A Complicated Obsession

One Fine Day

Adeline POV

I want to stay in bed forever after the night I just had. Can I even show my face at work Monday morning  knowing Sebastian will be there? What will I say to him? I stretch as far as my limbs will let me and wipe the sleep from my eyes. As much as I don’t want to, I need to get up. I sit up in my bed and realize immediately that I am not in my bed. Visions of last night start flooding my brain. Remembering how Josh had come to my rescue sends my heart into a frenzy. His temper should scare me, he almost killed the guy, but I am not scared. I am more worried than scared. I don’t want to find myself pining for someone that can’t reciprocate my feelings. I am sure everything he did last night was out of respect for my father and for the future of our company. I am probably no competition to the woman in his life. Well, he said that once I was ready I could call Sam and get that ride home. I should brush my teeth and try to look less of a mess. I have no makeup with me and the only clothes I have is what I am currently wearing, and the dress that I might never ever wear again. 

I waited in the room for what seemed like 10 minutes before I felt ready to face Josh and maybe his Fiancee. I ball up my dress, grab my heels and clutch my purse as I head out the door. I keep praying that I don’t bump into anyone on my way out. My eyes wander around and catch sight of Josh on his balcony. He isn’t wearing a shirt and judging by his attire he must have been working out. His skin is glistening with sweat and single droplets are sliding down his perfectly sculpted torso. Ohh how I wish I could be wrapped up in those arms right now.. I am mesmerized by what I see. I can feel my body yearning for his touch. My temperature is rising with every rise and fall of his chest and if I don’t make myself known I am going to come off as a creepy pervert. 

“Good morning Adeline!” That sounds amazing leaving his lips. “I hope you slept well. Are you hungry?” I want to answer that honestly, but saying yes I hunger for your touch would be inappropriate.

“Good morning, Josh. I am about to call Sam so I can go home, and on my way I might pick up breakfast.” If he invites me to stay I might actually say yes, but I know I shouldn’t. I have already overstayed my welcome. 

“Adeline please, you are a guest here and I can’t have my guest leave unsatisfied.” Ohh my, my mind is in the gutter again and if his fiancee is near she will throw me out for my thoughts. “Adeline, I insist you stay. My chef will be disappointed if you leave.”

Ok now he is showboating! I know he has money, but to have a private chef on standby is over the top. “Thank you, but…” he walks away as I am trying to turn down his offer. That is next level rudeness! I follow him to try to make him see how bad of an idea it is for me to stay. He disappears into a room and I follow suit. I am in shock to see this adonis putting on an apron. I am at  a loss for words as I watch him prepping frying pans and pots on the stove and taking out ingredients from his pantry. I stare at the way his hands expertly break eggs. I did not know that breaking an egg with one hand could be such a turn on. I must look like an i***t standing there not offering any help at all.

“How do you like your eggs Adeline?” I am slow to answer his question and I hear him chuckle. “What a man can’t cook? I’ll have you know I trained under the best chefs in the country. I will not put into my body something I can not prepare for myself.” 

“I am sorry, you just really caught me off guard. It’s not that a man can’t cook, it's just that you are the first man that offers to cook for me.” I can’t believe I just admitted that.

“Well I am going to remedy that today Adeline, if you let me.” I can tell he’s enjoying himself at my expense. “So Adeline, how do you like your eggs?”

The breakfast was out of this world, the eggs were poached to perfection and the hollandaise sauce he made from scratch was out of this world. It was as if it was the first time I was eating eggs benedict the way they were supposed to be made. If he wasn’t watching me as I ate I would have licked the plate. 

“That was amazing, Josh!!” I can tell I just stroked his ego, but I am being completely honest. “Thank you for breakfast and for last night. I don’t know how I am going to repay your kindness.” 

“I am glad you enjoyed breakfast so much, and if you want to repay me, I would like to take you out today.” That wolf in sheep's clothing.If he thinks his act of kindness will make me want to spread my legs for him he’s delusional. I am not a homewrecker and I never want to be second in a man’s life.

I take my bundled dress, pick up my heels and clutch my purse. “I’m sorry Josh, but I really have to go. I don’t do office romances and I am sure your Fiancee will appreciate my views on cheating.” I deliver that like throwing knives fast and to the point. I give him no chance for a  rebuttal and make my way briskly out of his apartment. The elevator seems to have been waiting just for me and I thank whomever it was for making that happen. I call Sam as I say goodbye to the skyline and the visions of Josh clouding my head. I can’t fall for him. I need a scapegoat and even though it was a very perverted thing he did I am willing to forgive Sebastian. Right now he is the only other man my mind can think of to fight off the feelings I am trying so desperately to avoid for Josh. I’ve made up my mind and I am going to call him the moment I get home to give him the opportunity to apologize. 

Sam picks me up in front of Josh’s building, I can see the gears in his mind already making up a story of poor defenseless Adeline. Dressed to the nines last night giving herself to the CEO. He’s probably just another conquest. She gets saved by the boss and thanks him with her body. The fact that I am wearing his clothes doesn’t help my case. “ I slept in the guest room and that was all.” I blurted it out and once Sam made eye contact with me through the rear view mirror I couldn’t stop my cheeks from turning beet red. Sam never said anything in response. 

Finally home , I drop my heels by the door,  my purse on my sofa and make my way to my bedroom. I throw myself into the comforts of my bed trying desperately to erase the thoughts that overrun my head. This man is so infuriating! I don’t think he knows the inner turmoil he causes in me and quite honestly I am glad for that fact. If he knew; he would use all that against me and have me in his bed just like the many women before me. Lost in thought I didn’t notice the day slipping by. When I am finally out of my stupor I notice my cell phone has three missed calls. One from Mary, one from Josh and the last one from Sebastian. I will call the first two later but Sebastian’s call is intriguing me. 

I go to my bathroom and start the shower. Just before taking his clothes off I catch myself in the mirror. “His clothes look so good on me! Why does he have to be so nice? Why couldn’t he be the asshole from before? The creep I met on my first day.” I can’t linger on those thoughts or I will find myself in a depression no amount of Merlot will drown out. I jump in the shower taking all the time I need to allow the water to soothe my aching heart. 

After I have composed myself I reach for my phone to call Sebastian. 

“Hello, Adeline?” He answers in two rings. “Please don’t hang up, I need to meet you to apologize and set things straight.  Please give me a chance.” His pleading is so heartbreaking.

After a long pause, “Yes Sebastian I will hear you out. Meet me at the Route 66 cafe. I’ll be there within the hour.” I hung up the phone not allowing him to back down. The cafe is a bit far from my place but he shouldn’t know where I live until I can trust him again.

I am on time to our meeting spot and I can feel anxiousness creeping in. I need to gather my thoughts before I step inside. I mean this is the guy that would have r***d me right there on the dance floor if it wasn’t for Josh. Should I really go through with this? Should I let him explain? I am about to turn around when Sebastians’ voice calls my attention.

“Adeline, I am so glad you came. Please let me walk you in, I already got a table for us.” He’s a gentleman at least, that's' what I have pegged him for in the past.

 I follow dutifully as he leads me around the cafe to a table located by a window. Everything feels so different between us. I feel as if I don’t know him and I need to clear the air if we are going to continue to work together. He pulls the chair out for me and helps me tuck it under the table. I guess I hadn’t noticed before but he looks nervous and has a huge bruise on the side of his face. 

We sit there in total silence until the waitress comes to get our drink order. We both ask for water and she leaves as quickly as she came. I twirl my thumbs on my lap waiting for him to start the conversation. 

Finally he sits up and starts, “Adeline, I am so sorry for my behavior last night. I wouldn’t hold it against you if you never wanted to speak to me again, but please let me try to explain.” He pauses to see if I will allow him to continue, I nod so he clears his throat. “Adeline, I have fallen head over heels for you since the first moment I laid eyes on you. I am sorry for my behavior yesterday. I know it’s no excuse but I started drinking at the bar to gain a bit of courage to approach you. After you had told me of your plans I figured it might be a good environment to tell you how I feel, but well things didn’t go as planned. I am not saying it was your fault but my composure failed me the moment I saw you walk in with that dress you had on. I found myself drinking more than I had initially planned on and well I paid for that mistake with you getting disgusted with me, a huge bruise on the side of my face and my job.”  He caught me off guard when he mentioned job, but he didn’t let me question and just continued. “I sent in my resignation this morning. I couldn’t stay in the company knowing you might hate me or even fear me. I also know if I stay in the company, if you were to forgive me, we wouldn’t be able to have a relationship. I am sorry it ever came to this and I will do everything to gain your forgiveness and trust. Please Adeline I need to know that we can move on from this.” 

I let everything he had just set sink in. He likes me, he tried to inappropriately touch me and he resigned.  The waitress finally came back with the waters and I realised just how dry my mouth had become. All of this information had made my head spin and I needed the relief from the cold water. I took a big sip as I gathered my thoughts, and I finally felt ready to speak.

Josh POV

Just knowing she is steps away from me in my own home sends my senses whirling. I need a distraction, something to help my mind focus. I put on my work out clothes and head to my private gym. I hit the bag with everything I’ve got. I practice my takedowns and my kicks. With every blow to the bag I replay last night and anger begins to overwhelm me. “How could that asshole lay a hand on her!? Didn’t he realize she’s mine!?” It takes me a little over an hour to let out all my anger and frustrations, but I finally feel clear headed enough to go back into the apartment with Adeline. I take my soaked shirt off and throw it on a drying rack, grab my towel and a protein shake from my mini fridge and head out. 

I walk the halls quietly looking for Adeline to see if she has awoken yet. Not surprisingly she is still in the guest room and I don’t blame her. I open up my balcony to let the cool breeze of the morning bring down the heat I feel inside. I received a call during  my workout, I knew it was Franco so I decided to call him back.

“Hey Boss, did I wake you?” He knows me by now. I'm always awake before the sun. “Took care of your problem, he has decided to resign so no further ramifications will come to him. It was easy in fact, faced with the possibility of never being able to work in any industry had him signing the resignation faster than Usain Bolt can run!

“Good, have the resignation letter delivered to me as soon as possible.” I was about to hang up but he dropped a little nugget of information I was never expecting to hear.

“By the way boss, did you know that Mr. Heart had hired him and he never really had any experience as a CFO before. I had him vetted when you called last night. He never gave us any reason to before, but it seems the guy has been receiving double payment. Mr. Heart makes a wire transfer into his account every month along with the pay he receives from the company. I am trying to find out why but it is going to take me awhile.”

What’s going on? I guess I must have been quiet for too long because I hear Franco ask me if I’m still there. “Yes , Franco I understand. Thank you for your due diligence and please continue to investigate that matter for me.” I now seem to have a mystery on my hands and one that has been under my nose for far too long. I can’t believe the old bastard might be trying to play me. 

 I am so deep in thought that I fail to notice Adeline, luckily she isn’t a ninja so I hear her as she tries to sneak out. The look on her face full of lust and seeing her in my clothes stir my insides. I offer her breakfast, but she seems to be in a hurry to leave. I usually don’t take “no” for an answer, so I ignore her refusals and make my way into the kitchen. Since I am still sweating I put on an apron and get to work. I make her eggs benedict, which happens to be my specialty. This was one of the first dishes I wanted to learn how to cook because it was my father's favorite. I haven’t wanted to make it for years, but for her I find myself doing things I wouldn’t normally do. I am not usually the jealous or possessive type since I can get any woman I want, but she brings out a different side of me.  The look on her face as she takes a bite of her breakfast is the best thing I have seen in a long time. I give her time to savour what I made for her until she is satisfied. 

She wants to repay me for everything that I’ve done and my mind can’t help but think of all the naughty things I can do to her. How I want to tie her up, slap that perfectly round ass she’s got, to get her to the point where she is pleading for me and finally to give her ecstasy she’s only dreamed of. But she is different, not really impressed with my power so I first have to wedge myself so deep in her heart that she will not be able to refuse me. I tell her of my plans and she says something that leaves me confused and dumbfounded. I have a Fiancee? What the hell is she going on about? I try to stop her as she leaves my apartment, but I have never been one to run after a woman and I won’t start that now. She’s already made me do things I am not accustomed to but that is asking for too much. Once we get this Fiancee misunderstanding cleared up she will come back. She is saying one thing but her eyes don’t lie.