Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Lissie
M y thoughts are conflicted as I take the lift up to the seventy-eighth floor of The Montwell building. For the most part my head is firmly on my job, the task at hand—until it isn’t, and I’m daydreaming about my boss and his long fingers and gorgeous face. Charles shouldn’t even be a distraction, and yet I seem to double down further, letting him get pushed aside by our conversation in the car about the mystery man from the club.
I should be done thinking about the man by now.
I straighten out my jacket and sigh, turning to look at myself in the mirrored wall behind me.
If only I could merge the two—Charles Aldridge’s face on the man who gave me one of the hottest, best sexual experiences of my life.
Jovie was right, that would be a combination.
It seems the guilt that kept me up half of the night over using my boss as a way to get myself off was short-lived because now I only have a longing to do it again.
Shameful.
I have a slight smirk on my face as the doors split, and Ellis and Frey Real Estate comes into view.
“Oh. Hello. Sorry, you’re not who I was expecting,” a dark-haired man says as he rounds the reception desk with a frown. “May I help you?”
“Hi. I’m Lissie. I work with Charles Aldridge and am here in his place today.”
The man places his hand on his chest. “Oh, thank goodness. I just lost my head receptionist and thought I’d made a scheduling error.” He smiles at me, looking me up and down. “Very unlike Charles to send anyone but his beautiful self. I’m George.” He holds his hand out to me, and I shake it.
Clearly, I’m not the only one affected by my boss’s handsomeness. “Nice to meet you, George.”
He checks his watch. “So, you’re lunching with Elliot and Mason. Did Charles have the menu sent to you?”
“Lunching?”
“Oh, no, maybe not?” He places a hand on my arm, reassuring me. “I just presumed. Let’s go and see if they are ready for you. Follow me.”
I follow George down the corridor, quickly pulling out my phone.
Is it a lunch meeting at Ellis and Frey?
Lissie
Assistant to director
Charles Aldridge Ltd
Maybe it would be quicker to call him, but George seemed to notice that I was unsure, which is embarrassing enough. I need to make a good impression and not screw this up.
I’m hoping I can grab the keys and be on my way again.
“Any trouble from these two, and you come and tell me,” George says as he pushes into the room. “Gentlemen, I have Lissie here for your one o’clock. Mr Aldridge was unable to attend.”
The two men are lounged on sofas and look back at us over their shoulders before some kind of realisation dawns on them, and they quickly stand.
Did they forget they had a meeting?
They look between themselves and me as if they had no idea.
“Apologies. Mr Aldridge was a little tied up this afternoon and asked that I attend in his place.” I hold my hand out to the tall blond who’s closest.
Either these men are as hot as I think they are, or the club and cop boy have well and truly altered the part of my brain that controls my delusion.
Because wow…
“Elliot Montgomery,” he says, smile dazzling as he takes my hand. “What an absolute pleasure to have you in Mr Aldridge’s place today, right, Mase?”
The dark-haired man steps forward, offering me his hand. “It’s good to meet you, Lissie.”
I look between them, still smiling. “I believe I have a set of keys to collect and documents to sign.”
They look between one another again, and I get the feeling I’m missing something.
“We’ve actually just ordered lunch,” Mason says. “If you’d like to wait out in the reception, I’ll get them brought?—”
“Join us,” Elliot cuts in. “Please. We’ve ordered for Charles but can have it changed.”
George appears at my side with a menu then.
“Thank you, that’s so kind.” I look around at them all. “But I think I’m supposed to just collect the keys and?—”
“Nonsense. It will take us a minute to get the documents sorted anyway. We weren’t expecting Charles for a little while longer.” Elliot’s smile is wide, a little too wide to be comfortable, and it puts me on edge. “George, could you check how long the food will be, please.” He looks back at me. “Have a seat.”
“Okay…” I remove my jacket and lay it on the sofa beside me. When I look up, I find the two men having some kind of silent conversation across the room. When they notice me staring, they both smile.
“So, Lissie. You’re Charles’s new assistant?” Elliot asks.
“I am.” I smooth my hands down my thighs. “It’s been great so far.”
“Great,” he repeats, still grinning, and I see Mason shaking his head on the opposite sofa. “What is it you do for him exactly? I’ve never known him to have an assistant.”
“Well, he’s always had Edna, his office manager, so hasn’t needed anyone else, to be honest. His headquarters is much bigger than his personal office space, so it doesn’t take as much running. I’m there to take the load off. Make his life easier, so to speak.”
“Ahh, I see. And how’s that working out for him so far? Are you making his life easier?”
“I’d like to think so.” What a bizarre question. “He’s…” How do I describe Charles Aldridge without being unprofessional. “He likes things a certain way. I’m still learning how I fit with those things.”
“A stubborn man.”
“Right.” I nod, getting the feeling that these men must have a close working relationship with him, or at least Elliot seems to. “And it’s my job to get him to loosen the reins a little.”
“I’m sure you’re doing a wonderful job of it.” He looks past me. “Ah, foods here. We ordered the steak for Charles, but we can have anything brought up.”
“No, no, steak is fine.” I cross my feet at my ankles and lean forward as they place down the plates of food, removing the lids. “This looks delicious,” I tell them.
“I’m glad you joined us, Lissie,” Elliot adds. “It would’ve been a terrible waste.”
I reach for my knife and fork. “So, you guys know Mr Aldridge well?”
When they don’t answer right away, I look up and find them back in their silent discussion. “You could say that,” Mason says, giving me a clipped smile. “We’ve known him since university.”
“Oh.” Just a little while then. I swallow down my mouthful of steak. “Well, if you have any tips or tricks that’ll help me loosen the man up, I’m all ears.” I smile to let them know I’m only messing, a little nervous.
“I can think of a few?—”
“Is the steak okay?” Mason asks, a little snappy.
I nod, taking another bite. “Really lovely,” I say around my hand.
My phone pings, and I excuse myself as I reach for it.
No.
Charles Aldridge
Director
Charles Aldridge Ltd
The steak turns to lead in my mouth.
Shit .
It would be incredibly rude to leave mid meal. Surely if he knew I was sat around a table with them, food in mouth, he’d want me to continue.
What if I mess this meeting up for him?
He only now seems to be warming to me.
“You know, Lissie, Charles rarely allows anyone to handle his business,” Mason tells me. “You must be doing a fine job to be here today.”
I smile gratefully at the man, needing that reassurance more than he could ever know. “Thank you.”
All I want to do is please Charles. To make him see that I can do my job and do it well. I spent the entire week reorganising the office, and it looks great, the filing system finally making sense.
“It’s true,” Elliot adds, a little more serious now. “Charlie is a workaholic. You must be doing something right.”
I pause mid-air with my fork. “Charlie?”
“Charles,” Mason corrects.
“Right. Charles .” Elliot stuffs food in his mouth, completely unaware of the way my heart just kickstarted in my chest at the mention of the name.
“You feel so good, Charlie.”
Oh god. I remember the way he grunted and went harder at my words. My insides heat at the thought.
“Charlie boy.”
He liked that. Me calling him Charlie boy.
“Come for me. Come on my cock.”
I blink and swallow, my cheeks warming as I snap back to the now.
And as the world refocuses, I find Mason watching me with nothing but concern on his face. When I snap my eyes to Elliot, feeling caught out, I find that sly smile back in place.
I’m screwed.
“I think if you can, Lissie,” Elliot says. “Getting the man to loosen up is exactly what he needs, and as his friends, should you need our support in doing so, know that we are here to help.”
Right, Charles. My boss. “Yes, thank you. He has his dogs so they must keep him busy on the weekends.”
His dogs. God, I make him sound like a fucking loser.
The doors push open just as I nervously force three fries into my mouth. I twist in the seat, and my eyes widen.
Charles is stood at my back, his face furious. “Lissie. Enjoying my lunch, I see.”
Oh my god. I stand, grabbing my jacket and quickly talking around my food. “Sorry, Mr Aldridge, sir. I-I was already…there’s?—”
“It’s fine.” He holds his hand up to stop me. “Sit down and finish your lunch.”
I frown and twist my head, watching him as he shoots daggers at the two men at my back.
“No, I’m done with my meal.”
His eyes meet mine, hard and angry. Shit . “Then I will meet you in the car. You go ahead.”
All I do is piss him off.
“Thank you for lunch,” I say to Elliot and Mason. “It was great meeting you both.”
“Likewise, lovely Lissie,” Elliot sings, taking a hefty bite of his burger.
I hot foot it from the office.
I’m halfway down the corridor, almost at the reception desk and wondering if this will be the day he gives up on me and fires me, when I remember why I came here in the first place.
“Crap.” I gingerly make my way back towards the office.
As I push inside, I see a pillow being flung across the room. “I don’t fucking fancy her, Montgomery.”
“Bullshi—”
Everyone silences, frozen in place.
“Uh”—I look from Charles to the other two men, eventually feeling safer with Charles and holding his eyes—“I forgot…the documents…and the keys.”
He lets out a breath that has his nostrils flaring, his hands planted on hips as his face reddens. “Lowell. The keys. Please .”
I roll my lips, not daring or being able to cut the eye contact. He’s devastating like this. The man seems impossible to ruffle and yet right now, his eyes searing into me, chest heaving, he’s gone. Lost to something .
“You’re welcome back anytime, Lissie,” Mason tells me, handing me the keys. “I’ll have Charles sign the documents.”
I smile—it’s fake—then back out of the office, quickly walking out of Ellis and Frey and into the elevator.
I’m learning all about Scott’s wife and children when Charles slides beside me into the back seat of the Land Rover fifteen minutes later. And if the awkwardness back in the office didn’t make it obvious what a shit show that meeting was, his silence seals it for me.
“I’m really sorry if I embarrassed you in there,” I tell him, feeling the need to fill the silence.
“Embarrassed me ?”
I look at him with wide eyes. “Yeah. I wasn’t going to stay for lunch, but you hadn’t replied, and then I received your email mid meal. I thought it would be rude to leave after that, and it wasn’t until just before you arrived that I realised they are your friends as much business associates.”
He chuckles, although it holds little humour. “Those dicks are not my friends.”
I watch him for a minute before adding, “They were very polite to me. For what it’s worth.”
He sighs. “I don’t doubt that.” His eyes eventually lift and lock on me. “Are you okay? I’m sorry I overreacted. I’m just…”
I frown. “Me? I’m good.” I swallow and smile, feeling a little off with the weight of his stare so wholly on me. “Are you?”
“Am I okay?” he asks.
I nod.
The corner of his mouth twitches. “I’m good.”
I nod again, quickly looking out the window so that he can’t see my full toothy grin.
“I don’t fucking fancy her, Montgomery.”
If I smile any wider, my face will crack in two.
“Could you take a detour, please, Scott?”
I see Scott tip his chin in answer.
“Macca’s Parlour.”
“You’ve got it.”
I bite my bottom lip to save my face from quite literally splitting down the middle.
When we get to the ice cream shop, Charles tells me to find a seat and then orders. When he places down the Neapolitan ice cream in front of me and mint chocolate chip in front of himself, I silently pick up my spoon and take a bite, unable to even attempt a thank-you with the way I know my voice will betray me.
We eat in silence for a little while, just enjoying one another’s company—and the ice cream.
I have just under half left when he nudges his bowl towards me. “I was unprofessional back at The Montwell. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did.”
I take his ice cream bowl and push mine towards him, unsure if I’ll like the flavour he’s picked. I eventually lift my eyes up to look at him. “I think we’re past professional, Charles.”
He nods, his gaze doing that thing again which makes my insides heat.
I blow out a heavy breath. “Am I bad at this job?” I ask. “It never seemed so hard to get right when I worked for FTR. I feel like I’m messing up every day?—”
“You’re not. It’s not you. I know how difficult I can be at times.”
I purse my lips. “You’re not difficult, you’re just…diff.” I chuckle, a little mortified but mostly amused by myself. “You’re a bit diff, Charles.”
He tries to fight it, but a smile breaks past his lips, and I can’t help but stare as it lights up his entire face. It’s the first time he’s smiled at me. Ever. “Stiff. Diff. Do we need to work on your vocabulary?”
I laugh, still watching him as he uses the spoon to play around with what’s left of my ice cream.
“I tasked you with going to The Montwell so that you wouldn’t have to be in the meeting with Dennis.”
My heart jars in my chest at his admission.
“I should have briefed you and the guys better. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I assure him, fidgeting in the seat.
He catches my eyes again, waits until he has my complete attention. “I wasn’t sure if it was our meeting with them, Dennis and Hannah, that upset you last week. You seemed far off and not…you, after. Just the thought that it was because of the meeting was enough to never have you sit through one again.”
I watch him, transfixed on him and his words. The fact he…cared?
“I also thought tasking you with something I’d only ever do myself was proof I can give up control of things.” He shrugs. “A way to prove Edna wrong. Although I kind of wrecked that by crashing the meeting. Dennis cancelled last minute.” He rolls his lips, maybe a little nervous, or uncomfortable. “You’re unusually quiet.”
I smile gently. “I’m scared if I speak, you’ll stop. This is nice.”
His frown is instant, and he leans back, a little panicked.
“It’s good,” I tell him. “I feel like I’ve been trying to find a way in past your walls for weeks so that I can do my job and help you.” I shrug. “That’s the whole point of Edna employing me, isn’t it? So I can find you a balance?”
His blue eyes flick around my face, contemplating. “I don’t tend to allow much time for anything but the cases I’m working on. I have my friends and family, but even then, I’m…” He frowns, and I know it’s because he’s trying.
“Even then, you’re what?”
He shrugs. “Trying to find the peace.”
A soft frown wrinkles my brow. “Peace for yourself?”
He quickly brushes that notion off, as if it’s stupid. “No, not for me.”
“Well then, who?”
He looks up from the table, and I can see I’m pushing him. That he isn’t used to giving so much. “My friends and family. They’ve been through a lot over the past few years. My parents lost—well, we lost…my…umm…” He scratches at his brow and sits back in the seat, and it’s as if I can see his mind ticking over beyond his lowered brow, figuring out how much he wants to share. “I can’t help but want to fix everything for them sometimes.”
Plastering a warm smile on my face, I nod, wanting him to feel like he can speak to me. “I can understand that. Everything I do is for my sister and niece.” It’s why I get out of bed in the morning. What I fight for. Peace. For Jovie and Willow.
I don’t even think it’s a real thing anymore. Not after everything we’ve been through, and because of that, I feel like I’ll always want more for my baby sister.
“They make it hard to believe in sometimes,” he says, staring back down at the ice cream. “My friends are…messy.”
My heart flips, the fact he’s given me that little bit more. “Hard to believe in peace?”
He huffs a laugh and bobs his head. “They don’t make life easy for themselves.”
“You must fit with them well, then.” My lips twist up as I try to lighten the mood, sensing we both need it and feeling like I’ve just made a rather large dent in an impenetrable wall.
He gives me a look. “I’m not that bad. Little Miss Perfect.”
Warmth spreads through me at the jibe, how it feels like we’re testing the waters of something new.
“I’m far from perfect, but I can help you. I’m not a huge believer in peace myself, but as your assistant…” I smile across at him. “I can help balance the scales.”
He shakes his head, sceptical, but leans forward a little. “What do you have in mind?”
My lips twist up. “We could start with some rules.”
“God.” He rolls his eyes. “Go on.”
I chuckle and think for a minute. “No leaving the office past seven o’clock.”
“Seven is early,” he counters defensively.
“Seven is two hours past closed. Go with it.”
I see the moment he relents, eyes softening. “Alright. Seven.”
“Ice cream,” I say, and revel in the easy smile he gives me. “Once a week.”
“Twice.”
My eyes widen, and I sit forward as I chuckle. “Oh, look at you.”
He laughs with me, something that seems so foreign coming from him, it paralyses me.
Who is this man?
“What else?”
“Uh…” I blink, still five ticks of the clock behind. “Dates. You have to go on at least two dates a month.”
“No.”
I slow my racing thoughts, bringing myself back to the now. “What?”
“No. No dates.”
My stomach bottoms out. “Why?”
“I don’t date.” He shakes his head, smile long lost. “Hard limit.”
“You’ll never meet anyone.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m just saying. How do you expect to find a life partner if you don’t date?”
“I don’t want a life partner. Or kids.”
I stare at him, my heart pounding. Did he just… “You don’t want kids?”
“No. Next rule.”
His hand smooths down his chest, over his tie, and I sit back, feeling as if the dent I made in the wall has just been patched over with a brush of his hand. “Um—” I scratch at my cheek with my finger, my mind blank. He doesn’t want kids? “I guess that’s it.”
He watches me over the table as if he wants to say something more but can’t, as if the patchwork he’s hiding behind isn’t going to hold much longer. “Alright then.”
Alright then . Just like that.
I force a smile, pushing what he’s said, and the fact there’s a lot more to the man than I first gave him credit for, aside.
“You’ll give it a shot?” I ask.
“I’ll humour you and Edna, yes.”
A light buzz flutters under my skin. “It’ll be a joy to watch.”
“Why?” He narrows his eyes. “You think I’m going to fail?”
“I never said that.”
He shakes his head and takes a mouthful of my ice cream. “You didn’t have to.” He nods towards my bowl. “What do you think?”
I look down at what’s left of the mint chocolate dessert. “It’s okay. Different.” I frown. “You really don’t date?” I can’t help but ask the question, taking another bite to test the flavour again.
I think I might actually like it more than mine.
Charles’s gaze is lost in the contents of his bowl. “No. Not for a long time.”
“Is there a reason?”
His eyes lift, searching, conflicted maybe, but I don’t know why.
“I get the feeling you don’t want to talk about it.”
His face grows guilty, and I hate it.
I brush it aside. “So, you were burned or something,” I say, bringing it back a little. “I won’t mention it again.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it, Lissie?—”
I wave my spoon back and forth. “It’s all good.”
He drops his spoon into the bowl and rubs a hand over his mouth. “Do you date?”
His effort with this conversation makes a smile threaten to tease. I try to smother it. “I’ve dated in the past, but nothing that’s worth documenting. It was more along the lines of Friday night drinks with work colleagues that would sometimes turn into someone walking me home. And there was never any romance with any of those men. It’s why my sister pushed me into starting a dating profile.”
“To find romance.”
“To be romanced, yes. Something planned and thought out and sweet. Something with substance.”
“So, you plan to date? You’ll date men from the internet?”
My body burns at the question. At the fact he even wants to know the answer. “You make it sound weird, but yes, I guess so. It depends what they’re like.”
He nods, lips thinning. “Good, that’s good.” His jaw goes sharp, teeth clenching. “You’re young. It’s how it should be for you.”
How it should be?
I watch him unapologetically, wondering just how much of his life he’s lost to his craft and why he deprives himself of building relationships when he seems more than capable of committing to them. Unless he’s not as close to his friends and family as he’s made out, but I’ve seen how he treats Edna. I think there’s more to this man. In fact, I’m almost certain there is.
“It’s how it should be for everybody,” I eventually say. “Nobody should be alone in life, Charles.”
He says nothing, just watches me right back as if I’m a meteor being broadcast on the telly.
“We all deserve to feel…wanted, don’t we?”
His eyes drop to my lips, and my stomach bottoms out at the fire behind them, the way he traces over them with his gaze.
I swipe my tongue out to wet my bottom lip, and he snaps out of whatever trance he’s in.
His nostrils flare, gaze dropping away in a flash. “Maybe.” He clears his throat. “Finish up. We should head back to the office.”