Chapter 23

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On the first day of the week at work, Jules was nervous because of the boss. She didn't want to bump into him because then she would be embarrassed by what had happened at his parents' house, in their kitchen. Now thinking about it made her cringe.

What the heck was she thinking?!

Jules had been walking on eggshells all morning and she stuck in her office when she didn't have anything important to do outside her office. She went through files upon files...oh, and well...upon files.

She was so deep in what she was doing that afternoon she hadn't heard Alice come in.
"Jules?" Alice called from her office door.

Jules looked up.
"Yes?"

"You do know it's lunch break, right?" Alice asked.

Jules scoffed
"Of course I know that." She said avoiding Alice's gaze.

Silence filled the room as Jules snuck a peek at Alice and found her smiling at her.
"What?"

"I'm going to pretend like you do know it's lunch break and let you get the heck out of that chair and go get something to eat. You haven't had anything except for your morning coffee." Alice said

"I'm right behind you." Jules smiled at her.

Alice was amazing and Jules had hired her because she wasn't afraid to say what she thought and also, she was the best.

"Like hell you are." Alice walked out of her office knowing Jules too well.

Jules smiled and went back to the work on her desk. She just needed to complete one of the files on her desk and she'd go for lunch. Hopefully, she wouldn't forget.

Speaking of forgetting, Ceaser had honestly tried but he couldn't forget.

The feelings Jules had ignited in him was imprinted on all the parts of his body she had touched. He had needed a release and did what he would have done on any normal day, he picked up his phone and called one of his many able women but he hadn't been able to do anything. All he could think of was Jules as he kissed her.

He hadn't been able to go through with it because somehow it made him feel guilty. Like he was betraying Jules.

He knew he felt something for her, but why was it eating him alive? Anytime he got so deep into work, something or someone had to remind him of her and he'd get lost in the sound of her voice, her scent, the way she smiled, her touch, the feel of her lips on his.

During lunch break, he had contemplated inviting her to lunch or going across the company where most of the workers go during lunch break. He figured Jules and her friends would be there. He took a moment to weigh his choices before he finally made up his mind, got up and left his office. He was looking for an excuse to see her and he knew lunch was almost over and she might have been back in her office.

He got into the elevator and pushed the button to her floor. Waited until the elevator dinged open before he walked out and made his way to her office. Alice saw Ceaser as he approached.

"Good afternoon Mr. Thompson." She greeted.

Ceaser gave a curt nod and walked past her but Alice stopped him.

"Sir, she isn't in her office."

"Oh?"

Alice raised her brow at his unasked question but answered anyway
"She just left to have lunch."

Ceaser frowned and checked his watch

12:45.

"Just?" He asked her

"She wanted to finish a file she had started before she went."

Ceaser nodded and smiled at her before he left. Alice stood there shocked.

"Did he just smile?" She asked herself.

Ceaser got into the elevator and pushed the button to the ground floor.

He was left with only one option.

Jules waited for her food patiently as she typed away on her phone in response to Santos' enraging messages. He wanted the files he had sent to her desk and she hadn't even gotten started on them.

She had joined Andy and Sofi when they were almost done with their lunch and they waited a few minutes with her before they left a while ago with an extremely sleepy Ivy. Jules stared out of the glass wall looking out at the busy road, which at that moment seemed interesting than anything Santos had to say. She had started to get lost in her thoughts when suddenly, the chattering around her stopped. Everyone in her peripheral was looking behind her, at the entrance.

Someone important probably just walked in.
She thought as she got back to watching the road but then she had this sudden feeling in her chest that she couldn't place.

"Is this seat taken?" Ceaser asked when he got to her table and Jules froze in place.

How could she have forgotten the way he made her feel or how his presence made her heart skip a beat, then race faster with every second he got closer to her. She should have known he was the cause of whatever feeling she had.

She shut her eyes and cursed, then slowly she turned away from the busy road and looked up at him. A small smile played on Ceaser's lips.

His lips...
Jules sighed inwardly
...No! Don't!

"No." Jules said before she got her head more messed up than it already was with thoughts of him and threw herself at him without remembering their last encounter.

Ceaser sat across from Jules with a full-on smile like he had won a trophy. Jules tried hard not to stare but it wasn't an easy task. She saw him smirk which made her pull her gaze away from him.

"What are you doing here?" Jules asked ignoring his gaze on her.

"The same thing you are."

"This doesn't seem like your kind of place."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You eat at fancy restaurants and not little ones like this."

"Well, change is good." He said not being able to take his gaze off of her, he sighed. "Look Jules..."

The waitress arrived with her order then.

"Here you go, Jules." Amanda - the waitress – said in that southern accent of hers.

"Thanks, Amanda." Jules smiled at her and caught her eyeing Ceaser.

Jules noticed Ceaser didn't even give her a single glance.

"Hey, pretty boy." Amanda said to him "I haven't seen you walk in here since you took over that publishing company."

"Been busy." Ceaser said plainly his gaze still on Jules.

"Wanna go out some time?"

Jules wanted to wince at her directness.

Ceaser looked up at Amanda then smiled.

If this feeling she had was called Jealousy, then she didn't want it. She freaking hated it. It was digging deep into her chest as she watched them flirt...

"You'll have to ask her for permission." Jules' eyes snapped up at Ceaser in confusion, surprised, shocked, and in lack of words.

Amanda looked at Jules.
"Didn't know she was with anyone."

"I-I'm..." Jules stuttered.

"She's still trying to process it." Ceaser smiled at Jules, grinned was more like it.

"Well, Damn girl." Amanda said "Keep your fine hunk of meat safe. There are a lot of hungry dogs here." She whispered into Jules' ear before she left.

Jules looked at Ceaser who sat there smiling at her. He couldn't help it.

"What the heck...?"

"So, I'm your fine hunk of meat?" He asked still smiling.

Jules looked away as fast as she could, his presence only made her more embarrassed about the other night than she already was.

"What's the matter?" Ceaser asked sensing the change in her.

Jules shook her head.

"There's obviously something wrong." Ceaser said not backing down.

Jules cleared her throat
"I'm sorry about Saturday. I don't know what came over me." Jules' face turned red "I feel so embarrassed just thinking..."

"Hey." Ceaser placed his hand on hers "Don't."

Jules looked from his hand on hers to his eyes.

"I wanted to." Ceaser confessed "Just as much as you. But I thought with Ivy being away, your emotion was getting in the way of your rational thoughts. I thought you'd wake up and regret it and I didn't want that."

Jules felt the weight lifted off her shoulders.
"I'm glad you did." She said "It shouldn't have happened. You're my boss and I'm your employee." She leaned closer and whispered, "Nothing can happen between us."

Ceaser blinked as Jules slide her hand from under his.
"Why not?" He asked, "We're adults."

"I can't put my life on the line for you for whatever we may or may not have." She said, "I have a daughter and she comes first, even before me."

"So, you're saying even though you want this thing between us, you can't because of Ivy."

"Exactly." She said "It might have been possible if you were an ordinary guy but you're not. You're my boss, you're a Thompson and your position in society comes with a lot of unwanted attention to anyone associated with you. I don't want that for Ivy, she deserves an ordinary life, a normal life."

Ceaser took a minute to digest what she had just said but he knew he had a find a way around it. She just needed time and he was willing to give her that.
Ceaser sighed dramatically intending on making Jules think he'd given up and it worked.
"Okay, I understand." Ceaser said "But I do want you in my life, I can't just forget about you and Ivy. You both have had an impact on my life."

Jules thought for a second and fell right into his trap.
"We can be friends." She said, "If that's alright with you."

"It's better than nothing." Ceaser smiled and so did Jules.

That afternoon, two friends sat in a crowded restaurant and had a meal together not knowing what the future had in store for them or rather, the next day.

Jules had been happy and free since her conversation with Ceaser the previous day. She smiled as she made her way into the company building with Ivy in her arms. She hadn't noticed the stares she was getting until she arrived at her office.

"Morning Alice." Jules greeted as she went straight into her office.

Alice quickly followed with the paper in her hand.

Jules placed her bag on her desk and took off her jacket and hung it on the back of her office chair as she went through the files on her desk.

Alice entered her office and shut the door behind her as Jules sat down.
"I'm guessing you've not seen today's papers?"

"I don't have time during the week." Jules said "I keep them till the weekend. Why?"

"Uh, well I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing." Alice said and Jules looked up at her.

"If what is?"

"You being on the front page." Jules' eyes winded. "With the boss." Alice placed the newspaper in front of Jules and watched in horror as Jules snatched the paper from her desk.

There were two pictures. One of Ceaser's hand on hers and another of both of them laughing and having lunch from yesterday at the restaurant.

Jules snapped her gaze at Alice.
"Is he around?"

Alice nodded, scared to speak with the look Jules had on her face.

Jules got up and walked right out of her office and her co-workers stared as she walked past them to the elevator.

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