Love's Contract

Chapter 4: Christian

"Are you fucking kidding me? How did you lose my files?" I started losing my patience with Marjorie.

"I'm so incredibly sorry, Mr. Karev. I really don't know what happened." She says.

"Just fix this." She nodded and closed the door on her way out of my office.

A few moments later, I get a call. I pick up the phone. "Sir, Miss. Thompson from the New York Writer is here."

"Yes."

I put down the phone and suddenly, a woman opens the door. I turn my chair around to face her. Shit, it's that woman from the bar. Her eyes widen as she sees me and she instantly becomes nervous.

"Hi, um, I was trying to tell that woman by the desk out there. I'm not Kate Thompson. She's my colleague at work and I'm just filling in for her because she had a last minute emergency." She walks over to the chair in front of my desk and puts out her hand. "I'm Charlotte. Charlotte White, but everyone calls me Charlie," I reach out my hand, shaking hers. God, there's something about her. She breaks the eye contact, putting her hand by her side and takes a seat.

I button the very top of my suit, "We can start."

She pulls out a paper from her book, opening it up. She turns on the recorder and starts to touch her pockets like she's trying to find something. "Um, can I borrow a pen? I think I forgot mine's at home." I stare at her for a few seconds and then reach into my drawer, where everything's neatly organized. I hand her the pen and when she grabs it, her hand lingers on mine for a few seconds.

She pulls back her hand with the pen as she clears her throat. "Ok, um, here," she skims the paper, "How did you start your company?"

I maintain eye contact with her which clearly made her nervous, "I started it from scratch with my brother, Alex. He mainly helps me in small areas but I do the big and important things."

She finishes up writing in her notebook and looks back at the paper with the questions. "What do you do exactly? Sorry what is your company mainly based in?"

"My company isn't involved in only one thing, we deal in telecommunications, agriculture, finance, and business ventures."

She scribbles something into her notebook, skimming the paper again. "Sorry, there's not a lot of" she looks up at me, "good questions."

I get up and walk to the front of the desk, buttoning my jacket, and leaning on the desk with my back. "Ready when you are."

Her leg starts to softly shake, as she turns over the paper. She looks at the paper and then up at me, "Have you ever fallen in love?" she immediately looks startled and looks down at the paper, "Sorry, that was just in the paper, Kate can be a little"

"Intrusive?"

She looks at me, slightly nodding, "Well, yeah." She puts the pen slightly in her mouth, biting it. Shit, my erection is killing me.

"And to answer your question, no, I've never fallen in love"

"Really?"

"Yup, never had time for relationships." I say as I walk to the chair next to her, sitting down.

"You say that in the past-tense, does that mean you have more time now?" She looks up.

"I don't do relationships."

She clears her throat, "Next question, oh, you donate over 200k a year to non-profit organizations. What type of organizations do you donate to?"

I clear my throat, "I donate to a foster kid organizations."

She raises her eyebrows, "Is that something you're passionate about?"

I smile slightly, "Yes."

"You're the youngest billionaire in New York and you're young to have created such a giant empire."

"Do you have anymore questions for me or not?"

"Oh, yeah, no sorry." She looks over the page, "Where do you see yourself in ten years?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes." She looks up at me.

I clear my throat, "Running my business."

"When do you see yourself retiring?"

"Not anytime soon."

She flips the page, "That's it."

I stare at her a bit, "Do you want to grab coffee?"

She looks up like she's caught off guard, "W-what? Right now?"

"Yes. Why? Do you have something to do today?"

"Um, no," She fidgets with her necklace, "Sure, I guess."

I get up, straightening my jacket. I offer my hand. She grabs it, standing up. She turns off her recorder and hands me the pen. "Keep it. I have plenty." She puts it in her notebook and puts her recorder and notebook into her pocket. I open the door for her, putting my left hand on her back. We walk up to my assistants desk, "Majorie, cancel all my meetings today."

"Yes, sir." She nods.

I press the button on the elevator to go down and it finally opens. I press lobby, putting my hands into my pockets.

"So what do you do in your free time?" She asks.

I turn my head to the right to see her. "I never have free time. How about you?"

"Oh, I'm taking an English lit class currently."

"Really?" She nods as I turn my head to face her, "Who's your favorite author?"

"Probably be Janes Austen."

The elevator dings, opening us to the ground floor of the building. I put my hand on her back, leading her to my car. I nod at Sawyer, my driver/security guard who's in front of my car, leaning on it. "Sawyer, take us to the cafe."