Chapter 17 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“I suppose you just turned on your phone and saw my text. So when are we…”

“Throw out the first chapter of the new story. I want to start working on something different.” Sonia said, cutting him off before he could finish.

“What? Why? But the story is good. I only asked you to do some additional work on the second and third chapters.” He complained.

“Of course I know it’s good. But I want to work on an entirely different story line. My new story is going to be about a stubborn and determined young lady who wins the heart of a playboy celebrity after fate throws them together.” Sonia said thoughtfully. She wasn’t going to write it in a way that would tell her editor or the world the true story between her and Bryan of course. She was just going to change the manner in which they meet, but leave other things the same.

“Is it going to be about you and Mr Delgados?” He asked in excitement.

“Not exactly. I will work on the first three chapters and send it to you via email. Read it and tell me what you think.”

“Okay… But we are still meeting, right? Remember you’re supposed to meet with the movie producer.” He reminded her making her roll her eyes.

“Just conclude with him. I’ll be okay with whatever you both agree on. I need to focus on my writing so I’m turning off my phone.” Sonia said, and hung up before he could say anything else.

She was just going to get right to work and distract herself for the time being.. She would give her darling fiance a week to miss her before reaching out to him again, Sonia decided with a smile.

Benne checked his wristwatch impatiently, trying to figure out why almost every other person had closed for the day, apart from Celsie. It was almost two hours past closing hours already, yet there was no trace of her anywhere. Was she doing that deliberately to annoy him, or was she just trying to avoid him? Or perhaps she had taken a cab and snuck off without his knowledge? He dialed Harry’s line when he couldn’t bear it anymore.

“Sup? Have you dropped off your boss?” Harry asked in a teasing tone.

“That’s the exact reason I called. Did you assign something to her that is keeping her in her office for this long? I’ve been waiting here for almost two hours and she is still not out yet.” Benne complained, making Harry chuckle.

“She is probably still busy in the office. I learnt she is a workaholic. Maybe you should check on her and remind her she has a driver who is waiting… Or better still you could remain there like a good driver would until she is ready to leave.” Harry suggested.

“Well, I’m not a good driver. I’m going up there.” Benne said, and hung up immediately.

Workaholic? Why was she working so hard? She was the head of her unit, so why was she doing all this when her subordinates had all gone home? He wondered as he locked the car and headed for the building. He flashed the security personnel by the door his driver’s identity card before heading for the elevator. It wasn’t until the elevator bell dinged that he paused to ask himself what he was going to say to her.

He scratched the back of his head as he slowly made his way to her office. He was just going to tell her he was lonely and bored outside. And ask if she could take the work home or finish it the next day. He walked into her department office and stopped in front of her see through door before tapping on it gently.

“Hm?” She asked distractedly as she continued with the documents in front of her.

He knocked again insistently since he hadn’t heard her, and waited until she had raised her head from the document and made eye contact with him through the glass, before opening the door. He saw the surprise on her face and then watched as her gaze shifted to the wall clock hanging on the other side of the wall before she returned her attention to him once again.

Celsie felt uncomfortable with the way he towered above her while she was seated. Despite the fact that he was standing by the door far away from her seat, his stance made her feel small especially since she was wearing just a camisole which was tucked into her pant, so she reached behind her for her blazers which she had hung behind her chair, and put it on before standing up.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but it’s past closing hours already and…”

Celsie cleared her throat, “I got carried away with work, and I forgot about you. You should have left.” She said without looking at him as she looked down at her laptop and saved the file she had been working on before picking up the flash drive.

“You didn’t ask me to leave. Besides, it’s my job to bring you to work and take you home safely. I also have to take you around on…”

“I guess I failed to mention it to you earlier. But I almost always leave the office late. So if you’re going to have to always come up to interrupt my work this way, then it will be best we don’t work together.” Celsie said, cutting him off.

“Why?” Benne asked with a slightly raised brow.

“Why what?” She asked, looking at him with genuine confusion.

“Why are you implying I quit? Is this about me not being able to wait for you while you put in extra time at work? Or is it simply because you’re uncomfortable around me?” Benne asked feeling slightly offended that she wasn’t even apologizing for keeping him waiting.

Celsie took in a deep breath to control her temper, “Mr…?”

Benne’s jaw hardened, “Benne is good enough.”

“Alright. Mr Benne, if I remember correctly, I told you, I was going to inform you when I’m done with work and ready to leave. And as you can see, I’m not done yet. Secondly I offered you the option of going about your usual business and letting me drive myself around, while you pick up your paycheck at the end of every month, but you turned it down. Finally, I asked you not to make any reference to our… Our Fling.”

“I didn’t do that.” Benne pointed out.

“You did a moment ago.”

“I didn’t. I only asked if you were asking me to quit because you were uncomfortable around me.” Benne pointed out making Celsie take in a deep breath. She mentally counted from one to ten before looking at him again.

“Fine. Let’s just go.” She said as she picked up her hand bag and walked out of the office leaving him to follow behind.

Benne followed her, and immediately they got to the elevator she moved to the far end of the elevator.

“Let me ask you a question. Would you be acting this way had we not known each other before now?” Benne asked without turning to look at her since she was standing at the far end behind him, while he was standing directly in front of the door.

Celsie paused to consider the question for a moment, “And how am I acting?”

“Asking me to quit on my first day on the job? Do you consider that as being fair?” Benne asked as the elevator door opened and they both stepped out.

Celsie said nothing as they both walked out of the building. Maybe she wasn’t being fair, but she couldn’t pretend to be comfortable around him. He had seen her naked for crying out loud!

“What would you have done had you been in my shoes? How would you react if the situation was reversed?” Celsie asked after a while as they both stopped by the car at the parking lot.

“I would have done what every other person would do. I would go with the flow..” Benne said as he unlocked the car and got into his seat, leaving her to decide whether she wanted to sit at the back or ride in front with him.

Celsie said nothing as she got into the backseat of the car. She needed to set the boundaries between them if they were going to work together. He was her driver at work, and her neighbor at home. She had asked him to forget whatever had happened between them, and she needed to forget it too. Truly had he not been her one night stand, she would have found it amusing that her handsome next door neighbor was her driver, and they would have gotten along quite well as friends, but now she just couldn’t help being extra cautious around him.

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