Chapter 30: Chapter 30

Sophia glanced at the clock for the hundredth time before stomping to her feet. "He's such a jerk! I'm sure he's not going to show up for this dinner even tho he knows that I'll be waiting for him. Ugh, I shouldn't have even worried at all, now all this food is going to be wasted" she grumbled petulantly.

The doorbell rang making her flinch. Her eyes widened in panic. "Oh my gosh, he's here." She got out, then ran towards the door before pausing midway. "What I'm I even doing? He kept me waiting, so a little payback would be wise right. Sophia smirked, crossing her arms as she listened to the bell ring once, twice...

What if he decided to leave. Her heart gave a tug as the thought formed. No, that couldn't happen. She rushed to the door and opened it, coming face to face with Lennox who was now wearing a suit.

"The meeting took longer than I anticipated" he apologized, his coal-colored eyes fixed on her as if he was seeing her for the first time.

Sophia's throat dried up. "It's fine. I finished like some minutes ago, so come in and let's have that dinner boss" she forced out, rubbing her hands together.

Lennox nodded, and she stepped out of the way for him to enter.

Sophia closed the door and turned to face him. He was taking off his suit and she tried not to stare at the way his back muscles rippled underneath the shirt and expanded, or the way his shirt molded his muscled arms and hand.

Sophia swallowed, her body heating up as her gaze trailed up his neck, over his moving esophagus that she wanted to press her lips against, then from his strong jaw to his intense black eyes, and she jolted, blushing furiously because he'd caught her staring. Again.

"Your suit" she blurted, her pitch unusually high before she cleared her throat and chuckled nervously. "I'll just help you hang that up," she said and dragged the suit from his hold. She walked backward while pointing for him to move ahead to the dining room.

Lennox's lips twisted in a smile before he moved in the direction she was pointing to.

Sophia sagged, wiping imaginary sweat off her brow. "What the hell am I even doing... What the heck is wrong with me. Stop acting like you've never seen a man before. Ugh".

She hung the suit, took in a deep calming breath then walked towards where he was seated. He'd folded the sleeves of his shirt up to his forearm and she couldn't help but stare.

"Should we start?" he asked in a deep rumbling voice that sent shivers running down Sophia's spine. Sophia managed a nod as her throat clogged up.

Don't choke on your food. Don't choke on your drinks and do not choke, I repeat, do not choke if he suddenly says something unexpected, Sophia repeated in her head as she took up her spoon. Here goes nothing.

"This is good, where did you learn to cook".

Sophia froze with the spoon midway to her mouth. Was Lennox complimenting her food? She'd been making him breakfast almost every day but he'd never given her any feedback.

Sophia dropped the spoon, scratching at her ear before smiling. "My mom... I learned to cook because of her" she answered, watching him eat. His lips were plump, red, and enticing.

"...did that happen"

Sophia's eye widened when his voice registered. She'd been so distracted that she missed the first part of his question. "I didn't catch that," she said, feeling mortified.

"You said it was because of your Mom, I'm curious about how that happened".

Sophia wanted to pinch herself to know if everything happening was real. Lennox didn't even like talking a lot or asking questions, and yet here he was, genuinely interested.

"Back then," she said, then paused for a moment as Lennox stopped eating and stared at her. "I was obsessed with exercising, and I didn't eat right, so my mom put her foot down, and forced me to take cooking classes. Turns out cooking can be really fun if you're not the one to clean up after".

Lennox chuckled, slowly leaning forward. "Are you trying to tell me something Miss Sophia?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

Sophia laughed. "Don't worry, since it's your first time here, I won't make you do the dishes".

He laughed, his pearly well-set whites coming into display and making her heart thud loudly as he threw his head back. What was this feeling... Why did it feel like her heart was about to burst free from her chest, why was she so happy to be in his presence, and trying her damnedest best to make him laugh in this manner.

Lennox smiled, then glanced up at her. "Thanks for your consideration. The food tastes amazing. Also I planned a team dinner since we haven't gone on one since I took over. You were right, I should appreciate my workers more".

Sophia beamed. "Thanks, boss, I'm glad you like the food, and also the dinner. I'm sure everyone is ecstatic," she said then ate while subtly watching him, taking note of every slight flare of his nose, the way his lips moved, his hand, the way he held his cutlery, everything he did was both sexy and graceful. Sophia also didn't understand why she wanted to see him laughing again, even just a smile was enough for her because those little emotions had been genuine, almost showing a glimpse into the real person Lennox was.

Sophia's ears perked up as she listened to what sounded like rain hitting the glassy window. She'd always been told she had super hearing so she wasn't surprised when she turned to check and noticed that it was indeed raining.

Lennox followed her gaze, then stared at her.

"You can sleepover. I have like three spare rooms." She blurted and Lennox smiled.

"That's too much of a bother, you already made me a meal".

She shook her head. "No, it's not. It's raining outside. I'll be a bad assistant if I let you go out in the rain and you catch a cold. Just stay here until it stops and if it doesn't stop early enough, you can sleepover. I'll just close the blinds" she said, pressing a button on the remote.

"Ok, we'll do it your way then," he said and continued eating, even tho his mood seemed to darken, making her wonder what it was that bothered him.

*****

Sophia tossed around on her bed, smiling and giggling to herself as she replayed the dinner over in her head. Bianca had been right, it was just an innocent dinner and the other ideas were all just In her head. Was she a bit disappointed tho. She sat upright glaring at her stuffed animal.

"Enough! Snap out of this madness. You're doing all this for revenge, so I'm going to stick to the script. Lennox is still a jerk, even tho he's nice. I'm reading too much into all these changes" she said, then squashed her cheeks between her palms in frustration.

No matter what she told herself, Lennox laughing and throwing his head back kept flashing in her head.

"I'm doomed".