Page 55 of Resting Grump Face
I didn’t really plan on bringing her here. I didn’t really plan on having dinner with her. I certainly didn’t plan on talking to her for six hours straight. Yet here we are, in my dining room. Everything just sort of happened on autopilot. There was no conscious decision to cook dinner. It was just time for dinner, so I prepared it and since she was around, we ate together. And, sure, there was no reason to tell her about my grandma and my shoestrings, or about the time I performed Hit Me Baby One More Time in glee club, or about my love for poorly written memoirs; it just sort of came out.
It seems to be one of Sienna’s hidden talents. She just draws you in. She’s like quicksand. You can’t help but want to jump in to see what happens and to find out if it is really as exciting as it looks in the cartoons.
“So,” she says eventually, “why am I here if it’s not for your somewhat disappointing kill room?”
“Right,” I answer, think for a moment, and then get up to fetch the document that my legal team had delivered to me earlier. “This is the contract you had sent me. I took out theclause of me having to address you as ‘Your Highness’ and my lawyers changed a thing or two and added an NDA, but it’s pretty much what you imagined. Give it a read and then sign it to make our deal official.”
I take the plates back into the kitchen and start a fire in the fireplace. We both take a seat in the rocking chairs in front of it. While Sienna reads, I pretend to be staring at my phone when really I am just staring at her. I didn’t plan to do that either, it also just sort of happens. How could anyone not stare at someone like Sienna de la Vega when they get the chance?
By the time she finishes, I’ve probably undressed her a hundred times over in my mind. I have imagined what it would be like to grab her ass and pull her against me. I have imagined what it would sound like having her moan my name. I have imagined what it would feel like to make her come underneath me.
And it’s terrible. It’s a terrible idea. I have to remind myself of what happened the last time we fucked. I have to remind myself of my own rule, of the reason why I never date anyone twice. I have to stop thinking of her in that way.
She’s just a pawn in my game. An employee like all the others. Sort of.
Sienna hands the document back to me and confirms that my plan is well underway. The board will be pleased by this. The airport scandal has already quieted down a little and, with today’s TV appearance, should be taken care of, so I will have a chance to toy with Sienna for the coming week.
“It’s weird,” she says and leans back as the fire gently cracks before us. “In the last couple of days, you have collected trash for the environment, donated ten million dollars for public schools, and not kicked any puppies. It’s almost like you’re… human.”
“I don’t kick puppies,” I explain as my rocking chair swings back and forth smoothly. “I’m rich. Rich people kick baby lions instead.”
Sienna starts laughing so hard it turns into a cough. For a moment, I worry I might have to perform the Heimlich maneuver on her to save her from her own saliva. Once she has calmed down, she ruffles through her hair and takes a deep breath.
“Please don’t do that again,” she wheezes, “or I’ll have to call the police.”
“What are the charges now?” I ask while thinking back to a couple of days ago.
“Not staying in character, obviously. We can’t have that.” She looks over at me and I notice how she gets stuck on my lips. The flames from the fireplace sway in her eyes and make them glow even more than they usually do.
I can’t help but smirk. I know that look. It’s the same one I am trying to hide from her, the same one I am trying not to have in the first place.
“You’re supposed to be the grumpy one here. If you start making jokes, I’ll have to start scowling at things and my face just isn’t made for that.” Sienna draws her eyebrows into one line and adds a pouty expression.
“What’s that supposed to be? That’s not how you scowl.”
“I know. That’s howyouscowl.”
I laugh. “You look like a duck trying to win a Grumpy-Cat-look-alike-competition… and you’re losing.”
Her scowl vanishes as fast as it had come and we both have to laugh. Which, of course, is not advisable at all, so I try to stop right away.
Unless… maybe… this could be part of my plan as well.
Making her spend more time with me was the first step, but what if she actually had a good time doing it?
I am sure she would hate that even more. Just like right now, she’s trying hard not to allow herself to have a good time with me, the embodiment of everything that is wrong with this world, as she put it. Once she actually enjoys it, it will hurt even more when I deliver my revenge.
My watch says it’s almost 1 AM. I clear my throat and consider my next step. “So, it’s getting pretty late and we have to work tomorrow morning. If you prefer, Miles can take you home right now, or you can stay in the guest room and catch a ride with me tomorrow morning.”
Sienna sits up straight when she hears the time. “Is it really that late?” she asks and sinks back down. “Damn it, I already didn’t get enough sleep last night.”
“It’s okay. You can just stay here,” I assert nonchalantly and get up.
“But I need clothes for tomorrow.”
“That’s okay too. Come on.”
“No, it’s not okay. I can’t put this on again. Not on my first day, and I doubt your T-Rex costume would be appropriate office attire.”
