Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Harper
I placed my hand on my cheek where Grayson touched it. I swore I could still feel his hand on it. The softness of his touch aroused me, and I desperately begged in silence for his lips to touch mine. Instead, he was a perfect gentleman whocompletely controlled his actions.
As I climbed into bed, my phone dinged with a text message from him.
“I just wanted to say goodnight. Sweet dreams.”
“Goodnight, Grayson.”
When I awoke the next morning, I felt like I was on cloud nine, except for the nausea that settled in my belly. Climbing out of bed, I went into the bathroom, washed my face, and brushed my teeth before Charlotte came by. I sighed as I walked into the living room and stared at the rest of the boxes that needed unpacking. It would be a long day.
Ten o’clock rolled around when Charlotte knocked on my door. Opening it, she stood there holding up a brown bag and a cup holder with two coffee cups sitting inside.
“One decaf for you, one fuel for me, and a variety of bagels with two different cream cheeses.” She grinned as she pushed past me and went into the kitchen. “I want to hear all about your night with Grayson Rhodes,” she spoke as she opened the cabinet and took down two small plates.
“Dinner was amazing.” I smiled. “In fact, he’s amazing.”
I grabbed our coffees and took them to the table.
“You’re in trouble,” she said as she set the bagels in the center of the table.
“Why?” My brows furrowed.
“Because you’re falling for him and barely know him.” She pointed her knife at me. “Did you google him yet?”
“No. I don’t think there’s a need to. He’s genuinely a nice guy.”
“Who are you?” She shook her head. “You don’t trust men at all, especially after Kevin. You went into hiding for a year, decided to have a child on your own, and now this man whom you’ve known for like two days is suddenly the best thing in the world? I’m worried about you, Harper. I don’t want to see you get hurt again. Things are different now.”
I sighed as I took a bite of my bagel.
“You’re trusting way too fast,” she said. “Listen, I love you. But your hormones are all over the place right now. All I’m saying is be careful. A high-powered man like Grayson Rhodes doesn’t seem like the family type of guy. Did you know he’s number one on the New York’s most eligible bachelor’s list?”
“And how do you know that?”
“I googled him last night.”
“Of course, you did. I’m done talking about this. Let’s get these boxes unpacked,” I spoke with irritation as I got up from the table.
“Don’t be mad at me. I’m just asking you to be careful. Sometimes people aren’t whom they seem. You, of all people, know that.”
Maybe Charlotte was right, and what I was feeling were my hormones. I had a hard time trusting men, so why was I so quick to trust Grayson?
The next morning, I got up early, got dressed, and headed down to the lobby of my building.
“Good morning, Miss Holland.” Sammy smiled.
“Good morning, Sammy. Please, call me Harper.”
“Can I get a cab for you?”
“That would be great. Thank you. Today is my first day at the office. I’ll only work there two days a week and then work from home the rest of the time.”
“Sounds like the perfect schedule.” He smiled as a cab pulled up to the curb. “Have a great day, Harper.”
“Thanks, Sammy. You too.”
I walked into the building and took the elevator up to my small office. While putting my purse away, I heard a voice from the doorway.
“Good morning.”
I turned around and smiled when I saw Grayson and another man standing there.
“Good morning.”
“I trust you got your apartment in order yesterday.”
“I did.” I grinned.
“Excellent.” The corners of his mouth curved upward. “Harper, I’d like you to meet Curtis. Curtis, Harper Holland.”
“It’s wonderful to meet you.” He greeted me with a wide grin as he extended his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Curtis.”
“Curtis will be your partner, so to speak, while you’re in the office. He’ll show you around and answer any questions you have.”
Curtis was a man in his early forties. He stood about five foot ten with spikey blond hair, a clean-shaven face, and bright green eyes. Too bright to be natural. I suspected he was wearing colored contacts.
“I have a meeting to get to. We’ll talk later.” Grayson gave me a wink before walking out of my office.
My insides fluttered at the sight of him. It wasn’t only how he looked in his designer suits or how he kept himself perfectly groomed. It was the confidence he exuded. I needed to focus on my job and not Grayson Rhodes.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Harper, but I’m really shocked that Grayson is letting you work here only two days a week and the rest at home. He’s never done that before, and I’m afraid it might cause problems with the other employees, especially the ones who wanted to cut back to part-time, and he told them no. He said if they couldn’t fulfill the full-time hours here, then they needed to quit.”
“Shit. Really?” I furrowed my brows. “Maybe he’s changing, and he’s starting with me?”
“I doubt it. He must have some ulterior motive as towhy he’s letting you split your time. There’s a motive behind everything he does.”
As I stood there and listened to him, I got the impression that Curtis wasn’t too fond of Grayson. The last thing I needed was for the other employees to hate me because of my work schedule. That was why I never liked working in an office setting. Between the backstabbing, gossiping, and assumptions, it was draining. Not to mention that you couldn’t trust anyone even if you thought they were your friend. That was a hassle I didn’t need in my life, and that is why I didfreelance work on my time from home, away from all the office politics and bullshit. Two days a week at the office wouldn’t be so bad. It wasn’t like I really had a choice. I needed to make sure that my baby would betaken care of, and I would sacrifice everything to make sure that happened.