Whispers of Deceit, Echoes of Love

Chapter 31

Sophia ignored Mia as she kept on peeking into her office. It was the end of the work day, but Sophia made no move to get up and leave. She knew that Steven was waiting for her. He had sent a message. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to have the conversation Steven wanted, but she knew they needed to have that talk.

“So, you will hide yourself up here until when?” Mia decided to walk in, handbag and all.

“I am not hiding. I am finishing this one thing, and then I will be gone,” Sophia replied, keeping her eyes trained on her screen.

Mia scoffed as she walked around Sophia’s desk. She glared at the blank page that Sophia had opened. Shaking her head, she pushed Sophia to the side before quickly saving the blank page and shutting down the computer before turning to Sophia. “Pack up.”

Sophia groaned and slumped back into her chair, “I don’t think I am ready to have this conversation with him, Mia.”

Mia shook her head, “you need to. So that you are both on the same page.” She moved and picked up Sophia’s stuff, placing them in her handbag before pulling her to her feet. “Let’s go.”

Sophia had no choice but to follow her friend down, her heart rate increasing with every step she took.

When the doors slid open, Sophia’s eyes went directly to where Steven was standing, leaning against his car. His eyes were behind dark glasses, his signature black shirt folded to his elbows. He had his hands in the pockets of the black cotton pants. He had his head bent, focusing on something on his phone.

“Lord, have mercy!” Mia hissed under her breath. “This the same guy we met yesterday?”

Sophia nodded as she glanced at her friend, chuckling as Mia fanned herself.

“Girl, I must have been drunk yesterday. He is hot! And I am not the only one who has noticed!” She glanced around, noticing all the eyes following them as they walked towards Steven. “You are causing so much drama, babe. Once, you had your famous brother picking you up, then you had some private driver pick you up, and now you had this handsome man!

“Shh!” Sophia hushed her friend as they approached Steven.

Steven looked up as he heard them approach. He straightened up, placing his phone into his pocket, a smile on his face.

“Hi!” Mia greeted before Sophia could say anything. “And bye. You take care of my girl, you hear?” Mia did not wait for him to answer. She walked away from them after giving Sophia a wink.

Steven nodded at Mia, though Sophia could feel his eyes were on her instead. “Ready?”

Sophia bit on her bottom lip and sighed hard, “Yep.”

Steven chuckled, “Why do you sound like you are about to go to the slaughterhouse?”

“Let’s just go,” Sophia said, looking around at some of the colleagues who were still around. “I swear I will be in the rumor grapevine for the next year.” She walked towards the passenger door, but Steven was right before her, holding the door open. His free hand gently caressed her arm as he helped her inside before he closed the door.

Sophia closed her eyes and counted to ten to calm her heart as she waited for Steven to get into the car. She rubbed her hands on the slacks that she was wearing, as all of a sudden, they felt wet. “So-” she cleared her throat as she watched Steven start the car. “Where are we going?”

“My house,” Steven replied. “I gave Betty the night off, so we will not be disturbed.”

Sophia swallowed, “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

Steven spared her a glance before turning back to the road, hiding the smile on his face. So she wasn’t as unaffected as she made it sound, he thought to himself. “What you and I will be discussing is private and I don’t want to have spectators when we talk.”

“Ok,” Sophia nodded, praying that she could get through the talk without embarrassing herself. She turned her gaze to the window, watching the scenery pass by but not seeing anything. Her mind was on what Mia said the night before. So many things were against them having a relationship. He was so much older than her. His wealth was enormous. And the most significant obstacle? He was her ex-boyfriend’s father. All those thoughts kept churning in her head, but she could not bring it to herself to deny the obvious attraction they had for each other. What started as an innocent companionship morphed into something more without either realizing it.

Sophia glanced at him, taking in his five o’clock beard peppered with silver on his proud jawline, so much like his son’s. Looking at him, Sophia could not stop comparing the two.

“Stop it!” Steven’s deep drawl brought her back to the present.

“Mmh?” Sophia blinked as she tried to stop the charade of thoughts invading her mind.

“Whatever you are thinking about, you stop right now, or I am stopping this car and giving you something to think about,” Steven glanced at her, his grey eyes darkening as they focused on her lips, telling her without words what he would do.

Sophia turned her head away fast, ignoring the chuckle from Steven.

Soon, he was pulling the car to a stop in front of his house. Sophia licked on her now dry lips, telling herself there was nothing to worry about and all they were going to do was talk.

“B-Sophia, look at me,” Steven demanded gently. He had turned on his seat and was staring at her. When she turned, he gave her a small smile, “All we are going to do is talk. At any time you feel like you want to go, I will take you or have Orlando drop you off.”

Sophia nodded. She did not trust her voice. She was proud of herself as she kept her eyes on his.

Steven stared at her for a few more seconds before nodding and stepping out of the car. He walked to her side and held the door open for her. He extended his arm, offering her his hand so she could get out easier. He retained her hand as he led her inside the house.

“We will have dinner first and then talk,” Steven stated as he led her to the kitchen

Sophia frowned, “I am not hungry.”

Steven raised his brows at her, “Are you sure?”

Sophia nodded, “but I could use a glass of red wine or whatever you have in the fridge.”

Steven looked at her for a few seconds before nodding. He walked to a very slim cabinet. Pushing it in, the cabinet opened, revealing rows of wines.

“Ok, I am impressed,” Sophia chuckled as Steven poured her a glass and took a can of beer for himself.

He led the way to the lounge area, indicating for Sophia to sit before he joined her on the black sofa.

Sophia took a small sip of her wine, her eyes widening, “oh my! This is good! But I don’t think I have ever tasted it before. I saw the bottle. I am not familiar with that brand.”

“These were made especially for me by a small winemaker in a tiny village in Italy.”

Sophia chuckled, “Must be great having all that money, hey? People automatically follow you and want to please you.”

“It is good to have money but bad at the same time. You are never sure if someone is genuine with you or they are pretending just because of your money.” Steven shrugged, “At this moment, I am only interested in the opinions of one person, though.”

“Why? Who would it be?” Sophia asked asked, looking straight into his eyes.

“You,” Steven replied without hesitation. “And it is because I have fallen in love with you.”