WARMING THE BILLIONAIRE COLD HEART

Yeah, Nicholas was missing someone. Who? Briana? Well, he felt confused about what he was feeling right now. Throughout his journey to the office, suddenly a feeling of longing surged within his chest. There was a very real sense of emptiness. However, who the cause of that feeling was, he couldn’t yet determine. It turns out that besides being indecisive, Nicholas has become a strange man now. Is he starting to catch the Kenzi disease?

“****”

The shiny black stilettos that adorned her long legs began to tap on the tiles rhythmically. Wearing a dusty pink blouse paired with a black knee-length pencil skirt, Kimberly looked charming today. Every time she received greetings from her fellow coworkers, she smiled warmly and responded politely.

“Good morning, Kimmy,” greeted the tall man as Kimberly was about to enter the executive elevator.

“Morning, Mr. Edward,” Kimberly replied. A moment later, she checked the time on her wrist and asked, “Why are you heading down so early?”

The man smiled. “I was asked to attend a meeting with the advertising team this morning. That’s why I’m heading down earlier.”

Kimberly nodded. When the elevator door opened, they both walked together into the meeting room. Several department heads were already sitting in their respective chairs. Kimberly took her seat behind the main participants’ chairs.

When Nicholas entered the meeting room and glanced around the room, Kimberly lowered her head. Embarrassed? Definitely. The incident of sending the wrong message last night not only embarrassed her but might have also damaged her reputation. If she could choose not to work or not to meet Nicholas for a while, she might choose that option. Unfortunately, her big boss this morning reminded her again not to forget to come down earlier. How unlucky!

“So, which topic should we discuss first?” Nicholas began the morning meeting.

A representative from the advertising team handed a file to Nicholas for him to read first. Shortly afterward, the man, later known as Robin, began to explain.

“The purpose of creating this advertisement is to raise public awareness about the impact of air pollution and various activities that can reduce it through public service announcements and information. As an audience attraction, we can use the backdrop of the ad in the strategically located residential complex recently completed by Alpha Beta.”

Nicholas and Edward nodded in agreement as they listened to Robin’s explanation.

“Could you explain the field mechanism and execution?” Now it was Edward’s turn to ask.

“In general, the ad video will be shown for 60 seconds. The production process for this video is expected to be completed by next month at the latest, considering that this is an agenda that needs to be executed promptly. As for the production process, the advertisers are collaborating with a third party, so we expect the production process to meet the target and deadline provided.”

Edward nodded once, rubbing his chin as if pondering something. “I think we should also focus on how this ad video can promote a healthy lifestyle in the community. The existing benefits in the housing complex don’t have to be forced into separate sessions but should become a part of a semiotic that is easily understood by the public. This way, the public can easily comprehend and hopefully emulate the lifestyle portrayed in the ad, especially in the housing complex.”

“Agreed, let’s execute everything tomorrow then,” Nicholas replied. “What else will we discuss after the ad?”

“Regarding the ad model, sir,” Robin answered.

Nicholas furrowed his brow. “What’s the issue with the model? Is there a problem?”

Robin shook his head. “No, sir. We need your approval first. Allow me to call the model to join us in the meeting room.”

Robin seemed to reach for his phone in his suit pocket and sent a quick message to the person he referred to. Shortly after, a knock on the door was followed by the entrance of a beautiful woman in a cocktail dress who took a seat next to Robin.

“Mr. Nicholas and Edward, let me introduce Kimmy. She will be the cast for the ad we’re working on.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Kimberly, or you can just call me Kimmy. I’ll be the model in your ad scenes.”

The woman named Kimmy extended her hand toward Edward and Nicholas. Meanwhile, from a distance, Kimberly watched with indifference as Nicholas greeted the attractive woman. It was clear from Kimmy’s expression that she was interested in Nicholas.

“Please control yourself, Mr. Ice Cube! As cold as you are, I’m sure you must be tempted when presented with such a beautiful woman.”

The meeting, which was supposed to end in two hours, had to be extended to three hours due to the numerous requests that Kimmy had to accommodate. Kimberly couldn’t help but wonder why they had to use a cast and model like Kimmy, who seemed to have many demands even before the ad production had begun.

“Why all this fuss? Is she a world-famous supermodel?”

Kimberly sighed in frustration as she observed Kimmy’s behavior.

“Is she the only model in the world? When it comes to beauty, I think I’m prettier. We’re just different in luck, right?”

Kimberly couldn’t help but pout in annoyance. Her eyes locked onto Nicholas and Kimmy, who were still engrossed in their conversation at the meeting table. Suddenly, Nicholas’s gaze unintentionally shifted in Kimberly’s direction. Their eyes met briefly. For some reason, Kimberly felt awkward again and quickly lowered her head.

Hold it together, Kimberly. Why am I acting so awkward?

Take a deep breath… exhale…

***

The sun rose higher, revealing its full glory, causing sweat to race out from the pores of the skin. At this hour, throats would start to feel dry, and inevitably, stomachs would begin to demand their share.

Kimberly slouched at the cafeteria table, her head hanging low, listening to her two friends’ banter. After recounting her embarrassing incident from the previous night, Keyra and Alex continued to tease her. It wasn’t surprising to them that Kimberly could be careless, but they never expected her to make such a blunder by mistakenly sending a message to the company’s big boss.

“Oh my goodness, Kimmy, where are you going to hide your face?” Keyra asked, while Alex couldn’t stop laughing at Kimberly.

Kimberly grumbled in frustration. “This is all your fault, Key! I’ve lost my dignity now.”

“Thank goodness the message was just a loan request. I was imagining what if you had accidentally written something about a bet and made Mr. Nicholas fall in love,” Alex said.

Kimberly shuddered in fear and covered her face in frustration. “Yeah! I would have committed suicide right then and there, Lex! And why did both of them send messages at the same time?”

Keyra shook her head, observing Kimberly’s behavior. “Don’t blame me. It’s your fault for not checking the chat recipient’s name beforehand.”

“So, what should I do now? The meeting is tomorrow. I’m so embarrassed! During the meeting earlier, I kept my head down most of the time,” Kimberly whispered.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Alex pulled out his wallet from his pants pocket. “Here, take this money.”

Kimberly frowned. “Money? What’s it for?”

Alex flashed a smile and grabbed Kimberly’s wrist. He placed a money in her palm. “Keep it, to buy a face mask so you won’t be embarrassed.”

“Damn it!” Kimberly cursed as she playfully punched Alex’s arm, who was clearly enjoying her reaction.

Meanwhile, in a different location, two men were enjoying their lunch at a restaurant.

“What do you think of our ad model from this morning?” Nicholas asked, raising a glass of orange juice.

Edward, his dining companion, was busy chewing his food. “Not bad,” he replied, seeming uninterested.

Nicholas raised one of his eyebrows. “Not bad? Is that all?”

Seeing this, Edward set down his fork and replied, “What did you expect me to say?”

“I thought you’d be enthusiastic and say she’s beautiful.”

Edward chuckled at Nicholas’s words. “Maybe that’s what you want to hear? If she’s beautiful, I’ll say she’s beautiful. If she’s just okay, I’ll say she’s just okay. And if she’s ugly, I’ll call her ugly right away.”

“But why did you call Kimberly beautiful? I thought the model was prettier than my secretary.”

“That means you’re just judging someone based on their appearance, Nick. I’ve only known Kimberly for a short time, and I can already see that she has a different aura,” Edward replied, continuing his meal.

Nicholas smirked. “Nonsense, Ed. A playboy like you only judges women by their looks and physique, right?”

“True.” Edward nodded. “For fun, I might judge based on looks and appearance only. But for a serious relationship, I have to look at their attitude first. Your model from this morning doesn’t fit the criteria for a serious partner. Don’t you think she was just looking at you because you’re the boss?”

Nicholas was momentarily taken aback, trying to process Edward’s words. When it came to women, Nicholas admitted that Edward was the one who understood it the most. After all, Edward had spent almost half of his life enjoying himself with various types of women. However, it didn’t mean Nicholas couldn’t differentiate between a good woman and a bad one.

Kimberly’s name suddenly filled his mind. Since the incident when she fainted in the Archive building, Nicholas had unconsciously thought about her often. But to conclude that he liked or was interested in her, that still seemed very far away.