Blurred Lines

Chapter 4

“You’re staring at that painting like it offended you” she pointed out as he stared daggers at a dark painting with grey swirls and a tiny drop of white paint at the top right.

“It represents everything dark in my life” he answers

“Rough childhood?” “Yeah…”

“Me too…”

*Flashback over*

Raine spent the rest of the night in bed with Pete by her side in the dark wondering why she was feeling guilty

It’s not like she did anything.

She doesn’t even like her boss.

Why is she guilty??

She kept twisting and turning, looking for answers in her head as to why she suddenly found her boss telling her off, extremely hot.

It wasn’t quite the first time she felt this way, there were brief confusing times when she couldn’t put her finger on something, especially when she first started working for him.

The electricity she felt when their fingers brushed against each other.

When she found herself staring more than she should, admiring both his physical beauty and passion for his work.

The undeniable heat emanating from him when in close proximity.

She avoided empty elevators and car rides with him for a while cause she couldn’t trust herself around him. She didn’t like the intense feeling she had, it felt so warm and familiar and intoxicating.

At least until he opens his mouth to become cold and mean.

Then a different feeling comes along, fury.

As no answer to what the hell is wrong with her came to mind, she settled for temporary insanity.

It’s just a mild attraction because he’s brutally handsome, it’ll go away before you know it.

And that’s what she told herself time and time again till she started to believe it and life became a little less torturous with Christian Wilde.

With that in mind, she finally went to sleep praying she doesn’t end up dreaming of her boss again

The next morning was a roller coaster of emotions as she kissed Pete goodbye and rushed out to work with the sole belief that she was over it.

She just needed to focus

Yesterday was just a fluke

Luckily she wouldn’t see him just yet as he had brunch with Mrs Laurent, a seventy- five year old woman he occasionally dines with.

The story was he grew up with her around, even almost married her grand daughter but even when that ended, they were still close.

As far as she knows, that man has shared more meals with her than his own family. It kind of reminded her of her relationship with Uncle Joe.

After her parents died in a freak accident and she was rescued from the backseat when she was three, Joe took custody of her and raised her till this day.

He shared in her loneliness and rage at the world for taking her parents away from her and that brought some sort of comfort.

The pain didn’t go away though, it never did.

The hole in her heart she hoped would heal kept growing bigger and deeper knowing the memory of her parents’ smiles were from pictures.

She couldn’t even remember how the accident happened. The only memory she had left was blinding lights, blood and screams. Her own screams.

And that filled her with rage she kept to herself and to Joe

Actually Joe found out himself.

He knew something was up when I kept acting out in high school but he didn’t know how badly it was till I ended up in the hospital after one terrible Friday night.

Since then, he let me in and gave me a new way to channel my rage, a plan that could hopefully ease the pain just a little if I succeeded.

Christian strolled in a few hours later, seemingly in a less than grumpy mood than yesterday

Thank you Mrs Laurent..

And called a meeting with the team to discuss the new project.

“Alright this deal is very, if not the most important deal we have this year, it could skyrocket this plant if it goes well, I need your A game in this and we can’t afford to be less than perfect”

The next hour was filled with brainstorming, and decision of traveling back and forth to Manhattan.

“Miss Elsen is in charge of the Solvang inn project this week as we focus on this deal and see it go as smoothly as possible, every report and decision goes to her”

It took a lot for her not to squeal in excitement as her first project was handed to her, no matter how little it was.

It was about time anyways, she was starting to think Christian hated to the point of not wanting her to progress at all.

To just be the dirt under his loafers and be at his beck and call whenever he wants to yell at someone.

She quickly called Pete as she started to get work

“Pete guess what, I got my first project!!” she squealed as silently as possible

“About time, I was already thinking the asshole just wanted you to be his servant instead” He said and she agreed

Me too Pete, me too..

“How about dinner tonight, and you can tell me all about it over our favorite spot” which was McDonald’s.

How it started was their first date being a disaster,

After a long time being friends and finally figured they could be more, they arrived late to a fancy restaurant and they couldn’t get a squeeze in.

As if that wasn’t enough, the rain decided to pay a visit with a heavy downpour while they were taking a walk.

They took shelter at a McDonald’s and after chatting with the waitress and laughing about their failed attempt at a first date, they were taken to a secluded booth with a candlestick being lit and were gotten a cheap bottle of wine with two plates of cheeseburgers and fries.

That’s when she hoped whatever they had that night would never end.

“I pay you to work Miss Elsen, not take personal calls whenever you like” Christian barks and she sighed in frustration while hanging up, promising to call back.

“Forgive me sir, is there anything you’d like me to do for you?” She smiled sweetly as she replies

“Get to work”

“Of course sir”

He grunts in reply as he walks by, on his way to his next meeting

Raine found herself staring at his back with a pen in her mouth as he walked and stood in front of the elevator, waiting for it to open.

You would think the cruel boss would have a private elevator of his own but he didn’t, apparently he liked to ride with us peasants.

She slowly studied as he stood incredibly still.

His full dark brown hair not as neat as before due to fingers running through it constantly, she watched as his hairline went down his neck.

His hair clearly due for a haircut.

She studied how his suit jacket fitted him so well, Raine could practically outline his back muscles and slim waist.

She watched as his hand went into his pocket and she could sense how tense he was. He had a long day, if not a long week ahead of him and it wasn’t even 3 o’clock yet.

The elevator dinged her back to reality and she almost knocked herself in the head for ogling her boss’s back instead of getting back to work.

Raine had to seriously figure this thing out on time before it ruins her.

So before dinner, after a few dead ends on both work and internet search, Raine headed for the bank to finally get what she’s been avoiding for the past decade.

She walked in with a deep breath, heading for the account officer

“Hi, I’m Lorraine Elsen, I’m here to open a deceased relative’s account …

“And whose is it?”He asked

“ Martha Elsen’s, My mother’s… “