15. Chloe
15
Chloe
Tension knots up in my shoulders as I silently wait for Daniel to lose it. But the devil must be on a break today. Daniel leans back, his face calm. “Maybe they’ll have it back up and running in no time.”
“Well, I sure don’t want to walk down 50 flights of stairs right now. I’m pretty tired.”
I eye him carefully—no sign of anger.
Danger. Danger.
“What about calling maintenance?” He asks.
“They’re gone for the day and probably won’t be back till morning. I can call the emergency line. But shouldn’t this place have generators?”
“It does, but it’s been on overdrive since our recent outages and we have to get new ones. Don’t sweat it,” Daniel says, grabbing a chair. “Call the emergency line and we’ll wait it out a little while until security does their rounds. In the meantime, I need to tell Michelle’s sitter to stay a while longer.”
I watch Daniel pull out his phone, scrolling through his contacts with furrowed brows. He makes a call, waits, then hangs up with a sigh. “No answer,” he mutters.
He tries again and gets through this time. “Thanks, I owe you.” He ends the call and rubs the bridge of his nose.
There it is . He must be getting irritated. I observe him as I call the emergency line.
He should be furious, yet he’s handling it all with a calm I didn’t expect.
He looks up, catching my eye, and I brace myself for some kind of outburst, but it doesn’t come. Instead, he just gives a resigned shake of his head. “Hope it’s not a long night.”
With some hesitation, “I have to admit. You’re handling this a lot better than I expected.”
“I’ve been here before, that’s all.”
“It’s almost better if you weren’t this calm. It would help if you weren’t calm at all, actually. You should be through the roof right now. Come on. Let it go. I’ve been around you long enough to know I can handle your outbursts now.”
“There’s no—”
“Oh, I get it. The suspense is my punishment,” I’m starting to ramble now, stumbling between my words, but I can’t stop myself. “Or maybe you’ve already made arrangements to fire me, and you don’t need to scold me anymore.”
“Chloe—”
“I know. It was the hair flip, wasn’t it? Or my tone. I shouldn’t have—”
“Chloe, what do you want to hear from me exactly?”
“Seriously? I was sure the power outage would somehow be my fault.”
When I finish my rant, Daniel just stares, shocked. Then he finally says, “Apparently I’ve given you enough reasons to think that way.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Are you okay? You didn’t hit your head or anything, did you?”
Daniel looks at me like I’m the one who’s lost it. “Why would you think that?”
“Something’s off.”
“Nothing’s off. My head’s fine.”
I sit next to him, pondering. “Maybe it’s good we’re stuck here.”
He’s puzzled. “How?”
I stare at Daniel for a while. He’s really... okay . He just sits there with his legs stretched out, and I wonder what’s happening until it hits me.
This is a sign.
“Maybe it’s a good thing we’re stuck here,” I admit, sitting on a nearby chair.
Daniel turns to me, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I just feel...maybe the universe is giving me a nudge. I’ve been dodging this apology for a while now.” I take a deep breath. “A couple of weeks ago when I got you the basket of snacks. It was because I heard when things got a little rough, those treats were like a pick-me-up for you.”
“It’s fine,” Daniel replies with a neutral tone, not unkind but devoid of warmth. “It’s water under the bridge. Besides, there was no way you could have known it was a thing between my wife and I.”
That’s it? This man is really going to pretend that he hasn’t been the worst boss ever since I started working here with this sudden personality shift? What’s going on with him? My excitement at the idea of piecing together the puzzle called Daniel Andrews pushes me to ask.
“What was she like?”
My straightforwardness catches him off guard, and I also wonder where this damning boldness is coming from.
“Excuse me?”
The words pour out of me. “I have to admit, I stalked your Facebook page after our dinner the other day and came across your wedding picture. Maddie was her name, right? I’m just curious, though I know it’s not really none of my business.”
Oh, man. Now I’m digging my grave. What’s wrong with me?
“You did what ?” he asks, raising his voice.
“I’m sorry, but don’t tell me you’ve never...you’ve never looked someone up online?”
“No, I haven’t. I don’t snoop around.”
I’m almost afraid to ask. “What happened to her?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I sometimes think she might be the reason behind the kind of person you are.”
“Come again? What kind of person am I?”
“Distant and…well, sour. You looked genuinely happy in that picture.”
Daniel’s eyes darken. I probably just hit a nerve.
“You were right, it’s none of your business.”
“Talking about it might help ease some of that bitterness.”
Daniel’s voice echoes through the room. “You weaseled your way into my life, invade my personal space and life, and you think talking about it with you will ease my bitterness?”
Daniel closes his eyes, seemingly filled with instant remorse for his harsh tone. But the moment has passed, and the hurt is already inflicted. Despite my guilt for cornering him, his relentless barbs are inexcusable. I am not about to endure it any longer.
Heck, my workday is over. Enough is enough.
“I am done tolerating your outbursts. Consider me gone for the night.”
Tears threaten to spill, but I hold them back as I stand up and start to walk away. I won’t give him the satisfaction of witnessing my distress.
I’ve barely taken the second step when Daniel’s hand shoots out and grasps my wrist. “Wait. I didn’t mean it like that.”
I scoff. “Whatever. I’m tired of this.”
“Wait—” he tries.
I don’t want to, but something makes me turn around to face him again.
I watch as Daniel rubs his temples, as if trying to summon the strength to continue. His gaze shifts to the window, where the evening city lights begin to glow against the darkening sky.
“You’re right, okay. Her name was Maddie,” he begins, his voice steady but tinged with a trace of sorrow. “We met in college. She had this laugh that could fill a room, you know? Always saw the best in people, even when they didn’t deserve it.”
I listen intently, my initial indignation replaced by a genuine curiosity to understand this aspect of Daniel’s life he keeps veiled. “What happened?”
Daniel’s silence stretches, heavy with unspoken memories.
“She… she died, as you know,” he finally admits, his voice barely above a whisper. “A car accident four years ago. We were supposed to go on a trip, and…” His words trail off, lost in the ache of unfinished plans and shattered dreams.
“I’m so sorry,” I breathe, my heart going out to him despite our tumultuous relationship. I reach out instinctively, laying a hand on his arm in a gesture of comfort. Daniel flinches imperceptibly but doesn’t pull away, allowing the silent connection.
“It’s been hard,” Daniel continues, his tone distant yet filled with emotion. “I thought I could move on, bury myself in work, but…some days, it still feels like yesterday.”
His admission drapes the room with grief, a fragile thread binding their shared vulnerability.
“You don’t have to carry it alone,” I offer tentatively, my voice gentle.
Daniel meets my gaze, his eyes clouded with a pain he’s kept tightly guarded. “Wait, no. I can’t talk about this with you.”
“Seriously?” I pull away, feeling a surge of anger. “I don’t care if you’re gonna fire me at this point. You’ve gotta stop blowing hot and cold. It’s messing with my head.”
“I’m…I’m confused, too,” Daniel admits, seemingly more to himself than me.
“Confused about what, exactly?”
“You,” Daniel blurts out. “You’re the one who’s got me all turned around. I’m usually not like this.”
“But you’re wrong. This is who you are,” I retort almost immediately.
“Dang it, Chloe. You’re making this impossible.”
“And you’re infuriating.” I step forward, and I swear by every bone in my body, my heart skips a beat. Daniel’s scent wafts into my nostrils and awakens something deep inside of me. Dragging my fingers through my hair, I press my lips together and force myself to fall back, even though his masculine fragrance lingers around me. Being alone with Daniel right now is dangerous. It’s just not good when his very presence is so enraging, yet so alluring.
I’ve been kidding myself, denying my attraction to him. That was a failure.
“You should just go,” Daniel mumbles.
“There you go again—reeling me in only to push me away. Which is it?” I feel the anger–or some special kind of frustration–bubbling up inside me.
“I said go, Chloe. Just go.”
But I plant my feet. “Make up your mind. You can’t keep swinging back and forth like this.”
“Leave now before I do something I might regret.”
“And what exactly would you do?” I ask daringly. “ Spank me ?”
I expect Daniel to get angry and say something mean, but what I don’t expect is the flash of hunger that darkens his eyes.
He wants me. I can see it in his eyes.
And, mercy, how I crave him, too.
I clutch the back of my neck tightly, pulling at it in an attempt to ease the tingling in my lower abdomen. This is uncharted territory for me. While I’ve felt desire with men before, nothing compares to the intensity I feel right now. It’s an overwhelming urge that threatens to make me explode with longing. And I’m not sure if it’s because he’s off-limits or if it’s the mystery surrounding his personality, but with every word that escapes his soft lips, I want him more and more.
My heart pounds in my chest, and my breath becomes shallow as I watch him, completely captivated. His eyes, smoldering with a passion that mirrors my own, lock onto mine. It's as if he's daring me to act, challenging me to cross that line. The air between us crackles with electric tension, and I feel my resolve slipping away.
Maybe that’s why I do what I do next.
I take a step closer, my fingers trembling as they brush against the fabric of his shirt. His warmth seeps through, igniting a fire that spreads within. I grab his shirt with a surge of boldness, pulling him towards me, and crash my lips to his. The world around us fades away, and all that matters is the taste of him, the sensation of his mouth moving against mine.
He kisses me back with an urgency that leaves me breathless, his hands finding their way to the small of my back, pulling me closer still. The kiss is a perfect blend of hunger and tenderness, a desperate need to feel connected. I melt into him, my hands roaming up to tangle in his hair as I lose myself in the moment.
Things will never be the same again.