The Billionaire's Forced Alliance

Chapter Ten

Ben ate up the entire plate of French toasts. God, they were delicious. As soon as he saw her go into her room, he heaved a sigh of relief and took the plate, gobbling up the bread hurriedly, surprised at how tasty the dish was. She was quite a good cook. Nice.

Good cook or not, he couldn't deny the massive amount of restlessness he had felt when he saw her in the kitchen. He had been too puzzled for his own good; the second he had entered his living room, he had expected to see darkness and solitude, except he had seen a strange woman peering into his fridge and making food. For nearly five minutes, he had stood in front of his room, staring at her quietly, wondering whether he should go forward or run back to his room and shut the door.

And then she had turned around and offered him food. Goddamn, nobody offered him food after his mother had left. He had been so freaking restless all the wife. Someone had started to roam around in his condo, cook stuff and all. The new reality had sunk in, and he had kept quiet, not knowing what to say. He was horrible in gelling up with people, mostly, strangers. It wasn't a bad trait, it was just that, he simply lacked the capability of conversing so easily with unknown people.

No one talked to him in school, or in the orphanage, for that matter. Hence, he hadn't developed the quality of communication, but when it came to conversing with known people and business associates, he was damn good. He had been a secretary for over four years, thus, he had been able to grasp the concept of good talk. But making small talk with strangers was the hardest thing.

He washed his plate meticulously, as he had grown the habit of doing his things on his own. Quietly, he washed her plate too, not bothering to tell her. It was only one plate, and moreover, talking to her was awkward. When he had seen her in the red saree-like dress, during the wedding, he had flipped. She had looked sexy. Shit...

Such a good combination, at one point, he was restless having someone's presence in his house, and at another, he found that someone attractive. Disgusted by his own thoughts, he went to his room and sat on the bed, opening his laptop and modulating a few changes here and there in the government project plan. Having finished the task, he took a quick shower, letting the cold water run through his body. As the water droplets cascaded down his spine, his breath froze like ice. The mere thought of going to Texas with Sarah scared the hell out of him.

He wanted to imagine the reaction of the Hamiltons, but he didn't dare. Getting out of the bathroom, he quickly changed into a pair of grey trousers and a cool white, circle-neck T-shirt, which was quaintly simple and plain. He brushed his auburn hair messily, letting the small curles settle down with the expensive hairspray he used. To be honest, he was obsessed with his hair, since childhood. He didn't let anyone touch his hair, even.

What if a few strands came out?

He didn't even wanna think about that possibility. The Texas weather was mild and pleasant, hence, he didn't feel the need to wear a jacket, but he had packed one in his suitcase for the occasion. He styled the look with a steel-grey Armani watch, and looked at himself in the mirror. Perfect. He loved to be tidy, and always dressed up neatly and perfectly, well, Alex called him a narcissist. Okay, he was, maybe. He adored himself, and all his life, all he cared about was himself, he lived alone, he had no family, no friends, except for Hamiltons, so it was natural to grow into a narcissist.

His vision blurred, and he took up his glasses from the dressing table in front of the mirror. He had exactly ten pairs of glasses. What, was it crazy? He shook his head, not at all. He didn't have much optical power, just minus zero point seven-five, and he could see without glasses, but not that clearly, of course. Moreover, his job required him to stare back at computer screens too much, and all his glasses were anti-reflective and UV-protected, which didn't let the blue light of electronics and harmful UV rays to enter into his retina. He wore his white sneakers and took the suitcase out, looking his room.