She took the bottle when I let her go and I grabbed two glasses as she said, “Ahh. I hadn’t known you were that much of a taskmaster.”
I squeezed her ass as we headed upstairs together, and said, “Earlier was just a warm-up.”
First, we’d share the wine and the chocolate cake from the restaurant, then I’d feast on her, because she needed to know that I absolutely wanted her.
Chapter 9
Stephanie
My entire body still tingled. Sleep was rare last night, but we did manage a few short naps.
Charles lived up to that last name of his because “grand” was putting it mildly to describe how he made me feel. Ever since he’d said “boyfriend” earlier, I’d imagined a life with him that somehow didn’t seem like a far-off dream. I blinked as I admitted to myself that it was, though.
Now I was showered and downstairs rummaging around for tea. None of my tea was in boxes brought by the movers, but I did find his small selection of tea and made do with that. And the caffeine made me feel normal.
I made a note in my phone to-do list to order tea for the townhouse while I lived here. As I finished, Charlie came in and poured himself a cup of the tea without a word.
He gulped it burning hot, and asked, “Are you ready to head to work and see your new office?”
I didn’t have any suits appropriate for upper management. So I wore my nicest black pants and white shirt with my mother’s golden daisy around my neck for courage.
When I joined him downstairs, I ducked my head and said, “I’m nervous someone’s going to think I got this job because I fucked the boss.”
He kissed my cheek. “You inspire me, and I want you close. That’s different.”
We walked to find a driver waiting for us in a Rolls Royce. We slipped into the back seat as I asked, “How do I inspire you?”
His knees brushed mine as he said, “You have a full day to spend designing this three-D program we’re building, and you’re officially the Jane Austen resident expert.”
Right. This job of his made me feel wiggly and my stomach was in knots. We were on our way, but I asked, “You’ve never read her books, so why are you doing this?”
He took my hand, which still sent tingles up my arms and other places, then said, “I’ve always wanted to create something superior to virtual reality, a full-immersion experience for real, live people to experience their dreams. I have the tech, but we need a storyboard that allows for people to just exist in the world. Jane Austen would have unique clothing demands, but it’s based on known parameters that are human created. Her books are free of copyright, and my teams who are into creating alternate realities envisioned by others have tons of questions about costuming, set design issues, and more.”
Wow. Clearly Charlie already lived in the future, because I had zero idea how he’d formulated all those details while on the road. When his building came into view, I turned to him and said, “That sounds like a lot of thinking. You didn’t tell me any of this in the car, or in bed.”
He whispered in my ear so the driver didn’t hear him. “I don’t usually explain my thoughts. I stopped doing that when I was a boy, when I finally realized no one understood me.”
We pulled into his spot next to the elevator as I said, “What if the Jane Austen virtual world makes no money? The fandom is large, but not necessarily into technology.”
The driver opened the door for me, and I got out. I followed arrows to the elevator, but a moment later Charlie caught up with me and said, “Most of my ideas make no money. It’s the ones that do that fuel the others. Besides, we could potentially use some parts of the historical costumes and settings in all the other V.R. worlds.”
I stopped at the door and glanced up. He probably worked on one of the top floors, while I’d been in delivery in the basement since I started working here. I tried to ignore my jitters as I said, “We’re here.”
He took my hand and walked in with me. I stared at the other people in suits, but no one paid any attention to me. Charlie was clearly the reason everyone quieted. We got on the elevator alone, and he pressed the top floor button.
As we climbed, my stomach twisted into even more knots, though Charlie beamed like he was happy and at ease with his world. He should be, but I’d refused to work for any of my siblings’ connections because I hadn’t wanted to be a burden.
But I was determined to help Charlie with this idea of his, for however long it lasted.
The elevator stopped and he walked me to a corner office with a view of the Thames and Hyde Park where we lived and said, “See you at lunch, Stephanie. I had us scheduled together.”
I went over to the glass desk and found a schedule with my name on it. My eyes widened as I scanned names of meetings and department heads as I said, “Someone’s planned a full day for me, it seems.”
Charlie kissed my forehead, but he seemed like he was off in his own world as he left. I sat down at the desk and read a message saying my username and password had been transferred to a new laptop and logged in.
I blinked when I saw several emails, not one of them from Margot telling me what to do.
My cell phone rang, and I took it out of my pocket. For a second, I breathed in a sense of normalcy. I had fifteen minutes till my first meetings, so I walked to the window to gaze down at the street, the river, and the aerial view of London. Seriously, this was a beautiful view.
When I answered, instead of saying hello, I said, “Sophia, you’ll never guess what happened.”
“Stephanie, are you sitting down?”
My heart thumped and I turned around fast. The fancy desk chair was stiff, but I returned to it as I said, “I can be. Wait.” I tucked my chair in, then said, “Okay, what’s going on?”
“We were up half the night googling your new boyfriend.”
My stomach knotted. I’d never looked him up other than see his name on some company emails. I closed my eyes as adrenaline surged through me while I asked, “Yeah? What’s wrong?”
“It seems your brother-in-law’s family sued Charlie Grannd because of a breach of contract.”
A pang hit me hard, and I let my forehead hit the desk as I asked, “Which one?”
“Carter Rockson and his oil company.”
Fuck. Olivia’s husband ran that and was the head of his family business. And Ridley always watched my back, ever since we were children. I rubbed my forehead as I sat up and said, “Thanks. I’ll call Ridley right now.”
If my sister told me Charlie had done something awful to her family, I’d have to walk out of here, fast.
My hands shook as I called my sister. It was still early in Texas, but they lived on a ranch, and she usually got up at the crack of dawn. On the second ring she answered, and I said, “Ridley.”
“Hey! I can’t talk long. Carter is about to give us riding lessons on the new horse he just bought, and the kids are excited.”
She sounded so perky and happy. I couldn’t form a sentence before a cup of tea in the morning and she probably never touched tea or coffee. I ignored the clock that seemed to tick at the moment and asked, “Can you ask your husband what he thinks of Charlie Grannd?”
“Okay. Why?”
Phew. His name hadn’t triggered any bouts of anger or anything. I sighed and sat straighter as I said, “Because…I’m starting to like him, but I’d never betray my family. It says online that he sued Charlie, so I want to know if…dating him is a bad idea.”
“Does he treat you well?”
As the only unmarried sister left, I was now the one my sisters worried about. I ignored the tick in a muscle next to my right eye as I realized I shouldn’t have mentioned Charlie to family. We’d never last, but it was easier to admit with my eyes closed when I said, “So far, absolutely.”
“And you like him?”
In my dreams, we’d spend every day of my life like last night. But what I said was, “Yes, I think so.”
“Then trust everything will work out. I�
��ll talk to Carter, but in the meantime, go for it—and enjoy yourself.”
Right. None of them had consulted me when they met their husbands. I even started to sweat a little when I thought about how much I hated being at Olivia’s wedding while everyone pitied me. I swallowed, opened my eyes, and said, “Thanks.”
My fifteen-minute window was closed, so I jumped up to head to my meetings. The rest of the morning was a blur.
I discussed Jane Austen with dozens of executives, and not one of them had read, much less studied, her novels.
My stomach was growling by the time I headed back to the top floor, to discover my name was now embossed on the door.
I checked my email and saw one from Margot asking me to join her later.
I probably should. She’d been a good enough boss. However, someone knocked and I glanced at the door and smiled as Charlie came in. I stood and he stared at me and said, “You look exhausted.”
“I’m starving,” I admitted. He was right, though, because we hadn’t slept much. His face was bright and chipper, as I went to join him, and said, “I have never in my life had so many people asking me so many questions all at once.”
We headed to the elevator and he placed his hand on my back like he’d protect me as he asked, “Was it bad?”
The door opened for us and I shook my head as we stepped in. “No, it was flattering. I’m glad you trust me with this project.”
Once the elevator closed and we were alone, he wrapped me in his arms and kissed me.
I forgot the world in that second. Charlie’s lips on mine created a dream I’d never put into thought, where a man who was better educated, more experienced, richer than I was—better than I am in every way—might be interested in me for more than just sex.
However, when we made it to the bottom floor, he held my hand and directed me out of the building. Once we were on the main street, I figured we were heading to his favorite restaurant, but he stopped at a jeweler. I tugged his hand to prevent him from going in and asked, “Where are we going?”
He kissed my cheek. “Just stopping by on our way to lunch.”
I went inside with him but asked as we approached a counter, “To the jeweler?”
He nodded and said, “I ordered a few things.”
He handed his credit card to the clerk who completed the charge and handed him a bag. My face was hot as I said, “I don’t need gifts.”
He pushed the bag in my hand and signed the receipt. Once he finished, he said, “No, you get them because you deserve to be treated well.”
I ignored how my body buzzed when I lived in this fantasy and said, “Charlie Grannd, you do know how to make a girl feel special.”
He shook the bag and pointed inside. I reached in and took out one of the two boxes while he hovered over me like an eager kid, already asking, “Do you like it?”
I unwrapped the black box and lifted out and held a perfect replica of Jane Austen’s topaz cross up to the light. “It’s perfect!”
He took my free hand and said, “I had it specially made.”
No one had ever been this sweet to me. I kissed his cheek and said, “Thank you. It’s better than I ever dreamed of having.”
He pointed to the other box. Nothing could beat the necklace, but I took out the other little black box. As I opened it, he said, “These are for every day.”
“Diamond earrings?” I asked and realized these were bigger than some rings I’d seen on my friends’ fingers.
He took them out of the box and handed them to me as he said, “My mother used to say she felt naked without hers.”
My mother had survived abuse and somehow found the strength to raise me and my sisters in a house full of love. She’d always said falling for my father had been her saving grace, and my daisy necklace was the same one he gave her when they married.
I had no idea what happened with my brother-in-law, but I needed to hear his story and to tell him to leave Carter alone. I swallowed and said, “We should swap stories about family and how I’m loyal to mine.”
He nodded and said, “Excellent. Let’s do it over lunch.”
Hopefully, there was a logical explanation for what happened with my brother-in-law. I’d hate for us to have a misunderstanding like the one between Lizzie and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice because we believed the wrong people. A lot of what was published on the internet wasn’t true, or the facts were twisted.
So I locked my arm with his and said, “Lead the way.”
Chapter 10
Charlie
At lunch, Stephanie studied the menu at the table for five minutes. I wasn’t sure what was wrong. Finally, after she ordered, she looked directly at me. Now we had time. I waited for the waiter to leave us and stretched my legs out under the table to brush hers. She blinked and I said, “Why don’t you tell me about what’s troubling you?”
She swallowed, and her lips were thin, like she hadn’t wanted to ask me. I didn’t understand this silence, so it was a relief when she finally said, “Online, it says Carter Rockson sued you.”
Ahh. Her family connections.
For some reason, Stephanie hid her kindness, and her loyalty to her family made her rare. I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone else who is so naturally and deliberately honest. And I wasn’t sure what extinguished her desires, but she wasn’t stuffy like my brother.
She had fire in her soul, but I only smiled for now and said, “He did. We worked it out.”
She played with her necklace and asked, “What happened?”
Hopefully, she would be forgiving. I finished my water and refilled the glass before saying, “My company and his company ended up disagreeing about the fuel needed for my spaceship. To get out of the deal, lawyers were involved, but he’s a nice guy. We ended up finding an alternative solution that benefited us both.”
She held her hand over her heart and said, “Good. I was worried, because my sister really loves him, and I’d hate for any friction to come between me and my sisters over a guy.”
At least she was considering me seriously, which meant I was halfway to my goal. And unlike most women, Stephanie was under my skin. I studied her a moment before asking, “Has there ever been?”
“No,” she said as servers brought our plates. She’d ordered the chicken, but she blinked when she noticed my salmon. Once we were alone, she said, “We’ve always been close, and even more so since our parents died, even though I moved to London to find my own way.”
My brother and I weren’t like that. I ignored the food and lowered my voice. “That was brave.”
“Not really.” She picked up her fork and knife. “I think at the time I needed to lose myself in another world instead of figuring out my own life.”
Okay, that explained a little about her. While I didn’t jump into a fandom to disappear or anything, my heart whispered that we weren’t that different.
“I’ve been told I live in a dream world all my own and never come down out of the clouds, but the world can be anything we want it to be.”
For a second, she rested her hands on the table and nodded at me. “For you, it is.”
She straightened, and we both ate, but it was clear she wasn’t enjoying her chicken. This was the second time she’d ordered it and I had no idea why she continued ordering dry bird, but I teased off some of my salmon and put it on her plate as I replied, “For everyone. I don’t understand how most people miss out on doing whatever they truly want.”
“Thanks,” she said, pointing to the salmon. But while she forked off flakes of the salmon, she said, “I think it’s because most of us don’t have your bank account.”
We both ate a few bites before I replied, “When my brother said ‘no’ to my dreams, I left and didn’t speak to him for a year. At the end of that year, I returned home with more money than he has. Later, I found out he’d been funneling money into my projects through various holding companies, and he thought I’d never figure it out.”
Logan claime
d the Grannds were conservative and smart about money. However, I think he picked and chose the parts of our family history that suited his beliefs, not that we ever had that discussion.
And now I had Stephanie. She made me remember, when I normally chose to ignore my past. She finished her salmon and sat back, studying me. “You’re smart, talented, and this company has your name on it for a reason. I was okay in delivery because I made enough to let me get by and enjoy my escapes into Jane Austen’s world.”
I put my silverware down and scooted closer. Her nearness set off a shot of adrenaline that I needed when I asked, “Have you had enough of escaping? Because I’d like for you to join me in my world for a while.”
She blushed as her eyes brightened. For one second, we were the only people who mattered...until she sat back and pointed behind me. “Someone’s coming over.”
I turned and saw the short-haired brunette whose hair never moved as she waved a gloved hand. I quickly said, “That’s Caroline. She’s friends with Logan, my brother. I think she’s angling to be my sister-in-law, though she’ll be disappointed, I think.” I could smell her overwhelming floral perfume behind me, and she took the chair between us as I said, “Hello, Caroline. I’d like you to meet Stephanie, my new girlfriend.”
Stephanie’s mouth quirked up, but Caroline studied her from head to toe without cracking even a polite smile. “I had no idea you were dating anyone. Rumor is you found someone who worked for you.”
“I still work for Charlie.” Stephanie interjected. “I was in delivery.”
Caroline’s “hah” conveyed her reserved shock. I’d known her long enough.
My own smile broadened, and I said, “Caroline, Stephanie is American and forthright about things.”
“I’m actually not, though.”
Caroline’s nose wrinkled.
Good. Whatever she learned was to be reported to Logan. I wasn’t daft.
Caroline asked, “Not American?”
Stephanie replied quickly, “I am American, but forthright isn’t in my nature. That’s more my sister Indigo.”
Scottish Seducer: Opposites Attract: Jane Austin fangirl and the Scottish Billionaire (Steel Series Book 6) Page 6
