Page 2 of My Dear Mr. Corporate

I shuffled my feet against the floor in the direction Tate indicated. He surged ahead, and I had to hurry to catch up with him. I scowled at his back but didn’t tell him to slow down. He led us to a side door which he unlocked. He gestured for me to step in and once I did, he disabled the alarm system on the wall right by the door.

“We’ll leave your bags here for the moment,” Tate remarked, placing the bags against one wall. “I’ll show you to our room later if you don’t mind. I’ll also give you the grand tour, but right now I need to get some carbs into me.”

My heart skipped a beat at his reference of ‘our’ room. He hadn’t even asked me if I wanted to share his bedroom. Before I could bring it up, the minimalist interior décor of his house blew my mind away. It was as though every piece of furniture and art that hung on the wall had been carefully hand-selected. I vaguely pinpointed where he disappeared before I studied the interior of his house without having to guard my reaction around him.

How was it possible for someone to be so wealthy? I gazed around me at the winding glass stairs which led to the second floor. The open floor design showed off the house in all its beauty. The sofas and split two-piece center table in the living area looked too delicate for use. They seemed more of decorations than for utility. Glass was everywhere, and the cream-colored couches and lounges complemented the mixture of the same hue and darker hues of the floor. An oval dining table with a glass top and eight stylish chairs made up the dining area. I was completely blown away by the design of the fireplace. It was the central feature of the layout with everything else strategically placed around it.

“Bryan!”

I snapped out of my trance at Tate calling my name and hurried in the direction he had disappeared. I ended up in a kitchen just as beautiful as the rest of the house. Tate stood at the granite top island, a can of beer at his mouth. He gulped it all down before returning to the ingredients he had on the counter.

“Your house looks lovely,” I told him because I didn’t know what else to say.

“Thanks, I haven’t spent much time here,” he answered, then gestured to the bread slices he was removing. “Are you hungry? We’ll go out later for dinner, but I missed breakfast this morning because I was hellbent on finding you.”

“And you found me,” I stated. Now what are you going to do to me? “I’m not hungry.” I probably was beneath the bundle of nerves in my stomach since I hadn’t eaten anything at Keith’s yesterday. I’d been in too much pain for me to join him for dinner. I’d instead holed up in the guestroom and refused to let him in. When I’d refused to accept his apology and to sleep with him, he’d left me alone.

“I’ve beer in the fridge if you’d rather something to drink.”

I shook my head. “I don’t really like beer.”

“No? Well, sit. You don’t need to look so uncomfortable. You’ve been living with me for almost a week. What do you think is going to change?”

It wasn’t necessarily what I thought was going to change but what I felt was about to develop. I already had so much emotions about this man who I knew very little about. How could I fall in love with him when I didn’t even give myself time to get over Keith? He might have been a dick, but we had been in a relationship.

I took a seat at the island as he indicated and gripped my fingers together tight. I didn’t say anything at first but watched as he prepared himself a bite to eat. He made himself a ham and cheese sandwich stuffed with lettuce and salad. He cleared the counter once more before grabbing another beer from the fridge and sitting across from me. I lowered my eyes so I didn’t have to make him uncomfortable watching him eat.

“How big is this place anyway?” I asked him to break the uncomfortable silence.

He swallowed before answering. “There are six bedrooms here in the main house and eight bathrooms. Out back there’s also a two-bedroom guesthouse next to the zero-edge pool and tennis court.”

If he had a guest room I could stay there instead of the main house.Then I wouldn’t get in his way. Perfect.

“Forget it. You’re not staying in the guest house.”

I flushed at his words. How did he even know what I was thinking? “Wouldn’t it make for a better arrangement?” I asked him. “You’d have your privacy.”

“If I were concerned about my privacy, I wouldn’t have taken you here,” he answered. “I don’t like the idea of you being so far away in the guest house. There’s plenty of space here.”

“But aren’t you used to being alone and having your own space?”

“No. I’m not.”

I glanced up at him then and saw the pain reflected on his face briefly before his features went blank. His wife and daughter, I thought. He still harbored guilt about them.

“Is this where you lived with them?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No.”

That was all. Since he wasn’t about to elaborate, I decided to just say what I had to. “Alright, I’ll stay here in the main house, but I would like my own bedroom. Downstairs.”

Tate eased back in his seat, scowling at me. “Why? I’ve seen you naked. We slept together in the same bed, and we just spent the last few days fucking everywhere possible in my cabin. Now, all of a sudden, you want us to pretend that we’re what? Friends? I thought you were joking about the no sex thing.”

“I’m not joking,” I answered. “I’m not saying we have to be friends only, but we don’t have to have sex with each other. It’s me trying to get a grip on my life, Tate. The last few days might have been great, but they happened way too fast.”

His scowl turned into a frown. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I don’t know what this is.” I gestured wildly between us, pretty sure I must have looked like a crazy person. “Are we just fuck buddies? Because at every turn we wind up in bed. You tell me right now if we’re just fuck buddies and I’ll gladly stay in your bed while I’m here, but if that’s not all between us, then let me get to know you.”

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