I opened the door to papa's room and stepped inside, making sure not to make a sound. He was fast asleep with a picture frame on his chest and a content smile on his face.

I went closer to him and sat on the chair as I lightly held his hand in mine and kissed it. I so carefully lifted the frame off his chest and tears filled my eyes as I saw the picture.

It was a picture of him, mom and I sitting on a blanket on the beach. I smiled and brushed off the tear that had managed to escape my eye from my free hand.

Before the accident that made our lives hell, we used to have so much fun together. Sunday used to be our family day and we would hang out together all day long. We would go to different places, eat in fancy restaurants or simply just put on a movie while sitting together in the TV lounge.

I considered myself blessed to have a childhood each kid would dream of. Sure I lost my mom at the age of sixteen and my papa was no longer able to walk after that but still we managed to get ourselves through it and that was the beauty of it. I still had him. We were together in this and he was the reason I was still smiling and welcoming each day with a bright smile.

I smiled and rested my head on his hand as I closed my eyes and let the tears out before I would stand up, get ready and face the world all over again with a bright smile that disguised every scar.

************

I waved at Sasha, the receptionist, who also happened to be my good friend now as I entered the elevator and waited for it to reach the floor I had my cabin on.

The elevator came to a halt and I rolled my eyes as I realised that somebody stopped the elevator halfway through the seventeenth floor. I crossed my arms across my chest and waited for the person to enter the lift so that I could reach my floor before it was past eight am. I didn't know why but last night since I came back from the hospital after seeing papa, I was quiet upset. Maybe it was the picture that brought back all the beautiful memories but it was safe to say that I really wasn't in a mood to interact with mu-

FML

Mr. Rhodes entered the elevator with hands tucked in his pockets and a slight frown on his face. He saw me, nodded and came to stand right beside me, as my heart wildly started pumping in its chest. He was standing so close to me that I could smell his cologne and let's just say it wasn't helping at all.

I couldn't tear my eyes off of him. It almost had been three weeks since I started working here and I still wasn't used to having him around me. And the fact it was the first time that I was standing this close to him didn't help either.

Mr. Rhodes had his eyes closed and he had lifted his head heavenwards so I had all the time in the world to just stand there and ogle at him all I wanted like the shameless person I was.

I noticed that there was a tiny scar right below his eyebrow and I didn't know if I was going crazy, but I found the smallest thing like that on him, beautiful.

He suddenly opened his eyes and before I had a chance to get my eyes off him, he was looking at me. And there it was, the frozen state, in which your body simple refuses to listen to you and your mind, well let's just say that it ceases to work.

He kept looking at me, his face was devoid of any emotion yet there was this spark in his amber eyes that drew me towards them, just like a moth of flame I just wanted to lift my hand up and run my fingers along his face.

Ding

My senses finally came back and I hurriedly exited the lift before my stupid mind decided to give in to my emotions.

**************

After working my ass off half the afternoon, it was finally lunch time and I was more than eager to just fly down to the cafeteria and eat my fill.

Today when I brought Mr. Rhodes his coffee, I couldn't even look at him in the eye. I was so embarrassed that I was caught ogling at my boss that I didn't think I could look at him straight in the eye for like...the next millenia.

I just went inside, put his coffee down on his table and ran back outside as fast as I could.

I opened the cafeteria door as I found Daniel sitting on his usual spot. He waved at me as he saw me entering and I made my way towards him.

"Hey new girl," he said as I took the seat opposite to him.

"Urgh when are you going to stop calling me that," I rolled my eyes and he chuckled.

"What can I bring ya?" Dan asked and I told him to bring me a chicken sandwich with pina colada and he stood up and went to the counter to give my order.

After a few minutes, he came back with my favourite drink of all times and the not-so-favourite sandwich. I thanked him and he bowed his head saying "Anything for Milady" just when I saw Mr. Rhodes making his way inside the cafeteria.

And the fact that he was looking straight at me, made me want to curl up in a ball and die.

"What's he doing here?" I asked Dan as I saw Mr. Rhodes making his way towards another employee, whose name I assumed was Jonathan.

"I don't know. Probably here to talk with his friend. Why are you sweating though?" Dan asked as he took a huge bite of his burger.

"Oh, nahh it's nothing," I shrugged it off and decided not to pay any attention to the man who can probably kill me with his one smile.

Of course I failed. Miserably.

************

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"You've got this Isabelle. It's just a damn man who looks sexy as fuck. Nothing much," I whispered to myself over and over again as I stood right outside of Mr. Rhodes office.

I knocked on the door and half hoped that he would just tell me to fuck off and go home instead of asking me to come inside but of course, luck and I weren't really best friends, now were we?

"You're still here Miss Reinhart? It's almost seven," Mr. Rhodes said as I stepped closer to his desk while looking at the view behind his chair.

"Uh–yes Mr. Rhodes, you asked me to write the statistics for the Michigan project by tonight," I said in a timid voice as my hands shivered while holding the file.

Mr. Rhodes didn't say anything for a minute and I just couldn't bring myself to properly look at him in the eyes so I just stood there and pretended to read the papers I was holding in my hand.

After a moment, I heard him stand up and I involuntary took a step back. I could practically feel him getting closer and closer to me until he was standing right in front of me.

He wasn't saying anything and my curiosity and anxiety were taking the best of me so I just lifted my head up to look at him.

Wrong move.

Mr. Rhodes had a slight smirk on his face and he was looking me as if he would just eat me alive and bury the remains in the woods.

He took a step closer, one more and one more until I could feel his minty breath on my face and an involuntary shiver ran down my spine. I stepped back and he stepped forward towards me until I was touching the edge of the sofa.

I stood there frozen and he took one more step towards me and now he stood so close to me that I about to pass out by the way he was looking at me.

"What's wrong, princess?" he whispered huskily and tilted his head to one side with the stupid smirk still on his face and I shivered from head to toe.

Holy mother of gummy bears what was happening between my legs.

"N-nothing," I said and lowered my eyes to the ground so that I didn't have to look straight at the devil whose expressions clearly stated that he knew what he was doing to me.

He brought two of his fingers and placed them beneath my chin as he lifted my head up to look at him.

"You look so nervous."

Yeah no shit.

Was this man high?

"I'm fine," I whispered and unintentionally my gaze fell to his lips and........fuck.

Mr. Rhodes smirked and brought his head closer to mine that for a second I thought he was about to kiss me but alas if that could only happen. He brought his lips close to my ear as he whispered,

"You were holding the file upside down."

I was losing all my shit here and this man was finding pleasure in teasing me while talking about the fucking file.

"I didn't notice," my voice came out hoarse and I closed my eyes as I tried to concentrate on anything other than his cologne reaching my nostrils.

The bastard smirked and stepped back as he tucked his hands in his pockets standing at a good distance of six feet between us.

"Tu m'amuse, princesse," he lightly shook his head and leaned back on the desk behind him.

(Translation: You amuse me, princess)

"I don't understand......" I whispered and waited for him to explain what the hell was he talking about when he shook his head again and said,

"Go home, it's late."

Yeah screw you too.

Without much of a goodbye, I turned around on my heels and was planning to fly as far away from him as possible when he spoke again,

"The file, Miss Reinhart."

I turned around with clenched jaw, "Right, the file."

I put the file on the sofa because let's just say I did not want to go any near than this to this man again and exited the office before he had a chance to say anything else.

Today I established one thing; staying as far from this man as possible was the best and only option I had.

*********