Chapter 4 #2
I was in shock, but I managed to grab the container and hand it to him. He took it, scooped two servings into the bottle, and then returned the lid. After he shook the bottle like a cocktail shaker, he handed it over to me.
“There,” he said, looking quite pleased with himself.
I wasn’t sure what to do or what to say.
I went from panicked that I’d just ticked off my new boss so much that he left his own limo to get away from me and Samuel, to shocked that he’d gone to get himself coffee while I was stressing out.
And then I’d landed at paralyzed because he hadn’t gotten anything for himself.
Instead, he’d done something for me and my son.
It was whiplash of the highest order.
“Thanks,” was all I could muster as I helped Samuel find the bottle’s nipple. After one suck he took in a few whimpered breaths and then quieted as he ate.
The limo fell into silence. After Liam told the driver to keep going, he settled back into the seat across from me with one arm draped across the back and his legs open and extended in front of him. He looked so at ease, and I wondered, for a moment, what that must feel like.
I glanced down at Samuel, whose eyes were barely open as he continued guzzling the bottle. A feeling of gratitude washed over me. I hated the fact that I couldn’t solve all of my son’s problems, but that didn’t make what Liam did any less kind.
“Thanks,” I said, this time louder. I looked up to make sure that Liam knew I was talking to him.
Liam had leaned his head back against the seat, but when I spoke, he lifted it so he could meet my gaze. He held it for a moment before his cocky smile returned.
“Admit you need me,” he said, his voice low and sultry.
It took all of the strength not to roll my eyes. I wasn’t sure what was kosher with your new boss, but I figured visibly showing annoyance wasn’t wise on day one.
So I decided to sidestep that landmine. “I’ll make sure that it’ll never happen again,” I said, more for myself than him.
This would be the last time I would be caught in a situation like this.
I needed to get to wherever we were going and get my bearings.
I’d make sure that I was equipped to not only take care of Liam, but Samuel as well.
I was determined to do my job to the best of my ability, and not being prepared to feed my son was nowhere near what I knew I was capable of.
Liam was still watching me when I brought my attention back to him. His mouth was tipped up into a sexy little half smile, and he was drinking me in like he was enjoying what he was seeing. My cheeks flushed as I quickly dropped my gaze.
Liam Carmichael was a flirt. I knew it. He knew it.
Charisma oozed from that man. Every look, every smile was calculated.
Every wink was targeted to make a woman blush.
Nothing he did was accidental or innocent.
Hell, that man made women twice his age giggle.
I’d seen it at book club. He’d had those women fluffing their hair and plumping their lips.
I refused to be one of those women. If I was going to be the best assistant he’d ever had, the first rule I needed to follow was to not allow myself to get wrapped up in his mannerisms. He was my boss, and that was it.
Assuming there was anything more between us would send me on a one-way trip to crazy town.
Thankfully, seconds later, the limo slowed.
That was enough to distract Liam, who turned his attention to the window.
The limo took a left into a covered underground parking area where a group of men and women in suits were lingering.
Liam leaned forward and closed his eyes for a moment like he was steeling his nerves before he glanced back at me.
“You ready for this?” he asked as he reached over and opened a small compartment toward the front of the limo. He removed a hat and a pair of sunglasses.
“Ready for what?” I asked as I watched him put on the items.
He glanced back just as two large men appeared outside.
Their muscles were so big that they practically bulged out of their suits.
They lingered next to the door with their hands clasped in front of them as they shifted their bodies ever so slightly from side to side, like their muscles were coiled tight, ready to spring into action at any moment.
I hurriedly slipped Samuel into his car seat.
He whimpered for a moment, his eyes opening slightly, before his body relaxed and he fell back asleep.
I fastened his seatbelt and then shoved all my things back into the diaper bag.
Not sure what Liam meant, I pulled the bag up onto my shoulder before meeting his gaze once more.
“I’m ready,” I said with what I hoped was a confident nod.
Liam chuckled before he leaned over and rapped his knuckles on the window.
One of the men standing outside turned and pulled the door open.
Liam was out of the limo in one swift movement.
I was less graceful. With one hand, I lifted and set down Samuel’s car seat as I inched to the opening.
With the other, I held onto the diaper bag, dragging it behind me.
Just as I was mere inches from the door, a hand appeared and wrapped their fingers around Samuel’s car seat handle and lifted it out. I started to protest but decided against it. There was no graceful way of exiting the limo with everything in my hands.
I scooted myself closer to the opening, and another hand appeared.
I didn’t think twice as I took it and allowed the person to help me out.
Just as I straightened, I looked up to see that I was standing centimeters away from Liam.
His hand was still wrapped around mine, and his gaze was piercing as he stared at me.
“Finally giving in and letting me help you?” he murmured as he leaned in closer.
My breath hitched in my throat as my gaze drifted down to his lips. They were so close that it wouldn’t take much of an effort to rise up onto my tiptoes and…
I blinked.
What was that?
I cleared my throat and stepped back. A momentary lapse in judgement was what that was. When I glanced back up at Liam, I scowled. He was grinning down at me like he’d just won the lottery. I set my jaw and narrowed my eyes.
“Right this way, Mr. Carmichael.” A man in a dark blue suit with a shiny gold name tag with George stamped on it stepped up next to us and extended his hand.
Liam turned his attention to George and nodded. He didn’t move to give me Samuel. We followed George through the underground parking garage to the large glass doors with The Peninsula Chicago etched in gold.
Flashes to my left drew my attention to the edge of the parking garage. A group of onlookers were standing there, straining over the roped fence with their phones and cameras out. For some asinine reason, I stopped and stared. Never in my life had I experienced this before.
Liam was moving swiftly through the doors like this was his everyday life.
A firm hand landed on my back, and I looked up to see one of the large men who had been standing outside of the limo was staring down at me.
I could see my reflection in his sunglasses.
My gaze drifted over to the clear, coiled wire coming from his earpiece and disappearing under the collar of his shirt.
“Miss,” he said. His voice rumbled as he nodded toward the doors of the hotel.
Not wanting to hold up Liam and wanting to make sure I was there if Samuel freaked out again, I quickened my pace. Everything passed in a blur as we made our way to a large elevator.
The doors slid open and we boarded. Liam set Samuel’s car seat down on the floor and crossed his arms as he leaned back against the wall like this was the most normal thing ever.
My mind was struggling to process this entire day, from the private jet, to the limo, to this exclusive elevator with people I’d only seen in James Bond movies.
Maybe I was in over my head. Maybe I needed to call an audible, text my apology to Abigail, and head back to Harmony.
I wanted to believe that I could handle being Liam’s assistant, but there was a part of me that knew the truth.
It was only a matter of time before he discovered he’d made a mistake.
I needed to ask myself, did I want to be around when that revelation happened?