The Contract; A Billionaire Romance (18+)

FIVE

Aden

We walk side by side down the street, dodging other employees who are out enjoying their lunches in the sun. They smile at me, and I politely return the gesture, but inside, I wish they would all just disappear.

Especially the men from Sales who act as if they have never seen a woman before as Odessa walks past, oblivious to their ogling.

We walk a short distance and near a small taco stand run by a family that I frequent for my lunches. I mostly had Ben deliver the food to my office for me, but this is just as good, if not better.

"Tacos?" She gives me a look that almost tells me she doesn't want any. "We don't have to get Mexican food, there's plenty of options—"

"No, I love tacos," she says quickly, smiling up at me.

This woman is an enigma.

"If you say so." I turn toward the woman patiently waiting for our orders and I smile. "Can I have four chicken tacos, please? With a side of rice and beans." The lady taking my order nods and then turns her attention to Odessa.

"Uh...I'll just have, um, two carne asada tacos," she says, her smile wavering as if she's unsure of herself.

"Two? That's it?" I give her a look. "You need to eat more than that. Make it four as well for her." Odessa gives me a pointed glare, but my expression silences her. "If you don't finish them, then you can take them home for leftovers," I explain as I hand the lady a fifty and tell her to keep the change. Odessa's eyes widen slightly at that but doesn't say a word.

"I guess." She mutters.

We grab a seat at a table close by and she dons sunglasses she pulled from her purse, then sweeps her hair off her shoulders to expose her chest. I spot a small line of a tattoo snaking up between her breasts but rip my eyes from it before I wonder if I'll ever see the rest of it. She slips off her sweater and drapes it over the armrest of her chair and scowls toward the sun. "I feel like I'm going to get a sunburn. I'm nearly translucent, so it'll probably do me some good."

"Your skin is beautiful," I say the words before I can bite them back. Fuck. That should not have come from my mouth. I glance around us to make sure no other employees heard that before speaking. "You can call HR for that one. Sorry, that wasn't appropriate."

"It's all right," she says with a small smile. "I appreciate it. I was thinking you now viewed me as a troll, in all honesty." I scoff because there is never a time that I could believe that this dark angel sitting in front of me could be a troll. "I try to embrace my pale skin, but I feel like it makes me look ghostly against my black hair."

"Is the hair natural?"

"Are you asking if the carpet matches the drapes?" I choke slightly and let out a rough cough, smacking my chest slightly before gawking at her.

"Jesus, no, Odessa. I'm not—"

"I'm fucking with you, Aden. Please don't have a heart attack on me." She reaches forward with a laugh and grabs my bicep as a friendly gesture, but her fingers squeeze slightly. She looks at my arm, then rips her hand from me as if I had burned her and clears her throat. "No, it's not natural. I have ten-dollar box dye to thank for this."

"What is your natural color?"

"I would say like your color, just brown. I got it from my dad, and so I changed it."