Forbidden Passion (Alan Rickman FF) ENGLISH VERSION

Chapter 8

Rosalyn wondered if Alan was telling the truth at all, or if he was really offended because she had spoken badly about his wife. But no matter what the real reason was, she would probably never know. Stubbornly she put the bag aside, she didn't want to eat any of those croissants either. Let them rot, she reasoned sullenly. Even better, she would slam them on his doorstep, along with his keys and the damn letter she had forgotten about in the escalating situation. The longer she thought about what had happened, the more she realized how quickly he had given up. He probably didn't want her to come back for work at all, or he would have made more of an effort, wouldn't he? With Alan's belongings still with her, her mind was made up. She would go to him now and hand everything over to him so she could have her peace.

Rosalyn was sitting in the bus by now. Actually, the situation was extremely ridiculous and she was acting childishly. Hopefully he was at least at home, because she didn't really want to meet the old dragon. Finally, the bus had arrived at the right stop. Impatiently, she got off, her steps quicker than usual as she wanted to get rid of the stuff as soon as possible. At least she had the key from him, she had to get rid of it now, after all she wouldn't need it anymore. Without making herself noticeable, she went into his house as usual. Actually, her action was out of order, but now it was too late to turn back anyway. She hoped that he was in the office, otherwise it could become quite unpleasant. Rosalyn didn't want to take off her shoes, so she brushed them off several times on a doormat so that she wouldn't bring in too much snow. When she opened the office door, Alan was just standing in front of the desk, rummaging around in the paper tray. He looked a little lost, but when he noticed her, his gaze hardened. "What are you doing here?" he asked her unkindly.

"What am I doing here? I accidentally took a letter from you, I'll bring it back to you. You can have your lousy croissants back, I'm not eating them, and before I forget, you'll get your front door key back, too!" she shouted angrily at him. The pent-up frustration that had built up over time was now releasing. All together she threw it on his desk, the heavy pendant of the key making a loud noise that hung admonishingly in the room and underlined the delicate situation.

Alan, in a quick reaction, stepped right in front of Rosalyn and grabbed her coat collar with both hands. "You are impudent and insolent," he growled, his brown eyes seeming to spark.

Surprised by his fast action, she lost her balance and fell against his chest, but she steadied herself again. "Oh, leave me alone, I can be whatever I want," she hissed toward Alan, glaring at him just as angrily. She was so inappropriately close to him that she could smell his sensual perfume.

"We have known each other for a long time," he murmured to her, "but today you are a mystery to me. You've never been like this to me, why now?" he asked, looking at her lips that looked so inviting. His hormones began to go crazy around her and he would have loved to kiss her pert mouth. "Rosalyn, you owe me an answer," he gave out demandingly, swallowing hard. His gaze slid over her attractive face.

The distance between them was so small, she would have preferred to approach Alan completely. "I still think it's better if we don't see each other anymore," she insisted, continuing to lose herself in his eyes.

"Explain it to me finally!" he said gruffly to her, "I want to know right now why you're throwing away our long working relationship. Rosalyn, don't get me wrong, but if you don't want me anymore, I'm not running after you, but I'd be sorry if we stopped working together."

Disappointed, she listened to Alan's words. Of course he wouldn't run after her, that had been clear from the beginning, otherwise he wouldn't have run away from her home right away. "I don't know, maybe we can try your suggestion and I'll work for you from my apartment, maybe that would be better for everyone involved," she said meekly now, trying to get away from him, but he was still holding her coat collar.

"I would do anything for you," it slipped out of him, which he immediately regretted, after all, he had now made himself vulnerable. "I've already spoken to my manager today, I'll be that honest with you. After all, after our conversation, I figured the working relationship wasn't going to work out between us anyway."

Wasn't going to work out between us anyway, Rosalyn thought sarcastically. Where there is nothing, nothing can happen, she thought bitterly. She would have loved to kiss him; all she had to do was lean forward to reach his lips. "I've taken a leave of absence until the weekend. I think it would be best if you look at the new assistant and then decide how you want things to be in the future. On Monday, before I have my appointment at the agency, we could talk on the phone and you let me know how you feel about it. I'd better go now," she said to him and took a big step back, so he finally had to let go of her coat.

Alan reluctantly let go of her coat collar, immediately aware of the loss of her closeness. "Sounds reasonable," was all he said in response, and sat down on the edge of the desk. Without him noticing, his assistant was gone. Why did this agreement bother him? She had always been his haven of peace; he was glad when he saw her after a tiring day and could at least exchange a few words with her. He could not allow her to disappear from his life completely. As he thought about his thoughts, he realized that he felt more for her than he had realized until now.

In the meantime, Rosalyn had arrived home. Completely exhausted, she ran her fingers through her hair and thought about what had happened today. Why hadn't she refused right away, now everything was open again. But she hadn't been able to do it, she knew exactly that she needed the actor near her.