“No. I... I told you I stayed to pitch to you.”
He huffs out a humorless laugh. “You stayed the night in the office to pitch to me? Just what were you going to offer up?”
“Yes,” I bark, growing more irritated by the second. “What exactly are you accusing me of,sir?” I bite.
He straightens, shrugging his shoulder. He grabs his glass and takes a long pull, draining it in one go.
“I guess I know how you managed such impressive endorsements.”
I gasp at his insinuation, anger thrumming through every synapse. “Are you accusing me of sleeping my way through my former positions?”
“I didn’tactuallysay that.”
My hand shoots out, landing against his cheek in a slap that can be heard around the office. His eyes widen, and his hand rises to his cheek.
Inside, I’m quaking, but externally, I stand tall, ready to defend my actions.
He was out of line. Way out of line.
“Let me be perfectly clear,sir,” I spit. “I earned every single one of those recommendations through hard work and grit. And I won’t allow some male chauvinist, arrogant asshole, who’s the product of familial nepotism, to belittle my hard work. And if those words are too big for your drunk ass tonight, I’ll be happy to say them to you again in the morning.”
“But this company is all I have,” he says sorrowfully. “I won’t let my sunshine take that away, too.”
I pull a face, confused by his ramblings.
“What are you talking about?”
He turns on his heel, making his way out of my office. I watch as he staggers down the hall.
He’s not just drunk. He’s emotionally wasted along with this. What the hell is wrong with him, and who the hell caused this mess?
I consider calling Shelby, but the last thing I want to do is bring her into this mess in the middle of the night. Something is very off with Charles, but I’m not afraid of him or his stupid ideas.
I stop at the vending machine and buy two bottled waters, then head to his office. He’s plopped in his chair, nodding off.
“Drink this,” I command, twisting the top from the first bottle and setting it in front of him.
He wakes and eyes me warily but does as I instruct, draining the contents. I open the next and slide that one in front of him, and he does the same.
“Do you have any ibuprofen or aspirin? You’ll want some for the headache you’re sure to have in the morning.”
He motions with his head toward his middle drawer. I open it to find a bottle, taking out two and handing them to him. He has a wet bar in his office, so I quickly fill up a tumbler with more water and hand it to him.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbles. “I... I didn’t mean what I said. I don’t deserve you. My life needs to stay dark and without a Rae of sunshine.”
My eyes narrow on him as he lowers his head to his desk. Within minutes, he’s out, as evidenced by the soft snoring.
What the hell happened to him?
I can’t very well leave him here alone, so I plop down on the couch on the far wall, setting an alarm early enough to get me out of here before people begin to arrive in the morning.
I won’t leave him here drunk and alone. It isn’t safe.
He might’ve been a world-class ass, but I’d never leave someone in this shape. I close my eyes, willing myself to get a few hours of shut-eye on this lumpy couch, but I know it’ll never happen.
As soon as my eyes close, I’m assaulted with the memory of earlier. His hands roamed my body. His mouth moved over mine. It was incredible.
It was stupid.