Sophia's POV.
How could I be stupid enough to think that time was a barrier for Alexander Hayes?
I swung the door open.
Even before I could utter a word, he pushed me inside my apartment and shut the door after him.
“Where the hell were you?” He snapped.
My eyes grew wide as I turned towards Stephanie but thankfully, she wasn't awake.
Before I could comprehend what he was doing, I grabbed his hand and dragged him to the bathroom. Once I had locked it, I turned to glare at him.
“Now, I'll ask you one more time—”
“Jeez, will you shut up?” I whispered.
His eyes narrowed.
“Where the hell did you go?” he whispered.
I crossed my arms over my chest.
“I fail to see what part of your actions reflect a boss-employee relationship.”
He took a sudden step in my direction, backing me up against the wall and placing his arms beside my head.
“Don't give me that crap, Sophia.” His voice was husky because he was whispering and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't driving me insane in the little bathroom, which was still steamy from my shower earlier.
“I went all the way down to the office to look for you and you didn't even have the decency to talk to me over the phone, let alone call me back.” He scolded me like I was a little kid.
“So you show up at my house?” I frowned.
He shrugged casually. “You need to leave,” I ordered.
“You say it like I'll comply. What do you think I'll do? Just leave without an answer?” He raised a brow.
“My whereabouts are none of your business, Mr Hayes.”
I shivered when his hand lifted to my cheeks and he ducked his head down. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, but when he didn't, I found myself annoyed. Something's wrong with me.
“You know very well that it's my business, love.”
I bit my lip to somehow calm myself.
“You can't call me that.”
“And why not?” he whispered. “Does it affect you still?”
“N-no,” I stuttered. “Of course not.”
He chuckled.
“I wanna kiss you.” He said, causing my eyes to grow wide. There was never an ounce of subtlety to him.
“You wouldn't.” I breathed.
“That's right, I won't.” He brought his mouth closer to my ear. “Because the next time we do something like that, I'll be the one kissing you back.”
My jaw dropped.
“You should know that I can see right past those pretty brown eyes, Sophia. I know what you're thinking when I'm around.” He smirked. “So let's see how far you can go with this new facade.”
Asshole! I gulped.
“Mary,” I said, and a look of confusion crossed his face. “I went to see Mary.”
I could practically hear the throbbing of my heart.
“You should go home, Mr Hayes.”
With a smirk, he placed my phone on my palm, pulled away, and left the bathroom.
I quickly followed him outside to make sure he left, and the moment he walked out the door, I locked it and took a few minutes to catch my breath.
You're going to be the death of me, Alexander Hayes.
***
Alex's POV.
I opened the text that just popped up on my phone. Stephanie? Texting me?
I had started to feel sorry for accusing you of kidnapping Sophia but then you showed up at our apartment and terrorized her in the middle of the night. You just had to pull an Alex, didn't you?
Terrorizing Sophia? I burst out laughing. Is that how she described our encounter last night?
Don't fret over the accusations, Stephanie. All is forgiven.
I hit send and resumed my breakfast, picturing her sulking at my response and probably reciting it to Sophia.
Last night suddenly flashed in front of my eyes. The way she dragged me into that little bathroom and looked up at me with those tempting brown Hobbs.
It took everything in me not to take her again right there.
I couldn't deny my attraction towards her anymore. The pull I feel towards her only gets worse each day, especially now that she's made it clear that she wants nothing to do with me.
I had to admit that last night, I took things a little overboard by showing up at her apartment. It doesn't exactly speak well of our boss-employee relationship.
But how exactly do I keep a promise that demanded me to stay away from her? Especially after having her wrapped up in my arms, in my bed.
It was like I'd lost all sense of right or wrong where she was concerned.
Sighing, I ate my breakfast.
The last thing I wanted was me repel her more than I had already done, because of my stupid actions. I really should learn to keep my distance.
My phone buzzed.
“Good morning Dad,” I answered.
“You're not in the office.”
Good morning to you too, my man! I looked down at my watch. “I'm not late.”
“I know. Have you left for work?”
“No, not yet. Just having my breakfast.”
“Good, let Steve handle your scheduled tasks for the day, you're going to the mansion.” He added.
“Is everything alright there?” I asked, concerned. “Are Mom and Andrea okay?”
“Yes, yes. Everything's okay. Your grandpa is visiting today, so you should take a day off and be at home.”
“Oh, okay.”
“I'll talk to you later.” He said as he hung up. Once I was done with my breakfast, I left.
*****
Grandpa left after lunch and, at 4 pm, I was in the office elevator, talking to Steve about the meeting earlier at the office.
“Sophia attended the meeting with me,” Steve announces.
“Oh, did she?”
“Yes, she took down some notes that will brief you on the agenda for the next meeting. I have asked her to file them.”
“Great. I'll take the file from her.” As I hung up and stepped into the corridor, Sophia's eyes met mine, growing wide in surprise for a moment.
“I'll see you in my office in five minutes,” I told her and headed straight for my office.
I got busy talking to some clients and after fifteen minutes, I realized that Sophia hadn't shown up.
Frowning, I went to her office and found her working on her laptop.
“When I call you to my office,” I gritted my teeth in annoyance and she looked up. “You show up.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “I know you want to discuss the agenda file. I'm still working on it.”
I stepped towards her desk but stopped abruptly when she nervously squirmed in her seat while watching me.
My temper flared.
Why the hell was she acting like I could hurt her? Like she was scared of me?
“Look.” My tone came out sharp and she looked taken aback.
Clenching my jaw, I took in a deep breath.
“Just get the file to my office whenever you're done. But remember that I haven't got all day.” I snapped and left her office. Cursing myself on the way out for saying that.
Back in my office, I was barely settled in my chair when there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Sophia stepped inside with the file.
Her eyes were on the floor, telling me that she was nervous. Her steps were slow and steady as she placed the file on my desk in front of me.
“I'm sorry for the delay.” She said in a small voice.
Damn! I shouldn't have shouted at her.
“It's alright.”
Nodding, she turned to leave. “Wait,” I called.
“Yes?” she muttered in confusion.
I pressed my lips into a thin line, debating if I should say something or not. “I know you're mad at me about last night.”
She blinked like she wasn't expecting me to address that at all. “Uh, no. It's fine.”
“Is it?” I raised a brow.
She opened her mouth to speak but probably decided against it as she shut it and gave a small shrug.
I got up from my chair and rounded my desk. This was becoming one hell of a habit!
Her eyes grew wide and once again, she seemed nervous. “You're scared, Sophia,” I muttered.
“I-I am not.”
“Then stop moving back,” I stated.
“You stop moving forward.” She replied tentatively.
I stifled a laugh and stopped in my tracks.
“I'm serious. I didn't mean to terrorize you last night.” I said.
Her mouth opened slightly, and a blush formed on her cheeks. “That's not.....” she trailed off.
After a few moments, she seemed to pull herself together as she lifted her chin and faced me squarely. “You did no such thing. And I'm not mad about anything.”
“Really? Why the frown then?” I asked.
“It's got nothing to do with last night, I'm just—” she stopped abruptly, then bit her lower lip in thought.
My gaze drifted down to her lips. I swallowed.
Alex, no!
“Just what?” I asked.
“I'm just sorry.” She shrugged, then pointed towards my desk, at the file. “For the delay. You had a shitty bad day and I shouldn't have kept you waiting.”
“What makes you think I had a bad day?” I frowned.
“You seemed in a bad mood, that's all. I thought it had something to do with who was in your company today.” Her words were slow and deliberate.
It was like she was trying to fish for some information so I decided to play along. “No. My company was pretty good.”
I saw something like pain flash across her eyes. Did she think I was with Emily? She nodded hesitantly, “Good.”
And then she turned around to leave.
“Oh and by the way,” I called and she paused, peeking over her shoulder. “My company today was exclusively family. You've got nothing to worry about.”
She stormed out of my office. I chuckled.