‘No, it’s fine. I usually have friends over, so they’re used to it. Until recently they wouldn’t even let me go out alone with friends. I just think they’re too cautious.’ Celine wanted to tell him about her sister being kidnapped but thought it was not the right time, it might sour their mood. She did not want Max to pity her like everybody else she tried to date. They thought of her as someone who needed fixing because of the tragedy which happened years ago.
The reason she felt attracted to Max, was that he knew nothing about her past, and he did not treat her like a fragile porcelain doll. He pushed and pulled at her, tested her patience, and challenged her like one would a person who was not considered damaged as she was. And she liked it, because for once in her life, he treated her like a regular person. She was Celine, the daring woman he met at the bar, and she had her own identity, not the girl
Clara could not believe it. The need to deny that she found her family ran deep in her bones. She never imagined this could happen because, for the past 10 years, their results had led them nowhere. And now that it has, it felt surreal. ‘This is not real. Is it?’ Baz handed her the paper so she could read it herself. 99.99% match. She looked at the men standing in front of her and wondered how they got Celine’s DNA so easily. There was something fishy going on here, but she could not put her finger on it. She’d go into that later. What she wanted to do right now, is to process the information given to her, her knees gave way when she reached the sofa. ‘Clara!’ Baz was right on her elbow, sitting her on his lap. Her brothers stood at attention. ‘Honey, are you okay?’
Clara ignored all the warning bells in her head and made up her mind to be brave. She might just be reading too much into the situation, and Rowan might turn out to be an okay guy. ‘Sure, Max and I will take you up on your offer. Do you want us to meet you there?’ Clara asks as she helps Max clear up the conference room. ‘I heard everything around here is walking distance. Is that true?’ ‘It’s true. It would be a nightmare to drive anywhere around here, especially if you are not used to the area. Lots of one-way streets. Come, let’s walk to the restaurant,’ Rowan says as he takes the laptop from Clara’s hand. She was so used to the men around her carrying her bags that she forgot for a moment that he was not Baz or one of her brothers. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, you don’t need to carry the laptop for me,’ she says to Rowan.
‘So let me ask you this, Mr. Kingston. Do you have a wife?’ Clara decided the direct approach was the way to approach Rowan since he was being brazen about his intentions. ‘No, and no girlfriend either, I would like to date you if that is possible,’ he was getting straight to the point as well, forgetting that Max was with them. He was eating his meal calmly like he was having a normal conversation, and he was not trying to piss off Clara. ‘That’s flattering, but I have a boyfriend already, Mr. Kingston. I hope that doesn’t prevent you from considering our business.’ she had been waiting for this chance to let him know she had a boyfriend all day. And she was glad that she could finally get it out. ‘I know. You’re with Sebastian Colfer from the Navio shipping company, right? But you’re not married yet, and I thin
Max rambled on as soon as he got into their hotel room. ‘My God, Clara, what is up with you and the CEO of these companies? Everyone we signed up with seems to be half in love with you before they even get to know you, and they’re very aggressive about it. Do they know how bad-tempered and impulsive you are? That you eat too much and you snore?’ ‘Oh shut up, like I have a choice about who we met at that convention.’ She throws him a pillow. ‘I don’t snore, doofus!’ He laughed out loud. ‘That’s what pissed you off?’ The door to the bathroom closed, then opened again. ‘By the way, we’re having dinner with Rowan tonight, and he expects you to be there. Maybe I should skip it and let you have a romantic candlelit dinner with him by yourself. After you walked out on me, he went back to a regular business executive. I say give him a chance. He was probably overwhel
In the cab, Max drapes his arm around Clara. He knows that in her mind, there was a war going on. Her mind is fighting whether she should have backed down, accepting his invitation for dinner to show that arrogant fool that he did not really scare her. But on the other, she felt she did the right thing, avoiding him as much as she could. She would swallow her pride and do what was good for the company, but she would not let misogynistic men like him win. She leans against Max and sighs, ‘Max, did I do the right thing? It kind of scared me to accept his invitation, that if he took me to dinner, something else might happen. He looked like he would have been capable of taking drastic measures, of taking me against my will. What if I’m not as strong as I thought I was? If I couldn’t fight him back…’ He hugged her closer. ‘It’s okay sis, he’s just another cl
Rowan was not ready to give up. He had found the perfect woman for him, and he was going to do everything in his power to make Clara his. ‘Rowan, this is not a good idea. I really love Sebastian, and there is nothing you can do to sway me.’ She turns around and runs around her table to get away when she feels her ponytail getting pulled behind her. ‘Owww!’ she screams as Rowan pulls her against him. ‘You are mine! I found you first. That rat stole you from me,’ he said as he caged her arms, preventing her from escaping or using her elbows on him. Clara struggles out of his hold. But because he was bigger and stronger, he subdues her for a few seconds. She then tries to stamp on his foot, but he expected what she wanted to do and used his foot to kick hers away. ‘Stop struggling. I will not hurt you,’
Sunday It has been 4 hours since the SST team started their journey, and what started out as a new adventure was beginning to feel like “the trip from hell." They still had 5 to 6 hours of driving before reaching San Diego, but the truck had broken down twice already. They had an excellent breakfast 2 hours into their trip, and that’s where everything started. First, they had a flat tire. It was nothing they couldn’t fix, except for the fact that the spare was also flat. Whoever used the rental truck did not report the issue, so now they had to deal with it. They had to wait for the rental company to bring them a new tire, and they said they would have to get it from the main office, almost as close as to where they came from, and it pushed their schedule back another 2 hours. She should have relaxed
By the time the entire team arrived, everyone was too tired to work on anything. And Sebastian, being the gracious host, had ordered the group food for dinner. Pizza, chicken wings, and beer to take the edge off. And to Clara, that was a plus for being thoughtful and attentive to their needs. Sebastian was ticking off a lot of boxes on the boyfriend list. Clara didn’t have one, but if she did, Sebastian would have all the standards for what a boyfriend should be. He even offered to fly everybody home on his private jet because he knew Clara would not ride with him and let her team suffer on the commercial flight. It was an excuse to spend more time together and maybe cuddle with her on the plane. During dinner, they talked about who was sharing rooms at the hotel. Clara had the hotel room to herself, and th