Chapter 18 How gorgeous you are
“Vicky!” I screech, my eyes already turned wide.
I can’t believe she just said that.
“What?” she asks way too innocently for her character. “I’m merely pointing out the conclusive facts.”
“Which conclusive facts?”
“That Natte wants to have sex with you.”
“Will you stop saying that!” My face is flushing bright red. “And Natte could have sex with anyone he wants and trust me he wouldn’t want to have it with me.”
I think of the little brush off at my door last night. I don’t tell her of course.
She frowns at me and shakes her head. “Sometimes I don’t think you realize how gorgeous you are, Shiv.”
I pull a face at her skewered compliment.
“And yes, you are right. Natte could sleep with any woman he wants to … but currently I think he wants to bed you.”
I frown at her. “It’d be an awful lot of trouble for him to go through just to get laid, when he can have it so easily accessible elsewhere.”
“Easily accessible can get boring, my darling. And you are right, it certainly would be a lot of trouble to go to.” She raises her eyebrow. “So I guess that shows the worth of the person as to the level of trouble he’s willing to go to.”
“Or just the new challenge.”
“That too.” She leans back in her chair. “Just be careful, my darling, when mixing business and pleasure. Things can get awful messy sometimes.”
“I don’t intend on mixing anything. I’m with Will, remember.”
“You are.”
“And I don’t think Natte is like that, contrary to popular belief, I think he’s professional in business, I don’t think he screws the staff just everyone else.”
“Of course. I can imagine Natte Johnson to be the utmost professional.”
She’s being snarky.
“He was actually a real gent at dinner last night.”
“He was?” She smiles, a real genuine smile. “Good. I’m glad.”
I ignore the little nag of disappointment, tugging away inside of me, that Natte Johnson, who is well known for screwing anything that moves, had no interest in me whatsoever last night.
Of course it stings. I would never have slept with him, of course, because of my gorgeous mysterious man. But I would have kissed him for sure.
But then kissing is cheating too.
Ugh, my head is all smoky right now. I need a coffee.
I’m being irrational and silly that my pride is hurt, I know, but I’m a girl and it’s my prerogative to be just so.
“You want a coffee?” I ask Vicky, as I’m leaving her office. “I’m making.”
“I’m fine, my darling, thank you.”
I’m just heading past my desk on my way to the pantry when my mobile starts to ring.
I lean over my desk and grab my phone. It’s Natte. I get little butterflies setting flight in my tummy.
I’m going to have to knock this off if I’m going to be working with him…
People don’t work with me, Shia. They work for me.
Okay, so working for him, whatever. I hope he’s not as bad a person to work for as it’s claimed he can be.
“Have you had your caffeine fix yet?” he says before I get a chance to speak.
“No, debido a las interrupciones constantes.”
“Shia, I haven’t got a fuckin’ clue what you just said, but I’ll take the ‘no’ I caught out of that, as you haven’t.”
“No, I haven’t,” I laugh.
“Okay, well I’m not calling back again, so listen up. I’m picking you up for lunch because I want to go over with you what will happen during my stay.”
Do I get a choice?
“Shouldn’t that be your assistant’s job to talk to me about that stuff?” I question.
“Well if I wanted my assistant to have lunch with you then yeah it would be, but I don’t, so you’re getting me okay?”
“What if I already have plans?”
“Do you?”
“Yes?”
Silence.
“With?”
Do I detect a hint of jealousy there, Natte?
“My boyfriend. I meet him every day at one for a coffee and blueberry muffin.”
I hear him exhale down the line.
“Would you consider ditching him for me?” His voice has gone all seductive and flirty again.
“I don’t know … it’s a pretty serious thing I ditched him twice yesterday we've plans going on.”
I can hear his low ramble even though I have no plans with my night guy. I can't always give into all of Natte's calls. I also have plans I promised Pine yesterday. Even though he showed up at my door last night.
“I’ll make it worth your while,” I hear him say.
“Go on?”
“I’m paying the bill, Shia, lots and lots of everything you want…”
“Anything who?” I giggle.
“Cool, be outside your building at one.”
“Sí, señor.”
I hear him laugh before I hang up.
I feel absolutely full of glee. Natte is being lovely, and flirty, and I’m seeing him again in just a few hours.
But no, I need to calm myself down. I’m going to be working for Natte, so I need to keep myself professional.
He might be an old friend, an incredibly flirty old friend. But that’s Natte. That’s him.
And I need to remember that, and not confuse this into something it’s not.
The car that Dave was following us around in last night is already parked outside my building when I go down at one.
Dave gets out of the car and walks around, opening the back passenger door for me.
“Hello again,” he says.
“Hi,” I whisper shyly.
I climb in the back and Natte is there waiting for me. Looking his gorgeous manly self in white suite and the same Converses he wore last night.
“Hey,” he says, his voice all rough, and smooth like honey, as Dave closes the door behind me.
“Hey yourself,” I smile.
I can smell Natte’s scent across the car. Cigarettes and manly scent. It makes my tummy flutter.
Dave climbs back in the driver's seat and pulls us away into the heavy lunchtime traffic.
“So how’s your morning been?” Natte asks me.
“Oh, you know, long.”
“Much happen?”
I slide a look at him. “Apart from a famous billionaire star who also used to be my next door neighbor growing up calling me and offering me a job to manage his room on his upcoming tour? No, not much at all.” I shake my head, grinning.
“Is that all I was your next door neighbor? I thought I earned the title best friend back then.”
His words make my tummy feel funny. Suddenly empty.
“You did … and we were best friends.”
“Were?”
“Well it’s been a while, Natte. You don’t just get that status back after one dinner.” I smile again, trying to alleviate whatever this is.
“I guess I’m going to have to work a little harder then to claim my title back,” his voice is low with meaning. He smiles at me, and my heart lurches out of my chest and whams straight into him once again.
“So am I allowed to know where we’re going for lunch today, or is that a surprise too?” I give him a light hearted look, trying to straighten out my erratic heart and shaky emotions.
“Just back to the hotel. I hope that’s okay?”
“Sure it is.”
I’d eat fish and fried rice in the backseat of a car if it meant being with you.
“It’s just less hassle, means we won’t get bothered,” he adds, as though he has to explain why he’s taking me back to his suite.
“Natte, it’s okay, I understand.” I touch his arm.