ROME
To be honest, I was not entirely thinking straight. I had no plan to invite her to my house or ask her to bring the files when I could have just asked Zee to take them from her. But clearly, I was stupid. Stupid enough that I cooked for our meal and enjoyed it with her.
There was something about Carly that I couldn’t let go of. I was like drawn to her like a magnet every time we were in the same room together. Despite her holding something up and saying that her secrets were not any of my business, I was looking forward to seeing her today.
And I was glad that she came over.
An hour later, the rain had not stopped. I joined her in the living room. She was watching an animal docu on Netflix until she just dozed off.
I lowered the volume and went to take a blanket. I covered her with it before I grabbed the files she put on the coffee table. I placed a pillow cushion under her head, and she stirred, which made me freeze. She then breathed evenly and went back to sleep.
When the temperature started to drop, I lit up the fireplace. I turned off the lights and used the floor lamp to read the documents.
An hour later, I rubbed my eyes after reading. A sudden sob caught my attention. I didn’t realize it came from Carly until her body shook.
“Don’t go, please?” She must have been crying in her sleep, or she was dreaming.
I went to her and shook her to wake her up.
“Don’t, please.” Her sob didn’t stop.
“Storm?” I wiped the hair away from her face. “Carly, wake up.” It didn’t work. I wondered what had happened to her. It didn’t look like just a bad dream. Something must have happened to her in the past.
“Don’t go.” She continued crying.
“Storm, it’s okay. I’m here.” I rubbed her arm. “I’m here with you.” I lifted her up slowly so she could lay her head on my thigh. This seemed the only way I could calm her down. I would think of the consequences later when she woke up in this position.
“It’s okay.” I ran my fingers through her hair. She stopped crying but still sobbing. What I did seemed to work. She relaxed, went back to sleep, and her breathing became steady.
I grabbed a file and continued to browse through pages even if I had lost concentration an hour ago when she placed her hand on my lap just below my crotch.
Carly stretched her arm and froze. With wide eyes, she stared at me. It was comical how she was lying down a second ago and now sitting straight, covering herself with the blanket.
I ignored her reaction, not to make it awkward between us, but I was bracing for her outburst. I picked up the glass and emptied it.
“Are we just gonna pretend I did not wake on your lap?”
I snorted. “Your head on my thigh.”
“And how in the hell did that happen?”
“You wanna make it awkward, fine. I’ll tell you how.”
She raised her hand. “No thanks.” She stood up and pointed her finger at me. “If you ever so much tell a soul, I swear to God, I will castrate your balls, and then I will steal your Crypto wallet. I’m sure it’s here somewhere in the safe.”
“And why would I do that? The question is, who would believe that story?”
“Good. Are you done with the documents? Because I’m going home.”
“Not yet.”
“Then tell your driver to send them to the office tomorrow. I will forward them to finance after.”
“Who’s the boss here, Storm?” I lifted my gaze, meeting hers. “And it’s still raining.”
She sighed in defeat. “Can I borrow your truck?”
“No. I don’t let anyone use it.”
“Let me guess. It’s your baby,” she said sarcastically.
“No. It’s just a truck, for God’s sake.”
“Very well, I’ll book an Uber.”
I chuckled. “Good luck with that.”
“Is this some kind of a test? A punishment may be for calling you names?”
“Why would I do that?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because I called you arsehole and grumpy.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “So you really called me those names, huh?”
“I’m sorry. It’s just sometimes. It feels like you are carrying the entire Langston building over your shoulder. I hardly saw you smile.” She raised a hand. “Correction. Never at work, but you did smile while you were with Mrs. Creed and Baby Amelie. With your mom and your brother.”
“Sit, Carly. I’ll send you home once the rain is over.”
“You don’t have to do it. I can drive home safely.”
“If you won’t let me. Then you’re staying for the night.” I went back to reading even if she was still scowling at me.
“Why do you have to control everything? I mean, if I get into an accident on my way, it’s not your fault.”
“It’s bad for business.” That was cruel, but I wanted her to shut up for a second.
“Of course. Everything is just about business.”
I let out a deep breath and shut the folder close. “If you are worried you can’t go home tonight. I’ll call Zee to pick you up.” I picked up my phone. “But you are not going back to the city alone.”
“Mr. Langston-”
I raised my finger to stop. “End of discussion, or I swear to God, I will fire you if you keep defying my words.”
She slumped her ass back to the coach and took her phone. She crossed her legs and typed something-thankfully, she wore pants today. Otherwise, it would be uncomfortable for her. She put her phone down and took off her suit jacket, placing it carefully on the couch. She dialed someone. It must be Heera, her roomie.
“Are you cold?”
“No.”
“Do you need anything?”
“No.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“No.” She paused and turned to me. “Can I say something as a person, not your employee?”
“Of course. You’re always free to say something, even if you are my employee. And I don’t think I can stop you, Storm, and besides, this is a free country.”
“Fine. You are the most frustrating, insensitive, self-centered boss I’ve ever worked with.”
“Thank you for your honesty, Carlott.” I smiled. I wanted to say ditto, but I was afraid she launched into me and punched me in the face. I’d never hurt a woman, but that was not what I was scared about. I might do something I might regret because right now, she was the hottest angry woman I’d ever seen.
“Am I fired?”
“No. This most frustrating, insensitive, self-centered boss you’ve ever worked with will be your boss for a long while.”
“God, kill me now.” She grabbed the glass of wine and drank it like water.
“Not on my couch and my property.”
She formed her hands into fists and growled. “I’m dying to punch you.”
“May I remind you that I was once in a service?”
“I learned basic self-defense at a young age.”
“Your ex-boss, not the first guy you punched, I guess.”
She relaxed. “No. It was a long time ago. I was fifteen. Then someone grabbed me in-”
I looked at her.
“On my boob. So I punched him in the nose,” she concluded.
“Served him right. Your friend didn’t answer your call?”
“Nope. I sent her a message that I might go home late.”
“How long have you had bad dreams?”
She froze, face blanched. She wanted me to talk to a stranger, then here we were, talking about our worst nightmares.
She swallowed hard. “Is that why I wake in that position?”
I nodded. “You want me to share something with you, then here it is.” I took a deep breath before I started. “I had an estranged relationship with my father for a couple of years. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps and fill his shoes when he retired. But I chose to fight for my country. I never regretted my decisions. I met my brothers, lost two-”
“I’m so sorry, Rome-” She stiffened. “Mr. Langston.”
A faintest of a smile hovered on my lips. “We’ve passed with Mr. Langston. That’s my father’s. You can call me Rome when nobody is around.”
“Right. I lost people I cared about too. Not that they’re gone, but they’re not in my life anymore.”
“After my service, I joined a security firm, invested my money in crypto and other businesses, and eventually built my own. Then I was assigned to Adley. She had a psycho stalker back then. One day, when we were going to LA, she told me something that made me realize family matters over temporary happiness.” I paused as I recalled how Dad was so proud of me that night I went home for dinner. “That’s the most fulfilling night ever. Then the last words my dad told me before he died were, I could never be more prouder for what kind of man you’ve become, Rome.”
“He loved you till his last breath, Rome.” I found her hand over mine, squeezing it.
“I wish I spent more time with him than thinking he hated me.”
“You made him proud and are making him proud right now. What matter is he knew you loved him, and your family is the most important thing in this world to you.”
“How about you? What happened?”
She rubbed the back of her neck and dropped her gaze. “My family. From where I came from is pretty powerful. My brother Thay. He worked hard, the golden boy who would inherit the position. While me, I had freedom. I did my duty but broke a few rules. I was the black sheep. My father warned me this would be the last time I would make a mistake.”
“You? The black sheep?” I scoffed. It seemed not the woman I had met days ago.
“Not the person in front of you right now.” She exhaled. “Then I fell in love.”
My jaw started to clench hard. I felt I shouldn’t have listened to this, but my gut told me to.
“He was older than me. My brother’s best friend, who worked for him.”
I listened, even though it wasn’t comforting.
“We were happy. My brother found out because he told him. Then one day, my picture was released to the public. People on social media called me-” She looked up as she tried to hold back tears, but her chin started to tremble.
“Hey, it’s okay.” I found myself holding her, my other hand wiping her tear. “Life is a mess. You wouldn’t become a strong person if you didn’t encounter challenges and pains along the way.”
“It wasn’t even the worse part.” She drew a deep breath. She seemed to debate but decided to tell me the truth. “He left me. He said something as if he was doing me a huge favor.”
“The asshole left you?” I asked in disbelief. I wished he was here so I could punch him until he spat out blood.
“When I needed him the most when my entire family turned their backs on me, I had no one except my brother and his wife.”
I pulled her into my arms and let her cry for as long as she needed.
“So I ran away.” She sobbed in my arms.
Who would have thought this strong, opinionated woman who threatened to castrate my balls and steal my wallet would cry in my arms?
“It’s okay.” I ran my fingers through her silky hair as I tried to soothe her.
“I’m sorry. I got carried away.” She pulled away, wiping off her tears.
“Don’t apologize. I’m here now, and I would never leave you like that.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t even know me.”
“I think I know you enough that I just trust you with my pain.”