Page 22 of Scottish Seducer
Chapter 9
Stephanie
My entire body still tingled.Sleep was rare last night, but we did manage a few short naps.
Charles lived up to that last name of his because “grand” was putting it mildly to describe how he made me feel. Ever since he’d said “boyfriend” earlier, I’d imagined a life with him that somehow didn’t seem like a far-off dream. I blinked as I admitted to myself that it was, though.
Now I was showered and downstairs rummaging around for tea. None of my tea was in boxes brought by the movers, but I did find his small selection of tea and made do with that. And the caffeine made me feel normal.
I made a note in my phone to-do list to order tea for the townhouse while I lived here. As I finished, Charlie came in and poured himself a cup of the tea without a word.
He gulped it burning hot, and asked, “Are you ready to head to work and see your new office?”
I didn’t have any suits appropriate for upper management. So I wore my nicest black pants and white shirt with my mother’s golden daisy around my neck for courage.
When I joined him downstairs, I ducked my head and said, “I’m nervous someone’s going to think I got this job because I fucked the boss.”
He kissed my cheek. “You inspire me, and I want you close. That’s different.”
We walked to find a driver waiting for us in a Rolls Royce. We slipped into the back seat as I asked, “How do I inspire you?”
His knees brushed mine as he said, “You have a full day to spend designing this three-D program we’re building, and you’re officially the Jane Austen resident expert.”
Right. This job of his made me feel wiggly and my stomach was in knots. We were on our way, but I asked, “You’ve never read her books, so why are you doing this?”
He took my hand, which still sent tingles up my arms and other places, then said, “I’ve always wanted to create something superior to virtual reality, a full-immersion experience for real, live people to experience their dreams. I have the tech, but we need a storyboard that allows for people to just exist in the world. Jane Austen would have unique clothing demands, but it’s based on known parameters that are human created. Her books are free of copyright, and my teams who are into creating alternate realities envisioned by others have tons of questions about costuming, set design issues, and more.”
Wow.Clearly Charlie already lived in the future, because I had zero idea how he’d formulated all those details while on the road. When his building came into view, I turned to him and said, “That sounds like a lot of thinking. You didn’t tell me any of this in the car, or in bed.”
He whispered in my ear so the driver didn’t hear him. “I don’t usually explain my thoughts. I stopped doing that when I was a boy, when I finally realized no one understood me.”
We pulled into his spot next to the elevator as I said, “What if the Jane Austen virtual world makes no money? The fandom is large, but not necessarily into technology.”
The driver opened the door for me, and I got out. I followed arrows to the elevator, but a moment later Charlie caught up with me and said, “Most of my ideas make no money. It’s the ones that do that fuel the others. Besides, we could potentially use some parts of the historical costumes and settings in all the other V.R. worlds.”
I stopped at the door and glanced up. He probably worked on one of the top floors, while I’d been in delivery in the basement since I started working here. I tried to ignore my jitters as I said, “We’re here.”
He took my hand and walked in with me. I stared at the other people in suits, but no one paid any attention to me. Charlie was clearly the reason everyone quieted. We got on the elevator alone, and he pressed the top floor button.
As we climbed, my stomach twisted into even more knots, though Charlie beamed like he was happy and at ease with his world. He should be, but I’d refused to work for any of my siblings’ connections because I hadn’t wanted to be a burden.
But I was determined to help Charlie with this idea of his, for however long it lasted.
The elevator stopped and he walked me to a corner office with a view of the Thames and Hyde Park where we lived and said, “See you at lunch, Stephanie. I had us scheduled together.”
I went over to the glass desk and found a schedule with my name on it. My eyes widened as I scanned names of meetings and department heads as I said, “Someone’s planned a full day for me, it seems.”
Charlie kissed my forehead, but he seemed like he was off in his own world as he left. I sat down at the desk and read a message saying my username and password had been transferred to a new laptop and logged in.
I blinked when I saw several emails, not one of them from Margot telling me what to do.
My cell phone rang, and I took it out of my pocket. For a second, I breathed in a sense of normalcy. I had fifteen minutes till my first meetings, so I walked to the window to gaze down at the street, the river, and the aerial view of London. Seriously, this was a beautiful view.
When I answered, instead of saying hello, I said, “Sophia, you’ll never guess what happened.”
“Stephanie, are you sitting down?”
My heart thumped and I turned around fast. The fancy desk chair was stiff, but I returned to it as I said, “I can be. Wait.” I tucked my chair in, then said, “Okay, what’s going on?”
