GOING CRAZY

ELENA’S POV

Those shivers stayed on for longer than I expected. The longer I sat in his office, watching him work before he decided he was done for the day and it was time for us to return home, the more the butterflies in my belly remained unsettled. They kept squirming and moving about restlessly while we sat in the car, and I had to look away the whole time so as not to embarrass myself.

As soon as the elevator from the basement car park reached his house, I didn’t wait for anything and sprinted straight towards the front door. I didn’t care if he was calling for me, and I didn’t wait to hear. All I could think of was getting very far away from this man and not looking back.

Not until I’m in the comfort of my room. I don’t think my heart can handle being around him.

As I shut the door of my room behind me, only then did the tension I felt around him all day ease off. I dropped to the floor, perplexed. What is going on? Why am I feeling this way, all because of one word?

Good girl.

The words echoed in my head, and I bit myself to hold in my scream. I think I’m going crazy. I should hate this man. I should feel guilty for him. In the eyes of the world, I was his brother’s killer. He has every reason to ruin me, even if I was not guilty. We belonged to different worlds. He was a rich conglomerate CEO, I was a convicted murder. 

Why then is the very existence of this man affecting me so much?

I headed to the bathroom, not bothering to take off my clothes, and turned on the cold function of the shower over my head, letting it drench me and flood me with common sense. When I was sure I was back to thinking properly, I took off my drenched clothes, putting on a bathrobe and cinching it by the waist.

I was coming out of the bathroom when I heard a knock on my door. Damien stepped in after a few seconds, like he was giving me the courtesy of not startling me again. Urrggh, I can’t hate him when he’s suddenly acting all chivalrous. 

“Hey,” he said gruffly. “I was thinking, maybe we could make a proper appearance to the public.”

I raised a brow, judging the intent of his suggestion.

Yes, this dynamic is what you should have between you too. Where you both don’t trust each other.

“Why was this so important that you couldn’t wait to tell me about it in the morning?” I asked, skeptical.

He cleared his throat, very flustered. “It will be good to solidify our ground. It’ll look suspicious if we keep showing up to their events together,” he replied and I scoffed. I don’t buy it one bit.

“That’s not a problem. I don’t think we need a public appearance. So if you’ll excuse me I’d like to go to bed,” I said, turning to get changed into my night wear. When he wouldn’t leave, I snapped. “Are you still standing here? You wanna see me get undressed, huh?”

His eyes seemed to cloud over in a millisecond, then it was gone. “Come down for dinner,” he grunted, before leaving my room.

__________

DAMIEN’S POV

I cussed myself out as I left her room, wondering why I had to just go see her. If the ride to work was uncomfortable, then the ride back was worse. From the time she got me my coffee, I could tell the energy and air had changed in the room.

I’d only wanted to know what she was up to in the break room, knowing that at the rate she was fast becoming feisty and snarky by the day, she’d most likely put something for me inside my coffee. What I saw however made me feel hot, very hot. It was so sexy to see her stand up to Miss Dennis in the break room, and when she grabbed her by the neck, her sexiness shot through the roof. I adjusted my tie, suddenly feeling stuffy as I watched, my dick pulsating real fast.

God darn, this woman drove me crazy, to the ends of the earth and back.

I called for Alfred. “I need you to put out a hire request for a chef. You know all the requirements I need, right?”

He nodded. “Yes Mr Vance.”

“Do it discreetly and make sure your scouting is done at the very shortest time, yet precise. I want them start soon. And get three for me this time.”

“I’d get to it as soon as possible,” he replied and left. I headed to my room to change and return to the kitchen. Cooking was fast becoming tiring, and I was dreading staying in the same vicinity with Elena. Not because she was tiring and was a messy eater.

But by how she affected me so much. 

I don’t think I’ll function right if I were close to her. So it’s best a chef takes care of our meals now, and I’d start eating my study from then on. The farther away I am from her, the more sane I’d become.

I was just finishing setting the dishes on the counter when she trudged downstairs. Before I could help it, my eyes ran down her figure that I knew was going to put me out of sleep tonight, and I groaned internally. She didn’t notice though, and sat down to her meal without a word. 

I noticed something was different. She wouldn’t look at me like she often did when we argued. “Elena,” I called, and her ears perked up, although she was reluctant to look at me. “I don’t think you should come to work tomorrow, not until I can find a better arrangement for you,” I blurted out, surprised at even myself