Risk Taker [Englot]

Chapter 4

The ride from the airport to the hotel was really quiet apart from a few gasps as we saw New York unveil itself in front of our eyes. The shuttle let us in front of our hotel near Time Square. I was so amazed to see this place for real. As I went out of the vehicle I took a deep breath, letting the cold winter air go through my lungs.

"I can't believe we're in New York... I always wanted to come here but never got the opportunity." I said, still smiling while looking at our hotel entrance.

I turned towards Charlotte, her eyes were so focused on the building. I kept gazing at her but she wouldn't turn her head nor talk to me. Her cheeks were red... maybe because of the cold. I went inside the building and heard her following me. We got to the counter and I checked us in, speaking English with the staff. I gave her key card to Charlotte but she seemed really tensed up and still red. When she reached for the card I didn't let go to tease her and get her to smile.

"I did good, right!?" I said, looking in her eyes.

They went from left to right a few times, like she was panicking and then she closed them, breathing weirdly. I knew she could have episodes of panic attack... or something like that. I didn't want to put her under any more pressure so I offered her to go to the elevator. The doors were closing when she finally looked at me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't apologize for sleeping on your shoulder earlier." she said, bowing her head down.

"That's ok, Charlotte." I replied, surprised by her behavior.

"No, it's not okay. You're my boss. That's not appropriate. I should have..."

Oh no, she was rambling in such a cute way. I needed to stop her.

"Charlotte! To be really honest, I woke up 10 minutes before you and I was... sleeping on your head, so..." I said making a weird guilty face.

"Oh... ok."

"I was afraid I had crushed you in my sleep but when I saw that you were ok and peaceful I decided to let you sleep some more."

"Thank you." she said, bowing again when the elevator reached the 7th floor.

I let her go out before me and followed her in the hallway. So this was what it was all about... The dream in the plane... Maybe it wasn't the cold who got her cheeks red after all... Should I check and see if she was really dreaming about me? Where should I cross the line between being a good manager and wanting to know if the tension I felt was real or not?

"You're quite talkative when you sleep, you know." I tried, still walking behind her.

She stopped so suddenly I almost tripped on her suitcase. But she didn't turn around, her body going all rigid. I hoped I wasn't causing her to have a panic attack right now... I just wanted to see how she would react...

"What... what did I say?" she asked, her voice kind of trembling.

Ah gotcha! This was making her nervous, so maybe I wasn't that delusional after all. But I couldn't have this talk with her now... in the hallway... I should let her live for tonight and think about the possibilities and the risks if I wanted to know more about why she was having... what sounded like... a sexy time with me in her head.

"You said... Oh! There's your room! And mine!"

I went past her, towards my room, opened my door then closed it, turning to Charlotte. Maybe I could test one more little thing...

"I should give you my personal phone number, since Sun put my other phone in the aquarium... so we can text each other tomorrow morning and get down together for breakfast?"

"Oh, right."

I looked at her take her phone out of her pocket and type my number. My own phone started vibrating a few seconds later.

"Here, now you have my personal number too." she said, smiling shyly.

My heart skipped a bit. She gave me her personal number... I just wanted to see if she would be triggered by me giving her mine... I wasn't expecting that... Wow... I could feel the smile creeping on my face and she was kind of... smirking? I was sure now that Charlotte could also feel the tension between us. Her eyes were so expressive... She was probably testing the waters too. I didn't want this moment to end... but I also didn't want my knees to get weak so...

"I'm gonna send our presentation to Nawat, he will probably approve it by tomorrow." I said, then wished her good night and disappeared into my room.

I put my suitcase down and took a deep breath. Charlotte was definitely making me overthink right now. I needed to put some focus back inside my crazy brain, so I retrieved my laptop from my bag and sent our presentation to Nawat. I stretched a little bit, my back and neck still felt sore from sitting for too long in the plane... Maybe a shower could help me relax before going back to bed. As I got under the hot water, thoughts of Charlotte moaning in her sleep made their way into my mind... My body reacted and tried to tempt me, but touching myself while thinking about her was a line that I wasn't ready to cross yet...

I got out of the shower, put on a large tshirt and got into bed. I took my phone and texted Apo, Dolly and my sister to tell them that I was safe and sound in my hotel room. Then my fingers started acting on their own, texting her...

E🥭 : Goodnight Charlotte. Thanks for holding my hand on the plane. Don't go to sleep too late or you'll be jet lagged tomorrow.

After all, it was ok to thank her for her help and make sure she would take care of herself to be able to handle the first day at MOMA... right? Yeah, nothing more. I breathed deeply and relaxed under the blanket.

The sounds of the city woke me up. I looked at my phone and saw a bunch of texts.

A🏍️ : Good!
A🏍️ : The kids say hi!

D🍒 : Ah! I was starting to worry!
D🍒 : Love you, na!

D👕: That's good but all I care about is going to pick up my favorite boys later...
D👕: Don't worry we're not gonna go get ice cream
D👕: I was more thinking about cake 🍰

C🐰 : Sweet dreams.

I decided to reply to all of them later and went on the floor to stretch and do some core exercises. Why? Ssssh brain... An hour or so later, I was out of the shower and ready for the day. I went down hoping to find a good spot in the breakfast room to have some coffee while I went through emails. I took some time to inform Charlotte that I was up and ready, trying not to sound too needy...

E🥭 : Good morning Charlotte. I'm going downstairs early to the breakfast room. I'll save us a table and I'll work a bit waiting for you. Don't rush though!

I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat in a cute corner of the hall. I answered the texts from Apo and the girls. I took some time to text Nudee too. She was in London right now.

E🥭 : I'm in New York! The city looks so cool!

As per usual she wrote back almost right away.

N🌼 : Already?! Send me pictures, please!
N🌼 : Are you sharing the room with Charlotte? 🫣

I needed a good comeback... She usually liked when I was getting crazy, telling her things that weren't really happening... I was debating with myself, torn between saying "Yeah, thanks to jetlag we barely slept and I played her like a guitar all night long" or "No but I made a copy of her key card so I'm gonna surprise her later by breaking into her room". What a creep... I was thinking that I should maybe stop being like that when I got a text from Charlotte.

C🐰 : Good morning. I'll be there in 30.

Yes... Better stop being crazy. Nudee was bringing my bad side to the surface way too easily. I sent her a picture of my laptop and coffee mug, knowing she was going to scold me or at least telling me that I was a workaholic... probably in a less formal way... I was writing to HR about my dead phone when I saw Miss Austin come into the room. She was glowing, making the room fade away around her. I stood up from my chair like it was burning my ass and greeted her. We went together to the buffet and I danced a little in front of the endless meals and snacks. We ate and checked what we were going to do at MOMA today. I went through a few more emails while eyeing Charlotte over my laptop from time to time. It seemed like she was getting red and uneasy. I hoped she wasn't getting sick...

"Are you ok, Charlotte?"

"I..."

"You're quite red. Did you catch a cold on the plane? That damn AC..." I said, putting my hand over her forehead like I would have done with Sun.

She got even redder... This was not giving fever... this was giving shyness! Was I making her uneasy? What did I do? Why was she touching her chest like that? What should I do?

"Mmm... you're warm but I don't think you have a fever. Are you having an anxiety attack?"

"I... I don't know... I don't think so."

"Maybe some fresh air would be good. Let's get out! We're not that far away from the museum, we have time to walk there and do some light sightseeing on our way. What do you say?" I offered, smiling gently, burying my own emotions deep down and hoping this would save the both of us.

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Hi everyone! Two chapters in two days! You're not dreaming!
Hope you still find the story entertaining...
Kisses! 😘