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KATHERINE POV

“Since when have we been entirely professional with each other?” he whispered, his breath fanning my ear.

My breath caught again, and I was desperately fighting the war against my betrayal of a body. “Please, sir. Let’s keep this…appropriate.”

He pulled back just a little, but his gaze remained on me. “Fine. But you should go home. You need rest.”

Wow! So he knew I needed rest and he had to do this to me? I quickly cleared my throat. “I need to finish this.”

“You can finish it tomorrow. You need to go home to your daughter.” I glanced at him and spotted a twinkle in his face.

How did he know that I have a daughter? I was about to ask but was cut off by him. “That’s an order, Katherine.”

How dare he? Feeling flustered, I packed my belongings. “Goodnight, Katherine.”

I exited the office without returning his goodbye, he didn't deserve it. I hated the way he made me feel and hated the way my body reacted to his touches.

Thankful for the car I was able to purchase when I settled in Portland, I drove home feeling beaten.

I needed to caution myself around Adrian and I had to stop him from his silly childish game, no matter how difficult it might get.

When I got home, everywhere was quiet. Charlotte was probably on her phone in her room. I missed my daughter.

I gently knocked on her door. “Charlotte, I'm home.”

There was a brief silence before she said. “Okay.”

I let out a sigh. The distance was getting wider day by day and I was lost on what to do to make her come around.

“Have you eaten dinner?”

“Yes, thanks and I'm off to bed, goodnight,” she said. I rested on the doorframe. I knew she deliberately said it to make me go away.

I took a quick shower before going to the kitchen to eat the takeout I bought for Charlotte and me.

My mind drifted to Adrian and how my body reacts to his touches. I shook my head. He's a young guy for goodness sake.

Frustrated, I retreated to my room. I can't let Adrain get to me like this. I have to put a stop to all this.

The next morning, as I prepared to go to work. My car decided to frustrate me by not starting at all.

I hissed as I kicked the tire of my car, I didn't know why it had refused to start. I was running late.

I decided to take the public bus when I heard my name. “Katherine.” I turned around to see William; my neighbor.

He gently closed the door to his car, and headed toward me. William was a dark-grown man in his middle forties, he's cute but…

I gave a small smile. William had been passing advances to me since I got settled here, but I had refused to acknowledge it.

“Good morning, William,” I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, trying the steady my nerves.

He grinned, before looking at the car and back at me. “Having issues with the car?” he asked.

“Yes, it broke down and I need to be in the office very soon,” I said, clearly frustrated.

“Good that I am here then, let me drop you off.” It felt like a heavy burden had been lifted off my shoulders.

“Thank you so much, William.” he smiled and we both headed to his car. He opened the car door for me to enter.

A blush crept up my face, he was such a gentleman. He was a widower with two kids. We drove in silence.

The event from the previous day with Adrian still reeled in my mind and I found myself squeezing my hands to distract myself.

William glanced at me, his expression concerned. “Are you fine? You look beaten.”

I forced a smile, “Yes, work has been over the board these days.”

He nodded, “I was hoping we could get coffee one of these days.”

I sighed. “You know i'm always busy, William,” his face fell and I quickly added. “Maybe one of these days when I'm less busy, I will let you know.”

His face lit up with a smile, “Really, Katherine.”

I forced a smile. “Yes.” The drive was short, but it gave me time to collect my thoughts.

When we reached the office building, I turned to William, grateful for his unexpected help. “Thank you again, William. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem at all. Let me know if you need anything else,” he said with a bright smile.

As I got out of the car, and walked into the office, I went to Adrian’s office and the way he looked at me felt as if he had been expecting me.

I shrugged it off. Why would he be expecting? “Good morning, sir”as I met his gaze.

He simply nodded, his lips curving into a faint smile that made my heart skip a beat.

“Morning,” he replied, his tone smooth, almost too calm. “Let’s get to work, shall we?”

The morning passed slowly, and I secretly wished it would end soon. But every now and then, I caught Adrian watching me with those dark hungry eyes I had seen on him two years ago.

Soon we had a conference meeting and I took my seat beside Adrian who sat at the head of the table.

As the meeting unfolded, I jotted down in my notepad but then suddenly, I felt a hand on my thigh. Adrian’s hand.

My breath caught in my throat. He was making slow, intentional circles on my skin, sending jolts of electricity through me.

I shot a glance at him, but his eyes were fixed on the speaker at the other end of the table, his expression unreadable. How could he be so composed while doing this to me?

I tried to focus on the meeting, but it was impossible. His touch was igniting fire in me making it hard for me to concentrate on anything else.

Anger and need rose within me. How dare he invade my personal space like this? And why did my body betray me?