┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓
Lights
┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛
Chapter 24: Lights (Jules's POV)
"Since you're back to Lukov royalty," Christian smirked, handing me a different file. "Here's your new employment contract. Sign it once you've read over it."
I warily picked up the file and skimmed through the first few pages. "You've had this made for a while from the looks of it." I looked back at him. "How did you know I'd end up back here?"
"Intuition? Fate, maybe," he shrugged. "Once I saw you again at The Bookmark, I knew—"
"That's I'd come back?" I huffed, dropping the file on the table.
"No," he replied, shaking his head, "but that I wanted you back. You out of all people know that once I want something, I don't stop till I have it. Isn't that right, Milaya?"
Without responding, I stared at him.
"You get the same job and the same salary as you had the first time around."
My brows shot up in surprise. "And I don't have to interview for the job again? You'll just hand it to me?" I scoffed.
"You would have to give an interview if someone else already had the job but as I've told you before, nobody could replace you. The job is yours, Red."
Sighing softly, I grabbed the file and nodded faintly. "Okay. I'll sign it and give it back to you."
He hummed in approval. "Oh, and one more thing. Now that you're back to work, you know damn well that the workload you had here was more than the workload you had at The Bookmark. So—"
"I'm prepared, Christian. I can handle it."
He watched me with a certain twinkle in his eyes. Admiration and adoration if I wasn't mistaken. "I know you can. I'm just heeding a warning."
"I... appreciate it. I think," I mumbled hesitantly. "I should get to work." With that, I spun around, heading to the door.
"Jules," he called out.
Slowly, I turned back. "Yes?"
"Dinner tonight, don't forget."
"I don't remember agreeing to that," I shrugged.
"Are you declining the invitation?"
"It didn't sound like an invitation."
He bit down a tiny smile. "I won't beg."
"Maybe not now. But we both know you look better on your knees," I smirked, tracing the edge of the file in my hands.
Amusement swirled in his eyes as he watched me, a certain gleam to him that I couldn't exactly decode. "My apartment at eight. Don't be late," he said with the faintest grin.
"Don't hold your breath," I said as a rebuttal before leaving his office and walking into mine, dropping into my seat with a loud exhale.
This didn't change anything, it didn't suggest that Christian and I had moved on or suddenly gotten over the past. If we looked back, we were still in that same rotten spot, but for the sake of our jobs and for the act we would be putting on soon, we were merely pretending. Pretending to be together, pretending to still be in love, pretending that we were okay and that nothing happened.
My focus was only on not thinking about the past because I knew that if I thought about it or dwelled over it, I wouldn't be able to handle this job, I wouldn't be able to work with him, and I wouldn't be able to hold up my end of the bargain. If I wanted him to keep his word, I had to keep mine, even if that meant ignoring all the heartache he caused me.
This act, this ruse, these lies... they were fleeting moments. Temporary. The moment we come back from Santorini, I will find Christian his perfect assistant and leave for good. And hopefully, after that, we would never see each other again.
»»———— ➴ ————««
"You can't drive me," I said, standing at the building entrance while Christian refused to remove his car and let me go home.
"Sure, I can. You just won't let me," he replied pointedly.
"I can get to your apartment on my own," I scoffed, dropping down to his window.
"I know you can, but I think you won't. You'll go home and then you won't show up."
"Don't you trust me?"
He fell quiet. "Do you trust me?" he asked, lifting a brow.
"No," I shook my head bluntly.
"And yet you still expect me to trust you?" he questioned.
"Yes," I scoffed, "because I haven't done anything to make you doubt me or stop trusting me." I stood upright and held out an arm, yelling, "Taxi!" The one driving by stopped right behind Christian's car and I ducked back down to his window. "Don't worry though. Since you've invited me and you desperately want me there," I smirked, pausing to read his face and relish the annoyance written all over it. "I'll be there," I reassured once, suppressing a grin.
"Swear it." He held out an arm, extending his pinky.
I laughed, staring at him in disbelief. "Really?"
"You've made it my habit."
"I don't see you asking for pinky promises in the conference room," I mused. The cab beeped the horn at me with impatience and I chose not to make a pinky promise, instead, I stepped back. "I'll see you later, Christian," I said, smiling to myself as I walked to the taxi and quickly got in the backseat. "Aphrodite Apartments, please," I exhaled.
Once I reached the apartment, I took my time unwinding and freshening up, taking an extra long shower before I tied my damp hair back in a braid and switched out my silk bathrobe for a matching sleepwear set of a full-sleeve black t-shirt and a satin silk pajama pants. I put on simple black flip-flops and glanced at the clock. It was eight-thirty already, so I grabbed my apartment keys and phone before leaving, getting a different cab and giving them Christian's address.
Staring out the window until I got there, I began thinking about the trip that was to come.
I really hoped we would pull it off. My crazy aunts and boring yet overwhelming uncles might scare Christian away. The uncles would still be much easier to handle but my aunts? They would pick apart everything they could find about Christian. My cousins? They would dig deep and investigate Christian, trying to find out everything about him they could, every dirty little secret they can find on the internet.
I just hope it doesn't come up anywhere that his engagement was once broken.
When Christian and I got engaged, there was a whole party to announce it to business partners and rivals alike, one that was forced upon us by his parents, of course. But when we parted ways, we didn't tell anybody. Some people still believed we were engaged. My eyes drifted down to the ring on my finger.
I guess we are engaged again. Temporarily.
Once I reached Christian's floor, I took my time walking down the hall and to his front door, debating between ringing the doorbell or trying the lock. He said he would change the passcode.
I wonder if he did.
I tried the lock, using the same code, and stared at it as it beeped in approval before unlocking. "Liar," I snickered to myself before pushing the door open and walking in hesitantly. Turning around, I closed the door, cursing softly under my breath and waiting for a moment before heading for the kitchen.
"I could charge you for breaking and entering," he said suddenly from right behind me, startling me.
I gasped, spinning around with a hand flying to my chest. "Jesus! Don't creep up on me like that, you know I hate it!"
"I know. That's why I do it," he replied in amusement.
I glared at him while taking him in.
It had been a while since I last saw Christian wearing casual clothes like this, so I couldn't help but stare at everything, from the fitted black full-sleeve v-neck he wore to the matching black sweatpants and even the way his hair was suddenly fluffier than what I last saw a while ago. "You're late," he pointed out.
"And you're still cooking," I countered, gesturing at the apron and wooden spatula in his hand.
He glanced at the spatula and then back at me. "Well, I knew you'd be late."
"Really?"
"I thought you wouldn't come altogether."
"Yet here I am," I said, raising my brows at him.
Like an idiot.
He walked over to me, stopping only inches away when he towered over me. "I'm glad," he nodded once.
"I bet you are. What are you making?" I asked, walking past him and towards the kitchen, stumbling back when he grabbed my wrist and jerked me back, causing me to crash right into him.
His gaze dropped down to my left hand as he held my wrist and something shifted in his eyes when he saw the ring.
That grin. That single dimple on his right cheek. That heartstopping smile I love.
I clicked my tongue, "Shut up." I yanked my wrist away and rushed into the kitchen, shooting daggers at him over my shoulder.
"I made butter chicken since you like to eat it with rice," he said while following me.
I took a seat on a barstool, yelping when he poked my waist before rounding the corner and going back to the stove.
"It's almost ready," he teased, smirking at me.
"What made you think of cooking that?"
"It's your favorite," he replied nonchalantly.
It is.
"Do you mind grabbing two plates?"
I hummed in response and stood up, opening the cabinet I remembered very well and taking out two plates.
He turned off the stove and served us both fresh food, leaving the pan in the sink before grabbing two wine glasses. "Red or—"
"White," I cut him off. "You know I like white wine more. Don't play dumb."
He smiled yet again and my eyes dropped to his lips. "Just checking, Milaya," he chuckled before pouring us a glass each.
The moment he sat across from me, the lights above the counter flickered once. Twice. Glancing at them, I blinked in confusion.
"Ah, shit," he whispered to himself.
"Christian?" My gaze met his.
"The lights have been acting up in the building lately. I asked the electrician to drop by, he said he would today." They flickered again and then began to dim down.
"But he didn't," I sighed, finishing the sentence for him.
"Grab the lighter, would you? I'll bring the candles," he laughed before disappearing into the dark.
Great.
.
.
.
.
.
Chapter 24
I disappeared for the past day or two but I was just taking a quick break I'm backkk
next ch: friends