35
After getting freshened up, they both returned to the couch and continued watching the movie, now laying down with Vidar spooning Charlie. Charlie couldn’t get enough of touching Vidar, feeling him close. And by the way he was holding her and brushing his lips against her n*ck and shoulder, he was feeling the same way. It was as if the last remnants of them pretending there was nothing between them had finally gone. Left was only the will to get to know each other better and the need to be close. As the credits rolled on the screen, Vidar pushed Charlie onto her back and towered over her. He lowered himself and k*ssed her.
“I want to cook you dinner tonight, something special,” he told her. Charlie smiled and wrapped her arms around his n*ck.
‘You don’t have to. I would be happy with canned ravioli if I get to eat it with you,” she said. Vida scrunched his nose.
“I want to. I was thinking we would go out for lunch and go grocery shopping,” he suggested.
“You know you have a fully stocked fridge, right?” she asked. He chuckled and k*ssed her again.
“That is just the basics. Tonight, we will need something special to add to them.”
“Okay, I like the plan. Will you let me pay for lunch?” Vidar almost looked upset.
“No, Charlie. I will not let you pay for lunch. I have been investing my earnings for centuries, and I’m good at it. I have more money than even I will be able to spend in my lifetime. I will buy lunch,” he insisted. Charlie rolled her eyes.
“Fine. But you’ll let me fix dessert?” she asked.
“I can agree with that,” he told her. He helped her out of the couch and they put the room back in order. Vidar texted someone on his phone.
“Do you need to work?” she asked. He looked at her and shook his head.
1/6
“No, I just asked Malcom to bring my car around,” he said. Charlie nodded. She had almost got used to Malcom driving them around. They walked out of the apartment and in the elevator, Vidar pressed the button for the ground floor and then wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him. “I want you to stay close to me,” he said, bending down and tugging on her earlobe with his teeth. A shiver went down her spine.
“Are you afraid someone might steal me away?” she asked him. He chuckled.
“Not really, but why tempt fate? I like it better when I have you close,” he confessed.
“I like it too,” she told him. They got to the ground floor and Charlie was stunned by the lobby. There were marble, copper details and dark hardwood floors. Behind a large desk sat a huge man. He nodded towards Vidar.
“Mr Grim.”
“Jones,” Vidar greeted the man. “This is miss Maynard. I would like you to enter her into the system to make sure she has full access to the building at all times,” Vidar continued, stunning Charlie.
“Of course, Mr you the form to register her for her own key?”
Crim should I s
“Yes, send it to my email and I will have it filled out and sent back,” Vidar confirmed. “Thank you, Jones.”
“No problem, Mr Grim. Have a nice day.”
“You too,” Vidar said and guided Charlie towards the enormous double doors that led out to the street. Another mountain of a man stood and held the door open for them.
“Are you sure about that?” Charlie asked as they walked out of the building.
“About what?” he asked.
“Giving me keys?”
“Oh, that. Yes, why wouldn’t I? I can’t see any downside to you having access to my place. I
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35
can’t think of a single time when I would not like to find you there when I get home,” he said. Charlie felt herself blush.
“Thank
you, that is very sweet of you,” she told him. He led her to a silver sports car, and she stopped and looked at it.
“What now?” he asked, amused.
“How is Malcom going to drive us in that?” she asked, realising it was a two–seater. Vidar laughed.
“He isn’t. I called him so he would take it out of storage for me. I don’t keep my cars in the garage here. Not most of them, anyway. I’m going to drive us. Don’t worry, I have been driving for a long time. You are in safe hands,” he joked with her, tugging her to the car. He walked with b
to the passenger side and opened her door. Charlie had never been in a car like it before. She had not even been close to one. The experience was surreal, and she was engrossed in the experience as Vidar got in and drove off.
“This is amazing,” she said. She could hear the awe in her own voice.
“It is hard to compare to an ordinary car,” Vidar agreed. “Where do you want to eat lunch?” he asked. The first place that popped into her head was Matilda’s. But then the memory of James appeared, and she scrapped the idea.
“I don’t know, someplace not too fancy?” she said. Vidar looked at her and then looked back.
to the road.
“Okay,” he agreed. He took her to a neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city. The buildings were older and mostly made out of brick. It looked a little rugged, but well maintained. Vidar parked on a side street and walked around and opened the door for Charlie. She stepped out and looked around.
“Will the car be okay here?” she asked. Vidar pointed at a small sticker placed on the licence plate. It was the logo for Grim INC.
“No one will touch it. They know what happens if they do,” he told her. She looked at him. She had stopped seeing him as scary or threatening. If she ever had thought of him like that.
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pasta
She could see how other people could find him intimidating. As he was so confident the car would be okay, she decided to trust him on it. He took her to a small Italian restaurant. “I would recommend you to order a pizza. They make genuine Italian pizzas here. But the is equally good,” he told her as they were guided to a table. Charlie looked at the menu and when the old lady that had seated them came to take their order, she chose the Frutti di mare pizza and Vidar nodded approvingly and then asked for the Capricciosa pizza.
“What would you be doing if I hadn’t spent the day with you?” Charlie asked while they waited for the food.
“I would probably have to spend the morning looking over some investments, or gone out to one of the warehouses and checked on it. The afternoon would have been spent watching a movie or doing some more work and if I felt restless, I would have gone and looked into one of the clubs or bars that I invest in,” he told her.
“You’re a workaholic, in other words,” she decided. He frowned.
“No, I just like having things in order. And I have spread out my investments over the years, so it takes time to keep track of it all,” he said.
“That sounds like something a workaholic would say,” she told him with a giggle. He smiled
at her.
“Maybe,” he agreed. “What about you? What would you be doing?”
“Probably spend the day in front of the computer, playing one of my favourite games,” she
told him.
“I enjoy playing computer games from time to time,” he said.
“Really? I would not have guessed. Maybe we have run into each other in one of them. Which
your
is favourite?” she asked. Vidar looked uncomfortable. “Look, I don’t care which game you
play. I’m just curious,” she reassured him.
“The Sims, I got hooked, when the first one was released, and now I can’t stop,” he said, looking a little sheepish. Charlie summoned all the strength she had not to giggle.
4/6
“I understand. Sims 4 has some nice graphies. Is it the control aspect? Lilly tells me she creates people who pisses her off in the Sims and torture them to death in game by all the weird ways a character can die,” Charlie said.
“No. If I want to do something like that, I do it in real life,” he told her. “It’s the building. I love it,” he said. Charlie smiled.
“Have you ever tried Planet Coaster?” she asked him.
“Never heard of it.”
“I am going to blow your mind,” she told him.
“You do that all the time,” he said. They looked at each other for a moment and then they both laughed. Their food came and Charlie got occupied with the most delicious pizza she had ever had. After she had munched down her first piece, Vidar handed her a piece of his. “You should try this,” he told her. She took a piece of her pizza and handed to him. Vidar’s pizza was just as good as her.
“This place is amazing. Why aren’t there people lining up to eat here?” she asked.
“Mrs Giovetto’s late husband was a prominent figure in the Italian mafia. This place used to be full of men in that trade. But when the leadership got overthrown by Millard, the mafia. stopped coming here. But the reputation stuck,” he explained.
“It’s a shame,” she said. He nodded as he had his mouth full of pizza. They continued to eat and talk, keeping things on a light and fun level. When they were finished, Vidar took Charlie back to the car, which was unharmed, and held her door. “Where to next?” she asked.
“I was thinking the farmers‘ market,” Vidar said.
“Oh, that sounds fun,” she agreed.