The Shadows of His Heart

Chapter Five

Aurora had been at her job for two months now. She had become very proficient with her work; she got everything done quickly and efficiently, and since she was also a bit of a perfectionist, all her tasks were completed with no flaws.

It was slowly creeping from fall to winter; the air was getting a bit cooler as time passed, and what few plants there were outside were beginning to turn brown and dry without the warmth of the summer sun and the showers of the hotter season.

Aurora gathered her things for the day. She always packed a quick lunch to eat at the office; not once had she ever went out for her meal at noon. She didn't know the busy city well enough to go off on her own for lunch without getting lost in the crowded streets.

She still wasn't used to living in a place like this. Her home in North Carolina had been in a small town, where the friendly people knew everyone and the buildings were few and far between. New York was the exact opposite, and sometimes the expanse of businesses and stores overwhelmed her.

Aurora shouldered her small purse and checked her outfit once again in the mirror. She had decided to wear a deep blue, button-up blouse topped with a black suit jacket that was cut off a bit above her waist. She also wore a striped grey and royal blue skirt to match, with a pair of buckled heels.

She normally never wore heels, but she had slowly started to fall in love with Leo Holloway and wanted to impress him. She doubted she would, though -- she had always thought her long, dark hair was too plain and her skin was too pale. Her figure was curvy, but not outrageously so.

Leo, on the other hand, was a God among men. Each day, she paid more attention to him, being as subtle as she could with her glances of admiration. She loved how his broad shoulders forced the expensive fabric of his suit jacket to be taught with the pressure of his muscles. His clothes always fit him perfectly; each piece of clothing fell against his chiseled, muscular figure in the perfect way.

She found herself listening to his soft, masculine, authoritative voice through the office walls. It made her shudder just thinking of the deep, rumbling tone that he greeted her with in the mornings and spoke to her with throughout the day.

She also knew that she wasn't the only woman who wanted his attention. Everywhere Leo went, he commanded a sense of confidence and dominance; the females that were anywhere near him all gave him bedroom eyes and tried their best reel him in with their flirtatious advances. But, he never paid attention to these desperate women, and for that, Aurora was immensely grateful.

Mr. Holloway had took the liberty of asking Aurora to do more things for him as she got comfortable with the job, and she didn't mind one bit. She would use any excuse she could to be with him, and unbeknownst to her, he was doing the same.

Leo would call his assistant in for trivial tasks, just to have her beautiful figure grace his dull office. He loved her, and he knew it, but he couldn't tell her. He didn't want her to quit, nor did he want to make things complicated for her... so he continued to cover up his feelings and spend time with her any way possible.

Aurora walked out of her tiny apartment with her own coffee in hand, her mind clouded with thoughts of her boss. It was getting harder for her each day not to burst through his office door, run into his arms, and confess her love for him...

She sighed gently, starting up her old car and waiting for it to rumble to life. With some sputtering, it eventually sprung to life and she immediately turned the heater on. After a few minutes, the warmth began to spread through her car's interior and thaw out her stiff limbs.

She pulled into the parking deck and parked her car into its normal spot right by Leo's gleaming black Ferrari. Compared to this beauty, her car was like a stray mutt sitting alongside a top-class, purebred German Shepherd.

She didn't know at first whose car it was, but found out later on when she began staying after late into the evenings to help Leo. She was embarrassed at her car's physical state, but didn't have the money to get a new one yet. Her bank account was still slowly trying to crawl back up to where it was before she moved.

But since she had parked there her first day, she decided to just continue parking there, despite their obvious financial differences.

Aurora made her way into the building, put her things away, and went straight to make Leo his black coffee. She brought it back to him in his large, silver mug, gently pushing open his door and placing it on his desk as he finished up a phone call.

His fiery golden eyes lit up at the sight of his assistant and he grinned, leaning back in his chair.

"Good morning, Miss Williams. I just finished talking to Mr. Sparks over at Worscythe Headquarters. He wants to have a meeting concerning our latest electronic product, and I'd like for you to accompany me." He stopped, silently calculating her response.

She felt her heart skip a beat at this simple request, and hurriedly covered it up with a polite smile. "Yes, Mr. Holloway. I'll bring my laptop in case you need me to take notes."

Aurora had swiftly disappeared into her office to steady herself, silently chastising her shaky hands for almost betraying her.

'He only invited me to a meeting... It's not like it's a date or something. Get a grip!' She thought irritatedly to herself, picking up her laptop and placing it into her bag.

She wondered why Mr. Holloway had suddenly decided to take her along with him; he normally went on business calls alone. Her thoughts were interrupted by her boss's sexy, sonorous voice calling her name.

"Miss Williams? Are you ready? I assumed we'd just take my car; it would be easiest."

Aurora gulped softly to herself at the idea of being alone with Leo in his expensive sports car.

"Yes, sir! Coming!" She scampered out of her office with her bag, meeting Leo by the elevator. Her eyes dragged over his form-fitting, navy suit that looked like it costed more than her bank account has to offer times ten.

Her heart sped up slightly at how the crisp, light grey shirt that adorned his torso revealed just how hard the buttons had to try not to burst from the packed muscles lingering underneath.

Breathing deeply, she entered the elevator before her boss, as he insisted. Leo's smouldering eyes caressed over her curves as she had her back to him; it took everything in his power not to pull her into his arms and kiss her plump lips right then and there.

Tugging lightly at his black tie, he slipped his hands into the pockets of his pants as the elevator slowly took the two down into the lobby. Leading the way out to his car, Leo walked ahead of his assistant, pressing a button on his key fob so that the beautiful machine purred to life. He stepped aside as he opened the door for Aurora, watching her loose, curly hair bounce and shine in the sunlight that peeked through the parking deck. God, how he wanted to slide his fingers through her long, luscious hair...

He pushed the thought away as best he could and shut the door for his assistant, getting into the driver's seat.

Aurora chewed on her bottom lip absently at Leo's thoughtful gesture, trying her best not to think too much into it. 'He was just being polite.' She thought to herself.

She realized just how much this car fit Leo. They were both dark, beautiful, powerful... out of reach to someone like her.

Feeling Leo shift the car into reverse, her misty eyes flickered over to him as he drove them skillfully to their destination.