Her Lion Billionaire(2)

She read somewhere that Addington was a workaholic. Maybe his workload  had caught up with him. Well, she wished a mountain of work would fall  on him, making him so busy that he wouldn't have time to harass her.   





 

Charlotte's heart was lightened by the end of the day, so she indulged  herself with the thought of buying some ice cream on the way home and  just pigging out while watching reruns of Fringe.

That thought quickly shattered as she tidied up her desk, ready to go  home. Footsteps echoed by the stairs, accompanied by the noise of a  giggling woman. A man spoke, and she'd recognize that voice anywhere.

Addington.

It was that deep, bassy voice with a very low register that sounded so  sexy, and she got a thrilling shiver at the base of her spine just from  hearing him talk.

"Oh, no." Drats!

Addington simply didn't back down. Instead, he'd stepped up his game a notch.

He'd come to her apartment the day after her bike was returned, but she  was able to elude him by pretending she wasn't home. This time, she  couldn't escape. The stairs were the only way to get out of the  building, as the service elevator had been out of commission for the  past two weeks.

That man never gives up, does he?

Charlotte scrunched up her forehead and thought about hiding in one of  the large utility cabinets. Impossible. Unless she was as thin as a  broomstick, hiding wasn't an option. She was one of those of plus-sized  girls with a binge eating disorder when she was stressed out. And  lately, everything had stressed her out.

Addington descended into view, followed by her section manager and a bunch of her female coworkers.

What a surprise.

Her heart went pitter-patter when their gazes collided. Jesus! He was as  handsome as she remembered that day. Tall and muscular figure wrapped  in an ultra-expensive suit. Hypnotic eyes. Charming smile. The way he  carried himself was elegant-the product of a proper education that had  been ingrained deep into him since an early age. It made him a rare and  refined gentleman.

A very persuasive gentleman.

Out of nowhere, a premonition from that day flashed into her mind. Her  face burned hot instantaneously. She couldn't forget it-not in a  thousand years. The image of them naked in bed writhing in passionate  throes burned vividly in her brain. He'd straddled her while amorously  kissing her open-mouthed. Their fingers entwined as he thrust himself  inside of her, so deep, so mind-blowing, she got a shiver just thinking  about it. She was freaking embarrassed. Because of her condition, sex  was the last thing on her mind. She'd never had a lover in her life. Not  that she'd even entertained the idea before. The thought that she'd  discover more than she wanted about that person was a big turn off.  She'd had her share of weirdness for a lifetime, thank you very much.

"Charlotte!" Moira, her manager, beamed. "Why have you never told us you're acquainted with Mr. Addington?"

Charlotte could only grin stupidly. She avoided direct eye contact with  Daniel, knowing that she'd purposely avoided him for the past few days.

"Ms. Winters," Addington greeted her in polite manner. "Please pardon me  for coming here unannounced, but there are matters weighing on my mind,  and I feel I should discuss them with you in person. Are you well?"

"I-I'm fine, thank you." Charlotte noticed that Abby was among his  fangirls, and she was grinning from ear to ear. She secretly gave her a  thumbs-up.

"Oh, were you sick, Charlotte?" her manager nosily asked her.

"Ms. Winters was recently involved in a traffic accident, and I worry  for her well-being when we're out of contact," Addington explained to  Moira. He then looked back and studied her from head to toe. "I see that  you're seemingly fine. Didn't you hurt your knee as I recall?"

"It was just a light scrape, and I'm totally okay now." Moira and the  others seemed curious, and Charlotte felt obligated to offer them an  excuse. "I was riding my bike Sunday night when a car drove me off the  street. He happened to witness the accident and help me."

"Ooh." Moira nodded. "See, Mr. Addington, our Charlotte here is so quiet  and shy. I wouldn't know if she'd been involved in an accident had you  not told me. Was it a hit and run?"

"Unfortunately," said Addington. "The gentleman in the blue Camry was  rather reckless indeed. I'm quite convinced that he didn't even realize  that he'd injured a cyclist due to his carelessness. Shocking. It makes  me wonder how such a driver was granted a license in the first place."

"I know," Moira quipped. "People these days drive like such jerks, you wouldn't believe it."

The fangirls quickly jumped into the conversation to gain his attention.  He listened to them with patience and replied politely; the man was  naturally charming. Each word was enunciated clearly with eloquence. It  wasn't something she saw every day. He was a cut above ninety-five  percent of the male population.   





 

Addington glanced at his watch. "Ah, look at the time. We must get going. Ms. Winters, shall we?" He offered his arm.

Huh?

"Didn't you read my message? I said I'd pick you up for dinner after work."

The bouquet! Damn. She'd thrown the card that came with the roses away  without reading it. It was impossible to back out now without sounding  like an ass. He had put her in a difficult position in front of her  coworkers. Clever bastard.

Charlotte feigned ignorance. "Sorry, I forgot." She inclined her head. "Please, go ahead. I'll follow you."

Moira noticed that she didn't take his arm. "Charlotte has a phobia  about germs, Mr. Addington, so you'll have to excuse her. She doesn't  like being touched."

"That was presumptuous of me. I'm sorry." He gestured toward the stairs. "After you, Ms. Winters."

Charlotte walked with awkwardness under the jealous stares of the  fangirls. If her boss wasn't watching, she'd have taken off running like  the Roadrunner.

He herded her to the front of the building where his chauffeur waited by a shiny new black Mercedes.

She turned around. "Mr. Addington-"

"Please, call me Daniel," he interjected.

"Daniel. I forgot that I have errands this evening. Can we do this some other time?" Yeah. Like never?

He didn't seem to be buying her lie. "Then I shall accompany you to your  destination. Driving is much faster than public transportation."

Charlotte sighed. "I don't know how to say this, but I'll try." She  paused. "That time we first met, I didn't see anything, didn't remember  anything, and I won't breathe about it to another soul as long as I  live. You have my word on it."

Daniel only smiled. "I know who you are. A rarest of the rare. A Dream Eater."

Dream Eater? That's new.

"Have you been like this your entire life?" he asked.

"Like, being weird?"

"Your gift, I meant."

"Gift? It feels like a curse to me."

"Do you dislike your talent that much? I find it very intriguing."  Daniel searched her eyes. "If I touch you, will I see my future again?  Our future-together?"

"Please don't do that." Charlotte took a step back. "Let this one slide. What you saw was nothing but an illusion."

"How could you be sure?" he pressed. "Has this happened to you before?"

She shook her head. "My gut feeling says no."

"Then I can't accept this. Since the day we met, it has been driving me  insane. I can't get you off my mind. I simply must know if we are fated  to be together. I believe that you're destined to be my mate."

"What? Don't be ridiculous."

"Why not?"

"Why not? Just look at us. You're somebody and I'm a nobody. This ain't a  Cinderella story. The two of us can never be together. It is so not  gonna happen."

"That's a poor excuse to be afraid of something you do not yet  understand. I see you past one's social strata. We are not living in the  nineteenth century anymore. Save the class warfare for a history  lecture. I feel strongly that we must explore-"

"No," she cut him off. "I don't want to."

Daniel grabbed her hand, stopping her from leaving. "I'm afraid I must insist, Ms. Winters."

Charlotte panicked for a moment. She didn't want to see that  embarrassing image again, reliving the premonition of two strangers  who'd never laid eyes on each other wrestling in bed doing all kinds of  X-rated stuff.

But then wasn't that kind of thing pretty common these days? How was it  any different to picking up a stranger in a bar and having all-night,  casual, mind-blowing sex?

No, no. It's too embarrassing.

From the corner of her eye, she caught Abby walking toward the subway  with the girls from admin, so she resorted to the oldest trick in the  world. She yanked her hand from his grip and pointed in the opposite  direction. "Look, what's that?"

He fell for it.

Charlotte couldn't believe how easy it was to distract him. She used the  opportunity to sprint toward her friends. "Hey, you guys!"