Chapter 4

-NORA-

I was wrong.

Vaughn and I acted like a couple even without being aware of it. I came to this conclusion by observing our interactions for three days. Unlike everyone whom Vaughn referred to formally, he always called me by my first name.

He always ensured to invite me to dinner with him in a fancy restaurant whenever I worked late, which he didn't do for anyone else. He was sponsoring my brother's sports career. He was always so charitable when I was involved.

It scared me.

As I handed a cup of coffee to him, he muttered a thank you to me.

"You're welcome," I said in return.

He took a sip of the beverage while reading through a document I dropped off on his desk earlier. A few minutes passed before he set the cup down on his desk and lifted his head to match my gaze. He raised a brow.

"Sir?"

"Is there anything you want to discuss with me?" he asked with an impatient tone.

My mouth formed an O, and I mentally facepalmed myself. "No, sir. I'll be leaving now," I said. He hummed in response.

I muttered a curse at myself as I walked out of his office. He probably thought I was an idiot with the way I stood by his side, shamelessly staring at him.

"Stupid girl. Stupid girl. Stupid girl." I said to myself repeatedly after I shut Vaughn's office door closed.

"I never knew you liked to insult yourself," I bumped into someone, causing me to briefly choke on my words and totter a little.

I looked up to see Bennett with an amused look on his face. Christ, he must've heard me insulting myself.

"No. It's not what you think," I waved my hands in front of him, making an X.

He chuckled briefly. "Did Vaughn say something to you?"

It was obvious he thought Vaughn must've said something mean to me which was why I was insulting myself. I shook my head negatively , debunking his line of thinking.

"No. Of course, not. I just remembered that I forgot to put my underwear in the dryer before I left my house." I mentally facepalmed myself the second those words flew out of my mouth.

I could see how Bennett was trying hard not to burst into a fit of laughter at my expense. "If you like, I could help you talk to Vaughn and make him spare you a few minutes so that you can—"

"No!" My voice went an octave higher. Bennett clutched his stomach. "I mean, don't worry. No need to do that. Besides, I have..." I trailed off as my eyes darted towards my desk. "Work to do." I completed with a sad tone.

He nodded his head. "Of course. I'll leave you to it."

I put on a polite smile and took a step to the side, making room for him to enter Vaughn's office. He mirrored my expression before he disappeared into the office. I let out a sigh in his absence, ashamed of myself.

"Get it together, Nora," I told myself, walking towards my desk and settling down on the my chair.

When the time for lunch rolled in, Vaughn stepped out his office. "Lunch?" he offered. I blinked twice. My brain marked this action as one that shouldn't be so normal.

I should reject his offer. The only reason why people believed what was on the tabloids was because Vaughn and I were so cordial with each other. I should break the spell.

"I still have a few emails to reply and I don't want to be a bother to you," I said with an apologetic grimace on my face.

Vaughn stared at me blankly. "The emails aren't going anywhere. Come with me."

He left no room for argument after that. I put down everything I was doing and chased after him. We got into the elevator together and since I started working for him, I noticed that his cologne had a strong hint of lemon in it.

I loved lemons.

"Excuse me?" Vaughn said.

I yelped. Did I just say that out loud? "Um... Nothing. I was just thinking about something."

Vaughn threw me a skeptical look but didn't ask any further questions since the elevator made a ding sound and the doors opened. I was the first to step out, not being able to bear being too close with Vaughn. If he noticed that I was acting weird, he didn't say anything.

Everyone on the floor greeted Vaughn as he and I strolled towards the exit doors and outside the building to get to the café across the road. It was one of the company's investments so Vaughn had no problem frequenting it.

We both settled on a table deep inside. Without telling, one of the waitresses came to attend to us.

"The usual," Vaughn said, pulling out his phone. The teenager turned to me. I opened my mouth to speak but Vaughn's voice was what came out.

"She's getting the same thing," he said, then turned to face me. "Aren't you?"

"Yes," I nodded my head.

The girl left after that. Only one move and my legs would be touching Vaughn's. His legs were long and spread out under the round table. I felt awkward. We usually had lunch together three out of five days, so why did I feel out of place today?

"What are you doing?" Vaughn asked with a frown. I gasped, realizing that I rubbing the tip of my shoes against one of his legs. I quickly withdrew my legs.

"I'm sorry. I've just been distracted recently." I excused.

"Hmm. Better get your head in place before tomorrow because we're meeting with the Russians and I need you focused to translate for the other board members." Vaughn said, sounding bitter at the fact that I was the one who was going to be translating.

Vaughn could only understand the language a bit but I was fluent in it. Anytime he spoke about the Russians, there was always a bit of spite in his tone towards me.

I cleared my throat, then sat up straight. "Of course."

The waitress returned with a tray and put down six vanilla muffins with two mugs of black coffee. I started stuffing my mouth, deciding that if my mouth was busy, we wouldn't get into a conversation.

That plan went down the drain after a minute when Vaughn began asking me questions concerning his schedule and I had to stuff down my awkwardness to reply him.

The conversation went on until the sound of a camera flash interfered. Vaughn and I looked around the café, searching for anyone close by. I stood up, wanting to go round the block but Vaughn stopped me, gesturing for me to sit back down. I did as he said.

"He's already gone by now," Vaughn pointed through the transparent glass wall of the café to a suspicious car that drove really fast. I sighed, running my hand down my face.

"Why do they keep doing this?" I asked myself, angry at the fact that I was even asking myself.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" A new voice said. I turned around to see Vaughn's younger sister walking towards us. "They obviously believe that the two of you are together." She said with a proud smile.

"Victoria, what are you doing here?" Vaughn asked, massaging the sides of his temples.

"I was just in the block and I saw you two around so I decided to come here." She smiled brightly, dropping down on our table.

"Did you see who took a picture of us?" I was quick to ask.

Victoria's brows furrowed. "Nah, I must've missed him."

I slouched my shoulders.

"But I hope it was a good one. You know, I honestly believed that you two were in a relationship." She winked at me.

I shook my head in disagreement. "I would never—"

"Save it. You're too good for my brother." She laughed, rubbing elbows with a seething Vaughn.

"Victoria, leave us. We're in the middle of something." Vaughn told his sister. She made a 'psh' sound and waved him off.

"No way! Now that I've got you two here, we can begin planning!" Victoria exclaimed, grabbing one of my muffins and stuffing it inside her mouth.

"Planning?" Both Vaughn and I said with a question-like tone.

She nodded. "Planning the commercial to show that you and Vaughn are really couples and the faces of the new lovers' resort!"

"What!?"