Chapter 18 - Charlie

Austin

I don’t know what has come over me.

First, practically adopting a stray dog? She just reminded me so much of my previous dog that I couldn’t in my right mind leave her behind in that cold weather; out in the streets during a storm.

Even my ice-cold heart isn’t immune to a shivering puppy.

Second, inviting the girl to my penthouse? Now I admit that one was uncharacteristic of me. I have never invited anyone into my personal space. This penthouse is sacred to me and only me. I never bring any girls here nor business associates. This place is just for me, even my ex-girlfriend has never stepped foot in here.

In my defense, what were her other options? I couldn’t have left her there in the parking lot by herself to figure out how to go home in the middle of the storm.

So now I’m stuck with two strays in my penthouse. Just my luck.

Third, why did I stay and let her see my tattoos? And I’m not even going to think about that ice cream incident.

I go straight to my shower and switch it to a cold one. I try my best to not remember how she looked bathed in moonlight and wearing my shirt, with that spoon in between her lips.

The reaction of my body to the image isn’t going away if I don’t do something about it.

I lean my head on the cool tiles, I’m not going to think about wanting to put something else on her lips. I simply won’t. It’s not respectable. Entirely incorrigible. Downright unprofessional.

I try to calm down. Relax my body and cool off.

But it’s not working. The image of her shiny pink lips and the way she looked transfixed on my body is making me want to just grab her and…

And what? She’s my assistant!

That remaining shred of professionalism is warring with my animalistic side.

I’ve already fucked a client, even though she’s my childhood crush, why does my assistant have to be off-limits?

I shake my head. Clearing my thoughts.

She’s actually doing good work, I don’t want to ruin things by letting my libido control the situation.

But she’s so close. She’s just there, in the other room, all alone and sleeping on that bed by herself.

I can open the door, slip into bed with her, and give her a really great time.

With the way that she looked at me earlier, I’m guessing she would be inclined.

There’s no difference between her and the other girls.

My mind flashes to the time I drove her home. Her tear-stained face marred with bruises popped into my head.

That does the trick.

I lather up some soap into my body and quickly rinse off.

Tomorrow, I’m not going to be so distracted by thoughts of her. She would be up and out of my place in no time.

She’s just some girl I can easily dismiss from my mind.

----

The little puppy must be hungry if the insistent licking on my face is any indication. I wipe the sleep away from my eyes. The few hours of sleep I managed to get were not nearly enough for a busy day ahead.

With the amount of snow on the streets, I’m sure that there will be a city-wide shutdown and people are required to remain indoors. It’s a good thing for me since I don’t think I could work downstairs today. I dress casually and head to my kitchen with the little one trailing behind.

After preparing the puppy’s breakfast, I brew my own coffee and put my trainers on. I head to my personal gym to get my mind off some things. The puppy seems to think she should stay by my side all the time, it’s cute but I’m afraid she might get squished by my equipment.

A few circuits and benchpresses get my adrenaline pumping and I finish my workout with a couple of thousand jump ropes.

I scoop the puppy up and she happily barks on my face. Guess she’s more comfortable now demanding things from me.

I head over to the kitchen and cut up some fruit, fry eggs and of course, grill some meat. I hand some pieces of watermelon to her.

With the little one sufficiently nourished and her water bowl set up in the living room and wherever she may fancy wandering off to, I pass by the rooms on my way to the bathroom.

That's strange; usually, my assistant’s early. She never fails to be half an hour early for work. Considering that it’s almost time, what could be the hold-up?

The kitchen dessert rendezvous must have been late at night if she needed the extra time to sleep.

I knock on the door to check on her and offer her some breakfast. At the rate she was devouring the food last night, the girl must have had a fast metabolism.

I knock again when she doesn’t answer. The puppy yips at me. Probably wondering what’s happening.

Could something have happened to the girl during the night? Picking up the puppy, I knock one last time and when there’s still no response, turn the door knob.

Peeking my head in, I see that she is fine. She’s on the bed. I turn around to give her the rest and privacy she needs.

“Hmm…” A sound comes from the bed.

The puppy barks at this. Squirming to be let down and to investigate.

“Ugh…” I turn back around, is she having a nightmare of some sort?

Sleep paralysis is a real and dangerous thing. I’ve heard stories.

I hurry over, not giving a damn about propriety.

"Hey."

She scrunches up her eyebrows.

"Hey," I try to lean over and project my voice once more. When this fails, I tap her a few times.

“Hnn…”

It doesn't look like she's having a bad dream. On the contrary, it seems like she's having a very good one.

I shake her shoulder for good measure.

She opens her eyes, blinks a couple of more times, and pivots her face towards my side. She opens and closes her mouth a couple of times.

The look on her face I can only describe as someone who has seen a ghost.

Then all the blood rushes to her cheeks.

“You alright there?” When she’s clearly not going to respond, I give her an out.

“There’s breakfast.” I indicate toward the open door. The puppy jumps to the bed and starts sniffing the girl.

I stride over to the door.

Just before I close it, I hear a thump on the pillow and a mumbled, “Oh my god.”

----

“That was insane.” The girl says, clearly in a catatonic state judging by the casual tone.

“I mean, that was totally awesome. The chocolate on that waffle was divine.”

I stare at her.

“Sorry, it was just really great.” She emphasizes it by rubbing her stomach.

“Thanks.” I deadpan. She made me cook more food. After polishing off the eggs and meat I set out, she literally asked if I had some pancakes or waffles.

The shy and almost skittish girl in the office had the audacity to request waffles from her boss.

She smiles sheepishly. “I haven’t had that good of a breakfast homemade before, sorry Mr. Cane.”

I study the girl. Still in awe with the speed and ferocity she attacked the food.

“What are you, 90 pounds or something? Where does it go?”

She puts her hand on her chest, “Oh my, never ask a girl about her weight!”

I give her a blank look and she giggles. Well, that’s new.

“I just have a very fast metabolism, sir. And it’s not like I get this kind of food at home.”

Before I could ask more about this, she stood and began clearing out the table. The puppy tails her.

“I’ll wash these though, I don’t know how to use that.” She points to my dishwasher.

I shrug and pick up the puppy’s water bowl to refill it.

“I need to buy her some real dog food.”

She begins washing the plates.

“Does that mean she’s going to stay?” I shrug once more. Not knowing the final plan but sure that the puppy should stay here for the meantime.

“She needs a name though.”

“It’s Charlie, short for Charlotte.” I blurt out.

“Wow, that was well thought out.” She glances back at me. She tried to hide the smile on her face.

“I had some time last night to think about it.”

Silence.

Last night. The ice cream. Right here in the kitchen.

I clear my throat.

“So, the weather’s still bad. Most employees are working from home today. I’ll be having a meeting in an hour.”

“Alright, how can I help?”

I don’t know if it’s the new and weird setting or she’s just comfortable here but she seems more confident and sure of herself ever since we got here yesterday.

“I’ll need you to research everything about Charlie. Her breed, contact the nearest vet if you can, and any pertinent information needed to take care of her.” My tone is back to the professional and commanding one I use whenever I want things done my way.

Her posture changes; she straightens up when she hears my orders. I almost soften my voice but I remind myself that she is my assistant and I’m her boss giving her tasks for the day to help me. This is still a professional setup even if she’s in my kitchen.

----

“I don’t fucking care if all the roads are closed. Why didn’t they have it on site prior to the client visit?!”

The workers scramble for an answer.

“There’s no snow over there now, figure it out!” I disconnect from the video call and physically stop myself from hurling something at the wall.

“Argh!” Why are some people so incompetent? Why couldn’t they just plan ahead?

The loud noise must have alerted Charlie since there were scratches on the door.

I open the door and all my anger fades away.

When I picked her up last night, her fur was matted and heavily knotted. Now that she has been toweled off and brushed, her fur is more fluffed up and soft.

“Hey, girl. What are you doing over there?” She barks her little yaps and tries to reach and lick my face.

“She began squirming from the couch when she heard the screaming.” My assistant tells me.

“Guess she thought she was going to save you from the madman shouting at the top of their lungs.”

Is that sarcasm? Little Miss Meek and Mild’s attitude is coming out.

“Well, it’s all good now, baby.” I address the puppy and give her a belly rub. She pants happily at my face.

“You’re too fucking adorable,” I tell Charlie.

I don’t need to check my assistant’s face to her reaction, I know she’s surprised but the puppy is just that cute.

“I’m keeping her.” I declare.

“It’s not like I even had a choice in the first place. Look at this face.” I take Charlie’s snout and point it in my assistant’s general direction.

This time she can’t hide her smile.

“I had one just like her when I was younger. She was one of the best memories of my childhood. She was always by my side and followed me everywhere I went. Even the bathroom.” I smile at the memory.

“Oh…” I guess my sharing of my personal information was startling for her since she couldn’t think of a better response.

“Yeah, she had white fur though, but just like Charlie, she was adorable too.”

“Was?” She asked.

“We had her when I was a kid then I uhm, I moved to study somewhere else. Few years. Didn’t see her ever again. Mother said she died.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.” My clipped tone clued her in that it was a sensitive topic.

Why did I even share this in the first place? I give my head a bit of a shake.

Maybe it’s just the penthouse, I’m too comfortable with the girl here.

I need to get back to work.