Chapter 14: The resource person
I felt the pressure of a hand on my shoulder and I turned around to witness the smile of Gati.
'Oh Sweetie, why do you look so stressed? If you haven't found a resource person, let me know. I can call the trustee to be an orator.' The smile was too sweet to be sincere and I tried not to fall in its trap.
'That's very kind of you Gati, but Ash has already found someone,' Claudia interrupted, pulling me by my sleeve in the direction of the door. Then to me, she said 'Could you help me with something please.'
'Thanks for your help. See you,' I said in a cheery tone to Gati. I turned to follow Claudia but narrowly missed colliding with the man I had noticed earlier. He pulled off his glasses and looked down at me. He frowned and with a note of threat in his voice, said, 'You should be careful young lady.'
'Sorry Sir,' and I bolted from there. Why had he seemed so threatening? I felt the little hairs at the back of my neck rise and Turning around, I saw that my hunch was correct. The man was still staring at me intently.
'Do you know this man?' I asked Claudia as soon as we were out of sight.
'That's Mr Loup. He's the owner of the leather factory in Spot District and is at the head of a meat empire as well.'
'He looked as if he wanted to skin me alive in his factory,' I joked weakly, still feeling perturbed by the encounter.
'Claudia, what did Mr Pierce tell you in the morning? Are you sure he said that someone I had contacted would be coming to speak to the students?'
'Yes darling,' she drawled. 'I haven't gone bonkers yet. I know what I have heard.'
'But I don't remember calling anyone,' I whined.
'Well, we'll just have to wait and see. Unless you know of another guest who can come in 45 minutes.'
I got a call at 9, it was Mr Pierce's secretary.
'Hi Nina.'
'Ash, you're wanted in the office.'
I was so worried at that point. I didn't know what I was going to say. When I reached the office, Nina ushered me in with a wave of her hand. I knocked at the door and got in. Mr Pierce was not alone, he was seated behind his desk and from behind, I could see a suit-clad man seated opposite him. I usually liked coming to this office which had a wide oak desk and wide windows through which we could see the entire valley. But I didn't feel that comfortable today.
'Miss Runner, here you are. Your guest, Mr Dawn has already come,' Mr Pierce announced.
I had never heard that name before.
With that comment, the guest who had previously been seated, stood up and slowly turned around.
My eyes widened in shock.
It was Dave, my Dave. What was he doing here?
'Take him to your class and brief him about the expose. Students will start assembling in an hour.'
'Okay Sir.'
I quietly made my way out of the office and Dave followed me. I gave a small wave to Nina who winked back at me. I did not utter a single word until I was back safely in my class and then I turned around, facing Dave. I closed the door behind him.
'What are you doing here?'
'I heard you needed a role model for your students. So here I am.' I recalled that in the morning I had told him something about my dilemma, but I hadn't expected him to go out of his way and come as a guest.
'I didn't even know your full name. Can you believe that? That's all very nice, but what will you say when the students ask about your job? That you are a vampire out to save the world?'
I felt grateful that he had come to save me like a knight, and I hadn't thought that I would be so happy to see him.
'I'll tell them about my job.'
'And what exactly do you do?' I asked him wryly, looking at him from head to toe. I had never seen him in a suit before and it fit him so well. The outline of his shoulders was so clean and my eyes were drawn to his tapered waist and lean legs.
'Take your pick. I've been a police officer, fire fighter, doctor, teacher, accountant, engineer, Public Relations officer, lawyer...'
He would have gone on with the list if I hadn't laid my index finger on his lips, effectively silencing him. Dave then grabbed my finger in his own hand and gently bit its tip, sending waves of pleasure crashing on me. Seeing my reaction, he pulled my finger deeper in his mouth and lightly sucked on it. My eyes closed for a second and a light moan escaped my lips. It would be so easy to give in to the pleasure and pull him in closer to me where he could use his lips for another purpose.
My phone suddenly started vibrating, it was a missed call from Claudia. A few seconds later, there was a knock at my door and as soon as I opened it, Claudia came in, breathless. I saw you going in with your hottie,' she here looked at Dave with a smile, 'and you closed the door. I didn't want to interrupt you but Mr Pierce is coming in this direction.'
Panicked I looked at Dave. I hadn't decided yet what he could talk about. And I didn't get time to tell him as well, as Mr Pierce came in at that moment.
'I hope you have already given him all the instructions Miss Runner. I'm here to borrow Mr Dawn. I'll be having a meeting with all speakers. Mr Dawn.' With that, Mr Pierce led the way and invited Dave to follow him. He did so, after nodding at Claudia and me.
Please cope with the situation. Improvise. Choose only one profession. I tried to send him as strong mental vibes as I could. I could only stare at his back as he disappeared around the corner.
'So, did I interrupt anything?' Claudia asked with a wide smile. I could smell the passion from a distance, she said sniffing in the air. I clapped my hand gently on my forehead in frustration.
Claudia and I were on the way to the hall when Nina called me to the office. There was some paperwork to fill concerning the competition we had won.
'Why not make Gati fill it, if her class will be awarded the sum?' Claudia mumbled. 'One day, I'm going to teach that little bitch a lesson.'
'You please take care of Dave for me. I'm afraid I will miss his speech.'
'Don't worry, I'll be as helpful as I can. I'll be as close as I can be,' Claudia said waggling her eyebrows suggestively. How could she even crack jokes in stressful situations like these, I wondered.
The paperwork took even more time than I had expected and when I reached the hall, the speeches were over and students were filing out and moving to the different food stalls that had been put up in the yard. I spied Dave and Claudia near the stage and with some difficulty, I started making my way to them. I was merely a few meters away from them when I stopped dead in my tracks. Gati was in front of me, and was talking animatedly with her hand curled around Dave's forearm. She was laying the charm on thick.
'Oh Dave, that was simply wonderful. The kids loved your presentation. I didn't know that you had achieved so much at such a young age.'
She continued, but I had stopped listening to her. I instead followed Dave's unwavering gaze which was fixed on Mr Loup who was conversing with a colleague, whose name I only vaguely remembered. After a few seconds, Dave felt my presence and he gently shook Gati's hand off his forearm, 'I've got to go. It was so nice meeting you.'
Gati gushed, 'Oh, the pleasure was all mine. You should come tomorrow as well. Mr Pierce would love to show you around the school.'
'Of course.'
Dave then quickly strode in my direction and walking by my side, invited me to follow him. His arms were clenched in tight fists and he softly said, 'Let's leave. You're not safe here.'
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