Chapter 14

He drew me back to the table where his old high school friends sat pretending not to watch us.

"Sorry, everyone. I've got to take Elena away. But it's been a blast." He began to shake hands with all the males at the table. The females got up too, giving him quick, distant hugs and pecks on the cheek.

Jennifer was the last to come up to us. She looked at him with pouty eyes, put a hand on his chest and moved in closer. "Why don't you stay a little longer? The dancing is just getting started. I remember you having good moves."

Charles smiled politely. "I think not."

"Then at least take this," she said, holding a small scrap of paper close to her cleavage where his eyes would have to take in every curve.

To my surprise, he looked down at me instead. "Ready?"

I nodded. Jennifer's eyes went to me and she frowned. "Surely you two aren't..."

Charles looked at her and smiled. "Aren't what?"

"It's just... I mean..."

"It was good to see you, Jennifer," Charles said firmly, putting a hand on her forearm and pushing her number gently back toward her. "Good luck until the next reunion!"

He quickly maneuvered us away from the table and through the crowd, which seemed to part before us like a wave.

"Horrible female," he said in my ear. "She practically ignored you and tried to eat me alive."

"She's certainly beautiful."

"You think so?" He looked at me curiously. "I guess if you don't take personality into consideration."

We were nearing the door, and I cast a glance over my shoulder. What I saw unnerved me and I unintentionally tightened my grip.

"What?" Charles asked.

"Everyone's staring at us."

He laughed and squeezed my arm closer. "Enjoy it!"

But I wasn't. It was as if all the conversation stopped as people watched and wondered what he was doing with me.

And then I saw Cathy's face in the crowd of the dance floor. She was grinning and gave me a thumbs up. I threw her a desperate look before we were out the door and into the cool night air.

I took a quick convulsing gasp, the air filling my lungs with sweet, crisp oxygen and Charles' vetiver scent. The sudden lack of sound left my ears ringing and I signed in relief.

"Too much stimulation, eh?"

"Just not my thing tonight."

Charles nodded.

I went to untangle my hand from his arm but he held me tighter. "My car's right over here. I'll take you home."

His vehicle was a low, sleek, silver Alfa Romero. It was almost as beautiful as his owner.

He opened the passenger door and helped me down into it, making sure my legs were in before shutting the door.

He got in the other side and turned on the deep, purring engine. We went quickly out of the parking lot and into the street, not talking, the lights of the surrounding buildings and the streetlamps quickly flashing by.

There was something off. I sniffed quietly. His scent was getting more intense.

Surely not, I thought.

I glanced over at him.

"Are you okay?"

He glanced at me, frowning.

"Is it my job request? Because we can talk about that tomorrow if you're ..."

"No, Elena. We need to talk about it now."

"Okay."

He sighed and shifted awkwardly in his seat.

This behavior was unusual. To see him in anything other than a dominating stance was confusing, and his scent was behaving like he was stressed.

I put out a hand instinctively, and he flinched slightly at my touch.

Suddenly he grabbed my hand and squeezed, holding it near his face, inhaling deeply. It shocked me so much that I yanked it back without knowing what I was doing.

"Elena," he said, his voice sounded strangled. “If you can't be my assistant, then why don't you be my girlfriend?"

The sound of the purring engine and the whir of the tires on the pavement were the only thing that could be heard for a moment.

I leaned away against the door to get a better view of him.

"I'm sorry. I must be hallucinating. I think you just said something about being your girlfriend."

His body language was all wrong. His frustration was evident all over his face.

"Go get another job if you need to," he said. "But if you aren't going to be near me during work then I must have you with me at every other moment possible."

My brain seemed to have stopped working entirely. He glanced over at me and smiled wryly when he saw my face. “What? I thought you would say yes immediately. Didn’t you want this in high school?"

I choked in an attempt to say something. Anything.

He was my crush, but that was in high school, and since then nothing had given me any indication that he felt anything special for me. The past week had been unusual, but even then it was the relationship of a boss and an unqualified employee.

How was it possible for him to ask me to be his girlfriend? And the way he just said it...

Before I could say anything, Charles continued, "I know you're surprised, but I've considered this for a while, and I'm serious.”

What had been a blank, empty space in my mind just moments before was suddenly populated with too many questions.

If you can't be my assistant, then why don’t you be my girlfriend.

It was the strangest way to propose a relationship. What did it have to do with me being his assistant or not?

“Hold on. Honestly, I'm not sure why you acted like you knew me when we met again because in high school, you never spoke to me other than saying hi. We didn't actually know each other. And the one time I decided to approach you, you turned me down."

"That wasn't my fault," he objected. "My dad was making me spend the summer with him at a conference and training center…."

"And then we had years of totally separate existences, Charles. Forgive me, but I don't see how that plus a few short days in the same office­––hardly speaking, I might add––adds up to you thinking we should start officially dating each other."

He frowned but didn't respond.

"Plus, well, your lifestyle, your reputation." I waved a hand at myself and him. "You need someone dramatic and impressive on your arm. Someone like Jennifer."

He sneered. "Please. Forgive me for wanting someone with substance and soul."

"You can't know I have those things!” I didn’t know where I got the nerve to be so firm in front of my boss, but I wasn't about to stop now. “It's like you said about your friends back there. We've all changed. You have no idea who I am after all these years."

The car suddenly swerved sideways, and I was thrown toward the center of the car, then jerked forward into the seatbelt as Charles came to quick stop by the side of the road.

“I never expected you would turn me down and question my dating offer, Elena,” Charles said in a louder voice. “But you're right. I knew nothing about you, and I have been confused about you for years!”

I could see and smell that he was anxious about having to confess something, but I was also not sure I was ready.

“You know what they say about matching scents, about getting the smell of someone in your nose so deeply that they're in your mind forever? I used to think that was just stupid teenage song lyrics."

He leaned, dangerous and dominating toward me.

"But it's not stupid, Elena. It's your scent. I can't resist it. It's been in my nose and in my mind since we were kids. I just wasn’t sure. Your scent could be elusive in the crowd. And then you sat behind me."

He shook his head roughly, as if trying to dislodge the smell.

"Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" he practically snarled at me.

"What about Jennifer? Everyone thought you two were a perfect match. You were a rare A+ for each other!”

"A+?" Charles scoffed, glaring into my eyes. "Your scent makes her smell like trash. You're a solid S to me.”