21
Once again Charlie felt relieved when Vidar’s voice sounded from the door. She needed to stop ending up in situations where she needed his rescue; she thought. Vidar calmly walked across the room and with a look, he asked her if she was okay. Charlie nodded to let him know she was fine.
“Mr Maynard, it would be in your best interest to leave. If you don’t, Caine will remove you. In that scenario, I can’t guarantee what condition you will be in when he is done,” Vidar told her father. He didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t sound angry, but the calmness was in a way more effective and threatening than anything.
“Well, I never,” her father spluttered and turned red in the face. Vidar raised his eyebrow and her father looked at Charlie. Vidar and the man named Caine closed the gap between them, effectively blocking her father’s view of her. “Charlie, you better call me. We need to talk. It’s time you got over this silly thing,” her father called, and Charlie heard him stomp off. When she heard the door close, Vidar and Caine turned around to face her. Next to each other, they were an impressive pair. They were almost equal in height, but where Vidar was blond with pale eyes, Caine had black hair with chocolate eyes. Jenni walked up next to Charlie and put a hand on her back. It made Charlie jump, and Jenny got a glare from Vidar. He walked the few steps between them.
“I’ll take you home,” he said.
“I still have three hours more to work,” she objected.
“It’s okay, Charlie. Go home. It’s my fault for thinking we could manage without a doorman when Perry called in sick,” Jenni said. Vidar took both of her hands in between his. It wasn’t until then she noticed they were trembling. He didn’t comment on it, he just held them and looked at her. She nodded and swallowed to find her voice.
“Okay, thank you. I’ll make it up to you,” she told Jenni.
“I know you will,” her boss said and patted her on the back.
“I’ll just go and get my jacket and tell Lilly I’m going,” Charlie told Vidar. “Thank you for stepping up,” she then told Caine.
“It was a pleasure, miss Maynard,” he told her. Charlie went into the kitchen and was pulled into a hug by Lilly.
“Are you okey? Do you want me to drive your home? Or to Huxton’s? Leo can hold down the fort for an hour,” Lilly
asked.
“I’m okay. It’s fine. Vidar can drive me home. I’ll be fine. I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll talk about it. Don’t tell Huxton, I have caused enough chaos in his life lately. He is still dealing with the James thing,” Charlie said.
1
“You sure?” She nodded. “Fine, but if you don’t call as soon as you wake up tomorrow, I will hate you forever,” Lilly told
her.
“No, you won’t. You love me. But I will call. Thanks Lilly,” Charlie said and gave her friend a hug. After changing back to her regular clothes, she walked back into the bar. Caine seemed to have left and Vidar stood talking with Jenni. Everything else had gone back to normal. Vidar met her halfway and placed a hand on her back.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yes, thank you for giving me a ride.” He shrugged, and they said goodbye to Jenni. Vidar guided her out to where the usual car stood waiting with Malcom ready to open the door for her. “Thank you, Malcom,” she said.
“Always a pleasure, mademoiselle,” he told her. Vidar was allowed to open his own door, it seemed, as he got in from the other side. When Malcom closed the door after Charlie got in and walked around to get into the car, Vidar took her hand. “Where to?” Malcom asked.
“Do you want to go to your brothers?” Vidar asked. Charlie shook her head.
“I don’t want to risk dad coming there and creating a scene,” she told him.
“Okay then, home, please, Malcom,” Vidar said. He looked at her, but left her to her own thoughts. Charlie had been shaken by her father’s appearance in the bar. He had never been so forward before. On the other hand, she had never cut him off like this before, either. What worried her was how he had found out where she worked. Lilly would never have told him. Tyson wouldn’t either. Huxton might have done it out of a will to fix things. James could definitely have told him out of spite. James would have known her father would show up and cause a scene. Maybe he would even have planned to rescue her and win her back. Nothing would surprise her. It was at this point, when her mind took a break from its depressing thoughts, she realised they weren’t going the usual way. She turned towards Vidar and found him watching her with a stone face.
“Where are we going?” she asked in a hushed voice.
“Home,” he said, sounding surprised. That’s when it clicked to her. Of course when he had said home, it was his home and not hers he had meant.
“Oh,” she said.
“Does it make you uncomfortable?” he asked.
“No,” she said honestly. Vidar had caused many emotions in her: irritation, anger, confusion, passion, and some she didn’t want to put words to. But fear had never been one of them.
“Good, we’re almost there,” he told her. Charlie looked out of the window again. They were at the centre of the city. She smiled. She should have figured he was living in some fancy apartment in the expensive neighbourhood. Malcom drove into a parking garage under one of the tallest skyscrapers. “Thank you, Malcom. You can take the rest of the evening off,” Vidar told the driver as they parked.
“Yes, sir. I wish you a pleasant evening,” Malcom said.
2/5
“The same to you, Malcom,” Charlie said. To her surprise, Vidar had made his way around the car and opened her door. She gave him a smile and got out. Again, he placed a hand on her back to guide her towards the elevators. He was close to her, walking half a step behind, but not crowding her. The door to the elevator opened and Charlie felt acutely underdressed. She felt she needed a cocktail dress just to step into the elevator with hammered copper walls and ceiling, hardwood floor and chandelier. Unconsciously, she smoothed her t–shirt.
“You look beautiful,” he told her. He was close enough for her to feel his breath tickle her ear.
“Thank you.” When the elevator finally stopped and the door opened, Charlie stepped out into a small room, not much bigger than the elevator, with one door. Vidar stepped past her and unlocked the door, and stood to the side to let her inside. The apartment was nothing like she thought it would be. But when she walked inside it, she felt foolish for expecting anything else than what she found. It was luxurious, but not outlandish or boastful. The colour scheme of dove blue and brown was just as prominent in his apartment as it was in his office, with an added touch of a muted orange. The layout was open, but the heavy, soft fabrics that were generously used made it feel warm and homely.
“Do you like it?” Vidar asked as he followed her inside and closed the door.
“I do. It’s very you,” she told him. He smiled.
“I’ll take it as a compliment. Make your self at home, I’ll get us some tea,” he told her.
“Thank you. I hope I’m not causing you too much trouble.”
“No, no trouble at all,” he reassured her.
“I’ll just call my brother to let him know what happened,” Charlie said.
“Do you want to use my office for privacy?” he asked.
“No, this is fine. Thank you.” He walked further into the apartment and Charlie put down her bag by the door and took her phone out before heading into the living room. An enormous curved couch looked devilishly comfortable. She turned around to look at the room as she dialled her brother. Charlie found herself facing the floor to ceiling windows showing the city from a bird–eye perspective. She hadn’t realised they were so high up. It had to be the penthouse, or one or two floors down. The sky was turning pink and orange as the sun ascended on the other side of the building, out of her view. It was a stunning view, and Charlie was enthralled by it as she moved to stand by the window.
“Hi… Hello? Charlie?” she heard her brother answer. It brought her back into the present.
“Hi, sorry Huxton. I spaced out,” she told him.
“What’s up?
“Dad came by my work today,” she told him.
“What? I didn’t know he knew where you worked,” her brother said. Charlie let out a sigh of relief. It hadn’t been Huxton who had told him.
“I didn’t either. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. He caused a huge scene and almost got aggressive.”
“Are you okay? I can come and get you,” Huxton said.
“It’s okay, my boss. Let me go home.”
“You’re home? What if he comes by? I didn’t think he would get this desperate. I’ll come and get you and you can stay here.”
“Thank you, Huxton. But I’m not at home and I won’t come and live with you and Tyson. I love you both, but I don’t want to put you or the twins through him coming by in that state of mind. I’m safe, so you don’t need to worry,” she told him.
“Where are you staying?” he asked.
“With a friend, for now,” she answered.
“Okay, I guess that is good enough. Stay safe and remember we are here if you need us. Do you have time to talk to Ty?”
“I love you too, big brother. I always have time for Tyson,” she said.
“Charlie?”
“Did you overhear?” she asked.
“I did and I’m sorry. I know he is Hux’s and your father, but I have a good mind to put him straight.”
“Thank you, but you don’t need to. I’m safe,” she reassured him.
“I heard. Is it the cause of the world fading that has the honour of hosting you?” he asked, making sure her brother didn’t know what he was talking about.
“It is,” she told him with a smile.
“Okay, stay safe, relax, and have fun. Call if you need something or just want to talk. I love you, little sister,” Tyson said.
“I love you too. Kiss all three babies for me,” she told him. They hung up and soon after she heard the soft footfall of Vidar. She turned towards him and smiled. He had a tray with a teapot and two cups on it.
“Will the couch do?” he asked.
“I have wanted to try it out since I saw it,” she admitted and walked over to him and sat down. It was just as comfortable as she had thought.
“Sugar, milk?” he asked.
“Milk please,” she said. Vidar poured the tea and handed her a cup before leaning back, twisting himself to face her. She sipped the tea and enjoyed the full flavour.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked as he watched her.
“I guess you have earned to hear the sorry tale,” she told him with a sigh.
“Only if you want to share, Charlie. I’m satisfied as long as you are safe and feel comfortable,” he told her. It made her
smile and reach out for his hand.
“Thank you. It means a lot. But I think I would like to tell you. But if it gets too much, let me know and we can switch subject,” she said. Charlie was worried he would find it bothersome or boring.
“I promise,” he said. She nodded and took a deep breath to get ready to tell Vidar about her father.