into my office, her eyes filled with trepidation. “Mr. Cartwright, is everything okay?”
I take a deep breath and halt my pacing. I try to relax my shoulders as best I can. I already know that my scarred face and large frame scare her. I don’t want to make it worse by acting like a psycho. “Luce, come in.”
She licks the corner of her mouth nervously as she practically tiptoes in. When she sees the mess of food dripping down the wall and puddled on the carpet, her eyes go wide. “W-would you like me to get someone in here to clean that up?”
I tug at the roots of my hair. “Who was that? Who was that man with the flowers? The one who left with Ms. Santiago?” I hate the tone of the jealousy coiled around my words.
A dreamy expression settles on Luce’s face, her hands clasping over her heart. “That was Senator Davidson,” she says wistfully. “He’s running for president.”
Chapter 18
A smile curls my lips as I gather up the documents scattered across my desk and stack them into a neat pile. It’s almost 11:30. It’s time to call it a night. I can’t work past midnight every night or else I’ll burn out sooner than later.
Lunch had been… nice . Chess is a real gentleman. The type that opens doors and pulls out chairs for a woman. We’d had lunch at a nice, little restaurant overlooking Central Park. He’d showered me with compliments and attention.
After the meal, one of the secret service agents on his detail opened the door of his black SUV, and Chess and I slid into the backseat. An eager look flashed across his face as he moved in closer, lessening the small space between us. His face lowered to mine and his eyes fluttered shut.
Shit – he’s about to kiss me , my brain stuttered.
Panic flooded the pit of my stomach causing me to recoil. When Chess puckered his lips but didn’t find my mouth, his eyes blinked open. His brows furrowed and he gave me a puzzled look.
“Can I be completely honest with you?” I said in a small voice.
He gave me a nod. “Of course.”
I pulled a sharp breath. “You’re a great guy, so I don’t want you to think that my resistance is because you’ve done something wrong. It’s just that, someone from my past just reappeared and I have some things to figure out. It’s not fair to you that I allow this to go to the next level if I’m not ready yet. Does that make any sense?”
Chess gave me an empathetic smile. “I completely understand,” he said as he sat upright in his seat, giving me some space.
I sighed with relief. I was so glad that he was being understanding about it all because although I haven’t figured out how to shut off what I feel for Liam, I don’t want to mess up with Chess. I think he has potential.
“Promise me one thing, though,” Chess said, smirking at me.
“What?” I asked skeptically.
“You’ll keep hanging out with me until you figure everything out.”
I tilted my head to the side and watched him. “You’re running for president. Do you even have time to ‘hang out’?” I make air-quotes around the words.
His voice was soft and low. “I’ll make time for you.”
Even if my heart is still in pieces over Liam and in no way ready to fall in love, Chess seems like a good guy and he’s basically just volunteered to be a pleasant distraction until I’m back on my feet. I see no reason to refuse him. “Deal,” I said.
“Deal.” He stuck his fist out at me. Incredulous, my eyes moved from his outstretched hand to his face and back again. “Come on,” he insisted. “Don’t leave me hanging.”
I giggled, feeling silly as I bumped my fisted knuckles against his.
He laughed as he caught my wrist, slowly unfurled my fingers and pressed his lips to the back of my hand. “Goodbye, Beautiful Jasmine.”
“Goodbye, Handsome Chess.”
He then promised to text once he got back to
I take a deep breath and halt my pacing. I try to relax my shoulders as best I can. I already know that my scarred face and large frame scare her. I don’t want to make it worse by acting like a psycho. “Luce, come in.”
She licks the corner of her mouth nervously as she practically tiptoes in. When she sees the mess of food dripping down the wall and puddled on the carpet, her eyes go wide. “W-would you like me to get someone in here to clean that up?”
I tug at the roots of my hair. “Who was that? Who was that man with the flowers? The one who left with Ms. Santiago?” I hate the tone of the jealousy coiled around my words.
A dreamy expression settles on Luce’s face, her hands clasping over her heart. “That was Senator Davidson,” she says wistfully. “He’s running for president.”
Chapter 18
A smile curls my lips as I gather up the documents scattered across my desk and stack them into a neat pile. It’s almost 11:30. It’s time to call it a night. I can’t work past midnight every night or else I’ll burn out sooner than later.
Lunch had been… nice . Chess is a real gentleman. The type that opens doors and pulls out chairs for a woman. We’d had lunch at a nice, little restaurant overlooking Central Park. He’d showered me with compliments and attention.
After the meal, one of the secret service agents on his detail opened the door of his black SUV, and Chess and I slid into the backseat. An eager look flashed across his face as he moved in closer, lessening the small space between us. His face lowered to mine and his eyes fluttered shut.
Shit – he’s about to kiss me , my brain stuttered.
Panic flooded the pit of my stomach causing me to recoil. When Chess puckered his lips but didn’t find my mouth, his eyes blinked open. His brows furrowed and he gave me a puzzled look.
“Can I be completely honest with you?” I said in a small voice.
He gave me a nod. “Of course.”
I pulled a sharp breath. “You’re a great guy, so I don’t want you to think that my resistance is because you’ve done something wrong. It’s just that, someone from my past just reappeared and I have some things to figure out. It’s not fair to you that I allow this to go to the next level if I’m not ready yet. Does that make any sense?”
Chess gave me an empathetic smile. “I completely understand,” he said as he sat upright in his seat, giving me some space.
I sighed with relief. I was so glad that he was being understanding about it all because although I haven’t figured out how to shut off what I feel for Liam, I don’t want to mess up with Chess. I think he has potential.
“Promise me one thing, though,” Chess said, smirking at me.
“What?” I asked skeptically.
“You’ll keep hanging out with me until you figure everything out.”
I tilted my head to the side and watched him. “You’re running for president. Do you even have time to ‘hang out’?” I make air-quotes around the words.
His voice was soft and low. “I’ll make time for you.”
Even if my heart is still in pieces over Liam and in no way ready to fall in love, Chess seems like a good guy and he’s basically just volunteered to be a pleasant distraction until I’m back on my feet. I see no reason to refuse him. “Deal,” I said.
“Deal.” He stuck his fist out at me. Incredulous, my eyes moved from his outstretched hand to his face and back again. “Come on,” he insisted. “Don’t leave me hanging.”
I giggled, feeling silly as I bumped my fisted knuckles against his.
He laughed as he caught my wrist, slowly unfurled my fingers and pressed his lips to the back of my hand. “Goodbye, Beautiful Jasmine.”
“Goodbye, Handsome Chess.”
He then promised to text once he got back to
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