The Chauffeur [Complete]

Chapter 13

Celeste's POV
Rade and I weren't talking. Well, I wasn't talking to him, and he hadn't put up much of a fight about it. I wished his hurtful words didn't get to me. But they had.

My job isn't to make friends. My job is to take you wherever you and your daughter need to go. And to get you there safely.

That's what he had told me. At first, I thought he was a grump who only knew how to answer with vague, one word responses. But it turns out that he's a grump who only knew how to answer with vague, one word responses and just doesn't like me.

I don't want or need friends.

I could still hear the harshness of his words and see the hard, uninterested expression he gave me through the rear-view mirror.

I didn't attempt to start up a conversation or even greet him anymore. I didn't so much as crack a smile whenever he came to pick me and Everly up. I simply gave him what he wanted. Which was a client. And nothing more.

So when he came by my place, I didn't invite him inside like I had before. I let him sit out in the heat. Only friends are allowed in my house.

I was seated on the couch with a book in my hand. I was halfway through the romance novel as I didn't have many plans today.

I'd just finished another chapter, my day consisting of nothing more than my interest in the love story between the two characters in my book. In the midst of starting the next chapter, I couldn't stop thinking about Rade.

It's been a few hours, and as much as I've tried to focus on reading, I can't. At least not as long as I would have liked. I slid my bookmark into the book before closing it and getting up.

I left the book on the couch as I stealthily made my way into the foyer to look out the window. Rade was exactly where I thought he'd be. Jacket-less, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and his attention trained on the machinery under the hood of the car.

He's always doing routine checks like he's expecting something to be out of order. It seemed like a bore. I'm sure there were far more interesting things he could be doing with his free time. 

Though I suppose it is his job to make sure the vehicle is in mint condition at all times. God forbid it break down in the middle of nowhere or a bomb blows it up.

I was still staring out the window, watching him work while the sun beat down on him as I couldn't look away. Even under the sun's heat, he looked beautiful.

I squealed when my phone started ringing. Loudly. His head shot in my direction and I ducked my head.

Oh, shit. He totally saw me. It's like he has fucking super hearing.

My heart pounding in my chest, I crawled away from the window before taking off back to the living room. Seeing that it was Andi who had called me, I answered the phone.

"Hey, boo. Why are you breathing so hard?"

"I just ran up a flight of stairs," I lied quickly. "What's up?"

"Oh, okay. Well, I was wondering if I could pick up Everly from school? Zoe wants to have another sleepover. Is that okay with you? I know it's a school night."

"No, it's perfectly fine."

Sam has his office party tonight. So having Everly spend the night at Andi's saves me the trouble of having to find a babysitter. Especially because I was going to ask Andi anyway.

"Okay. So, how's your hot Chauffeur? Are you two still not talking?"

After Rade had basically told me that he didn't want anything to do with me, and that friendship wasn't an option for us, I called Andi that day and told her what happened.