Kellie laughed derisively. “Worried Gran would find out?”
I had to stop and watch the woman as she walked away from me. This wasn’t the Kellie I knew.
She turned her head back, and when she noted that I’d stopped, she did too. “No. I won’t tell her.” She blew out a breath. “I’m just annoyed and hurt. But I’ll get over it.”
Fuck, I hurt her too? “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know you are.” She started walking again. When we arrived back at the apartment, she went to her room and I went to mine. Several times I considered going to hers to try and apologize, but who was I kidding. I wanted to touch her again. I had to stay strong and not tempt myself anymore. If there was one thing that I was good at, besides business, it was denying my own wants and needs.
16
Kellie
I knew Ryan. I even understood him, usually. So, when he bolted from my bed after giving me two of the most delicious orgasms I’d ever had, I tried not to take it personally. I knew he worried about the fact that he was my boss and that could cause legal problems for him and the company.
I worked to appreciate his effort to make sure I had an enjoyable day as we toured Rome. It wasn’t until the Trevi Fountain that my funk over what was going on between us took over. When he handed me the coin to toss, I nearly wished for him to let himself love someone. To let himself follow his desire to be with me.
But then the woman explained the true meaning of the coin toss, and all my hopes and wishes vanished. I’d never be back to Rome. I certainly wasn’t going to fall for and marry the man I met there. And then she said she was on her honeymoon, and weirdly, Ryan shared that we were on ours. But we weren’t on a honeymoon. In the end, this was a business trip, which was probably how he saw it and why he was struggling so much with what had happened. So, I was prepared to let it go, and then he tried to apologize.
I appreciated that too, except it kept hurting me and so I just wanted him to stop. I wanted to yell at him to stop talking. We could just pretend last night never happened and go on with things. His apology only made me feel worse.
When we arrived back at the apartment, I headed to my room, and was glad he didn’t make any further attempts to talk to me.
The next afternoon, we were on a train to Switzerland. I’d had the night to process what happened and I was going to do my damnedest to enjoy this trip. But it was hard, because I didn’t sleep well. It didn’t help that things with Ryan were weird too. Oh sure, he was acting nice but it was almost too nice. Like he was compensating and trying to make sure I was doing okay. But it only made me feel surlier.
I looked over at him in his seat on the train. Why did he have to be so handsome? He was in his expensive suit, his blonde hair combed back. His long fingers holding his coffee as he read the business news on his tablet. Normally, I’d ask about what he was reading and how it thought it might impact his business, but I couldn’t bring myself to talk to him. I hated that. We’d had such a good rapport before. We could banter and joke. We could talk about business, and strategize on how to get his brothers and gran to see things his way.
Instead, I looked out at the window as the Italian countryside passed by. It was an overnight train ride, and we had a sleeping car, but it had bunks so I didn’t have to worry about sharing with him. As it turned out, I didn’t have to worry about him sharing anything. Sure he was nice, but he was distant and did everything he could to ensure that our status quo of boss and assistant was firmly back in place.
The next day, we arrived in Interlaken around noon, and a driver drove us out to Christian’s chalet. The setting took my breath away and made me forget my issues with Ryan. It reminded me that I needed to savor this experience as so many people never got to have a trip like this.
The chalet sat nestled against a gorgeous mountain side that made me think of The Sound of Music. I had a stellar view of the lake. The itinerary that Christian gave us said we had a reservation for dinner, but it was still early, so I decided I wanted to explore.
“I need to check in with my brothers,” Ryan said. There was a part of me that thought he was doing it to avoid me, and yet, I knew he was all about work, so maybe he was just resuming his old self.
Remembering I was his assistant, I asked, “Do you need me to do something?”
“No. Consider this your vacation. Enjoy the area.”
Good, because I planned to explore the mountain and the lake. I always imagined Switzerland to be cold, but the temperature was a nice seventy degrees. The air was clean and crisp. The lake was a deep blue while the mountains were a stunning bright green. I felt like I was walking in a postcard.
The only thing missing as I enjoyed the Swiss countryside was Ryan. How could I miss someone who so irked me? Why did he have to cut himself off from enjoying life? He should be seeing this. Marveling at this. Then again, maybe he’d already been here and done this. This trip was a novelty to me. An eye opener to landscapes and cultures I’d only read in books or seen on TV. But someone like Ryan, he had the money to travel to these places all the time.
Then again, I couldn’t remember him doing much traveling in the couple of years I’d worked for him. He’d gone to New York and Florida a couple of times. Still, surely growing up he’d traveled the world. He seemed to have a knowledge of all the places we’d visited so far. And he even had strange factoids, like about the naval battles in the colosseum.
I plopped myself on the hillside in the middle of green grass and lovely mountain flowers, and looked out over the lake. Why did I care if Ryan was here or not? I let out a small growl. Because he’d gotten under my skin, dammit. When he wasn't so singularly focused on work, he was sweet and smart and oh so sexy. To be honest, I was surprised by his prowess in bed. Not that I didn’t think it would be good, but he was assertive and demanding, even as he was giving. He even used the f-word. I couldn’t remember hearing him swear ever, and then there he was, telling me he was going to fuck me. My pussy clenched just at the memory.
“The memory is all you’re gonna get,” I told it.
When I got back, Ryan was still on the phone. I took a nap and then a shower to get ready for dinner. My weather app said it could cool down in the evening, so I wore a dress and brought a sweater with me. In the car, Ryan was still taping away on his phone, so I chatted with our driver.
“Do you like dragons?” he asked me.
“You have a dragon?” Intrigued, I leaned forward.
“We have a legend that Saint Beatus was here looking for a place to rest, when he came upon some caves. Inside lived a dragon, which Saint Beatus fended off with God’s help, and drove it into the lake, killing it.”
I grinned. “I love folklore. It’s always so magical.”