Alice and the Hot Banker Heir

Morning Drive

After seeing Ray off, Richard went off to shower. The run had truly charged him up, even if he could still feel his leg muscles swearing at him. He let the warm water run through his dark, wavy hair down his chiselled jaw, muscular shoulders and torso and legs. Reaching out for his shampoo, he couldn’t help smiling as he remembered that he would now get changed and meet Alice to go to work. He wondered if she was a morning person. Did she have breakfast or was she just a coffee type of person?

He was ever more curious about his downstairs neighbour. Alice was a little bit of a whirlwind that came through his life and his day now revolved around her. Even when he was not in her company, he thought about her. He mentioned her to his friend. He would never do the stuff he does with her, with anyone else. Despite her being quite feisty, she could also be a bit of a klutz and looked like a baby deer walking for the first time sometimes which was hilarious to watch, but she was warm and friendly and had already made a friend at work in the few days she was there, he would keep a watch on Dayna…make sure she was a true friend. He felt that Alice could be too trusting sometimes and that concerned him. The fact that she was so trusting with him flattered him and made him feel protective of her but should she misplace that trust, it would be something that would sit on his conscience for the rest of time.

Richard had no idea why he was feeling this way. He was usually guarded and reserved and never truly let anyone in, but Alice had a softness to her and he found himself wanting to share more with her and to get to know her more in turn and keep her from harm while he was at it.

Getting out of the shower, he got into his favourite dark trousers and paired them with a white shirt and tie. Looking through his walk-in closet, he spotted a matching dark waistcoat which he decided to add to his outfit. After completing his outfit, he styled his wavy dark locks with some styling product which he loved because it smelled like mint and made his way to the kitchen to make sure his briefcase contained his lunch, his phone, his keys and a file he had been working on at home and wanted to show Edward during the day.

He decided to use the stairs to go down to collect Alice. Knocking on her dark oak door, he heard her say “Coming!” at least she sounded cheerful enough.

When she opened the door, she was wearing a navy-blue dress that was kind of boxy and reached her knees, it looked very formal aside from two cute pockets on the side. The colour suited her complexion and her shoulder-length tresses, which she pulled to one side with a clip leaving the side where her fringe swooped to fall delicately around her face. Although still a little sleepy, her face was still smiley. She was a morning person after all!

“Good morning, sunshine!” he grinned.

“Just walk!” she countered laughing, closing and locking her door. “You’re too happy in the morning, how are you so awake?”

“I already went for run and came back while you were probably snoring at 200 miles an hour…”

“Oi, I never snore!” she said, feigning indignance as they made their way down the stairs and towards Richard’s car.

“Uh huh, I’ll take your word for it.” He said, taking out his key and unlocking his luxury vehicle and opening the door for her to get in.

Getting into the car himself, he switched on the radio on a very low volume and started driving up to the main city.

“Would you like to go for breakfast or something?” he asked, enjoying seeing her smile at the view as they made their way through a particularly leafy area.

“Believe or not, I can barely take in a glass of water in the morning.” She said with a giggle. “Are you a breakfast person?”

“I’ll have a toast at the office maybe cause running makes me hungry. Funny though, I’d figure you’d scarf a muffin or two upon waking…”

“Are you calling me fat?”

His alarmed look made her laugh.

“I’m sorry...” he stammered.

“I’m teasing you! You’re so serious Richard.” She said, still laughing. “But yes, I’ve been known to destroy a muffin or two – just after I’m actually awake.”

“You’re something else, Alice.” He said, joining in her laughter and truly enjoying her company. Turned out Alice could be funny as well as feisty and even when she laughed at him, she was never mean-spirited.

Having her beside him in his car felt somehow right. It was just the first time for him driving her but he could get used to it. She was like a light to his usual moodiness and it was funny how her smaller frame had so much more room in the passenger seat. She cheerfully smiled at anything or anyone outside her window and was enjoying being in this new place.

He wondered what she had been through that made her run away from everything she’d known before and start a new life in Rubyshire. Whatever it was, he was grateful. It meant that he got to meet her and spend time with her.

His smile changed as the bank entered his view. It meant that once they arrived at the private garage belonging to senior management, she will use the lift to go to her floor and he would not be seeing her again before the end of the day. Oh God, he was hooked.