Chapter Twelve
1459 Words
Charlotte almost never slept in unless it was a Sunday. She normally got up by 7am, got freshened up and did everything she needed to do before leaving her home before 8am to get ready to open her coffee shop by 8:30am.
That morning was to be no different except that she woke up several minutes past eight in an unfamiliar bed at that.
“Right,” she muttered to herself having memories of the previous night come back. She had spent the night at Wilson Locke’s without informing Rachael. “Shit.”
Immediately, she looked in the direction of the sofa to meet it empty. Literally empty- the pillows and blanket he used were also gone.
Knitting her eyebrows, she pulled the blankets off her and got off the bed. Immediately, she reached for her phone by her side, turned it on to meet several missed calls alongside texts from Rachael.
Rachael: Where are you?
Rachael: I woke up at 2am to meet your room empty
Rachael: I guess you’re spending the night at Wilson’s but you should have at least told me !!
Rachael: You so owe me tons of explanations!
Rachael: But in the meanwhile, have fun☺
Rachael: And don’t forget to return early tomorrow morning. I don’t intend on running the coffee shop for a whole day without you!
“She isn’t mad at me,” Charlotte heaved a sigh of relief then dropped her phone. “Thank goodness.”
Massaging her neck, she got up to look around the room. Where had Wilson gone? He definitely didn’t sneak out to sleep in another room in the middle of the night, right?
“Wilson?” she called out then approached the door to step out. “Where are-”
She paused her words halfway as her eyes caught a note stuck by the door as he was about to open it. Without hesitation, she ripped it off the door and took it into her hands to read.
It was a note from Wilson.
You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you so I wrote this note instead.
I have an urgent business meeting so i’m sorry I have to leave first. There are toiletries in the bathroom for you to use (I wasn’t sure what brand you’d prefer so I just got different ones). Also, I left new clothes in the living room downstairs (I really hope they fit perfectly) and breakfast on the dining. Make yourself comfortable and you don’t have to worry about the key to lock the house when you’re about to leave. I have to go now so well, text me when you see this!
With a smile, she slid the note down the pocket of his oversized shorts and headed downstairs. Just as he said, laying on a sofa in the living room was a paper bag obviously from an expensive designer brand.
Totally surprised by the gesture, she dug into the bag to take out a blue gown. It was a short gown with subtle lace designs and it was absolutely beautiful.
Next, she strolled into the dining to meet her breakfast laid on the table. Though it was just toast and a covered glass of the same orange juice from the previous night, it made her smile so widely her cheeks dared to hurt.
He was so sweet. A bit too sweet to be actually real.
Happily, she danced back to his room to get herself freshened up. Choosing from the numerous toiletries in his bathroom, she brushed her teeth, took her bath, changed into the pretty blue dress then headed downstairs to have her breakfast.
Charlotte: I saw your note :)
Charlotte: Thank you. For everything.
Few minutes passed and no response was gotten, Charlotte quickly concluding he was busy with his meeting. Mentally wishing him luck, she ate her breakfast then the minute she was done, grabbed the paper bag now containing her old clothes and her purse and headed towards the door to leave.
Taking out her phone to reply Rachael’s text as she walked, she contemplated ordering an uber. She almost had no idea where she actually was as she barely paid attention to the way throughout Wilson drove. Her intention was to have him drive her back home not head to her coffee shop the following morning.
“Good morning, ma’am.”
“Oh my God!” Charlotte exclaimed in surprise. She had opened the door to step out of Wilson’s house only to meet a man standing right outside almost as if he had been waiting for her to show up. “Christ, you scared me. I’m sorry but who are you?”
Trying to not be obvious, she checked him out. He was tall, though not as tall as Wilson and was dressed in a black suit, white shirt with dark tie. The seeming default dress code for people in the same social status as Wilson.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he apologized with a light bow. “I didn’t intend to scare you. I’m Charles, your chauffeur for the day.”
“Chauffeur?” she confusedly knitted her eyebrows. “I don’t think I ordered an uber already, did i?”
“No, ma’am,” he replied with a light smile. “I was sent by Mr. Locke.”
“Oh, Wilson sent you?” she clapped her hands, everything finally making sense. “Oh, I see.”
Just how much more thoughtful could he be? He must have guessed she’d be confused on the way to get back home and sent her a chauffeur to help.
“Yes,” the chauffeur smiled at her again. “I was asked to come pick you up and drive you. I have to admit ma’am though, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened. “To finally meet me? finally?”
“Yes,” he nodded like he couldn’t understand how confused she was. “I mean, it’s just so nice to finally meet Mr. Locke’s girlfriend.”
“Oh,” she swallowed, unsure of how that made her feel. Meeting his eyes, she flashed him a fake smile then let out a nervous laughter.
Of course, he thought she was actually his girlfriend.
“Why though?” she spoke up regardless. “Does he talk about me or something?”
“It’s not that,” he replied, confusing Charlotte even more. “I used to be quite worried about him. I mean, all he literally used to do was work and work and work even more. He never gave himself the chance to date so I’m really glad he is finally giving himself a break and dating.”
“What?” Charlotte couldn’t hide her shock. “H-he has never dated? Like, I’m his first g-girlfriend?”
“Yeah,” he nodded then let out a sigh. “I’ve worked with him for over five years now and yes, you’re literally the first woman I’m seeing him with. A little secret but I’ve even considered him being gay. It was that bad.”
“Oh,” she let out again, finally sure of how all that information made her feel.
Scared.
She nodded slowly, feeling all the doubts she had managed to get rid of come alive all over again. His chauffeur had said it all. It made no sense.
Unlike her who had dated numerous men in the span of five years, he had dated no one. Never went out with anyone and from the kind of person he seemed to be, she was sure he had a reason for that.
Probably a broken heart from an old relationship or just a strong absence of the desire to fall in love or be with someone.
It just had to be one of the two and with that being the case, the chances of him suddenly jumping into a relationship with someone new few days after they met was so close to zero.
Leading her to her final conclusion- he was probably just bored and needed a new excitement in his life or even worse, had an ulterior motive to all of these.
“Ma’am?” the chauffeur interrupted her thoughts. “Mr. Locke gave me the address to your coffee shop and asked me to drive you there. Not of course, without confirming if that is your preferred destination. So, to the coffee shop or somewhere else?”
“No, it’s fine. Just drive me to the coffee shop.”
“Alright then, ma’am.”
She looked at him as he helped her into the car then sighed. He was so clueless and was only acting on the basic information provided.
Just like her.
- Writer
