04 – The Story of Schlauraffen Land

Kate pushed the door shut behind her and took a deep breath trying to calm her anger a little. She'd have to work fast now if she didn't want Ford to find out everything just yet. She had plans for the guy, and she was planning on seeing them through and not even her best friend would stop her this time, because this time it was different. Kate didn't know how yet, but it was. She rushed to her desk and pushed the intercom. "Lucy, first you make sure Ford gets into the conference room safe and sound and WITHOUT so much as a word of you, then you'll offer him something to drink and you'll be all nice and decent and then, then you'll get your DAMN ASS in here!" She was yelling. Kate never yelled. She was ought to be composed, but something had managed to make her temper boil. With a heated expression she sat down in her big office chair and checked her watch. 4.25 pm. Five more minutes until she'd have to see him again, look into his steel blue eyes again. He did something to her but Kate didn't want to think about that too much. She could still feel the heat that had been coming from his skin. The way he had touched her was rough, urgent, primal at best. But she had liked it, oh hell she'd even loved it. No matter how many guys she'd slept with in her past, handsome guys, sensitive guys, tough guys, desperate guys, Sawyer seemed to be a whole new league and Kate only wanted to find out if she was ready for this rise.

She rummaged through her drawer until she found her pocket mirror and lipstick. She looked more than obviously flushed – she looked had, even though she hadn't been. Damn. What would I look like if we'd actually done it, Kate thought. She quickly applied some lipstick and put a strand of hair behind her ear when the door opened and Lucy walked in with an unreadable expression on her face. She walked towards Kate's desk and sat down in one of the chairs. Kate put the lipstick and mirror back into the drawer and shot her an angry look. "You! How dare you interfere like that? You went down to the maintenance guy and told him to turn on the alarm? Have you gone completely mad, Luce?" Lucy took an exasperated breath."Kate, have you totally forgotten about last time? You were desperate and angry because your dad was giving you a hard time and that jackass whose name I won't even dignify with mentioning had just dumped you. You went into a bar got drunk like a sailor and hooked up with the first guy you set eyes on. You ended up getting fucked in the dirty restroom of a damn bar, Kate. And may I remind you? You hated yourself for weeks after this. I was just trying to protect you, honey." Lucy's voice was steady and calm and it helped soothe some of Kate's initial anger.

Kate clenched her jaw. "You were encouraging it, Lucy, you said I should make sure he doesn't get lost in fucking translation!" Lucy looked at her with a stern expression. "Yeah Kate, I thought you might get to know the guy, have a little fun, but you were going in for the kill!" Her voice was concerned which made Kate realize that Lucy was in fact serious. She took another calming breath and looked at her best friend. "I know you're worried Lucy, but there's something different about this guy and even though you might say I'm fooling myself and I probably am, I don't care. I've been sulking long enough, Luce, I deserve a little fun and even though I know you only did this to protect me and I thank you for that because you're the best friend anyone could have, I'm not backing out, sorry Luce." Kate's voice was steady again, determined and all boss-like. Lucy knew that when Kate was talking like that, there was no arguing. She'd have to take more drastic measures, but for now, she'd just shut up. Kate checked her watch again. 4.30 pm. Time to go. She smiled temptingly and got up. "See you later, Luce" and with these words she left the room.

--

Sawyer checked his watch. 4.30 pm. That Lin Liu guy would arrive any second. Somehow he was a little intimidated. Normally he was never scared of anything, he'd had enough shit in his life to cope with to play scared kitten, but something about the behavior of his assistant Lucy made his insides jump. SHE had been scared and that was never a good sign. He shifted in his chair uncomfortably when it hit him. Wait a minute, if THAT had been Lucy, who the hell was the beautiful woman in the elevator? He'd been thinking she was Lucy but apparently she wasn't. But who was she if not the scary Chinese guy's assistant? Mistake, bad mistake. It was never good not to know your turf and Sawyer had just blindfoldedly jumped into foreign waters. "Damn" he hissed with clenched teeth when suddenly the door opened and a distinctive pair of Mary Janes walked into the room.

Sawyer's mouth would've fallen open if he hadn't composed himself. What the fuck is she doing here, he asked himself. Kate smiled at him friendly and sat down in the chair opposite of him. She put a pile of files down on the table in front of her, took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. Sawyer eyed her curiously. Was she another assistant? Wasn't the big guy going to make it? Her expression was composed and unreadable and Sawyer decided to play along. He let a smirk appear on his face that displayed his dimples and of which he knew the effect it had on women of all ages. Kate looked at him intensely and smiled back. He was game. Again. She'd show him. She licked her lips seductively and blinked at him which caused the blood in Sawyer's veins to heat up way too much for an afternoon meeting. What was that woman doing? He was thinking about a sneaky remark when she got up and offered him her right hand: "Good afternoon Mr. Ford, my name is Katherine Austen Liu, but around here people simply call me Lin Liu, I believe we have a meeting scheduled for 4.30 pm. It's my pleasure to meet you."

WHAT THE FUCK?? The thoughts only raced through Sawyer's head. She was Lin Liu? Lin Liu wasn't a fat old Chinese guy? At first Sawyer didn't know what to think or feel. He was surprised, shocked even, but he was also somehow angry at her, pissed even but there was this other part inside of him that was just painfully aroused by the whole idea. She was the boss of Mandarin books. Sawyer quickly took her hand and shook it trying his best to hide his shocked expression and obviously succeeding. "Pleasure's all mine, Miss Liu" he said with his honey drawl that he knew would soon drive her crazy again. They both sat down again unsure what do say or do next but both trying their best not to let the other know. Kate was the first to speak again. "The Mandarin Books corporation is very pleased to have you here Mr. Ford. Your expansion towards the Asian market will surely be a successful one and we are indeed looking forward to doing business with you as we still lack market on the east coast of the United States." Kate's voice was all business-like and serious and for a moment Sawyer wondered if this was indeed the same woman as in the elevator mere minutes ago. The both seemed so different he was flabbergasted. The woman in front of him was composed, serious, knew exactly what she was doing and was prepared to use all means possible to get what she wanted. The woman from the elevator on the other had had been unleashed, wild, uncontrolled and not giving a fuck about consequences.

When he was about to say something equally boring and business-like the phone in the huge conference room rang and Kate hesitated only a mere second before answering it. She talked in perfect Chinese for a few moments – which Sawyer found extremely enticing – before she put the handset down and switched to speakerphone. "Dad, this is James Ford, the owner and CEO of Ford Books. Mr. Ford, this is Chan Liu, incorporator of Mandarin Books, CEO of the San Francisco branch and my father." Sawyer sensed slight discomfort in Kate's voice. It was obvious that her father still had a say in all things business and apparently private, too, which made the brunette uncomfortable. 

"Mr. Ford" Chan Liu began in an equally accent-free English "I'm very pleased that you've decided to take the long journey to Hong Kong. This town is quite an experience and I truly hope you'll come to love it as much as I do." Sawyer smiled smugly. "I've already had a glimpse of a few very enticing things, Mr. Liu and I do hope I'll have enough time to gain deeper insight." Kate shot him a killer look. "I'm being told the meetings with the associates only start tomorrow, so why don't you show Mr. Ford around town, Katie? Make sure he gets to see the finer parts of Hong Kong, see to his well-being, alright? Mr. Ford, it was my pleasure and I hope we get to meet each other in person in the future. Enjoy your stay in Hong Kong and if there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask my daughter." An even wider smirk appeared on Sawyer's face. "Thanks a lot Mr. Liu." "Bye, Katie, Mr. Ford." "Bye, Dad".

Kate looked at Sawyer with a genuine smile that instantly turned into a serious expression again. "Which hotel are you staying at, Mr. Ford?" she asked with her steel cold business voice. For a split second Sawyer was unsure what she was suggesting but decided to play it cool as well. "The Mandarin Oriental" he said. Kate nodded. "Alright. How about I'll ask Lucy to get you a driver to your hotel and I pick you up at 7? I'll have a table reserved at the Café Deco and you can enjoy the best view over town while having the best sea food in Hong Kong. What do you think?" Sawyer was astonished, she was doing as ordered, the woman from the elevator never would've done that but it only heightened his interest to find out what it would take to bring the wild and unleashed Kate out again. With another smirk he simply said: "Would be my pleasure" and watched an unreadable Kate leave the room.