Chapter 11

The next morning's breakfast was very informal compared with last night's dinner. Mr and Mrs Carlton had come in briefly, wished us goodbye, and left.

The cook had gone all out again, though. Half the table was full with plates piled up with pancakes with different kinds of syrup to choose from. And there was toast and omelets and croissants, cinnamon roles.... My eyes grew wide, eyeing all the dishes.

"This is all for Liam's benefit," I heard a deep voice next to me say quietly. I felt tingles where his hot breath touched my ear, and I stopped my hand from instinctively reaching up to it.

Liam's face split into a big grin, immediately sitting down to enjoy his breakfast. He filled his plate with piles of food as I watched in horror and started eating.

"Mmm...the food is delicious! The cook is my new best friend.." He announced, making Mr Carlton chuckle at him.

I watched them as they interacted with each other, amazed at how gentle and affectionately, Mr. Carlton spoke to Liam. Liam, too, seemed to have warmed up to him as soon as he had met him, having forgotten his earlier doubts about him having ulterior motives.

I hadn't seen this side from either of them ever, and I felt worried thinking Liam could get too attached to Mr. Carlton, as he had never gotten any kind of affection from a male adult before. He would have obviously craved for it all his life, and I hope he won't start getting his hopes up with Mr. Carlton. I will have to speak to him later about this.

"Are you ready to leave Ashley?" Mr. Carlton spoke, interrupting my train of thoughts.

"Yes, Mr Carlton." I said, getting up quickly from my seat.

"How come mom gets to go to office while I have to stay here skipping school?" Liam asked, looking sad again. I instantly felt guilty, and wanting to comfort him, I opened my mouth. But Mr. Carlton beat me to it.

"Soon Liam, I'm trying my best. You will get to go to school very soon. And as for your mom, she will be under my watch." he said. I felt the odd tingling again, hearing him say that even though I knew he meant it completely innocently. He is way out of my league for goodness sakes, and even if he was interested, I am a complete mess. Stop getting ideas in your head! I scolded myself.

"You promise you will keep her safe?" Liam asked, showing a bit of his vulnerable side.

"I promise I will protect her with my life, don't worry about her, ok?" Mr. Carlton assured him with a smile. He stood up, going to Liam and ruffling his hair fondly. "I won't let anything happen to your mom." He said before he picked up his bag and started walking out.

Awwwn, Mr. Carlton is so sweet! Get a grip woman! My brain warned me.

"You coming, Ashley?" He asked, turning around to look at me when I didn't follow.

"Coming!" I snapped out of my reverie, grabbing my own bag and running around to where Liam sat, giving him a quick kiss on his head and a hug before I ran to catch up with Mr. Carlton.

As I reached him, he gave me a weird look, raising his brows at me.

For the love of God, Ashley! I was blushing furiously cause I knew he just caught me giving googoo eyes at him.

Cut it out already. He is your boss and he hates it when people who work for him fall for him. Do you want to get fired? You would not just be jobless then, but you would be in the prison that David puts you in!

Also, aren't you supposed to be a thirty five year old grown assed woman? Quit acting like a school girl!

And one more thing! You have nothing to offer him. You got no looks, no confidence, and did you forget what David said when he divorced you? You are boring in bed. So just stay in your limits and focus on what's important. Your son's safety and his future.

After the thorough talking to, I walked behind him with a newfound determination and hopefully a stronger willpower.

But as he reached his car and opened the door for me, I wished so much that he wouldn't make it so hard for me to resist him. I liked the cold and silent Mr. Carlton, so much better. The one who called me Miss Sanders and treated me like I was invisible.

He was good. He did not make my heart flutter every time I heard his voice. He made me nervous instead. And he most certainly never made me feel like I was cucooned in a protective shell with just the way he looked at me. With that gentleness and reassurance. I felt like I was tiptoeing on a very dangerous lane where any minute now, I could trip and fall into a lake of heartbreak.

"Ashley, what's on your mind?" Mr. Carlton asked me. I was deep in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed that the car was now speeding its way towards the highway, and Mr. Carlton was already at work, with his laptop open on his lap.

I tried not to stare. I knew that even though he was looking at his laptop, he would still notice. He noticed me being silent, didn't he. So I turned my eyes away from him before I answered.

"Nothing, Mr. Carlton."

"I remember asking you not to call me that at home. If you must call me that, then do so at work." He said.

"We are not at home, Mr. Carlton, and you have already started working, so technically, we are at work now." I replied to him cheekily. Where I got the guts to do so, I have no idea, but I was thoroughly enjoying his stunned look. Wonder what happened to my determination to stay within my limits.

"I see." He said, slowly closing his laptop. His eyes were flicking with lots of emotions, but none of them looked threatening, so I couldn't help give him a sheepish grin. To my surprise, he grinned back.

"Very smart observation, Ms Sanders." He said in a quiet voice, his eyes captured mine in a heated stare. I felt my smile slipping away at the intensity of it.

What's happening? I thought, suddenly feeling nervous. The car suddenly felt really small, and the distance between us was not far enough. What was I thinking teasing a man, I had been afraid to look in the eyes of, two days ago?

"Well, I'm not working now. And we are not at the office yet. You want to try calling me Mr. Carlton again?"

I was about to shake my head no, but then I saw the car stop right in front of our office building, and again, I couldn't stop the mischief that instantly came back to me. Seriously, what's wrong with me? I gave him a mischievous grin, nodding towards the window.

Surprised, he looked behind him and gave out a sigh. "Fine, you win this time, but I better not hear you call me that at home, alright? That's my home, where I go to relax and de-stress, I don't want to feel like I'm at work there too." He explained to me with a frown.

I instantly sobered, understanding how he must feel taking people from work, home. And because of us, he already had to live in his parents' house. I don't understand why he is staying with us there, but he is, so I didn't want to increase his discomfort by being formal at home. So I gave him a nod, to which he gave a curt nod. I guess his business mode had been switched on because he had the familiar stern look on his face right now. He got off the car, and I quickly followed him.

There were lots of people going in the office, and they were all giving me weird stares. I felt really uncomfortable under their scrutiny. I wished I had ridden the bus this morning instead of coming to work with Mr. Carlton. I was afraid of the gossip that this could start.

I hurried as fast as I could towards the elevator, while Mr. Carlton made his way towards the executives' one.

But then I froze as I heard him call my name. I saw more people staring at us, whispering at each other. Seriously, what's the big deal, I'm his secretary. Was it illegal for us to speak before we clock in or something?

I turned to him with a questioning look, to which he replied.

"Come take this elevator." He said, making my eyes go wide in panic. Could he seriously not see the amount of attention we were attracting today?

He finally seemed to understand and said, "That elevator looks full. You're going to be late, and we are going to the same place."

Well, he made a point there. And then I suddenly remembered his coffee. Oh dear lord! I will be seriously late if I take the common elevators. For the first time, his coffee won't be waiting for him when he went to his room.

That very thought made me panick all over again, almost running to the elevator.

He slowly followed after me, getting in.

We were alone in the elevator, and as the doors closed, he asked me, "You remembered my coffee, didn't you?"

I took a look at him. He was staring straight ahead, his back leaning against the elevator wall. His face looked very serious, and it held a slight frown.

"Yy-yes, sir." I stuttered out.

"You know I expect my coffee to be there when I get to the office." He said, his frown deepening. He was still staring ahead.

I nodded, feeling my palms sweat as I felt my anxiety rise.

"That's part of your job, Ashley, and it is your responsibility to make sure that it is fulfilled one way or the other. Do you think that you can now be negligent at your work, and I will be ok with that?" He asked, his voice came out very stern, and I saw a muscle in his jaw tick, and thinking just how angry he must be right now, I felt my anxiety rise even further.

He was right. Just because I was living in his house didn't mean that I could slack at my work. He was doing so much for me. He offered us a safe place to stay. He was protecting us with body guards who were working round the clock. Everyone else was so serious about their job and their responsibilities, and here I am slacking at mine.

"I-I'm so sorry Mr.Carlton, y-you are right. I am so irresponsible..." I stuttered out. I bit my lip as I felt tears prick my eyes. I tried to stop them from falling. If you do something wrong, you admit it, you don't bowl your eyes out trying to get away with it. It's extremely unprofessional.

I tried scolding myself, but it didn't seem to be working. I felt really disappointed in myself for letting Mr. Carlton down. After everything he had done for me.

"I promise I will c..co-" I saw him turn towards me, and his eyes widened.

"Shit, Ashley, I was just joking. How were you going to make coffee when you came in with me! Obviously, I wasn't expecting it!"

I blinked several times, looking at him with surprise. He was staring back at me now. His eyes looked worried and guilty at the same time.

"S-Sorry?" I asked him, my voice still trembling.

"I was teasing you. You know for teasing me, back in the car. I'm sorry, Ashley. I didn't mean to make you cry. Why do you have to be so worried about a stupid coffee anyway?" He asked as he moved closer to me, lifting his hand and gently wiping the tears from the corner of my eye.

I spoke, as I felt the, now, familiar tingles where his fingers met my skin. "Because it's my bosses coffee." I replied to him astonished. The man was joking with me? Well, it was a very mean joke!

"Well, your boss is not some grumpy old man who needs his perfect coffee to make him bearable to you all." He protested gently. But my eyes shot up at him disbelievingly.

He let out a laugh before he nodded. "Ok, maybe I am, but I didn't need it today." Seeing my confused look, he continued. "My mornings are usually very dull. But today, I had a lively teenager in my kitchen. A couple of minutes with Liam and I was fully woken up."

"I'm so sorry." I instantly replied, feeling alarmed. "Liam can get pretty excited over simple little things. I will talk to him and tell him to mind his manners at the dinner table." I told him anxiously.

He stared at me like I had just grown horns on my head. "Did you not hear what I just said? I said my mornings were dull before. I loved the pleasant change in the atmosphere. Even Stella, our cooked, got over excited, and Liam is probably going to be having a feast prepared just for him for lunch again. It's been a long time since we had a kid around. And mom and dad love him too. Don't you dare try to change a thing about him!"

Just then, the elevator stopped, and Mr. Carlton walked out, giving me a disappointed look. But I only felt happiness at what he said, and I was a little wistful too.

How I wished Liam was born in a home like Mr. Carlton's, instead of being born a Wilson. In that house, Liam would never have been allowed to be himself. Even his grandparents only accepted silence. 'Speak only when spoken to. Children should not be given any special treatment, or they will get spoiled.' These were their moto.

At the reminder of the Wilson house, my spirits had completely fallen, and I dragged myself out of the lift and into my office.

"Now, what's the problem, Ashley? I swear, with the amount of mood swings you're having this morning, you're going to give me whiplash." He told me, looking annoyed.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Carlton." I told him, feeling alarmed again. What's wrong with me. I was behaving so unprofessionally today. I was getting too comfortable around Mr.Carlton, no wonder he looked so annoyed. "It won't happen again. I'm going to work now."

Mr. Carlton just sighed and went into his office, muttering something under his breath.

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