“That’s my favorite way to serve you.” I smile, running my fingers over her foot.
“A multidimensional man.” She says softly.
She presses her lips together, looks at me then looks away.
“Spit it out, Charlie,” I say, waiting.
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
I stare, puzzled wondering about the turn of topic. “Why on earth would you ask that? Where has this come from?”
“Come on, Danny.” She rolls her eyes. “Most people in Nexus went to Cambridge or Oxford or
Harvard or some other genius university. I went to Warwick.”
“I’m not Cambridge/Oxford-educated. Neither is Tristan.” I say, raising a brow.
“But you are hugely successful.” She replies. “I know you think I’m not up to the Nexus standard.
Don’t bullshit me.”
“Where is this coming from?” I ask, slightly thrown. “The truth is I think you need more experience. But I also think you are a beautiful, intelligent, sensationally creative girl.” “Girl?” She grimaces.
“Woman,” I correct.
She stares at me, deflated. “I’m not a leggy blond human rights lawyer. Why would you split up with her?”
“I wanted something casual; she didn’t.”
She clears her throat awkwardly, avoiding my gaze. “I get it; you don’t do the commitment thing.” I expel a breath. I don’t like where this conversation is going.
“Hey.” I shake her ankle, forcing her to look at me. “We don’t know what this is… let’s just enjoy it, ok?”
“Sure.” She swallows. “I get it.”
“Danny,” she starts again. “Do you remember all those years ago?” “I remember,” I cut in. Hurt flashes across her face.
“Why did you push me away?”
“You were 20, Charlie.” I sigh. “I was 33. You were too young for me. You were blind drunk. Despite my reputation, I don’t take advantage of young drunk girls. No matter how breathtaking they are.”
“And now?” She whispers.
I reach over, scooping her up in my arms. “Now I’m well and truly fucked.”
Charlie
I wake up and feel the bed cold, running my hand over where his body should be. My phone tells me it’s 6am. Monday morning, yuck.
The fantasy is over. I need to travel all the way across London to get ready for work.
The bedroom is eerily quiet. Where is he?
I peel off the bed covers and shuffle out of bed. Hmmm, the underfloor heating is on. No wonder he can wake up early.
There’s no sign of him on the top floor.
Padding down the stairs in my underwear, his dry husky voice gets louder as I reach the bottom and follow the sound towards the kitchen.
“Write up the proposal and send it to me this morning, Michael.”
He has his back to me and his headphones in. “The deal needs to close tomorrow.”
6am on a Monday morning, and he’s already in work mode. I can barely muster the strength to brush my teeth yet.
He’s wearing a black suit sculpted around his muscles, and as he turns around, I see that he’s cleanly shaven, highlighting his razor-sharp jaw. One glance at him in that suit, and I’m turned inside out.
There’s a distinct slant to one of his eyebrows as he clocks my state of undress, making me selfconsciously cross my arms over my chest.
He gives a brief nod of recognition and mouths ‘five minutes’.
It must be the States if he’s on this early. I can tell there’s a number of them on the call from the names he’s firing out, his commanding tone dishing out orders.
CEO Danny is sexy as fuck.
I sidestep him in the kitchen and grab a glass from the cupboard as quietly as I can.
When I’m at the tap, I jump slightly as his hand encircles my waist from behind, pushing me against the cloth of his tailored suit.
“I need to go. I’ll call you in the office”.
“Good morning, beautiful.’ His commanding tone drops into a softer one.
He moves my hair and sends a trail of kisses down my neck, making me shiver.
“Morning,” I say huskily, turning around to face him.
“This is a spectacular view to see first thing in the morning,” he murmurs darkly, his eyes running up and down my body. “I hope I didn’t wake you. There’s coffee in the pot.”
“No.” I shift consciously from foot to foot. “I need to go back to mine to get ready.” “I’ll call my driver,”
I shake my head quickly. I don’t need his driver knowing I stayed all weekend. “Public transport is quicker, you know.”
“You still have that love bite peeking out of your shirt.” I gasp.
He grimaces slightly, trying to pull up his collar. “Yeah, I’ll have to contend with the rumour mill on that one today.”
He gives me a half-grin as I flinch.
“It was worth the rumours. Don’t worry, they won’t be able to identify it’s your marking.” “I really am sorry.” I giggle. “I got carried away in the moment.” His phone buzzes again.
“So this is the life of a CEO, heh? Glad I’m just IT support.” He shoots me an apologetic look.
“It’s ok.” I wave my hand. “I need to put some clothes on.”
15 minutes later, I’m back in my outfit from Saturday night. I’ve never had such a delayed walk of shame.
He’s resting on a bar stool, still talking loudly into his phone with a frown on his face. Should I just sneak out?
I gave a slight wave from the kitchen door.
Wait, he mouths.
“I need five minutes.” He barks down the phone then puts it on mute.
“So I guess I’ll see you in the office.” I try to say breezily.
“The Nexus office.” He walks towards me, smiling. “You guys are moving into our offices today, remember?”