The Billionaire's Assistant

Chapter 43

By the time Kat noticed she was yawning it had been dark for several hours, a fact both of them had ignored while they'd talked. The conversation had become much less of an interview for Jove than it was for the both of them, and he pried the answer for each question she asked him from her, turning it on her and sharing till she felt comfortable to.

She watched Jove yawn, just a few seconds after she had. He was so handsome, so unbelievably alluring. She'd been sitting with him all day, growing more and more comfortable with his teasing flirtatiousness and mesmerizing gaze, but she still couldn't get used to his face, its angles and artful structure. She'd never seen anyone that looked like him before, never had such a feeling of appreciation for stark beauty when she wasn't outside or in a museum.

They'd more or less made it through the exploratory questions she had planned for his speech, but she realized that she would need much more, that she had elucidated almost nothing about his plans for growth going forward and the other topics the speech was expected to cover.

"We didn't finish, did we," Jove said as if reading her mind.

Kat shook her head.

"It's not my fault," Jove said with a tired laugh. "You're distracting."

Kat flushed lightly and tried to brush past the comment. "What time is it?" she asked.

Jove lifted his slim, black banded gold wrist watch. "Oh shit," he said. "It's 11:48."

Kat sat up with a start, pushing back the Veggie-Edgys pizza they'd gotten delivered for dinner.

(Benoit wont do a vegan pizza, Jove had explained. His dad is Italian, he'd probably rather light my kitchen on fire.)

"11:00?" She repeated, frantic. "Oh, I have to go, I gotta go right now."

For the first time since she'd seen Jove that day, memories of what she should've been doing began to flood back to her. She was supposed to talk to Courtney today, she was supposed to steal the badge. She'd been gone for so long and hadn't contacted any of them, hadn't even used their emergency method of calling Rises and leaving a message so that if a group member was missing they could be more easily found.

They have to be worried sick, she thought, her heart dropping to her stomach.

Kat snapped the laptop shut and stood quickly, feeling the pinpricks of pins and needles shoot down her sleeping left leg. She grabbed her bag as Jove stood as well, turning and heading back to his desk.

"All right Cinderella, hold on." he said, chuckling at her urgency. "Clock hasn't struck midnight yet. I'll drive you home."

He grabbed his cell phone then headed towards his private elevator's entrance, once again not looking back to see if she was following him.

She considered for a split second then followed him, telling herself that it was safer than walking home at this hour. It was safer, she was correct, but she knew that wasn't the reason her decision was made so quickly.

Jove pressed the button and they entered the elevator, the space somehow seeming more intimate than the first time they'd stepped in it together.

He was looking down at her, that unreadable expression in his eye, but she was meeting his gaze, her growing ease with him allowing her a chance to better identify the kinds of thoughts he was thinking. A slow smile spread across his face.

"Did we get some good stuff?" he asked.

Kat nodded, her ease still not practiced enough to look him in the eye and speak at the same time.

"I don't know," Jove said lightly, finally turning from her as the elevator doors dinged open. "Was it enough?"

Kat opened her mouth, but before she could answer Jove was gesturing to the collection of cars in front of her.

"Pick," he instructed.

Kat bit her lip, turning in a circle to survey the cars more closely.

"That one," she said confidently, pointing to the most nondescript black car she could find. It was a four door sleek black car with a raised logo that she didn't recognize and an interlocking, grill-like pattern on its front. The door's front and back handles met in the middle, but otherwise the car looked fairly plain to Kat, bulky even. She wanted his least expensive car, she didn't want to be driven home and potentially seen in another flashy, million dollar ride.

Jove laughed. "God, I feel bad for your boyfriend," he said, heading over to the car she'd pointed out.

"I don't have a boyfriend," Kat rushed out quickly, an instant pang of guilt shooting through her as the image of Jack's face crossed her mind. "I don't." She frowned. "We really need to go."

"Well come on then," said Jove, already sliding into the car's seat.

Kat crossed to the car as he started it, opened the door, and sat, still frowning.

He looked at her, bemused.

"Seatbelt," he reminded, and she glowered at him and clicked it pointedly.

They exited the garage in silence, and as they slipped into the dark, emptying streets in the surprisingly quiet car, he caught her eye in the rearview mirror.

"What's wrong?" he asked, the bemused expression still on his face.

"Nothing, I'm just late, that's all," she responded tersely. "Nothing's wrong."

"Well, I'm sorry for making you late, Kat."

She softened.

"We'll have to keep better track of time tomorrow," he continued.

"Tomorrow?" she asked.

"We're not done, are we? We have way more to write."

"Yea," Kat acknowledged truthfully, trying to ignore the excitement rising in her chest at the prospect of spending another day with him.

"Then I'll see you first thing tomorrow," he said, eyes now focused on the road. "I'm looking forward to it."

Kat blushed and smiled, turning from him in the hopes that he wouldn't see.