C2 Driving her home

“What?”

Abigail’s pretty face clouded with disappointment. She came back after two years to country A and expected Aidan to come and receive her, but he sent someone instead. Anger started piling up inside her, and she vented her frustration on Charles. She looked at the bouquet and the gift for once and threw them down mercilessly.

Charles was stupefied and looked down instantly. He was about to bend over to pick the things up, but she trampled on the bouquet and knocked the gift box away. She said coldly, “Don’t you know which flower I like? If you have come in his place and bring gifts for me, you should bring them according to my preference.” She turned and left after dropping those words.

Charles felt heartache for the money he spent. He quickly picked up the gift box and chased her after, calling her, “Miss, wait… Boss will be upset if you leave alone. Let me drive you home, please.”

Abigail was so angry that she felt like her brain was about to explode. She didn’t know why she started hating this man. She wished if she could scratch on his face. She stopped on the track and turned around to look at him.

Charles stopped running and said, “Miss, please come with me.” He bowed slightly and made a gesture to her to go ahead. She crossed her arms over her chest and asked, “Are you qualified to give me a ride home? Who do you think you are?”

Charles lifted his head to look at her and was caught off guard to see the contempt in her eyes. At that moment, he was lost in words. He didn’t know how to convince her. But if he let her go alone, Aidan would punish him. After thinking of something, he said, “Miss, don’t be angry. Mr. Thompson promised that he would invite you for dinner tonight. For now, treat me as your driver and let me drive you home.” He flashed his charming smile at her. Here he lied that his boss would take her to dinner.

Abigail stared at him curiously, squinting her eyes. It seemed that this man was very loyal to Aidan. Maybe he trusted him, and that’s why he sent him to pick her up. Abigail really loved Aidan, and for him, she made up her mind to give some face to this man. “Okay…” Then she pushed the luggage towards him and said, “lead the way.”

Charles caught the luggage, and heaved a small sigh secretly, and said, “Please, follow me.” He turned and walked up to the parking area, pulling the luggage while Abigail followed him quietly. He opened the backseat door for her, and she got in the car, glancing at him once. Then he went inside the car and started the engine.

Silence invaded the car, and Charles became a bit nervous. He was also sweating, despite the air conditioning was on, and he loosened the tie a bit.

Abigail, who was looking out, suddenly turned her head and stared at the man through the rearview mirror as if she sensed his discomfort. She asked him, “What did you tell your name?”

Charles looked at her in the rearview mirror and said, “It’s Charles… Charles Shaw.” He then smiled a little.

“Okay, Charles… what do you do?”

“Oh… I am Mr. Thompson’s assistant, though I am not his prime assistant. He had other two more assistants.” He again smiled at her.

Abigail’s stomach churned to see him smiling. She wanted to vomit all over him. She faked a smile and scoffed, “Hmm… so, you are that type of assistant who does his boss’s personal work, like you are doing right now.”

“Excuse me?” Charles was losing his control bit by bit. His expression also changed a little. The smile on his face was not there anymore. Until now he tolerated all her bad behaviors, but it became difficult for him to suppress his anger.

“Oh… You don’t know what I mean, do you?” She had a smirk on the corner of her face while staring at him.

Charles was not stupid. He could comprehend that she was making fun of him. But, he was not the one to be ridiculed. So he smiled and said politely, “It is not like that, Miss. My boss trusts me. Otherwise, he would have sent any of his men to receive you.”

“What do you mean?” Abigail scowled at him and tried to figure out what he wanted to say.

Charles chuckled and said, “Mr. Thompson is a bit possessive man, and he doesn’t like anyone to stare you in a lecherous manner. You know, the men are men. When they see a beautiful woman like you, they can’t control their eyes to marvel at the beauty. You know what I mean.”

Abigail was stunned and lost her voice to speak. She only stared at him blankly, mouth agape. Charles, on the other end, had a mocking smile on his face to see her stunning. Abigail realized something after a while, and she said, “That means you are immune to my beauty. It is not affecting you.”

He chuckled and said, “You are right.” ‘You are not my type.’ He wanted to add this, but in the end, he didn’t say it loudly.

For an unknown reason, Abigail felt wronged by his words. Her mood became even worse. She had seen many young and middle-aged men drooling over her, but this man said he was not affected by her beauty. Could it be that he had some problems? Or did he have a girlfriend? She felt something in her heart but she didn’t know what it was. Wait… what was she thinking? She turned her head and looked at the scenery outside. She wondered why she was thinking so much about this man. What did she have to do if he was dating someone or not? She shrugged and continued looking outside.

No one continued the conversation further. Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of a luxurious mansion. Charles got out of the car and opened the door for her. Abigail stepped out of the car without sparing a glance at him, and she was about to leave, but Charles’s next words stopped her in the track, “Miss, please take this gift. Mr. Thompson will be upset if you reject his gift.”

Abigail turned around and saw him stretching his hand towards her, holding the gift box. She took the box and said, “Thank you.”

Charles smiled and said, “You are welcome, Miss Mills.”

“This ‘thank you’ is not for you. Tell your boss I thanked him for this gift. You should let the other person finish speaking before you open your mouth.”

Charles’s smile vanished straight away, and his fingers curled up gradually, forming tight balls. Abigail turned around and left. But there was a smirk on her face. Charles muttered something under his breath before he got in the car and drove to the office.

By the time he reached the office, Aidan had already left for business lunch, and Charles could only wait for him. He headed to his cubicle and turned on his system. Just as he started checking the emails, his colleague Martin came to him and tapped on his shoulder, saying, “Hey, you are late today.”

Charles chuckled bitterly and said, “I am late because I picked up boss’ fiancee at the airport.”

“Seriously?” Martin exclaimed with excitement. Luckily it was lunch break and everyone went to the cafeteria. Otherwise, Martin would earn lots of scowls and glares. He sat down on the chair next to him and said in a low voice as though he was scared if someone eavesdropped on him, “I have heard that Miss Mills is very pretty. Is it true?”

Charles looked at the computer screen and answered indifferently while doing something, “Yes, it is.”

Martin slapped on his back twice and said, “You are quite lucky, man.” Charles was startled and glared at Martin, but Martin was busy in his own world and didn’t see the change in expression on Charles’s face. He continued speaking, “You saw her in such close proximity. Ah… I wish I was there in your place.” There was a smile on his face, and he was looking somewhere ahead. It seemed he was lost in a daydream.

Charles sneered, “Then I will recommend you to the boss if he needs someone to attend Miss Mills in the future.”

“Really?” Martin’s eyes moved to Charles and looked at him inquisitively.

“Fuck you…”

Martin’s smile faded away instantly to see the grumpy face of Charles, and he understood that he was just mocking him. His mood became sour and he said, “Alright. Let’s go for lunch. It’s already late.”

Then they went straight to the cafeteria.

……...

Aidan returned to the company at around 5 in the afternoon and Charles went to his office. He knocked on the door and waited for his response.

“Come in.” Aidan’s voice came from the other side of the door.

Charles pushed the door open and went inside. He greeted him and handed over the bill to him. Then he said dejectedly, “Boss, please don’t ask me to accompany Miss Mills further. She is very difficult to handle. I am not eligible for this type of job. She is your fiancee, and you should accompany her.” He lashed out all his frustration and gazed at Aidan with displeasure.

Aidan didn’t respond immediately. He only stared at him, expression unreadable. After a while, he smiled which could not be considered as a smile, and said, “She is a bit spoiled one by her father’s love. But she is not at all bad. Anyway, thank you for your help. Show the bill to the finance department and collect the money.” He passed the bill to him.

Charles smiled and took the bill, saying, “Thank you, boss.” He turned to leave, but suddenly he remembered something and turned around, saying, “Boss… uh… Miss Mills was very angry with you when she didn’t see you. To calm her down, I said that you would take her to dinner tonight. Don’t be late.” Charles turned and left soon after finishing speaking. But before he could take a few steps, he heard an earth-shaking roar of Aidan, “Halt…”