CHAPTER FOUR: THE BOSS AND DINNER IN PASSION

LIORAÉ

I wanted to escape whatever reconciliation dinner my mother was planning, but I did not plan to spend the night with Mr Vale in an empty luxurious restaurant. The classic smooth jazz music played over the speakers, silent but wrapped in comfort. 

He pulled out the chair for me before I could. My entire body froze. It was something I had seen other men do to their women but never gotten myself ever. 

“It’s a waste of time, and it is better to be effective.” Evan had always dismissed whoever I brought it up with. I learnt to live with it because I believed that he loved me in other ways. 

“I can’t possibly…” My words are lost when he holds my shoulders and pushes me down into the chair, his hands lingering, leaving a hot, burning trail underneath his fingers. 

He pushed the chair and took his place in front of me. My eyes wandered around the place, trying to figure out why it was empty. Rich people liked to show off, so they would definitely be at a place like this on a Monday night. 

“I guess this place must not be that popular,” I murmured. 

“I rented out the entire space.” My eyes landed on him with urgency. His voice did not sound like someone who would have spent a buckload to rent out the space for the night. 

“Why?” I asked. He shrugged and tapped the button beside him. The waiter came and took our orders. All the names of the food didn't sound like something I was going to eat, but I let him make the order, silently waiting to hear the reason why he rented out this space and why we were sitting together. 

My phone’s ringtone cut through the air, and his eyes snapped to my bag sitting on the table. I took it out, and my mom’s name flashed on the screen. I ignore the call and put it back into my bag. 

“You can take your call. I don’t bite.” 

“I don’t need to take it,” I replied, fiddling with my fingers gently. I looked away, taking the glass of water and drinking till the last drop. 

“You must be thirsty,” he said and pressed the button again, demanding more water as if we did not already have a jug of it in the middle of the table. 

My phone began ringing again, and this time his eyebrows went up, and he gestured to my bag. “It must be important you can…” 

“Mr Vale,” I waved my hands in the air and shook my head. “You do not have to worry about that. It is just my mom…” I trailed off and added underneath my breath. “Not important” 

“Soren,” he corrected once again, and a smirk climbed his lips. He didn't need to say a word for them to know he was reading too much into my last words. “I insist,” he added when my lips quavered, trying to come up with a response. 

“Why am I here, sir?” 

“For dinner” 

“If this is about the night we had together, remember that we promised that we were going to forget all about it; it was supposed to be…” 

“A one-night stand,” he cut my rambling with his smooth voice. I nodded with my lips in a thin line. 

“Lioraé.” Something about the way he said my name made me want to giggle and bend my head shyly. “I have been thinking about you since that night. I was even prepared to look for you, to make you mine.” 

I am sure I looked ridiculous with how much I was staring at him. He flashed a smile at me, and I shook my head. “You couldn’t possibly be serious.” I laughed it off, but he did not laugh along, and that made my stomach rumble even more. 

“I am serious.” 

“Mr Vale, this is…” 

“For the last time, Lioraé, if we are alone, you have to call me Soren.” He cut me off, and when I nodded, he let me go on. 

“Soren” – the name is unfamiliar yet like a melody to my ears. I stopped. My hands dropped to my lap as they shook violently on their own. 

“I can’t give you what you want. I am sorry.” I pushed the chair back, ready to storm off, but his hand caught mine, and he pulled me into an embrace, my head pressed onto his chest, with his hand guiding my head. 

“Yes, you can,” he murmured, his chest vibrating in response. 

“You are my boss, and I need this job.” I pulled out of his grip and looked straight into his eyes, which was a wrong choice. His gaze was burning me too much to handle. 

“I am sorry, sir,” I murmured again. This time, with all my might, I pulled free and walked away, not caring if he was following me or not. 

I know what my mouth said, yet my heart was beating a different sound. I wanted him to feel his fingers all over my body and for him to hold me as delicately as he had done that night and kiss every inch of my body. 

Yet I knew I had to be rational; it made no sense to date my boss. I do not know how long I had walked or what direction I was supposed to be going. He was different from what the other assistant had said. 

She said she was quitting because he was very controlling and rude. The kind of boss that made you bite the insides of your cheeks while wishing you had a voodoo doll. This was not the rude boss she spoke about; he was someone different. 

“I should have at least asked him for a ride home! Great going, L!” I sighed and wrapped my hands around my body gently. 

“Ahh!”