007| Forced Proximity

THEODORE

The crazy part about all this?

I knew it was madness, but I wanted to see how far Alice was willing to go.

I wasn't entirely sure why I was allowing all this to take place. Sure, I wanted to fuck Alice Rhodes. The desire to do it was driving me fucking insane. Right out of my mind.

But this crazy game she was playing with me...if I were in my right state of mind, or better yet, if I were behaving like the normal Theodore, I would've fired her for misconduct a long time ago.

But here I was, plotting to spend more time with her and get to the bottom of this act of hers. Come on, at this point, I knew there was no way all of this was just happening naturally.

Alice Rhodes was a master manipulator, and I liked the challenge.

I rose from my chair and buttoned my blazer before heading to her office right next door. I knocked hard and swiftly, and I swore that I could hear a soft gasp from the other side of the door.

She then cleared her throat and said, "Come in."

Alice wasn't pleased to see me and didn't bother hiding it. I noticed how tense she was every time she was around me. Like she was expecting me to say or do something that wouldn't please her.

She even avoided eye contact.

Just how far was she going to take this? This was one hell of a game and I hadn't been this entertained in a very long time.

"Miss Rhodes," I began, "I'd like you to join me."

"Join you?"

"I have a meeting in half an hour. You're aware of this because you sent me a reminder just now."

Alice cleared her throat. "Yes, I did."

"Good. We're on the same page."

"You want me to join you?"

I stopped near the door and turned my head to look at her over my shoulder. "You're my executive assistant, aren't you? Have I gotten that part wrong?"

"No, but you've never asked me to accompany you anywhere before. Mr. Linden-Hawthorne."

"I'm asking you now. Be ready in five."

I was already downstairs when I heard her approach. She had her bag tucked under her arm, and a folder regarding the clients we were about to meet in her hands. She gave me a quick look before ducking her head.

Two minutes later, we were on the way to where the meeting would be held.

Alice was seated right beside me, so close that I could smell her spicy perfume, and I couldn't help but notice how she was staring intently at the pages in front of her like they meant something.

It was all an act so she wouldn't look at me.

Yet, occasionally, she would look at me from the corner of her eye. Whenever I caught her, she looked away, seemingly embarrassed.

I thought of something to say to break the ice, but we were almost arriving at our destination, so I put it off. I was a grown man, yet I couldn't figure out how to navigate this situation between us.

Upon arriving at Steimer & Co., we both took the elevator to the second floor, which was where my good friend Todd Steimer's office was. He was standing right near the entrance, waiting for my arrival.

I approached him and we shook hands.

"Theo," he greeted. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"It's been a busy year."

"I figured."

The last time I saw Todd was at my father's funeral. He and I were very close, but all this work made it impossible for us to see each other often.

Todd was the only person I could consider a friend. Though we had our issues, we knew each other for a long time. I didn't trust him, not completely, but I knew him long enough to predict his moves, so that made it okay for me to be around him.

"Shall we begin?" I suggested.

He nodded, but then his gaze slid to Alice, who was standing behind me, no doubt looking like she was trying to memorize the fucking file in her hands, and I saw interest in his eyes right away.

It pissed me off.

The spark of jealousy I felt was...unexpected. And unwelcome.

"Uh...yeah, sure," he said quickly, looking back at me. His hand was on my upper back now. "Let me walk you to the room. This way, Miss..."

"Rhodes," she answered swiftly.

"Of course," he grinned. "This way, Miss Rhodes."

We both followed him to the meeting room. I stared at the back of his head and imagined punching it violently. My own thoughts shocked me. What the fuck? Where was this coming from?

All because he looked at her?

"Gentlemen," he said as soon as we entered the room. The men seated around the table stood up to show respect. "This is Mr. Theodore Linden-Hawthorne. This is his assistant, Miss Rhodes. Please, have a seat."

We occupied the only two empty chairs in the whole room. Alice sat right next to me. The smell of her perfume invaded my nostrils once again. I found it the best scent I ever smelled on a woman.

Hands down.

Todd was seated across from us, and again, his gaze lingered on her. I narrowed my eyes at him and it took everything for me to keep my expression neutral, despite the pure hatred seeping out of me.

But Todd sensed me looking, and we made eye contact. As someone at the end of the table started talking about why we were all gathered here, he shrugged his shoulders as if to ask me what was up.

I looked away from him and ignored him, and he looked amused.

I always paid attention to whatever meeting I was attending; I didn't wait for the end where the host, in this case Todd, summarized what happened.

While they talked, discussing a few numbers for the project we had lined up, Alice slid me a few notes with comparisons between the numbers from this year and last year, which was when my father made the deal with them.

I was impressed.

So, she wasn't just reading the file to avoid looking directly at me?

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and Todd gave me a pointed look from across the table. I contemplated not answering his text because I already knew what was in it, but I checked my phone nonetheless.

Todd: What's going on, Theo?

I could've ignored his text, but the irritation I felt earlier returned and I typed back:

Me: Keep your eyes to yourself, Steimer.

The look he gave me was priceless and I immediately regretted texting him such a thing. He used his phone under the table again, and I received his reply swiftly.

Todd: I didn't know you cared that way. You never have.

I didn't reply. Another text.

Todd: She's different, huh?

I clenched my jaw and shoved my phone back in my pocket so he could see that this conversation was over. I saw his smile and chose to ignore it.

I didn't answer him, but I thought to myself that yes, Alice was different.

And I wasn't even sure why.