Chapter 10 Brian

The last month with Bianca has been amazing. The fact that she is opening up to me has made me so happy, I don't even know how to describe it. She wanted to play 20 questions with me. She hasn't told me anything personal, and I don't mind. Not even a little bit, I'm just happy that she is sharing something about her. I learned that she loves sunflowers and roses.

I have been stopping at the coffee house every day, sometimes I get a coffee, sometimes I just walk her to work and leave. But damn, I haven't felt this happy in so long. I walk into my office and see that Rachel is there, I sigh and take a seat.

"What are you doing here?" I ask her in a bored tone. I really don't like her, she was a one-night stand from like 6 months ago. Does she not get the damn hint?

She smiles at me, "I was hoping we could talk and maybe go out?" I roll my eyes at that. She knows that I am not interested in her, but she still wants to bother me.

"Rachel, I already told you, I am not interested in you, never was, and never will be. Get the damn hint. The next time you show up here, I will put a restraining order on you and cancel all business deals with your father. Now, if you don't want that, I would leave and never come back. Got it?" I asked. I went back to pulling up my schedule.

I pick up the phone and call Justine, "Come to my office." I say and hang up. A few minutes later, he walks in. "Can you please have Ms. Sutherland escorted out, the next time she comes here you call my lawyer and get security to take her out." I hear her gasp and huff and walk out slaming the door with my secretary trailing behind her.

I get to work and focus on getting everything done early to hopefully catch Bianca before she leaves for the day. I wonder if she is having a good day and if she is thinking of me. I smile at the thought. I shake my head and focus on my work. I need to stay focused.

My door opens loudly, "Hey man, where have you been? I haven't seen you in forever, and when are we going to the club again? We haven't been in months." Jacob, my best friend, comes walking in like he owns the place. I roll my eyes and look up at him.

"I've been busy, as you can tell I do run a company and I have to work to be as successful as I am." I look back at my laptop. This next deal needs me to fly out to Italy. I wonder if Bianca has ever been there, maybe she would go with me. I will have to see if she would want to.

He scuffs at me, "So, that has never stopped you from going with me to a club and getting a girl. Wait, are you seeing someone? Is that why we haven't gone out? Who is the lucky girl?" He looks at me with a million questions and a teasing look in his eyes.

I swear my eyes are going to get stuck in the back of my head if I keep rolling them. "Her name is Bianca, we are still getting to know each other. I am not letting you meet her until she is comfortable. She is a little skittish and I don't need you to scare her off. Plus, I am pretty sure that she has had a rough past and is hiding something from me. Until I find out what it is, I don't want you to go near her." I say and lean back into my chair.

"Do you think it's something we need to look into? I don't want you to get hurt in the end of this." He says. "Have you found out what she is hiding?" He looked at me and watched closely for the answer. I knew he was just being a best friend, but it bothered me that he wanted to run a background check on her. I don't think she is hiding anything dangerous, plus everyone has secrets, and I am not going to pry.

I shake my head, "No, I don't want to do a background check on her. We all have skeletons we don't want anyone to know about. Plus, I am just getting her to trust me, if she finds out that I did a background check she would never talk to me again. It took her a whole month to finally start talking to me, and that was after I walked her to work in silence. I don't want to back track and by how she acts I am not willing to ruin it." I looked at him and hoped he saw the sincerity in my voice. I really like her, I don't want this ruined.

He nodded and sat there in silence for a minute. "Okay, I won't say anything and I won't do anything either. But, I want to at least see her." He smiled at me. I nodded my head, "And, I want you to go out and be my wingman. I need some action and seeing as you won't be wanting any means I can actually have a chance." I flipped him the bird and smiled. He laughed and left the office. I returned to my work and thought about Bianca and how I was going to break the news of needing to leave for a week. I hope that she says yes to going with me.

I sigh and stand up and go to my floor to ceiling window. Looking down at the street, I can see everyone walking around. I hate to say this, but I think I am finally happy. Now all I want to do is leave, so I can see her. I decide to finish my work and get to the coffee shop.