Chapter 6

Annette woke up with a start because of the incessant and rather annoying knocks on the door, the following day. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was either because of the jet lag or because of how groggy she felt. She was elated once she realized that she was no longer in her own apartment but in the city of love. This realization made some of her irritation go away.

She smiled to herself as she answered the door and found Zach standing on the other side with a suspicious looking pleasant smile. As soon as he saw her, his expression morphed into a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look as he looked her up and down. Suspicious and confused, Annette raised an eyebrow at his reaction as she looked down to see what was wrong. What she discovered had her cheeks flaming red.

In her hurry to open the door, she had completely forgotten that her sleeping attire had consisted of a spaghetti top and a pair of shorts that were a little too short. Living alone, she had no qualms in roaming around her apartment dressed like that, it was comfortable and it was summertime.

But now she saw the error in her ways. Annette had always dressed modestly when she was outside but at home, she threw all that out the window. Sighing, she made a mental note that she was to wear night clothes which provide more coverage whilst on this trip.

Thinking fast, she grabbed the nearest thing which happened to be a bath robe and covered herself as she evaded making eye contact with him. This was so embarrassing.

"Well, Natty, that only adds fuel my already wild imagination." Zach seemed to have quickly gotten over his initial shock and was now sporting his trademark smirk much to Annette’s dislike.

Annette on the other had was embarrassed beyond words, if only the ground would just open up and swallow her whole.

"I can't help it if you have your head in the gutter twenty-four bar seven, three sixty-five days a year!" She grumbled as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"With what you are wearing and what I know you were wearing, it's rather difficult to think, Sweetheart." His eyes trailed down to her still bare legs which made her shuffle uncomfortably.

"I suppose that you had a valid reason to be knocking on my door other than harassing me this early in the morning?" Annette questioned as she put on an unphased expression.

"I came here to ask what would you like to have for breakfast and to tell you that we have an appointment with Mr Valsero at um- nine am." Zach spoke quickly as he got to the last part of the sentence.

"At nine? And you are telling me this now? At eight am!" Annette was fuming and her anger only worsened when she noticed that Zach was already suited-booted and ready for the day whereas she was still lounging in her night clothes.

"Relax, Natty. You have an hour. There’s still plenty of time left. Come on, let's get something to eat. " With that he took her hand as he started to make his way towards the dining room.

"Zacharian Vitaly Rodriguez! It takes half an hour to reach his estate so that leaves me with less than half an hour if I have to get in a quick breakfast and I haven't even showered!" She thew her hands up in annoyance.

She broke out of his hold and proceeded to angrily stomp her way back to her room and dead bolted the lock. She was going to teach him a lesson.

"Come on, Natty. Let's go eat something. You will have enough time to get ready, I promise." Zach pleaded from other side of the door. Annette drowned out his words of plea for the time being as she started to get ready.

Twenty minutes later and after a lot of apologizing on Zach's behalf, she had finally opened the door. Seeing him with his hair so dishevelled and his tie loosened proved to her that he was genuinely sorry for upsetting her.

Zach on the other hand was astonished to see her all prepped and ready to go dressed in a formal pant suit with her hair tied up and a briefcase with all the necessary documents in hand.

"Come on. Now, we have five minutes for breakfast." She gestured for him to follow her as she confidently walked out of the room.

"You-but-" Zach started but was cut off by Annette.

"Zach, we have ten minutes to get in the car and I'd like to have my breakfast before that." She said to him as she urged him to follow her.

Zach let out a frustrated huff and followed the woman who had been tormenting him for the past year. The drive to the Valsero mansion was rather uneventful with them having little to no conversation as the both of them were glued to their laptops, busy working.

As the car pulled up in front of what could only be described as a palace with the most majestic view she’d ever seen. The Valsero mansion was nothing short of a magnificent castle, with its larger-than-life size, yellow sandstone structure with vines creeping up on the walls, surrounded with well-maintained lawns that gave off a rustic yet chic look.

Being a bit of an architecture buff herself Annette recalled that the windows doors were Victorian style and happened to be a very inn thing now. If she weren't the one wearing her tight pant suit, she'd think of herself to be a princess in a fairy tale.

Sparing a sideway glance, she confirmed that Zach was impressed by the sight as well. She could see that the architect in him appreciated the marvel in front as well.

"Good morning. Mr Valsero has been expecting you in his study." A sharply dressed butler greeted them at the door and led the through the house.

Annette noted the décor and design of each room, taking in ideas that she could use for upcoming projects. She had imagined Mr Valsero to be a middle aged, balding man with a pot belly. But was pleasantly surprised to see a dashing young man who looked closer to her age. Little did she know that his handsome looks came with a nasty personality.