Page 134 of From Rivals to I Do

“Next time, just tell me the truth,” I say coldly.

But I soon smiled up at him, saying: “So, you decided to bring me all the way to LA without telling me why. Did you not think I would understand?” He nodded

just like Charlee would, it was sort of attractive to watch, and before I knew it, I burst into a full laugh.

As the night goes on, the mood becomes more relaxed and playful. We start joking around and laughing, and Leonard playfully touches my arm. It sends

shivers down my spine, and without a doubt, I’m attracted to him. I try to push the thought out of my mind, telling myself that it’s just the moment and it will

pass.

However, the feeling doesn’t go away as the night ends, and we head back to the penthouse. I find myself thinking of him and what the future may hold for us.

“There’s Ria. You’re just a substitute,” I keep telling myself to try and make sense of this whole thing. I sense we have chemistry, but I might be imagining it. Or

does he feel the same way? I struggle to push the thought out of my mind knowing that pursuing anything with my boss would be unprofessional.

We enter our suite, and as we get to the door of my room and are about to say goodnight, Leonard turns to me and says, “I had a great time with you tonight.”

I feel my heart skip a beat. “Me too,” I say, trying to play it cool. “Good night,” I speedily turn the doorknob to enter my room before he can see the redness on

my face. He softly grips my hand and draws it into his chest. He places his hand under my chin and softly pulls me closer to him. Before I knew it, our lips met

passionately. I could stay in Leonard’s arms forever. The kiss felt like a lifetime, and neither of us wanted it to end. “Rayne, you are one special lady, do you

know that”? He whispers in my ear. “Leonard, this trip has been amazing. You make me feel like I have never felt before,” I responded. We kissed one last time, and he gently released me. “Goodnight, Leonard.”

As I enter my room, I quickly make sure my door is locked behind me. My mind is racing with thoughts of the evening. As soon as I reached my bed, I jumped on

the bed and screamed into the pillow.

This man is my employer, the man I work for, my boss. It’s wrong. It's strange because I haven’t thought about a man since Reece, all I want to do is be a good

mother and make sure we have everything we need. But this man, my billionaire boss, is attracted to me. I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming.

I can’t help but feel a little flattered by this. I mean, he’s successful and attractive, and the fact that he liked the time he spent with me is a bit of an ego boost. Yes, it is most definitely a bad idea, I convince myself.

I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize my job or my reputation, but at the same time, I can’t help but feel drawn to him. It's like this

invisible force is pulling me toward him, and I don’t know how to resist it. What if it doesn’t work out? What will happen to my job? Do I have to resign and start

from scratch? There’s Ria as well, are they dating? I can't help but question, who is she really in his life? They have schedules for calls every other day because

she isn’t in the country etc.

As I lay in my bed, I knew I needed to figure out what to do. But for now, all I can do is scream into my pillow and try to sort my thoughts. Despite the

uncertainty, it does feel great being the center of attention and appreciated. Some good sleep will do the magic of clearing my head.

***

Leonard taps on my door to let me know it’s time to go. I guess we are back to awkwardness and professionalism. “The bellhop is here for our luggage, are you

packed?” He calls from behind the door.

“Just a few minutes,” I call out before emerging with my bag. I face the bellhop. “Good morning. Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“Good morning, mam. It’s no problem,” he says as he picks up my box and adds it to the trolley.

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