Page 28 of Scottish Seducer
And his lips met mine and my blood stirred. I needed him in my life for however long this lasted.
It was like Charlie was the battery that woke me up from my years of inertia.
As the bell rang to signal we’d reached the ground floor, he let me go and we walked outside.
However, his driver wasn’t in his usual spot. Instead, it was his black car, the one I’d driven yesterday. He put the key in my hand and said, “You’re driving.”
I pressed the button, the car unlocked, and I asked, “Where are we going?”
He let himself in the passenger seat and waited for me. I slid into the driver’s seat and he said, “I made us reservations at the Royal Crescent Hotel, and I’m sure I’ll be hungry by the time we arrive.”
Bath? He really was serious about me showing him Jane Austen’s world. I started the car but asked, “Right now?”
He sat back like he was comfortable and said, “Why not? I told you I booked us a private tour tomorrow, and I want us to have a good time.”
I laughed and backed out of the spot. Once I straightened out on the street, and we moved forward, I said, “To be honest, I never stayed there. But the grounds are lovely, so I’m excited to actually see one of the rooms, which I’ve heard are beautifully appointed.”
He clapped his hand over his heart, and he snapped his fingers like he was out to make my dreams come true. “So that’s why you’re going.”
I reached out and squeezed his arm. “No. Because I get to be with you.”
For a few minutes we navigated out of the city and headed toward the bigger highways leading to Bath. Once I was on the road we’d be on for a while, I glanced over at Charlie and said, “Also, I want to hire my old boss Margot Fletcher as the project supervisor, but she was worried about job security if you and I don’t…work out.”
His face was full of light that somehow made me relax as I drove, and he said, “Ahh. And what did you say?”
I shrugged and stayed focused on the road. “What old bosses said to me. You get the experience and that can lead to higher pay.”
He pivoted and stared at my profile. I swallowed and waited for his observations, almost with bated breath, until he said, “Good non-answer which seems to be hard for some of my very seasoned employees to give.”
I tapped the wheel. “I thought it was a standard class y’all attended in business school.”
He cocked his head. “No, but maybe they learned it in your history major.”
A buzz raced through me. Right. No matter how easy it was to be with Charlie, we’d never work out. I wasn’t born into his universe, but I said, “Sometimes it freaks me out that you looked me up in that much detail.”
His gaze narrowed as he said, “I told you about the background check.”
I played with my necklace and wished I had my mother’s goodness as I said, “You did. Anyhow, I’m hoping Margot takes the job.”
He reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “Text her that if she does an excellent job for you, I will guarantee she supervises at least three more projects for me.”
My eyes filled with water and burned a little. I hadn’t meant to cry, so I sniffed it away and said, “Awesome.”
We continued the drive as fewer and fewer cars were around us now. Night crept up on the edges of the day, even though we had a few more hours of light, but we were lulled into a peace.
After a comfortable silence, he said, “Let’s talk about you.”
I blinked while my pulse quickened. With friends, my evenings were usually about forgetting my life and living in a dream world. But Charlie didn’t read fiction and probably preferred business and success non-fiction if I had to guess, but I asked, “Me?”
He traced my arm and said, “Yes. You had my teams in shock when they figured out you aren’t someone they can ignore. Reports say you’re intelligent, articulate, fair, and open. I’ve never read such high praise from a first impression of someone new to upper management.”
My heart ate up that praise like he’d given me a birthday cake. I let out a sigh as I imagined that today was now my life. For now, I followed the signs and reminded myself to not get too attached as I said, “It reveals more about the people you hire, though.”
His expression blanked like I’d slapped him. For a moment neither of us said anything, but he broke the silence and asked, “What do you mean?”
“Pfft.” I let out the sound like it was obvious, but then said, in case he didn’t understand me, “None of them noticed me when I delivered things to their offices. It was like I was invisible before today.”
He leaned back, his hands behind his head like he was completely at peace again. “You probably were. People only see what they want to see most of the time.”
