THE ORIGINAL NOVEL WAS WRITTEN IN SPANISH, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE TRANSLATION. IF YOU WANT TO READ IT IN SPANISH LOOK FOR IT UNDER THE SAME PSEUDONYM AND BY NAME "EL SECRETO"
In case you're wondering if Christian is in the novel, is there, just won´t expected.
We walked quietly down the desert corridor at that time on our way to the elevators. And we didn't have to wait long. This time, the ride in the elevator seemed faster than usual.
—Do you have a car? —he asked me as we left the elevator.
—Yes. —I answered him as we walked through the underground parking lot.
—Do you know where the Little Star restaurant is?
—Yes. —I've never been there.
I haven't wasted my time. It's one of the most prestigious restaurants in Chicago. For dinner at the restaurant you must reserve months before.
—Good, we'll have dinner there.
I stopped in the middle of the deserted parking lot at that time. How could we possibly have dinner there?
—Is something wrong?
—Can I ask how you got a table in that restaurant? — I asked him curiously as I looked at him squinting.
—I have many friends. —he said as he smiled slightly at me. —Come on. — he told me making a gesture to I continue walking.
And I did, now walking faster to my car. I opened the doors with the remote control as I turned around the front of it to sit behind the wheel. Mr. Chasting sat down next to me and put on his seat belt while I started the car on my way to the restaurant. The truth was that he had not made any comments about the car, he was the first one not to do so. Most people were amazed at him. I decided to forget about it and concentrate on driving.
At no point did I look away from the road, I did not want to look to my side and be trapped under his intense gaze. The truth was, I was nervous. I was handling my new boss while he was taking me out to dinner. How much stranger could this be?
The Little Star restaurant was near Lincoln Park on the other side of the Chicago River. When we passed in front of it, I could see the huge line of people waiting to eat there. After parking and getting out of the car I realized I wasn't apropiately dress to go to this place. So I stopped as he turned around and looked at me.
—Is there a problem?
—I'm sorry, Mr. Chasting, but I don't think I'm dressed up like dinner in this place. —I said as I looked at my clothes.
—The person who decides what clothes to wear or not to wear to a particular place is yourself. Plus, I think you look perfect for this place. —I think that's when my cheeks turned red. It was lucky it was dark.
—Thank you.
—Come on. —he said with his arm outstretched that I hesitated to take it or not, and in the end I accepted.
His arm felt firm and strong, exactly as I remembered it. He drove me to the entrance where hundreds of people waited outside. And when we got to the door, we were stopped by guards dressed in elegant black suits. They both had a safety earpiece in their ears and one of them had a tablet in his hand.
—We have a reservation made. — he said firmly.
—Your name. —asked the biger of the two.
—Ryan Chasting.
He slid his finger across the screen and immediately looked up from it to stare at us.
—Excuse me, Mr. Chasting, come in, we've been expecting you. —he said as the other one opened the doors and let us in.
We walked down a short red corridor illuminated by small golden lamps on the walls until we came to a counter where the maître waiting behind.
—Good evening, Mr. Chasting, Miss Steele, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to your table. —he said as he turned and opened a few doors to guide us inside.
How did he know my name? I think I was walking on the arm of the person who knew the answer.
The interior of the restaurant was decorated in gold with red details. There were about twenty tables, all with a red tablecloth with gold accents. As I looked up at the ceiling to my surprise I discovered that it was made of glass and showed the night sky. Some gold-coloured lamps hung on the walls while a larger one adorned the centre of the ceiling. The lighting was perfect. Not too much, not too little. The maître led us to a table in the corner. It was decorated just like the others and apart from the cutlery there was a beautiful but simple vase in the middle of the table with a beautiful bouquet of red and black roses. They looked like he'd been cut at dawn, they even had the dewdrops. Everything was perfect, even better than I'd imagined. I looked around and couldn't believe I was sitting at a table at the Little Star. The restaurant was small and simple. Although I knew his fame was more for food and service. I took a black rose from the vase and carried it to my nose to smell it and the truth was that it smelled exquisitely. I've never seen or smelled one before. I had heard of them but had never seen them, much less held them in my hand.
—You've never been in a restaurant before? —the question got me out of my dream and brought me back to reality. And the reality was that I was sitting in the best restaurant in all Chicago with my hot, sexy new boss in front of me.
—Yes, I've been to many, but I've never been in this one before. The truth is that I'm impressed, it's much better than I imagined. —I said as I put the rose back in the vase.
—Yes, I can tell by the way you're smiling and the way you look in all directions. —I fucking had to stop behaving like a stupid little girl in front of him. —Now, let's order some dinner. —he said as he took the menu and I did the same with the one on the right side of my plate.
I didn't know what to choose. It wasn't indecision, it all looked delicious. It was more because everything was so expensive. The cheapest dish cost almost a hundred dollars. Not to mention dessert.
—How hard is it to choose? —Mr. Chasting asked me to look up from the letter.
Mr. Chasting was looking at me over the letter. I could only see his eyes. His tone of voice was firm and demanding. Either he was angry for some reason I didn't know or it was his normal tone of voice. I don't know.
—Are you angry with me? —I asked him without even realizing I had done it until it was too late.
He lowered the card to the table which gave me a better view of his expression. He was staring at me, it could tell he was serious, but not upset. A few strands of hair fell down on the side of his face making him look much sexier than usual.
—Any particular reason for me to be angry at you, Miss Steele. —he said without changing the look on his face.
And now how I getting out of this mess.
—I don't think so, except for the fact that I didn't eat the sandwich. —I said too quietly so he wouldn't listen.
But while I was saying it, I realized it would be stupid to be angry about it.
—I'm not angry, even if it seems that way to you. I just don't like my employees cheating on me or lying to me. —he said as he leaned on his elbows and leaned forward. —Keep that in mind the next time you tell me you're having lunch and you don't. Now, pick something for dinner. —he said relaxedly as he settled down and raised the letter again, turning his intimidating gaze away from me.
—I'm sorry, but everything is very expensive here, I don't think it's necessary to eat here. Can we go somewhere else for dinner?
—Don't worry about the money, if I couldn't afford it I wouldn't have brought you. I also remind you that you haven't eaten anything in all day.
Mr. Chasting lowered the letter and gestured to the waiter who quickly arrived at our table.
—Ready to order, Mr. Chasting?
—Yes, we'll have the Segovian quails, and bring us a bottle of cabernet sauvignon. —he said as the waiter wrote down our order and picked up the letters and left our table.
I didn't even have time to decide what I wanted.
—You could have at least asked me what I was going to eat. —I said,'I was a little upset that he ordered without taking me in account.
—I'm sorry for ordering for you, but as I saw you so undecided...don't worry, you're going to like what I ordered. —he said with great confidence.
—Don't worry, Mr. Chasting, no problem. —I replied, but I didn't really like his authoritarian behaviour.
The waiter came back with the bottle of wine he served in our glasses and put it on the table, retiring quickly. I took the glass and sipped it slowly under the watchful look of Mr. Chasting. I needed a little wine to forget that he was sitting in front of me.
—You shouldn't drink on an empty stomach. —he scolded me while his gaze was fixed on mine.
I put the glass back on the table. I could not tell him that I had done it to take something of value cause I was very intimidated by his presence. Besides, he was right. I hadn't eaten anything all day just a little salad and had to drive afterwards.
—Can I ask you something? —he said to me as he took a sip of his wine and left the glass on the table.
—Yes. —I said doubting what he was going to ask me.
—You graduated from computer engineering, right.
—Yes. —I replied doubting, what this was about.
—There's something I don't understand. —he said as he took another brief sip of wine before speaking. —How did you end up being Grace Grey's assistant?
Oh, shit. And now what I was answering him. I couldn't tell him that she was my foster mother, no one knew, not even Kate that was my best friend. And he wouldn't be the first to know. So I answered the same that everyone else already knew.
—Grace was an old friend of my mother's and wanted someone reliable and computer literate for the job.
—Was it?
—Yes, my parents died in an accident several years ago. —I didn't want to go into more detail.
—I'm sorry, I didn't know that. —he said with regret.
—Don't worry, I don't remember much about them. — not to mention that I didn't remember anything.
I took another sip of my glass under his watchful eye. He was going to tell me something but was interrupted by the waiter with our order. It really looked delicious. I took the cutlery and cut a piece that I quickly put in my mouth, savoring its delicious flavor slowly.
—Mmmm, this is delicious. —I told him as I cut another piece again. I was really hungry, actually.
—I knew you'd like it. —Mr. Chasting said as he cut his food and started eating.
We didn't talk all through dinner. We were both silent. Occasionally our eyes met, but nothing more. Without realizing it, and between several glasses of wine I had eaten everything. The truth was, I was starving. Apparently the wine helped me forget about him.
I filled my glass again and to my surprise the bottle was empty.
— I hope you have some space for dessert. —he said to me while I was putting the glass on the table after the waiter had removed our dishes.
—Dessert? —I asked as I stared at him.
—Yes.
—When do we order dessert? —I thought the wine glasses I had gone up already, I didn't remember ordering dessert.
—We didn't do it. —he replied while smiling like one who hides a big secret.
—Excuse me, but I think I'm missing some of your private jokes.
—All right, I'll tell you. —he said as he leaned over the table to approach me. —The chef, who owns the restaurant, is a very good friend mine. —he said as he stood up again with a slight smile.
It was the first time he'd smiled since we'd arrived at the restaurant.
—Now I understand how you got a reservation here. —I replied as he smiled at me more.
—Well, now you know that. The times I've come here for dinner I'm always be surprised by the dessert. I don't know what will be today.
—Whatever it is Ryan, I don't think I can eat anything else. —I said as I took the last sip of wine from my glass under his attentive and now curious gaze.
I was already feeling a little tipsy, it must have been the drink I had before dinner on an empty stomach. I don't think I was gonna be able to drive back. I couldn't tell him I was a little tipsy, what will he gonna think of me.
—Believe me when you try it, you'll want to repeat it. —he said as he stared at me.
And that's when I got lost in his eyes. He wouldn't take his eyes off me and I wouldn't take mine from his lips to his eyes. Our contact was interrupted again by the waiter this time with dessert.
—Courtesy of the chef: Chocolate and vanilla ice cream cake with strawberry liqueur. —he said as he put the plate with two cutlery in the center of the table. —I hope you enjoy it.
—Thank you. —Ryan replied as the waiter withdrew.
I watched curiously the dessert they had brought us. I've never seen anything so delicious in my life. Ryan was right, now I wanted to try it to see if it tasted as delicious as it looked.
—And... —he told me to look away from the center of the table and look at him.
—I think I'm gonna try it. —I said as I picked up a spoon and took a portion to put it in my mouth.
It was like eating a piece of heaven. That was nothing compared to anything I'd ever tasted. Ryan took the other spoon and began to taste that delicious delicacy just like I did. The combination of the vanilla ice cream with the strawberry liqueur inside the dessert was an explosion of flavors in the mouth. I think I got eat more than half of my dessert.
—I'm sorry, I don't think I left you much, Ryan. —I said as I smiled shyly at him.
Who would have sent me to drink before dinner?
—Don't worry, Miss Steele, the dessert was for you. —he said, putting the silverware on the plate and wiping his mouth with the napkin.
That's when I felt like doing it myself. Sliding my fingers slowly across her lips. Or rather to slide my tongue over his lips to remove all traces of the dessert...But what was I thinking.
—Thank you. —I said, putting those ideas out of my mind.
—Well, I think I've already made sure you doesn't faint from starvation, now I'm taking you home.
—All right. —I said as he got out of the chair.
—Aren't you going to pay? —I asked him as he smiled at me.
—Come on. —he said, standing beside me and reaching out to me, which this time I took without hesitation, rather because I knew that if I didn't I would stagger me to the side.
I could feel the adrenaline running through my veins. While a known heat flooded my cheeks. The wine from dinner and the liquor from dessert were wreaking havoc on me. I wasn't drunk. But the world around me saw it very differently.
Mr. Chasting slipped a hand around my waist. His hand sent electric shocks all over my body but I ignored them as he walked me out of the restaurant to my car.
My car.
In these conditions, I couldn't drive. I wasn't drunk, but I was feeling very tired.
—I think it's best if you drive, Mr. Chasting, I feel very tired and I don't think I should drive. —I told him, holding out the keys car.
—Wow, now I'm Mr. Chasting again. —he said as he took the keys from my hand.
—What? — I said half-stunned.
—Forget it, come on, I'll take you home, Miss Steele. —he said as he opened the car doors and I was getting into the passenger seat.
The seat felt very comfortable and I cuddled in it as if it were my bed. Then slowly my eyes closed until I fell completely into unconsciousness.
I opened my eyes briefly and someone carried me in their arms as he walked with me. But I couldn't keep them open for long and closed them again.