BILLIONAIRE SCIENTIST & HIS NEW SECRETARY

CHAPTER THREE

PART ONE

In case some have not realised, please note that you can check my profile page for my comments as to when I will update and such. Thanks!

I decided to up the rating to T for safety because I realize that a lot of TP fans are younger than other fan groups, so more warning is probably needed. This update was surprisingly more difficult to write than the usual and I hope it's not too long-winded. It's different from the snippet I had posted on the blog as I decided to beef it up and flesh out Numair's character more.

Thank you Dolphindreamer for pointing out the grammatical errors, I have amended them accordingly.

Thank you for all your reviews! If you want me to respond to your question or query, please leave me some way to contact you. Especially appreciate those that pointed out errors, as I often write and update in a hurry (Special thanks to Tortall's Resident Wildchild! Sharp eyes! I honestly would never be able to spot the mistake if you didn't tell me!). Ankhet, I don't mind if you point out errors I have made. Indeed, I would be very appreciative if you would, as I always look for ways to improve the fic. Admittedly, I often just update without reading it again once through. –looks guilty-

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HIGH SOCIETY: GOSSIP COLUMN

Dear Readers,

At High Society, I am not an advice columnist, but I have received a copious amount of mail concerning personal problems and anecdotes. An interesting observation I have made from the common men and celebrities is that no matter how much we may have gone through in life we will always remember the FIRST.

The First will be special.

The First will be treasured and engraved in our memories.

After the First, the Second, the Third, just simply pales into the distance, a vague memory. Ask anyone, when was the first time they kissed, they can probably recall with great fondness perhaps and regale with greater detail than necessary. Ask them about the second, third, one will often be rewarded with a sheepish "I can't remember", or "I think it was…". This First label is most commonly attached to one's First Kiss or one's First Love. I must admit that I myself am not immune to this "first" syndrome. Nor does Numair Salmalin as it appears. A very much open secret that his First Love was the lovely and vivacious Varice Kingsford. Although they were university sweethearts, they never got together. However, they never got together with other people as well.

But then again, it is most commonly quoted that:

"A man wants to be a woman's first love, while a woman wants to be his last."

It must be noted that the male and female perspective of this quote is not mutually exclusive. Who says that one cannot be the first AND the last? According to a recent poll, the number of women who wanted to be Numair's "last" love is more than 500,000.

XXX Lady Dove

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Daine & Miri's Apartment…

"Lady Dove is right," Daine muttered to herself, perched on the stool next to the kitchen counter. "First and last is not mutually exclusive. That is the first and last time Mr Salmalin is kissing me. Idiot!"

"First and last what?" Miri asked, coming into the small kitchen.

"Oh nothing," Daine said, and quickly drank her tea.

Miri glanced at what Daine was reading, "Ahh… Feeling upset that Numair has a first love? It's kind of sweet actually."

Daine rolled her eyes, but held her tongue, thinking 'If only people really knew how mean Varice can be in luring and stringing Numair along like that! I don't know if she's being mean or just selfish, but objectively, any idiot should know that sort of behaviour is unbecoming.' Out loud, she said, "Rubbish! He doesn't interest me at all. He's just my boss." She bit her lip upon suddenly remembering that he may not be her boss any more and added lightly, "Anyway, this job may not be to my liking, so I may switch to another place."

"What?" Miri screeched. "It's just your third day, surely the job ain't that bad? Or…" She sat eagerly in front of Daine with a bowl of cereal, "Did something happen between you and McDreamy? Hmm hmm?"

Daine spluttered. "No, no, nothing happened." She looked innocently at Miri. "Why would it? He's just my boss," she laughed and tried to keep her tone light, "Anyway, look at me, I'm not someone that Numair would even take a passing fancy. I would be the last woman on earth he would have romantic interest in." With that, she went into her bedroom to change. That was the truth, but still, somehow Daine felt strangely hurt by it. But oh why oh why did she remember the warmth of his embrace and how good he tasted?

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Numair's Apartment…

"Salmalin," Numair muttered to himself, "What in the hell were you thinking?" He raked his left hand through his hair as he resisted the urge to smack his head against the wall. The exact same wall that he had just thrown his alarm clock against. He rolled onto his stomach, sprawled across his enormous bed.

He felt bad.

He felt guilty.

This was an emotion he rarely felt, especially with regard to members of the fairer sex. He definitely had more than adequate skills to satisfy females in every single way – emotionally, mentally, physically… Most of the females he mingled with were sufficiently sophisticated (or sometimes Alanna said sufficiently mercenary) to appreciate what he could give and knew how to appease him. Their feminine mannerisms always triggered the innate gentleman lurking within him. Yet, somehow when it came to Daine who probably had no inkling of how to wield her feminine gifts and in his efforts to cover up his embarrassment, he had treated her rather callously.

For crying out loud, although he was no stranger to feminine appreciation of his nude physique, it was plain embarrassing to be caught in the almost buff by a colleague. And he certainly was not going to explain to the magazine crew that he received the scratch on his face because he had hugged her. He knew very well that some prickly members of the board was not going to be happy that his new secretary had injured his face before a publicity campaign and the possible scandal that would result if that came out. He could just imagine the headlines screaming "Numair Salmalin accosts his new secretary on first day of work". She would be fired immediately to avoid any speculation of a torrid boss-secretary affair.

He groaned and rolled nearer to the edge of the bed. Spare him from innocents! He had no idea how to handle them. He made a mess of yesterday and how he dealt with the situation. Resorting to very un-Numair like behaviour in forcibly grabbing her, oh heck, some may even call it abduction. And why did he kiss her? It would only serve him right if she started doodling his name in hearts "Mrs Numair Salmalin".

She was a bewildering puzzle that he was trying to figure out. An odd specimen that treated him like no other female had before. Admittedly, most of the women he knew had sufficient experience or emotional quotient to deal with males, whether platonically or otherwise. Daine had this aura of innocence and vulnerability, but was a feisty little baggage when pushed. The things she had said to him… with such frankness that was shocking, but refreshing. When he ran into her at the office, he thought that the worst way she would retaliate was to berate him like she did in his bedroom. Hence, he was more than just shocked when silent tears slid down her eyes. It was a sharp jab to his heart and was more effective than a knee in the groin. He felt like he had kicked a puppy and a strong accompanying desire to compensate for his wrong.

Numair heaved himself out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. The bathroom was an open concept, with no walls partitioning it from the bedroom. Only the toilet bowl was hidden from sight behind a discreet panel in the wall. Otherwise, the huge bath tub that doubled as a Jacuzzi, the two marble sinks with accompanying mirrors and other accessories lay in plain sight the moment anyone walked through the bedroom door. Perhaps he should be grateful that he was not showering when Daine charged into his bedroom.

He turned on the shower head and braced himself against the wall, letting the hot water run over him. Daine… she was a bit of an oddity, and did not neatly fit into any of his normal categorization of females.

To him, females that he regularly interacted with came in three categories – family, friend material, girlfriend potential. Each group was accorded different treatment. Family, of course, was the easiest. Female relatives were to be benevolently treated, indulged and protectively looked after. Or perhaps too protectively looked after, he still remembered Alicia cringing at how he had coldly scrutinized the mere slip of a boy who had brought her home from a movie.

Girlfriend potentials, well. Being girlfriend material doesn't necessarily mean that he would hook up with them or anything would result from the relationship. They were just females that he can appreciate… aesthetically and this often resulted in a rather mutually casual flirtatious mode of communication. They all tended to be sophisticated and mature women who knew the rules of the game- hence, they didn't take things too seriously and often playfully flirted back. Those who… enjoyed his affections would be indulged for that momentary period that they could snag his attention.

His female friends tended to be outgoing and humorous. He joked around with them, enjoyed having long conversations with them and generally acted like a brother or good drinking buddy. With him acting as their confidante, sometimes jokingly (and occasionally not jokingly) offering to help beat up their ex. Friendships were strictly platonic and he never, never crossed the line. Having vicariously witnessed how sex can muck up a perfectly good friendship has made him determined never to let a friendship develop to something more. No matter how mature both parties are, he found that there would still be that awkward memory between them and things would never be quite the same way again.

When he met a female, bam, she was instantly and safely tucked under a category. However, Daine just didn't fit in any of the categories. She was not family. Yet, she just didn't fit under friend or girlfriend material. She was not someone whom he would joke around with nor flirt with. Distinguishing between friends and girlfriend material was mostly based on gut feeling. His head screamed that she was not a girlfriend material, as she was not the kind of female that he was ordinarily attracted to. Yet he just didn't get this gut feeling that she was a friend material. He shook his head, she was friend material.

F-r-i-e-n-d.

He certainly could not imagine himself having a more than platonic relationship with her. His head eagerly agreed with him, but why oh why did he remember how soft her lips felt or how good she felt against him?

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Tortall Inc, Onua's Office…

"Oh my, that is quite romantic," Onua remarked, grinning at Alanna whose cheeks were the same colour as her infamous red hair.

"Romantic?" Alanna protested, "That man took advantage of me! Kissing me when my arms were full with all the food from DD he was delivering."

"Remind me to order in from DD more often," Onua joked under her breath, taking a sip of her coffee.

Alanna deliberately ignored Onua and tried to change the topic, "I'm quite surprised at the turn of events concerning Daine. Yesterday Gary and a few other members of the board were quite determined to get rid of Daine, because Numair's behaviour seemed to worsen. Especially since this is a crucial period of time that Numair must try and come up with a new line of products in time for the launching date." She leaned forward to take a piece of flaky pastry from the DD box on Onua's desk. "It's been quite a record breaking day. Daine was supposed to have the dubious honour of being the secretary with the shortest tenure at Tortall Inc. But, lo and behold, she had the honour of being the first secretary that Numair had pushed his weight for."

Onua grinned, "Though Numair hardly throws his weight around, but when he does, it really makes an impact!"

"I'll say!" Alanna mumbled, through a mouthful of pastry. "Not only did he unofficially over-rule the board members in firing Daine, but he unilaterally threw in a healthy clothes budget and pay raise for her. I heard he installed some sort of clothes rack for her in the office with some clothing of her size. We've been all commanded by him to act as if all his secretaries all along had this clothing perk. Though I wonder whether she will swallow the lie, especially when some of the clothes are worth more than her annual wages!" She swallowed her pastry, "But I can't exactly fault him, as she does have to present a good image to his visitors and doesn't seem to have the means to do so."

Onua nodded and obligingly handed Alanna the serviette that she was trying to reach for. "Thanks," Alanna responded, then shook her head, "But what amazes me the most is that he did all of this before eight-thirty am this morning before she came in for work!"

Onua smirked, "I told you so, I told you so. She's going to be good for him."

Alanna raised an eyebrow, "Don't tell me you think he's falling for her? She's not even the right colouring or body shape!"

Onua rolled her eyes, but grinned, "No, if I intended for him to fall for his secretary, I would hire Varice. But… I think our dear Mr Salmalin is beginning to develop a soft spot for Daine."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hee hee, though it's a modern fic that is unrelated to Tortall plot line, I couldn't help but draw a parallel between Alanna's first kiss in the book and her first kiss with George in this fic. ;)

I put Daine's scene before Numair's scene because it was related to Lady Dove's article although originally I had put it after Numair's soliloquy. On the time lag, well, Daine has to take public transport to work during rush hour, while Numair conveniently stays at the workplace, so he definitely has a head start over her. Some of the stuff he has done was already in process from the day before. For example, the purchase of clothes was already completed the previous day as he already had this in mind when he dragged her into the shop.