“Don’t apologize.” The hard exterior I usually wear around her has collapsed and I can feel myself soften, weaken to make sure she knows I’m here for her. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through. Do you know what’s wrong?”
She shakes her head. “That’s the worst part, she won’t tell anyone. All she asked was if she could stay here so she was closer to her doctor. I said yes without even thinking about it, but now that I truly give it some thought, I guess I should have asked you first.”
“Why should you have asked me?”
“Because, this is your place, Rath. I’m sure you weren’t expecting to have an elderly tenant. There are liabilities and—”
I place my fingers on her lips to stop her from going any further with that ridiculous thought. “I don’t care who lives here. What I care about is your grandma getting better, you not sleeping on a partially inflated air mattress, and seeing that smile on your face again.”
She glances at her bed. “The air mattress is fine.”
“The air mattress is unacceptable,” I say with a stern voice. “I’ll have someone bring you a bed today.”
“No,” she says quickly. “No, please don’t. I told my grandma my room was just like hers, and she’d be devastated to know how I’ve been sleeping the past few days.”
“Charlee, I’m devastated to see how you’ve been sleeping the past few days. You’re going through a lot, and you shouldn’t be sleeping on the goddamn floor.”
“It’s the least of my worries.”
“You need a bed. I’m not budging on this.”
She sighs in resignation. “At least do it when my grandma is at an appointment. That way she doesn’t know what’s going on.”
“Fine.” I capitulate and rest my hand on her leg. We both stare at the connection for a few heart beats and then our gazes meet. Right there, in that moment, something passes between us. I can’t quite describe it, the feelings it sprouts, but this moment, this day, it alters everything moving forward. We’ve crossed a line. I’ve crossed a line and despite my strong promise to myself, of never falling for another assistant again, I know I’ve broken it. I know there are more than friendly feelings blooming inside of me for Charlee Cox.
What’s even more scary though, as I stare at Charlee, our eyes never wavering, I think there’s a slight possibility that she might be harboring the same feelings. Before I can tell for sure, she looks away, breaking our connection.
Desperate for her to come back to the office, but knowing she might need more time, I say, “Take tomorrow off too. As much time as you need. I’ll be able to hold the fort down until you return.”
She barely smiles and says, “Thank you, Rath. I really appreciate it.”
Little does she know, I’d do anything for her at this point.
She doesn’t come in Friday, leaving me lonely and quite aware of how much I depend on her. I knew she wasn’t going to make it in, but still the thought of going through another workday without her smiling face popping into my office made it hard for me to concentrate.
And that thought terrifies me, because when did I become so dependent on this girl? At what point in time did I switch from being an independent CEO to a dependent puddle of a mess?
I miss her dancing.
I miss her razzing.
I miss her late-afternoon conversations where she asks weird questions to give my mind a mental break.
Fuck . . . I miss her.
Now that it’s Saturday, I’m tempted to ask how she’s doing, to see if she needs anything, to go to her apartment and check up on her.
No, that would be ridiculous.
And I’m sure as hell not going to show up with flowers either.
Nor am I going to knock on her door holding two bags of Chinese food . . . because I’m not sure what she likes.
And I’m sure as shit not going to have a pastry box under one arm full of lemon curd and cheese Danishes.
Nope.
Not going to happen.
Who the fuck am I kidding?
That’s exactly what I’m doing. Standing at her door, arms full, unsure of how to knock with a nervous jitter in my stomach from seeing her again.
Lifting one knuckle to the door while juggling everything in my arms, I tap the wood loud enough to draw some attention and then step back.
It takes her a few seconds but Charlee finally answers the door and her eyes widen with surprise when she sees me, and then they soften quickly while a smile pulls at the corner of her mouth as her eyes take in everything in my arms.
Fucking gorgeous.
“Rath, what are you doing here?”
“Checking on you and your grandma. I wanted to make sure you’re doing all right.” Her smile grows even bigger and my heart trips in my chest. I’m absolutely fucking screwed.
“Come in, come in,” she says, taking the bags of food from me. “Grandma is taking a nap. She had an early lunch and decided to rest.”
“Oh okay, I can just drop these things off then and be on my way.”
She shakes her head. “No, eat with me. Stay, tell me all the things I missed this past week.”
She doesn’t have to ask me twice. Quietly we put the flowers in some water, fill up some plates with food, and then we head to her room so we don’t make too much noise. I had someone deliver a bed yesterday while Charlee and her grandma were out of the apartment. I also had someone help with the boxes, because I didn’t like that she was partially moved in, as if she wasn’t going to stay long.
With the boxes cleared out and things put away, the room is much larger than before. I wish it was bigger for her but I commend her for giving her grandma the better room so she can be more comfortable.
I go to sit on the floor with my plate and drink when she asks, “What are you doing?”
“Sitting.”
“Not on the floor. Sit on my bed. It’s super comfortable.” She winks and hops up on the large bed.
“I don’t want to get food on your blankets.”
“That’s why washer and dryers were invented.” She pats the bed. “Sit, Rath.”
Oh, just sit on my bed with me, it’s no problem.
It’s a huge problem. Being on a bed with Charlee, with this attraction eating me alive, I can’t trust myself. But from the determination in her eyes, I’m not going to win, so I give in, once again.
I took my shoes off at the door when I first got here, so I sit on the edge of her bed as far away as I can be, practically at the foot of the bed, and set my drink on one of the nightstands. I bend my leg flat on the soft mattress and rest my plate on top of it.
“You can sit at the head of the bed so you have something to lean against. Don’t be shy, Rath.”
Shy isn’t what I’m feeling right now. Lying on Charlee’s bed, next to her, is a bad idea but when she looks at me with those large emotive eyes, highlighted by her red glasses today, I can’t possibly deny her. I shift on the bed and lean against a puffy pillow.
“General Tso’s is my absolute favorite chicken of all the Chinese food chickens.” She takes a bite and moans.
Okay . . . we don’t need sound effects.
“Yeah, mine too. Occasionally, I’ll dabble in cashew chicken as well.”