Page 17 of With Conditions
Chapter Ten
Sophie
Happy to arrive back home, I started to focus on building a new tagline for my brand. Miles had fully taken over the CEO duties, and with his recent asshole tendencies, I decided to work from home that day. Tibby was out front washing the car when the doorbell rang. Looking at the security cameras on my office wall, I noticed an old beat-up truck in my driveway. I ignored the bell knowing that Tibby would run off to any lawn care business, and I went back to coming up with some clever marketing materials. A few seconds later, the same charming man who looked nothing like the front page of the tabloid treaded inside.
Gazing at his brown eyes, I found they were softer that morning. And he always had some kind of joy on his face. I was both confused and somewhat gleeful seeing him, of which I didn’t know the reason for the latter. Without moving an inch I asked, “Can I help you?”
His eyes circled looking around the place, “Yeah, this is a nice home you got.”
“Thanks. How did you know my home address?”
Pressing his lips together at my questions I squinted my eyes at him and he confidently replied, “I have my ways.”
His accent was broad, and I knew this guy was getting hit on from every direction. Trying to be courteous I offered, “Please sit.”
He took the chair in front of me with a nervous expression. “Here, I brought this.” He started to unfold a wrinkled-up paper from his pocket and placed it on the desk which was between us. He adjusted, apparently not used to the silence in the room fumbling, “it’s signed.” My eyes shifted from the paper to his face, which had little droplets of sweat beading on it. He was unnerved and I wanted to ease the situation a bit. Hell! We were going to act as a couple. We had to get rid of this awkwardness.
I returned his nervous smile with a friendly one. “Okay, thank you.”
“You look hungry. Do you want to go get some pizza?”
I laughed at his proposal, as he was getting up from his chair. I clarified, “I haven’t had pizza or anything that doesn’t act as a healthy fuel for my body in a long time.”
He roamed around the office finally heading towards the pictures where he stopped gawking at each one of them, before facing me. “Well, that’s unfortunate and sounds deeply miserable. Are you ready now?”
Taking in his gaze and honestly wanting to know the hype around pizza, I pushed my chair back away from the desk and got on my feet. Fidgeting towards him, I got mentally prepared for a pizza. God! I can’t even remember the last time I went out for something like this. My life was consistent with the same food day in and day out. He held up his hands, “Is that what you plan on wearing?”
Analyzing myself in my professional outfit and blue heels, I looked back at him. “Yes, why?”
He moved towards the kitchen, and I followed. I pointed, trying to get his attention. “The front door is this way.”
Ignoring my conscious remarks he continued walking in and out of the several rooms throughout my house before he came across my bedroom. Running behind him this time, I stood between him and my bedroom door like a wall. “It’s rude to just roam in peoples’ homes.”
He stepped toward me into my personal space and I could feel my stomach twist at his body heat. He smirked, “that’s odd. You invited me in.”
“No, actually, you walked in.”
He moved around me quickly and made his way towards my closet. I noticed him shifting through my color-coded suits. Failing to hold back my attitude, I asked, “Are you looking for something?”
He ignored my question continuing his search. It seemed like he was a police officer searching my home for drugs. “Yes, a normal outfit. You have nothing but suits and workout stuff. What happened to jeans and an ordinary t-shirt?” He finally revealed.
“Well, most of my life consists of working out or working…” I trailed off, closing my eyes realizing how pathetic that sounded. He momentarily shifted his gaze towards me before pulling out a ripped pair of old jeans I used to paint with and an AC/DC T-shirt, a friend of mine, left after a crazy night on the town from the closet. “Perfect! Now what about normal shoes?” He exclaimed.
Hesitant to listen to his demands I grabbed the outfit from him and went into the bathroom to change. I came back into my room to find it empty. Grabbing some cute sandals Paul bought for me, I traveled into the kitchen, then the office, when I finally saw the front door wide open. With his sneakers on, he was standing in the doorway outside. Moving in closer to me, he had the same sexy look on his face checking me out from head to toe. His hand moved towards my hair and pulled the satin tie out, letting my long dark hair flow loose until it hit the middle of my back. After a few moments of taking in his stunning smile, I broke the silence. “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Thor?”
“Really, is that all American girls know of Australian men is Thor?” He grumbled.
His face looked annoyed, so I kept my mouth shut trying to figure out what I should say next to cheer him up. In an instant, he grabbed my hand, noticing the reporter truck in the driveway. “Just go with it,” he whispered as he moved closer to me.
My eyes rolled to his lips, and I couldn’t help but feel the attraction. Taking my hand, he led me to the beat-up truck parked outside my house. Stopping dead in my tracks, I watched him as he opened the passenger side door motioning me to get in. My eyes were wide as I observed the rust forming on the bottom fender and the blue paint fading throughout. I blurted out without any second thought, “Are we really going to ride in this?”
He seemed excited. “This is Brenda, and yes, we are riding in her. She’s nothing less than perfect.”
“Did Drake not provide you the company car?” I stuttered.
“You mean the overpriced SUV that was sent to my cabin? Yes, he sent it, and it’s still sitting there.”
My legs still refused to move to that thing which he called as ‘Brenda’. I poised again, “Well, why don’t you use it?”
