What Nobody Knew

Part 33

Our food came about 20 minutes after Mr Knight hung up the phone.

The rest of the evening was like something out of the Twilight Zone. Mr Knight was not wearing his suit, which was something I hadn't yet gotten used to. A part of me thought that he slept in a suit like Barney from How I Met Your Mother.

He also didn't have his usual crease between his eyebrows. We were watching a show where legal jargon was being tossed around like a football and yet, the crease never made a reappearance. 

Mr Knight was... relaxed. Mr Knight was never relaxed.

What bothered me about this whole situation was that I had no idea how to act around him. At least, not under the current circumstances.

"Are you going to keep doing that all night?" Mr Knight asked, his eyes never moving away from the screen. 

I had been staring for way longer than was deemed appropriate whilst chewing on my thumbnail.

Great Elizabeth, way to make things even weirder, he probably thought that you were checking him out. Which obviously you weren't.

"No," I mumbled, before turning my attention to the screen also.

Mr Knight let out a sigh, stealing a glance at me. I didn't meet his eye, no need to stare any further.

"Elizabeth, just relax."

I looked at him in disbelief. His gaze didn't waver and I could tell that he was being completely serious.

What had the world come to if Mr-Stick-Up-His-Butt had to tell me to relax? Did he not realize how strange our work relationship had become? And if he did, did it not bother him?

We were sitting on a couch, together, with long wear on. This was not customary in the normal employer-employee relationship. I only found myself in situations such as this with my sisters at home or when I was younger and still went to sleepovers.

Mr Knight let out another sigh.

"There's nothing to be done about our current living situation. The hotel is fully booked at the moment but as soon as something opens up I will make sure you get your own separate room. But until then, please just make yourself comfortable. We're going to be quite busy for the next few days and you sitting there stiff as a board, chewing your nails and refusing to touch your food isn't going to make this trip any easier." He said the last part softer, his eyes mimicking his soft tone.

The fact that I was uncomfortable to this extent seemed to bother him immensely.

A twinge of guilt shot up in my inside and I made a point of relaxing my shoulders and straightening my legs a bit more. I felt like a cat stepping into a new apartment after being picked up from the kennel. Not quite sure of anything yet, but trying to feel at home in its new environment.

"I can manage that, sir," I said with a nod.

"William." He said, his voice still softer than I was used to, but the intensity of his eyes had returned.

"William," I breathed.

And with that, we subtextually agreed to put down the battle axes and otherwise awkwardness even if it was just for the duration of the trip.

I twisted my fork, twirling up the fettucine, before bringing it to my mouth. 

One thing was for certain, hotel food was something I could get used to.

...

I tossed over on my other side, frustrated.

Usually, whenever my head hit a pillow I would fall asleep almost immediately. Sure, I was a light sleeper, which is a blessing and a curse at the same time (blessing in the case of an intruder and a curse since I rarely slept through an entire night) but normally I had no problem zoning out the world around me to fall asleep.

Tonight, however, I was unable to shut down my thoughts and get in some proper sleep. The aircon was keeping the room at a decent enough sleeping temperature (21℃ was best to snuggle in under the blankets) but the soft swooshing of air was enough to bother my already restless mind. 

I finally gave up on my futile attempt and tossed the covers off of me, switching on the light on my bedside table. I looked at the time on my phone; it was 01:17. I had been rolling around for three hours now.

I opened up my book where I left off and quickly got immersed in Eleanor's shenanigans. She was socially awkward and did seemingly ridiculous things, but I could tell something sad was on the horizon.

After a while, I started to get thirsty and padded back into the living room area. I was careful not to make too much noise, since Mr Knight, or William rather, was most probably already fast asleep.

I located the table with all of the tiny water bottles on it in the darkness. I unscrewed the top and quickly chugged down a few mouthfuls.

The door to my left opened silently and William appeared. The light was slow to highlight his features but bit by bit his face came into view.

"What are you doing up?" I blurted out.

He didn't answer me immediately but rather proceeded to walk closer to me. His eyes never left mine for a second and that same magnetic pull that I felt on the dance floor a few nights ago was again pulling my attention to him, making it impossible to look away from his nearing form.

He stopped a mere foot away from me, which was enough for my stomach to react strangely due to his proximity. His fresh scent invaded my senses once more and I wanted to send whatever cologne brand he made use of a letter to let them know that they had discovered the ultimate sexy scent and to never discontinue it.

He leaned forward, his face coming closer to my own, causing an involuntary hitch of breath to be caught in my throat. 

"The same reason as you." He responded to my question, his breath fanning the side of my face.

His face was impossibly close, but at the last moment his eyes flicked to one of the water bottles next to me and it was only then that I noticed his one arm was stretched out next to me to reach out for it.

"I was thirsty." He said as he retrieved the bottle and took a step away from me. 

His eyes had a glint of something in it that I could not quite make out. I hoped my eyes were impassive but there was no telling what they revealed at that moment. Hopefully, they didn't give away the effect that I felt from being near William.