Pretending To Love Mr Hill

Chapter 10

"You look cute when you're mad."

Amelia wanted to shrink back and lean into him at the same time, from this position she could smell his cologne, it smelled exotic and warm. She was tempted to lean further into him, the urge to step closer was overwhelming but instead she took a step back.

Travis straightened, slipping his hands into the pockets of his tailored trousers, amusement still dancing in his eyes. Amelia remained frozen, too stunned to react.

"Are you ready to tell me the real reason you're mad?"

She looked up at him, tears prickling at the backs of her eyes now that the rush of anger had faded, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel anymore, she looked at him again he was still waiting patiently for her to say something but her thoughts had jumbled up until she couldn't make sense of them.

Why had she been so angry again?

"It's fine if you don't want to talk about it."

Confusion settled over Amelia, why wasn't he scolding her for raising her voice? Afamiliar ache tightened in her chest, the kind that warned her the dam was about to break. She blinked rapidly, willing the tears to stay where they were, when she still didn't speak, Travis seemed to grow tired of waiting.

He turned, walked back to his desk, and perched on the edge of it, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I wanted to let you know everything was released today. I didn't know if you'd seen it already, I didn't want it to catch you off guard."

Amelia blinked, her confusion only deepening did he really care? She searched for something to say, but the words refused to come. In the end, all she could manage was a small nod.

"Are you sure you're fine?" he asks again, and this time she answers.

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired, I guess."

Travis straightens. "Are you sick?"

"Uh… no," Amelia answers.

"You could go home if you want."

Amelia stared at him, caught completely off guard, was she imagining it, or did he actually look... worried? The offer was tempting, more tempting than she cared to admit. Every part of her wanted to accept it, go home, curl up in bed, and forget this day had ever happened but she couldn't.

People were already talking about her. If she left while everyone else stayed behind to work it would only get worse, they probably would start thinking she was lazying around because she was his fiancee. The last thing she needed was another reason for the office to think she didn't belong.

"I'm fine."

Travis looks at her for a minute before he nods and walks back to take his seat.

"That's all. You may leave."

She bowed her head slightly before turning to leave. Returning to her desk, she let out a silent groan and gently banged her forehead against it in frustration, drawing a few curious glances from the staff around her.

"Sorry," she whispered softly, offering an embarrassed smile before switching on her computer.

There wasn't much to do, just emails. That was all the interns ever handled. It had become painfully repetitive, and she'd grown tired of it barely two weeks after starting the job. Unfortunately, she didn't have much of a choice.

With a quiet sigh, Amelia turned her attention to the screen and began typing.

Halfway through, Amelia glanced up at the wall clock and groaned, how was time moving so fast? She was supposed to see her father after work, and she didn't want to.

The thought alone soured her mood so much that when lunchtime came around, she didn't even bother leaving her desk. She simply sat there, staring blankly at her computer, trying very hard not to cry or scream, even though she desperately wanted to do both.

Everything felt exhausting, she was willing to bet Travis wasn't dealing with half as much stress as she was.

Travis.

With his perfectly tailored suits, his delicious smelling cologne, and those piercing eyes that seemed to look like he was boring holes straight into her soul, then there were his abs

God... those abs, the thought alone made her thirsty in more ways than one, she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

"Stop it, brain."

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her water bottle and took several long gulps at least I can satisfy one of those thirsts the thought made the corners of her lips twitch upward. As she lowered the bottle, her reflection smiled back at her from the dark computer screen, her smile disappeared instantly.

"What is wrong with me?" she muttered.

Maybe she was just exhausted, maybe she needed sleep, yes! That had to be it she checked the time on her phone fifteen minutes of lunch remained, maybe a quick nap would help by the time she woke up, she'd hopefully feel a little better.

Resting her head on the desk, she closed her eyes the next thing she knew, the sweet scent of something drifted into her senses. Amelia blinked, her mind still foggy with sleep, and slowly lifted her head, she looked around, everyone was back at their desks, busy working.

"f**k," she muttered.

How long had she been asleep? She squinted at the wall clock, but the numbers refused to stay in focus giving up, she reached for her phone instead the screen lit up.

3:15 PM.

Her eyes widened "What?" How was that possible? Why hadn't anyone woken her up? Maybe no one noticed, she reasoned but how she had managed to sleep through the entire afternoon without a single person saying anything was beyond her but whatever the reason, she wasn't about to complain.

With a sigh, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched her stiff shoulders, she really needed to pee apparently, all that water she'd gulped down earlier had finally decided to take revenge, she stood and made her way to the restroom.

On her way back, something sitting on her desk caught her eye from a distance, it looked like a shoebox, curious, she quickened her pace.

The closer she got, the more she realized it wasn't a shoebox at all, it was a pastry box, with a coffee cup sitting neatly beside it.

She picked up the cup and lifted the lid just enough to take a cautious sniff. Caramel macchiato, the sweet, rich aroma wrapped around her instantly so that's what woke me up, it was her favorite she frowned.

Was this... hers? Her gaze swept across the office no one seemed remotely interested in her everyone was glued to their screens, typing away they didn't mind her, she tapped the woman seated at the next desk.

"Did you leave this here?"

The woman barely looked up before shaking her head.

"No."

Amelia slowly lowered herself into her chair what if this was some kind of prank? She scanned the office again no one was looking at her, nothing seemed suspicious. Cautiously, she opened the pastry box inside were two perfectly golden croissants, the buttery aroma drifted up immediately, warm and inviting, it smelled heavenly.

Her stomach growled in protest, reminding her that she'd skipped both breakfast and lunch. But what if it was actually poisoned? a tiny voice whispered in the back of her mind. Shee snorted, who would want to poison her, she wasn't even that important.

Brushing the ridiculous thought aside, she took a generous bite her eyes fluttering shut, she nearly moaned. They were incredible, it felt buttery, flaky, and still warm, with a soft center that tasted as though they'd come straight out of the oven that morning.

Before she'd even finished chewing, she took another bite, then another and within minutes, the first croissant had disappeared, and she was already reaching for the second.

She washed it down with a sip of the coffee, this was perfect, the caramel was just right she sighed in satisfaction, whoever had left this on her desk had to be some kind of angel in disguise. How had they known she was starving?

More importantly... how had they known her coffee order down to the syrup? She pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture then she folded the empty pastry box flat and tossed it into the trash beside her desk before returning to work.