Sentient

Sentient: Chapter Eleven

“What are you doing here?” I ask Mr. Cavanaugh, standing in front of me in a dark grey suit and his six feet three inches glory.

“I thought you might need my help.” He responds, playing with his key in his hand. 

I force out a tentative smile, confused at the man before my eyes. “I’m sorry Mr. Cavanaugh but I don’t see any reason why I would require your help here.” 

“I overheard Christie leaving you a message on your phone.” He replies. “It sounded like you’re on the battlefront here.”

“I thought you were attending to a personal matter.” I say. 

He frowns. “It’s starting to sound like you don’t want me here.”

“I-it’s not that.” I stutter. “It’s just that… you’re my boss and this is a personal affair for me. It just doesn’t seem professional.” 

Mr. Cavanaugh raises his thick brows. “So you’re saying I’m unprofessional?”

“That’s not what I meant!” I immediately cried. 

“So you’d prefer to bring Darius over me?” He asks. 

“Darius is my friend.”

“I’m your friend.”

“You’re my boss.”

“I can’t be your friend?”

I sigh, finally giving up. “It just… feels a little weird.” 

“Weird?” He repeats. “Charlotte, we’ll be spending thousands of personal affairs together from now on. You better get used to it.” 

My heart skips a beat. What does he mean by that? Mr. Sandmoore didn’t operate this way. This was all new to me. Sure, Mr. Sandmoore attended some family engagements of mine but he never did it without reason or permission or even an invitation.

Just then, Patty walks up to us, her fiance, Fourth in tow. 

“I’m so glad you made it Charlie!” She pulls me in for a hug. 

"Patty!" I shriek, hugging her back. "Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

“Oh please, I know you lil sis,” she rolls her eyes. “You’d skip this if you had the chance! Where’s Christie? Or did you scare her away just like you did with your ex-boyfriends?” 

Ulk!

I blink twice, forcing a smile on my lips. Now’s not the time to say that, Patty. My boss is here. You know, this tall guy right here. He’s my boss!

Sometimes, I wish I had the telepathic thing going on with my siblings—the kind that most people have—especially with Patty. She’s the most unreliable person when it comes to keeping secrets. She just spills like tea all the time and she doesn’t even know it. 

Patty suddenly realizes there was a tall figure hovering beside me, studying him from foot to hair. She notices the key in his hand before speaking.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but this is a private event.” She turns to Fourth asking for five bucks before handing it to Mr. Cavanaugh. “Here you go. Thanks for taking my sister’s car but the valet's supposed to be waiting outside.”

Patty, I don’t have a car.

And suddenly my eyes widened in utter terror, having just realized what she meant. Did my sister just call my boss, Darren Cavanaugh, CEO to LC&C Conglomerate, a… a valet? 

Sweet Mary, mother of God!

I could feel my warm blood draining out of my cold face. I turned to look at Mr. Cavanaugh to see if he was ready to set fire to the entire establishment but I saw him just as surprised as I am. 

“Actually, Patty, this is Darren Cavanaugh, my bo—”

“Boyfriend.” Mr. Cavanaugh finishes my sentence for me. “I’m her boyfriend.”

Patty’s eyes grew so large I thought they were going out of their sockets. 

And so are mine. 

I hurriedly drag him away to the bar, away from Patty and Fourth, and then place him in front of me. 

“What are you doing?” I ask him, my knees wobbling like jell-o. “Excuse my language sir, but why in the hell did you say that?”

We stand by the bar. I try my best not to be spotted by another family member but then I’ve forgotten that most of the people here are my family members. 

“Relax.” He replies. “I told you I came here to help. And besides, this isn’t my first fake-boyfriend rodeo.” 

“Say what now?” I immediately responded, my neck turned so fast in his direction I heard it make a crick sound.

“Never mind.” He responds. “Let’s just focus on the task at hand. Consider this some sort of team building.”

I raise my eyebrows at him. “Team? There’s just the two of us.”

“Now, don’t get hung up on the numbers.” He quickly responds. “Why don’t we set the goal?”

“I’m sorry but I’m not gonna play along, Mr. Cavanaugh.” I say to him, ordering two single-malt scotch for the both of us. The night’s young and if it insists on being one of the most difficult trials of my life, then I need something strong to deal with it. 

“Come on, you’ve got nothing to lose.” 

“I beg your pardon?”

“Your family already thinks you’re a gup in the romance department, right? What have you got to lose? Especially with a catch like me. Also, your sister called me a valet.” 

I stifle a laugh. “I’m so sorry about that.”

He smirks at me. “No, you’re not.”

Then it’s my turn to smirk. “No, I’m not.”

I hand him his drink, as a habit. I did this with Mr. Sandmoore often so I kind of got used to it. I always knew when he was upset or just plain broody, so I would usually serve him his drink from his liquor cart inside his office even before he told me to. 

“Thank you, Charlotte.” He says to me, smiling softly. He steals a whiff of his drink before taking a sip. 

“You’re welcome.” I responded. “And no. I’m not doing this. And you’re right, my family already thinks I’m a sore loser, so I don’t need to give them another reason to boost that.”

“Yes, why is that?” He asks. “if you don’t mind me asking.” 

I look at him with inquisitive eyes, searching for some sign that he was making fun of me, but find nothing. 

“You really wanna know?” I ask. 

“Pray tell.” 

“I may have driven all of my boyfriends away.” I told him. “Unintentionally, of course.” 

“I believe your sister used the words ‘scare away’.”

I roll my eyes. “I didn’t scare them away. She’s just exaggerating. She doesn’t even know the whole story.”

“Well, what is the story?” He asks. 

I shake my head. “I don’t think this is a proper conversation to have with my boss.”

“I’m not your boss tonight, remember?” 

I look at him flatly. “Fine. Well, if you must know, I didn’t do anything.”

He mirrors my previous expression, unconvinced of my answer. “Surely, your sister’s notion of your love life isn’t undue.” 

“Patty means well.” I say. “She and my brother Keno have perfect families. Kids, houses in the suburbs, and perfect love lives. That’s why they’re extra keen on mine and they’ve made it their life goal to set me up with thousands of dates. You know, Patty even set me up with a stranger she met while grocery shopping.”  

“Nonsense. She did that?” 

I wag my eyebrows in response. “Among many others.”

He winces a little. “You still haven’t told me how you drove all your boyfriends away.”

My entire being cringes internally. I was hoping he’d forgotten about it, but I guess I’m s**t out of luck. 

“Like I said, I didn’t do anything.” I clarify, continuing my story. “I never did anything. I was in a relationship with my job, as per all the boyfriends. I was too focused on the needs of my boss rather than my actual relationship. I believe the words ‘end up alone’ were used on two different occasions.”

“How many have there been?”

“Two.” I told him, laughing right after I confessed. “Sore loser, right?”

“Well, that changes tonight.” He says. “Your ex-boyfriends say you’re in a relationship with your job but since I’m the very description of your job, then that does it. It’s just perfect, isn't it?”

I laugh again, emptying the content of my glass. “I’m still not pretending to be with you tonight.”  

“That’s an order.” says Mr. Cavanaugh in a nonchalant manner. 

My mouth gapes at him. “You’re ordering me to be your girlfriend for tonight?”

“No, I’m ordering you to let me be your boyfriend for tonight.”

“Same difference!” 

He shakes his head. “Very huge difference. I don’t think you’d want this to reflect on your quarterly evaluation, do you? ‘Disobedient’, defies handsome boss’ orders… not gonna be pretty.”

I look at him flatly once again. “I thought you said you weren’t my boss tonight?”

“Charlie!” I heard a painfully familiar voice call me. 

Oh God.

Dear God no, please.

Please let it not be my mother.

I brace myself before looking behind me, forcing out the best smile I have ever pulled off in my entire twenty six years of existence. “Mom!”

“Oh sweetie!” She pulls me into a really tight embrace, l feel my C-cup flattening down to an A. “It’s been so long. I wish you would visit more often.” 

Dad embraces me next, kissing my temple as he was. I mutter a quick “I miss you Daddy.” before pulling away.

“Where’s Christie?” asks Mom. If she didn’t know that Christie isn’t with me, then Patty mustn't have mentioned yet to her that I was with a so-called ‘boyfriend’. 

As if right on cue, Patty walks up to us at the bar. 

“Mom, have you met Darren?” She tells Mom, wagging her eyebrows at her as some sort of signal. “He’s Charlie’s boyfriend.”

“He’s no—” I begin to say before Mr. Cavanaugh cuts me off and offers his hand to my Mom. “Pleasure to finally meet you Mrs. Edwards. Charlie told me many beautiful things about you.”

“Oh please, call me Judy.” My Mom responds, an amused and accusing expression on her sweet little face. “And she’s told me absolutely nothing about you! Come now, you better get me a drink. We haven’t gotten all night.” 

She steals Mr. Cavanaugh away, in a very swift manner that I didn’t even realize she was doing until they were both gone.