3

‘I was going to ring you tomorrow.’ Luke says. His eyes pierced into hers.

‘You were?’ She asked. She looked so innocent.

And that just turned him on more. And extremely so.

‘Yes. I’m glad I could catch you earlier.’

‘OK.’

He couldn’t help chuckling at her nervousness.

‘So, why were you going to call me?’ Vera demanded, feeling embarrassed for why he was laughing.

Luke was shocked at first.

No one demands Luke without any consequences.

But he was finding that he accepted it from this little woman sitting beside him.

If anything. It turned him on.

‘I wanted to offer you the job.’ He said, keeping his face blank of any emotion.

Yet he was trembling inside.

He couldn’t wait to see her reaction.

And boy did she have quite the reaction.

‘You are? Because I thought I done a shit interview.’

‘Do you?’ He asked, raising his eye brows.

He honestly didn’t think she did.

But then again, he was too mesmerized by her to notice if she had.

He looked at her. As in, he really looked at her.

Her eyes an exact reflection of his daughters.

They were hypnotizing. They dared to suck him in.

He missed that, five years ago. Because when they were together, she wore a blindfold.

He then noticed that he had been right. Because now looking at Vera and comparing her to his daughter. And that he had hoped that she would look like Vera.

His daughter looked exactly like her.

He smiled to himself with that thought.

Lost in his own thought, Luke was startled to see Vera jump off the stool.

‘Is everything ok?’ He asked, hopping off the stool too.

‘My um.’ She began to sway.

Luke didn’t think about it and step forward and caught her. His arms instinctly wrapped themselves around her small frame. 

‘What’s wrong?’ He demanded, not liking, seeing Vera this way.

He wanted to know her thoughts, to what has made her this way.

‘My head is a little woozy.’ She says.

Her voice was now slightly slurred.

He knew exactly why her head was woozy.

It made him mad. Not at her. But at himself. But because he had kept buying her drinks. He didn’t know how many she had drunk before that.

Now he had to help her.

He held her close to his side, while he helped her walk out of the bar. He gritted his teeth, trying to keep calm.

Though as soon as he reached the elevator, he swiftly lifted her up in his arms. It surprised him by how light she felt.

It shocked him even.

What shocked him more. She had passed out and had rested her head in his chest.

He wasn’t prepared for his heart to beat faster.

Especially when she had wrapped her arms around his neck. And then snuggled further into his chest.

Her touch sends fireworks explode in his body. But he promised himself that he wasn’t going to dare to touch her tonight. Luke wanted her to trust him.

And believe him. It shocked him.

He had never wanted a woman to trust him before. He couldn’t care if they did or not.

But for some reason, Vera Rayne was not one of the women.

He wanted her to trust him.

He was not going to take advantage of her.

Because Vera was weightless in Luke’s arms. He found it easy to gently shift most of her weight in one arm, while he pulled out his swipe card.

He swiped his card and then pressed the button that said top floor. That was where the penthouse was. His penthouse.

He didn’t know which floor or room Vera was staying at. Which he will find out tomorrow. So, the only option was to take her to his place. That way, he knew she would be safe.

Each second. Each minute, he held onto her was pure agony.

He had not expected any of this would happen once he left his office.

But he was secretly glad it did.

This was the opportunity to get her to trust him.

Once in his place. He quickly walked into his bedroom and laid her down on the bed.

He swiftly walked out of his room and walked straight into the next room. Where he ripped off the blanket and came back to Vera.

He wanted her to be comfortable. So in saying that, he didn’t want to get too cold. So, as gentle and as soft as he could, he placed the blanket on her.

A moan escaped from her beautiful mouth. It made Luke melt. He wanted to kneel down in front of her and touch her face.

But he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t dare anything that might possibly wake her up.

He didn’t want to startle her.

He sat down on the leather chair from across her. He could still see her face.

He admired her silently while thinking to himself that he never thought he would ever see her again, after that late afternoon five and a half years ago, when it was confirmed she was pregnant.

He hadn’t see her after that.

For some reason, it made him feel guilty.

And he didn’t know why.

In the morning, make sure kitchen sends up the entire breakfast menu. He sent his very own personal assistant. The only one that he knew he could trust.

He wanted to make sure she had enough food when she woke. Because he knew she would have a hangover when she woke.

….

Vera woke with a start, swiftly sitting up.

She didn’t know what had happened.

Though she was scared that she had been taking advantage of.

She would not cry yet. She would wait until she was alone. Because Vera didn’t cry in front of anyone.

That was her strength.

She, had quickly checked her body. She had made sure her panties were still on. Though she knew that it wasn’t a hundred percent evidence that nothing had happened to her.

But she sighed in relief when she saw that all her clothes were still intact. And she was still wearing panties.

She tried to remember what happened before she blacked out.

She remembered sitting by the bar sipping her second glass of vodka.

Then she heard Mr. Reynolds voice from behind her. Making her jump spilling her drink.

He happened to be the boss she had an interview with.

He ordered them both a drink.

And then another.

He then told her that she had been given the job.

She remembered that she swore making him laugh.

Then all at once the alcohol had gone to her head. She began to feel the room around her was spinning.

She jumped off the stool, only to have the man catch her.

After that, it was blurry.

She didn’t remember anything else.

Of course she was embarrassed by the whole ordeal.

But it wasn’t her to act on it.

That’s when she realized that she wasn’t in her room.

In all her years, she has never woken up in someone’s bed.

Truth be told.

The last person she slept with. Was the father of the children she had.

To be honest, he had been the only man she had slept with.

She wasn’t saving herself for someone. She just simply wasn’t interested in having relationships or having sex right now.

Then something caught her left eye. She didn’t dare to move the slightest and look. So, sitting as still as she could, she slid her eyes to what caught her eye. 

It so happened to be the man from downstairs.

The man she had an interview with.

The very man who offered her a job.

That’s if he still wanted to give it to her now. She embarrassed herself in front of him.

‘Shit,’ she hissed, cursing in Russian.

That had seemed to wake Luke up. He was surprised and impressed that he heard her speak Russian.

He knew exactly what she had said.

So, he watched her. He was analyzing her reactions.

Something jerked Vera up straighter. She had felt like she was being watched.

So, without thinking, she turned her head to look at the man.

It was clear that she was startled when she saw that the man was now awake and watching her.

They both seemed to be speechless. They didn’t know what to  say to each other.

Luke was worried that the woman was going to accuse him of doing something to her.

Vera, she was just simply speechless because this was a first that this has ever happened to her.

A minute of silence, suddenly was broken by the sound of a knock on the door.

Without blinking, Luke hopped up to answer the door.

It could only be out of two people.

First, his trusted friend and personal assistant.

Two, Room service for Vera’s breakfast.

While Luke went off to answer his door. Vera thought it was best if she got off the bed. After all, this was where the boss often slept.

Vera threw the blankets off her and then threw her legs over the bed. It wasn’t until her feet touched the carpeted floor, that she realized that Mr. Reynolds had taken her shoes off.

She didn’t know how to feel about that.

It was clear that he wanted her to be comfortable.

He didn’t know her.

So why?

She would never ask.

Instead, she slowly slid off the bed. Which she realized how ridiculously high it was. Like seriously. It was at least as high as her knees.

She also registered the headache that was pounding. Her head felt like it was going to explode.

She had to find her shoes. Which annoyed her. A lot.

Her shoes, she had found them by the chair that Luke had been sleeping in.

She decided not to put her shoes on because her head pounded too much and so she didn’t trust not breaking her ankle.

Vera saw the bathroom then. So decided she would wash her face instead. She thought it would wake her up a bit more.

Luke on the other hand opened the door. It was clear to see that the boy on the other side of the door, was surprised to see that it was Luke who had answered the door.

And that was fair. Because he has never answered the door.

No. Josh, his trusted personal assistant and close friend often did.

Luke tipped the boy well. He then wheeled the trolley into the living room then went to get Vera.

At first, when he stepped into his room, Luke could not see the sight of Vera. He frowned for a moment thinking where she had gone.

Though he could  see her shoes were still where he had placed them.

He then heard a tap running.

Bathroom. He said to himself.

He didn’t dare to go any closer. The temptation was just to great.

‘There is breakfast in the living room.’ he called out to her. 

‘Ok…  Thank you.’ He heard her quietly call back.

It made Luke smile before he left the room and walked into the living room. He needed to keep his distance for now.