Chapter Eleven
Alfie couldn’t bring himself to tell Sophia that night. Freya’s words had resonated through him. He never expected to tell Sophia anything that he had done to make sure she was safe. So that night he made sure she got home safely, and for the past month as much as it had killed him, he had spent time courting her.
All he wanted to do was take her home, fuck her, get her pregnant, and make her his. It was stupid, but Freya had opened his eyes to another problem as well. What if Sophia didn’t want to have kids, the big family? What if he’d already gotten her pregnant? Neither of them had used protection, and now he was stuck.
“Why do you look freaked out?”
Turning toward his office door, he saw Jared Varner standing there, arms folded, staring at him.
“Not freaked out. I’m just figuring out how to handle something that your precious gem made me realize.”
“Ah, Freya get to you now has she?”
“It’s like she was some kind of detective.”
Jared laughed. “Nah, she’s a good soul. She loves her friend, that’s all. She’s also been good at finding stuff out.”
“Whatever.” He had underestimated her, and that stopped now.
“What has she said?” Jared asked. “It can’t be that bad. You would have planned for it.”
“I’m to tell Sophia exactly how much influence I’ve had on her life.”
“Does she even know that she’s not really employed here?” Jared asked.
Alfie released a sigh. His PA knew she didn’t work here, but he had made sure that she kept her mouth shut, and everyone else just believed that Sophia was an intern. He didn’t want to share her, not even with his own damn company. That was how selfish he felt with regards to her.
Glancing toward her office, he saw her typing away at her computer, her teeth sinking into her lip as she focused on the screen. This has been his plan all along. Drawing her into his company, buying a publishing company, convincing her to write a book so that he could work with getting her published.
Then of course, he was trying to make her fall in love with him.
“If you’re here does that mean you’re failing to win over Freya? I could really use her distracted right now.”
“Freya isn’t like any other women. She’s not wowed by beautiful trinkets, flowers, jewelry, or even dinner. Clothes don’t thrill her, and of course she is not impressed with the corporate lifestyle. Her life is her art.”
“Why don’t you ask her father what impresses her?”
“Freya and her father haven’t been on the best terms since he cheated on her mother. I doubt that will help matters.” Jared sat down opposite him. “She has no faith in the opposite sex.”
“You love her?”
“Of course I fucking love her. I have loved her for a long fucking time, and seeing her hurt is not something I can stand.” Jared stared at him. “Can I talk to Sophia? I want to ask her how to…”
“Make Freya fall in love with you?”
“Yes.”
“Go on. Don’t get too close, and keep the desk separated.”
Alfie watched as his friend walked toward Sophia’s room, and he leaned back in his chair.
All of his life he had taken what he wanted without caring about obstacles getting in his way. Sophia had been his from the moment he first saw her, his obsession for her making it so that he got daily reports of how she was doing.
When he realized that she was having difficulty in picking a career, and hadn’t picked an actual major, his plan had set in motion. Her counselor had helped, and everyone had been more than willing to jump to his command for the right price.
When he opened up the bottom drawer of his desk, the diamond engagement ring glinted up at him. The month was nearly over, and even though he had won her trust to stay at his company, his original plan had been for her to fall in love with him, and they would be on the way to getting married.
Yes, he had planned that far ahead, and all he had seen was happiness. However, Freya’s warning had made him stumble. He didn’t want Sophia to hate him. He wanted her to fall in love with him, and she hadn’t said any words like that to him.
He watched from his position in his office as she looked at Jared. The smile that had been on her face, slipped. She was staring at him, listening intently.
How had these two women captured them without even trying?
Alfie didn’t have a clue why Jared was in love with Freya, but for him, it had been Sophia’s smile. Even when the customers she was serving had been rude, she kept on smiling, and providing the best service the restaurant could offer. From her smile, he had seen her brown eyes. They were so expressive, it was like he could read her without even thinking. Then of course it was her hair. The long, brown lengths had fascinated him. Was her hair soft, and he wondered how it would look spread across his pillow. Next it was her neck, and especially that point where her pulse beat rapidly. He knew exactly how to drive her crazy. If he hadn’t shaved, and he stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and grazing her neck with his stubble and teeth, she would be wet in seconds.
He loved her body. Her large tits with her red nipples, and especially when she wore the white lingerie he sent her. The way her red nipples against the white lace always had him ready to fuck within seconds. Her ass. He loved her ass. It was so round, so juicy, and whenever he could, he sank his teeth into the flesh, and her hips. He relished grabbing onto those hips, and grinding his cock against her in any way that he could.
Of course, since getting to know her, he had come to love other things about her.
The way she laughed. He could listen to her laugh all day long, and of course he just loved to talk to her, even if it was about the simple things like the weather.
He really did just love her.
Now he had to make sure that he could keep her. Losing her was not an option for him.
****
Sophia tried to focus on the story in front of her, and it was hard to do. She knew Alfie kept staring at her, and she didn’t want to alert him to her nervous mood. This very morning she had gone into Human Resources to change something on her employment form, when she had been told that she didn’t have one. There had to be a mistake, but there wasn’t one. None of the men or women could find her record. She figured there was just a flaw to the system, and she would try another day. Before making it to her floor, she had been on the elevator, and the interns had been talking amongst themselves, explaining the program they were on, and what they were doing. She had thrown in a random question about the personal ones she had to answer on the employment form. All of the interns had looked at her as if she was crazy. They didn’t have that kind of form. It was basic, name, address, date of birth, mundane employment stuff.
Sitting at her desk, it was like she had finally woken up. Who in their right mind would hire someone to write a stupid story? She wasn’t stupid, and yet she had been behaving like she was.
This was completely crazy, and she didn’t get it.
Nothing made any sense to her, and yet, it did.
There was something in the way Alfie was with her. He knew everything like he had a sixth sense, and she didn’t believe in that. He seemed to know everything about her, even down to what she had wanted from him sexually.
Rubbing at her brow, she felt the perspiration. This company had found her. They had hunted her down, and she didn’t have a clue why. This was a technology based enterprise. Everything Alfie Brown did was for software, computers, gaming, that kind of stuff. Yet they had sought out her.
Why?
There was a knock at her door pulling her out of her thoughts, and she smiled to see an older man that looked familiar.
“Hello, Sophia. We’ve not met before. I’m Jared Varner.”
“You’re Freya’s boss.”
“Yes. I am.
She stood up and looked across the desk. “I don’t know what I can do to help you. Does Mr. Brown know you’re here?”
“I have spoken with him, and he’s happy with me to talk to you. Given me permission and everything.”
“You don’t need permission to talk to me.” She glanced toward Alfie to see him staring at her.
“I was hoping I would get your advice.”
“On what?”
“On Freya. You see, I have feelings for her, and I was wondering what would be the best way of approaching that.”
Sophia felt a headache start, and she also felt sick to her stomach. “I really don’t think I can be the one to answer this.” She frowned. “I’m not feeling so good. I’m so sorry I can’t be much help to you.”
Leaving her office, she went straight toward Alfie, who was staring at something in his bottom drawer. She didn’t even knock, opening up the door, and closing it.
“Sophia, what’s wrong?”
“Why don’t I have an employment record? Why am I not with the other interns? Why did this company search for me when I don’t care for software other than to write my assignments? Why do you know so much about me? Why do I feel like I’ve seen you before?” She folded her arms and took a step back when he left his seat, and went to reach out toward her. “I don’t want you to touch me. I want answers. I need them because right now I’m going a little crazy.”
He stopped, leaning against the desk. “The first time I saw you, you were waitressing at a restaurant.”
She frowned, staring at him.
“A year ago,” he said. “From the moment I saw you, I knew that you were mine.”
“What?”
“Before I continue I want you to promise me that you’re not going to freak out.”
“How can you make me promise something like that? No one can promise anything like that.”
He held his hands up. “I will never harm you, Sophia. I love you.”
She shook her head. “How can you love me? You don’t even know me.”
“I know a great deal about you, but I won’t say anything more until you promise me you won’t freak out.”
Sophia gritted her teeth, wanting nothing more than to say no but knowing deep in her heart, she had to find out the truth one way or another.
“Please, just tell me. I promise I won’t do anything stupid.”
He nodded. “I watched you all night a year ago. No matter what was thrown your way, you were amazing. You were kind, and professional, and you handled everything. I wanted to know you, and I didn’t get that chance. I didn’t want to scare you. So I found out who you were from your manager. I paid him to give you a raise, and then I went out and found out everything about you. You can hate me all you want, but I know what I feel. I’m in love with you.”
“Wait, you found out everything about me.”
“Yes, and I had several guys watching you to make sure you were safe. I also dealt with Mr. Coleman to get him to convince you to work here. I arranged everything, your move, the apartment—it belongs to both Jared and me.”
Sophia couldn’t believe what she was listening to.
“I hacked into your computer. I read your books. I bought the publishing company for you.”
“Everything I know about you is a lie.”
“It’s not, Sophia. I love you.”
She shook her head, and stepped back when he made a move toward her. “No!” She held her hand up, stopping him. “You’re going to let me go right now. I need to go home, and I need to get my life together. Sitting in an office next to yours writing all day is not a damn job offer. You took that choice away from me.”
“You’re happy, Sophia.”
“No. What I am is placed and positioned. This wasn’t what I wanted.”
“All you have ever wanted to do was write.”
“I don’t care. You don’t get to make that choice for me.” And she hated that she sounded ungrateful. “I can’t do this. I don’t even know how to do this.” With that, she turned on her heel and made her way toward the door.
“Sophia?”
“If you cared for me at all, you would let me walk away.” She made sure her voice was firm even as it was hurting her to walk away. Right now all she needed was space, away from him, to think.
He stood back, and she turned making her way toward the door. Going toward where Jared stood, she ignored him, picking up her bag. She needed to get away from the both of them.
“If you had anything to do with getting either me or Freya here, then you need to come clean to her as well.” Those were her parting words as she left the company that she hadn’t even been part of.