Page 8 of Robert

“Robert! She was at the door before he found his tongue.

“Pardon?” Even her voice sounded rich and beautiful.

“My name is Robert!”

She flicked him a glance as if that did not interest her in the least but had nodded politely and had left him leaning against the wall, his heart racing.

He had tried to talk to her after that, but she had looked through him as if she had never met him before. Afterwards he had the painful task of watching her every single day and torturing himself with hopeless thoughts.

She was everywhere. Not only was she the most popular girl in school, but she was also the most active. Head of the cheerleading team, head of the debating team, she was also very athletic. She was on the swim team, lacrosse, volleyball, and tennis.

The blonde asshole was the star quarterback and the two were dubbed the most beautiful couple at the time. Robert had to endure seeing them together constantly. He recalled the evening after a match when they had won an astounding victory over a visiting team.

He had been on the bench when Sonya had raced onto the field, her short skirt barely covering her long and shapely legs. His heart had jolted painfully when she flung herself into Jason’s arms and the two had exchanged a torrid kiss that had the crowd cheering.

That night he had sat outside on a tree stump near his home and cried. It was then he had vowed to make something of himself so that she would notice him.

Now he had. He had clawed his way up against all odds and was now one of the most powerful men in the country.

And he was still in love with her. It was pathetic. He had spent years trying to forget her, telling himself that he should move on. But no matter the women he took to his bed, her face was the one he always sees. He had stopped trying.

Picking up his forgotten drink, he downed it, relishing the fiery path from throat to stomach. He wanted her and by God, he would have her.

*****

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“I was thinking we should start going out.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Leaning back in the chair, Robert jerked his head, indicating that he wanted privacy.Without a word, his assistant gathered up her things and discreetly left the office, closing the doors behind her. “What do you have in mind?” His head was still woozy from drinking himself into a stupor last night.

“Jackson has an opening at his gallery tonight over on Main Street. Did you have anything planned?”

He mentally checked his schedule, which was always too packed and ruthlessly decided to break the dinner date with Merva, an actress he had been seeing casually for the past two weeks. “Nothing of significance.”

“Shall I meet you there?”

“Why don’t I send a car for you? That way we can be seen entering together. The press will be there in all its glory.”

“Or we could start small.” She sounded nervous. “What do you think?”

His expression hardened as the insecurities of his past came flooding back.

“If you’re ashamed to be seen with me, then I suppose we could find somewhere private.”

“No! I apologize if it sounded as if I was implying that I was. It’s just that we are entering this farce, and the press is going to make a big deal- you know what? Let’s do it. We will cross that particular bridge when we get to it.”

He heaved a silent breath of relief and felt the giddiness rushing through his body.

“Shall we say seven-thirty?”

“I will be ready. Robert?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you again for agreeing to do this.”

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