier said;

''You do, but you should choose wisely. ''

Leo was quiet. He should have chosen not to go, but Claire was there, and he longed to see her. Even if it was just a glance, it was enough for him.

Standing up, he followed them out.

When they arrived at the white house, he searched for her with his eyes, but he couldn't catch even a glimpse of her until he was taken to a room.

After a few minutes, a maid brought a tray of wine and a wine cup and left. He wondered if they actually thought he would take anything from there.

Standing up, he walked to the window and gazed outside, perhaps he would see her.

''You're not going to see her. ''

A voice spoke, jerking him around. Leo froze briefly when he saw her father, the president walk into the room and sit down.

The man smiled at him, which was strange, and he pointed to the couch in front of him;

''Sit. ''

Leo's gaze remained on him for a few seconds before he turned to the couch he had pointed at and he sat down.

''She's in her room and she rarely comes here, so no matter how much you stare outside, you're not going to see her. ''

Leo did not reply. He just stared quietly at him.

Mr. Howard's eyes flashed at the wine in front of him and he smiled when he saw he didn't touch it.

''You should know, I want the best for my daughter. '' he went straight to the point since it was obvious that he wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. ''

''What do you think is the best for her? ''

Mr. Howard paused; he was taken unawares as he was not expecting that question. He opened his lips to reply, but before he could say anything, Leo beat him to it;

''Do you know her favorite dish? Do you know what season she likes most? Do you know what country she likes to visit in summer? '' he paused with a chuckle; ''no, this is too much, do you even know the day she was born? ''

Mr. Howard's face paled but he could not form a reply, he just stared at Leo silently; and then Leo smiled;

''You don't know all these, so tell me, how do you know what is best for her? ''