Chapter Four

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't hear the first two screeches of my name as I stepped out of the elevator, but soon enough, I realized it was Sarah who was hollering at me from inside the staff lounge.

Great! Now everyone within a ten-meter radius knew who I was.

"Yes! Hi, I'm here," I told her loudly in an attempt to shut up her obnoxious yelling. To be honest, I was actually rather grateful that I had someone to sit next to at lunch, even if she was rubbing off as a little over-the-top. God, it was like middle school all over again.

"Oh, Opelia, this is Diego. He works in the reception with me, and this is Harry. He's Mr. Kendrick's limo driver."

Limo driver? Wow!

I shook hands with both of the men sitting beside Sarah, unable to help but marvel at both of their insanely good looks. Why did everyone here look like a model? It turned out Diego was the one with the highly gelled dark hair and a slightly crooked smile that caused him to rub off as a man in his mid-forties, whilst Harry, on the other hand, was a typical young blonde with shaggy hair that reached just past his ears and friendly brown eyes.

I smiled warmly at them both as I introduced myself. As they finished eating and got up to leave, I grabbed myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and settled down next to Sarah.

"So, how's working for Mr. Hunky going?"

I raised an eyebrow at her odd choice of nickname. "It's okay. He's very easily offended, though, and obviously, I found that out the hard way," I said with a sigh.

She flinched, giving me a pitying look. "I was asking about the workload, but if you wanna talk about your hot boss, I won't object."

I gasped as she burst into a fit of giggles. Smiling, I tried to change the subject. "Well, it was fine until I pissed him off, and now I have to figure out how to compile a contract."

Weirdly, she just smirked in response again.

"What?" I asked.

"I could teach you how to if you really wanna impress the boss-man."

I grinned at her, nodding enthusiastically as she began to explain the process.

***

Beaming from head to toe, I tapped my foot impatiently on the metal floor of the elevator as it pulled up to the 10th floor. I raced down the short corridor to my office happily, feeling the excitement bubbling up now that I knew how to properly do the work I had been assigned.

A sudden flash of green darted past me as I dived into my office and the door latched shut loudly behind me as I whipped around.

Whoops! I just slammed the door in my boss's face, didn't I? Oh well, it was karma for the ridiculous amount of work he set me.

***

I tried my best to stay sitting upright with a smile plastered on my face as I ploughed through the rest of the day, but as the clock ticked past 8 PM, my posture finally started to slouch. I ignored the fact that the lights in the office next door still hadn't faltered despite the fact that 6 PM was long past, because I knew that I would just be disappointed if it turned out that Nicholas wasn't here.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, I picked up the final contract and took a second to stretch my aching fingers. Although I did love the incredibly high-tech, expensive-looking laptop that was placed on my desk, I knew that the constant hunching over was going to take its toll on me.

I was running a tired hand through my hair, trying to detangle the array of knots laced through it, when the door suddenly clicked open. My eyes darted up to meet Mr. Kendrick's vibrant green ones.

I opened my mouth, before abruptly shutting it, as I realized that all the clever comments I had generated over the course of the day had completely drifted away at his unexpected presence in my doorway.

The corners of his mouth lifted up unexpectedly as he finally broke the silence. "Come now. It's late." His deep voice came out softer than I was used to.

"What?"

"Come on," he repeated, gesturing for me to follow him out.

I hardly heard his command because it was so soft, so I remained completely still as he looked at me expectantly. A loud sigh echoed throughout the room, followed by an exasperated roll of his glittering green eyes, undoubtedly due to the fact that I was defying him once again.

I felt myself scowl as I finally stood from my desk. I glanced at the final, unfinished contract on my desk as I aimed for a casual walk toward his figure standing beside the door.

"John will finish them," he informed me, finally speaking slightly louder.

I decided to obey for once and followed him out, acting as if I knew who the hell John was and as if I hadn't already finished all of the work myself. He didn't speak again as we stepped into the elevator, and I was thankful because it gave me yet another chance to simply gaze at his enchanting features.

A chiseled silhouette was thrown across his face due to the slowly setting sun, making his eyes look even more mesmerizing as they generated their own isolated glow. His lips were turned down slightly, a faraway look on his face, and I couldn't help but feel an urge to know what was causing him to look so troubled.

We stepped out of the elevator and I realized- as he led me down the corridor and past the front desk- that the building was practically empty. It looked as if most of the security had left as well, except, of course, for Nicholas's most devoted employee, Shane, who was waiting patiently by the door as he strolled by without acknowledging his existence. I felt obligated to smile kindly at him, and he returned it as we made our way out of the deserted building.

For some reason, I felt as if Nicholas's use of the phrase 'come now' suggested that I go with him somewhere, and apparently I was correct in thinking like that because a car suddenly pulled up in front of us, and when I started to slow to a confused stop, he swiveled around to glance at me.

"I'm giving you a ride home."

I stared at him open-mouthed. No! "Oh, no, that's okay."

I tried to decline his offer, but I could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't accepting that.

"A man can feel guilty, Ophelia."

He registered my blank look. "It was wrong of me to ask that of you. Compiling contracts on your first day is rather harsh, even by my standards. I apologize."

I smiled slightly, feeling a warmth flood through me. The teenager inside of me squealed in excitement, but on the outside, I just smiled gratefully.

***

"How did you figure it out, by the way?" he questioned me curiously as Shane easily slid the door of his jet black car open.

"I just asked another employee to tell me how to do it."

He nodded distractedly, and as my eyes grew accustomed to the dim lighting of the street, I realized that it was not just a car that was pulled up beside us, but a real-life, stretch limousine. My jaw dropped to the ground as I took it in.

"In your limo?" I asked him in surprise, and he raised his head from his phone briefly to reply.

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"No, no. Definitely not," I replied light-heartedly, shaking my head in disbelief as I clambered onto the soft surface of the black leather seats.

He climbed in after me with a grace only he could muster, before turning to me again. "Where do you live?"

For some reason, I hesitated slightly before telling him. It was not like I lived in a bad neighborhood, but this man was made of money and I doubted that my small suburban apartment would be very impressive in his mind.

Thankfully, he didn't react to the street name I gave him, and simply repeated it to the driver as coolly as ever. My eyes gradually adjusted to the dimmer lighting of the car, and I narrowed my eyes at the blonde hair poking out from the driver's seat in front of me.

"Harry?" I asked, and sure enough, the rugged man Sarah introduced me to earlier, turned around to face me.

"Oh, hey, Ophelia! It's good to see you again!" he chirped light-heartedly.

"You've already met Harry?" Nicholas's deep voice said, and I turned back to him, replying coolly for once.

"Oh, yes. At lunch."

"Was he the one who helped you with the contracts?"

Harry let out a chuckle as if this question was the funniest thing he had ever heard. As we slowly pulled out from the front of the building, he replied. "Nah. Where would I have learned how to do contracts?"

I smiled at his reply, which was somehow carefree despite Mr. Kendrick's intimidating tone. Shifting my attention back to the man beside me, I watched with wide eyes as his plump lips dropped into a slight scowl.

"Bridgewater Avenue? There aren't any restaurants around there."

What? How is that relevant? I thought to myself but I replied less bluntly.

"Yeah, we don't eat out much. My roommate and I usually just have cereal together."

His jaw clenched unexpectedly, and I could almost make out the sharp indents of his jaw bone because of it. Immediately, my nerves spiked up.

"Cereal?" Hhe repeated incredulously.

I opened my mouth and then quickly shut it again without a word, feeling confused and strangely guilty.

Wait, hang on. Why am I feeling guilty? I can eat whatever the hell I want! It's none of his business!

"Take us to Aventi's, Harry. It seems we'll be needing some dinner."

"I'm sorry, what?"

He must have registered my look of distress on my face because he elaborated. "Aventi's. It's an Italian restaurant just off the..."

"Yes, I know what it is, but why are we going there?"

"Cereal lacks basic nutrition, Ophelia. Surely you know that." He blinked at me with no trace of emotion in his face.

"I don't want to go to dinner right now," I said quietly.

He turned to me, looking perplexed at my objection. "I'm hungry, you need a proper meal, and it's my way of repaying you for working so late," he said simply.

"I'd really like to be dropped off at my house, please."

He was still unbothered by my persistence so I had to elaborate. "Look, my roommate has been expecting me since 6 PM and it's 8 PM now, plus I have work again tomorrow so I need to get a decent amount of sleep. Going to dinner isn't exactly the most convenient thing for me right now. Bridgewater Avenue first, please."

His face showed nothing but astonishment. I was very aware that Harry was still heading in the direction of the restaurant that he mentioned, humming quietly to himself as he did so, so I started to pray that it was at least close to where I lived because I didn't think I could bear to being trapped in this car much longer.

I realized that Nicholas was still completely silent beside me, enchanting eyes wide and perfect lips pressed into a thin line. He was clearly lost as to what to say, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was because he had so little experience with rejection that he couldn't quite wrap his head around this.