Chapter 37
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SEVEN
EMMA
Alex was right; I needed a distraction. So, once he’d left, I ventured down to his office.
The moment I walked in, I had to stop to take a breath.
The room smelled like him, and realisation hit me that I found that comforting.
The scent of expensive aftershave lingered in the air, and I could see a table set up in the corner, similar to the one in the drawing room, with glasses and a decanter of whisky.
I walked over to the table and picked up the decanter, took the stopper out, and poured a shot. Then, I placed the decanter down and picked up the glass. But as I swirled the amber liquid around and the strong scent of the whisky reached my nose, I recoiled and put it back on the tray.
What the hell was I thinking?
It was ten o’clock in the morning.
And I didn’t even like whisky.
But I liked Alex, more than I’d realised. Because him not being here didn’t feel right, and thoughts of him crossed my mind more often than I’d care to admit. And now, here I was, trying to emulate the things he did until he was here again and I didn’t need to pretend.
I turned away from the table and walked over to his impressive mahogany desk, marvelling at the expensive craftmanship as I ran my finger along the surface. Alex didn’t do anything by halves and everything in his life was so opulent and luxurious. It was all just... more. Just like he was.
I sat in his office chair, feeling my body sink into the supple leather, thinking how I could get used to working at a desk like this.
In fact, I could get used to living in a house like this.
It’s funny how an environment can alter your whole perspective and make you feel empowered.
This office and his home made me feel like I could do anything. Be anyone.
In front of me were several large monitors, and I wiggled the mouse, which made one of those monitors spring to life. Alex had disabled the password protection, so I was able to click into a Word document and open up a blank page. But I had no idea what I should write.
I didn’t want to write a novel. My brain wasn’t ready to tackle the challenge of drifting off to another world; building characters and scenarios, places and dreams. I had enough to deal with tackling the real world.
So, I thought maybe I should start writing a new resume, something that’d showcase my talents for the future career Alex said I was destined for.
I typed out my name, stared at the screen, then started to tap the delete button to make it disappear.
A resume would need to look professional, in a format that’d stand out, and part of me couldn’t be bothered to search for a template.
Everything felt like a step too far today.
My head was all over the place. I couldn’t focus and it seemed useless to try and do anything, because whatever I did would probably be rubbish.
I guess the girl boss vibes I was feeling were just that, vibes.
It’d take a little more time to put them into practise.
But I’d get there. I wouldn’t let this beat me.
I sat back in the chair, throwing my head back with a sigh.
Then, because I was nosey, I opened the top drawer of his desk, and what I saw nestled in there made me sit up.
On top of the stationary, inside the drawer, was a photograph of me, taken at the gallery.
I was standing in the corner of the courtyard, focusing on the performance from that night, and the photo had been taken from the side.
I looked mesmerised by what I was watching.
I’d had no idea this had been taken, but it made me realise that he’d been right in what he’d said.
He had seen me that night, and something had drawn him to me.
He’d been watching me. So much so that he’d felt compelled to take this photo on his phone and print it out, to keep in his office.
I was shocked and flattered.
He wanted a reminder of me.
And yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling of why me. Why did he think I was so special?
I placed the photo back where I’d found it and closed the drawer. The ways in which this man was burrowing under my skin was unexpected, unique, and so powerful it was starting to become an obsession for me too. I wanted to watch him. Take photos of him when he wasn’t aware and study everything.
But was that healthy?
Probably not, but I felt like Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole with no way to stop this.
It was exciting and I wanted to live in the moment, savour every minute, because when it ended, and it would end, I’d probably be lying on the cold, hard ground, not a soft bed of dry leaves and sticks like Alice.
I had no idea what lay in wait for me at the bottom of my rabbit hole.
And my gut kept telling me, I didn’t want to know.
Later that night, Alex came home to find me in the drawing room, reading one of the classics from his library.
“I love a girl that reads,” he said, then he came to sit next to me and reached for the book, looked at the cover to see what I was reading and placed it face down, open on the table so I wouldn’t lose my page. “I bet you hate me for interrupting you.”
“I can’t lie, if it was anyone else, I would punch them for disturbing my reading,” I joked. “But seeing as it’s you, I’ll make an exception.”
His brows shot up. “I get preferential treatment? Damn. I must be doing something right.”
“You must be.” I tried to hide my smirk.
“How have you been today?” Alex asked with genuine concern. “I hope the news this morning didn’t upset you too much.”
“It wasn’t the best news,” I replied. “But I’m okay. I’ve had a quiet day.”
“I spoke to my lawyers today,” he informed me, and the fire that was sparking inside me turned to barbed wire, twisting my stomach.
“They’ve been in contact with the Merivale Echo’s legal team.
With everything going on, they want to avoid as much bad press as they can, so they’ve offered you a deal. ”
“Go on.”
“They want to offer you twelve months pay; on the understanding that we don’t go public or press charges.”
“Twelve months?” I almost choked on my words. That was a lot of money to receive all in one go.
“If that isn’t enough, we can go for more.”
I shook my head in a daze.
“No. That’s more than enough. It’s more than I ever thought I’d get. I expected a fight, to be honest. But I guess they have a lot on, to put it mildly.”
“If you’re satisfied with twelve months pay, I’ll instruct my team to go ahead and accept the settlement.” He didn’t look entirely happy though. “I wanted to take them to the cleaners, but that’s not my call to make.”
“Twelve months pay is a lot of money for me. It’ll buy me time to think and plan my future, so thank you. I’m just glad it’s all sorted. Another problem solved.”
“I do love solving problems.” He smiled a genuine smile now, which made the barbed wire pinching my insides unravel, and the delicious fire began to rekindle and spark once again.
“I’m glad you’re okay. So does that mean I can tell you where I want to take you for our second date?
” he asked, looking a little apprehensive. “Or is that too much for one day?”
I leaned forward to show I was interested, and asked, “Where do you want to take me?”
He laughed to himself. “Down the hall to my cinema room, because I’m not ready to share you with the rest of the world yet. I’d like to keep you for myself for a little while longer.”
“You have a cinema room? How did I miss that?”
He stood up and held his hand out to me. “What can I say? I’m a man of mystery. And don’t worry about changing. You look beautiful as you are.”
I held his hand, and he led me down the hallway.
When we reached his cinema room, I took a moment to glance around and take it all in.
The carpet in here was cream, like the rest of the house, and there were four rows of seats, each one a plush cream recliner, way better than I’d seen in any cinema I’d ever been into.
The ceiling was dotted with lights to make it look like stars were twinkling overhead, and the screen ahead of us was huge.
But that wasn’t the most impressive part.
At the front, there was a long couch with cushions and fur throws, and a table had been set up with drinks, popcorn, hotdogs, and a bowl of sweets.
“Alex, this is perfect,” I said as he led me to the front and gestured for me to sit down.
“I don’t use this room enough.” He sat next to me and put one of the fur throws over our laps. “But now you’re here, I hope we can put that right. What do you fancy watching?”
He started scrolling through a menu of movies on the screen as he waited for me to answer.
“I usually love a good horror movie, but I think I’ve had enough horror in my life recently, so maybe a rom-com or something funny?”
He passed the control to me and shuffled across the couch to be closer.
“You choose. I don’t mind what we watch. I’m just happy to sit here.”
I picked The Notebook, not realising how much it’d make me cry. As the movie played and my tears came, despite me trying to hide them, Alex pulled me to him, so my legs were across his lap, and he put his arm around my shoulders so I could lie on his chest.
“I don’t want to soak your shirt,” I told him, sniffing through my tears.
He kissed the top of my head as he held me. “Do you really think I care?”
Lying in his arms, being wrapped up in his warmth and his intoxicating scent felt so right. Like he was home.
“I like this,” he whispered, and I agreed.
“Me too.”
Once the movie had finished, I sat up a little and yawned, not realising how tired I was. I hadn’t really been sleeping all that well, and it was starting to catch up with me.
“I think my beauty needs her sleep,” Alex said with a warm smile. “Come on sleeping beauty, let’s get you to bed.”
Nerves fluttered in my stomach as he held my hand and pulled me to stand. I wanted him to take me to bed. His bed.
We walked slowly down the hallway and then up the staircase, the same walk we’d done before, but tonight, it felt different. Eventually, we came to my door, and he turned to look at me, taking my face in his hands.
“This is my favourite part of the night,” he whispered, then leaned into me and brushed his lips over mine before tilting his head and giving me the kiss I so desperately wanted. A sensual, sexy kiss, with his tongue teasing me, tasting and taking what he wanted.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, my hands stroking the back of his head, teasing him with my nails as I scraped them gently against his scalp. He groaned into the kiss, and I had to pull him closer, that low growl did things to me, and I was growing impatient for more.
He pushed me up against the wall and pressed his body hard into mine.
His hips pinned mine in place, and he started to rub against me, grinding, as he moved his hands to my ass and gave it a squeeze.
I moaned and he leaned down slightly, taking my thighs in his hands, then he lifted me up.
I wrapped my legs around him as we kissed against the wall.
I was open to him, and I could feel the hardness in his trousers as he rocked his hips against me.
And then, he put me down and stepped away.
Breathlessly, he looked down at me with hooded eyes and said, “You’re gonna be the death of me.”
“I hope not,” I replied, just as breathless, but feeling a little jaded. “It’ll spoil the fun.” I hoped he’d get the hint that I wanted more fun. I wanted to explore and take this as far as we could.
He gave a low chuckle, and kissed my forehead, then said, “You’re such a tease. I love that about you.”
But I wasn’t the tease. At least, I didn’t think I was, and when he said, “Goodnight, Emma. Sweet dreams,” I wanted to scream.
Why was he holding back?
I always thought he was the kind of man to take what he wanted. He’d oozed that confidence and swagger since I’d met him, and now, he was keeping everything P.G.
Was it because he thought I was too fragile or too damaged to let himself go?
I watched him walk away and I cursed myself. I was a strong woman. At least, I always thought I was. I needed to take matters into my own hands.
I pushed open the door to my room, turned the light on, and stepped inside.
Then I closed the door behind me and gave a little scream before I made my way to the bathroom.
But as I passed the dressing table, I noticed the note that Alex had written for me this morning was on there, along with the rose, but... Oh... My... God.
The rose had no petals.
Every single petal had been plucked out, and when I looked at the wastepaper basket on the floor, the petals were all in there.
Sickness washed through me and bile burned my throat at the realisation that someone had been in here. My body shook, fingers quivering as I reached down to touch one of the petals, and then I reared back, as if the petal had given me an electric shock.
Who had come into my room and done this?
Was it a staff member?
Did one of them have feelings for Alex, and they were showing their disgust at me being here by leaving me this message?
Or... was it him?
Coming in here to remind me that I was still his target.
I was sure it was the latter and so did my gut.
Alex had sworn he was gone. That he wouldn’t hurt me. But I still wasn’t convinced. And I knew I couldn’t spend a minute longer on my own in this room. I needed to get out.
I put the rest of the rose in the bin and stalked over to the door, turned the light off and went back out into the hallway. Then I marched across to Alex’s door and started to bang on it.