LOGINRoseline's POV…
His reaction was swift, like he was hiding one big secret.
I flinched out of instinct, when his hand made contact with mine, as he grabbed the picture from me before I could get a glimpse.
I giggled to ease the awkwardness, “Is it a baby picture you are hiding? We all look bad in them. I doubt yours is that bad.”
He avoided my curious gaze.
“Learn to keep your hands to yourself, You shouldn't touch people’s things.”
I stepped backward, there was no trace of the man who had just spent the past few minutes giving me a tour of the apartment.
“You didn't seem to mind before now and I remember touching a handful of things during the tour.”
I could hear the irritation in my own voice.
“Because I didn't voice out my discomfort earlier doesn't mean I was okay with it.”
That was a lie, I saw the way he gulped hard from my rearview whenever my skin made contact with his things.
I in fact enjoyed teasing him during the tour, with the way I trailed my fingers softly against the counter and how I leaned closely to study the details of his apartment with my shirt hitching up.
So whatever he was hiding was definitely not a baby picture.
I didn't press on it further.
Everyone had the right to privacy and I was already invading much of it by just being here.
“I am sorry, I won't touch your things next time.”
For a minute I thought I saw guilt wash over him, but I probably imagined it because in less than a second his expression returned to the cold and unreadable one he wore.
“I have had a long day, I need to call it a night.”
“Roseline.” I heard him call out, but I ignored him.
This was just a silent reminder not to cross certain mines with him.
I entered my room and locked the door.
I was almost asleep when a soft knock sounded on my door.
I looked at the bedside clock. It was almost past midnight.
Was Florian here to apologize?
When I unlocked the door there was no one, only a box.
I crouched down to open it, and it was full of clothes.
Female clothes.
I picked it up and went over to Florian’s room.
My senses screamed at me to wait till morning, but I didn't want him to think I accepted it.
I knocked softly on his door.
When he opened the door, the sight before me stole the words right from my mouth.
He had a towel wrapped around his waist, with water dripping down his perfectly toned abs.
My eyes followed the bead of water down to his perfectly sculpted V-line that dipped low. Too low.
I could swear I smelt his aftershave on him earlier, why did he shower again?
Focus Roseline, the number of times he showers is not your concern.
“Do you need someone?” Florian's words were like a dump of cold water on my head, snapping me from my thoughts.
I pushed the box to his chest, “I can't accept these.”
There, simple and straight to the point.
I should applaud myself.
His hand touched mine when he took the box.
Only for a brief second yet tingles erupted all over my body.
“It's not a gift, the company holds a certain standard for its workers, and it comes with the job.”
“Oh-”
“What other reason did you think they were for?”
“I thought it was because of what I said earlier.”
“Trust me I know better than to cross certain lines.”
We both stood frozen at the spot as though if we moved we would be breaking the thin ice between us.
His gaze moved from my eyes down to my neck and the bit of exposed skin from the button I left undone.
Okay coming to his room this late at night wasn't in my best line of thinking.
But something in me made me feel like he wanted me to come.
I pushed the feeling away. We are roommates and he's my boss.
We have to keep things professional.
I reminded myself.
“Well that would be all, can I have the box back?”
He smirked and handed me the box. Slowly.
The tension between us was so palpable you could cut it with a knife.
Just when I had managed to make it a few inches away from him.
I felt his hand on mine.
He pulled me towards him.
But because I wasn't prepared, I ended up tripping.
Both of us fell and he was the one who broke my fall.
“Sorry, are you okay?” I moved a bit to take a look at his sides.
I didn't even consider the fact that I was still on top of him and he was just in a freaking towel with nothing underneath.
He groaned, “I will be fine, if you stop moving.”
That was when it dawned on me, the only thing separating us was my underwear and his towel.
Shit!
His hardness pressed onto my belly.
Why was he hard already?
“Is that what I think it is that's pressing into me?”
“Which is why I said you shouldn't move.”
“I have a better solution, why don't I just stand up?”
He held me tight, “except you want to be flashed with what's underneath.”
My face blushed, “You mean… Oh!”
He laughed hard, it was the first time I had heard him laugh.
Something settled in my chest.
I smiled, “You are enjoying this aren't you?”
“More than you know.”
His words took me off guard.
We remained fixed and unmoving.
Florain inched closer.
Our faces were mere inches apart.
“Florain.” I breathed.
He gulped and his Adam's apple moved making him appear more sexy.
“We shouldn't.” He breathed in my ears.
“We… shouldn't” I echoed.
Somewhere between the last syllable he flipped me over onto my back.
He towered over me, but he was careful not to put his entire weight on me.
With the change in position, I could feel him better.
His hardness rested just between my thighs.
“What are you–?”
Before I could complete my sentence, his lips were on mine and everything around me faded.
Roseline's POVI walked away, the weight of what I’d just heard was heavy on my mind. Across the room, I spotted Florian at the punch table, laughing at something one of the chefs had said. He was entirely unaware of the thoughts crashing through my mind. Watching him, I couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on. There was something he wasn't telling me, a hidden truth tucked away.I could feel it, sitting there quietly beneath his smile like a shadow he was trying hard to keep hidden.But before I could dwell on it too long, someone grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the middle of the kitchen."Come on, Roseline, you can't just stand there all night!" one of the junior chefs, Amara, said, already dragging me into the small crowd that had gathered.Someone had found an old karaoke speaker tucked away in the storage room, and before I knew it, half the kitchen staff were taking turns belting out songs, most of them horribly off key, all of them having the time of their lives
Roseline's POV""What are you doing here?" I asked, the words catching in my throat.She didn't answer. Instead, she stepped toward me with a warm, easy smile, as if she hadn't been absent from my life for years, as if the wreckage of our past meant nothing at all.Noticing the sudden shift in my posture, Florian squeezed my hands. "Everything okay?" he murmured.I nodded slowly, though my eyes remained locked on the woman standing in front of me. She possessed a striking resemblance to my late mother. This was Aunt Tilda. For years, merely hearing her name turned my stomach; seeing her in person was entirely worse.She had abandoned our family the moment my mother drew her last breath, vanishing without a trace. In the beginning, panic consumed us. Terrified of what might have happened to her, my father went so far as to hire a search party, but the trail went cold. It wasn't until a few years ago that a family acquaintance spotted her in Paris. She wasn't just surviving; she was th
Roseline's POV…I stared at the long line of chefs ahead of me, most of them gently arranging their equipment. It was finally the day of the cookathon, and while everyone else seemed buzzing with excitement, I was completely detached.Earlier this morning, I got the call: my father had suffered another medical episode. It was severe enough that they couldn't even risk moving him to a hospital; instead, they had to rush a doctor directly to the house. I’ve been rigid with tension ever since, my mind completely consumed by the fact that I haven't been able to see him.“Are you good?” Mr Teddy asked.I nodded slowly and tried to form a warm smile.After a few minutes the cookathon began, chefs assembled at their different posts and we began cooking.They gave us one hour for the first round.The sound of dicing onions, a clattering spoon, and chopped herbs filled the room.At the front, the judges sat with pens and paper in hand, watching our every move as we cooked.When the time came f
Roseline's POVI stared at his back, at the way he ran out of the dining room so suddenly, his chair nearly toppling over behind him."Florian, wait!" I called out, but he refused to look back. He just kept going, straight through the hallway and out toward the balcony.My father frowned, setting his fork down. "What's wrong with him?""I have no idea," I said, already pushing my own chair back. "Let me go check."I found him standing by the balcony railing, his hands gripping it so tightly his knuckles had gone pale, his eyes fixed somewhere far off in the distance, like he was seeing something that wasn't really there."Florian." I stepped closer, my voice soft. "What's going on?"He didn't answer right away. For a moment I just stood beside him, listening to him breathe, watching the tension in his shoulders slowly begin to loosen."It's nothing," he finally said, still not quite looking at me. "I was just reminded of a terrible past experience. That's all. I'm fine."I studied hi
FLORIAN'S POV"Who's that?" I asked her but she quickly grabbed the photo from my hands and threw it back into the drawer."Hey wait, why don't you want me to see it?" I turned to Roseline, her cheeks were so red, she was almost turning into a tomato."It's nothing, forget you saw it" she said, refusing to look at me.I wasn't going to let it go that easily. I reached into the drawer before she could stop me and pulled it back out, finally getting a proper look at it.It was her. A baby version of her, chubby cheeked, completely bald, with the biggest, most confused frown on her tiny face, sitting inside what looked like a bucket instead of a proper bathtub.I burst out laughing."Give it back!" she shrieked, lunging for it, but I held it out of her reach, laughing even harder at the way her frown in the picture matched the one she was giving me right now."You were bald!" I managed to say between laughs. "Roseline, you had no hair at all.""Florian I swear—""And why were you in a bu
Roseline's POV“Did you just say Fiancé?”he asked.His eyes widened in shock.“Yes, we recently just got engaged”I said, the words falling out of my mouth without hesitation.My father had never actually imagined me settling down. Despite all his lectures to the contrary, he fully expected me to tune him out, just like I always did. But this time was different.I wanted to do anything to make him happy while he was still here with us.“Hello, young man,” my father said, his voice level and measuring.Florian stepped forward immediately to meet him, though the nervous beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead gave him away.“Good day Sir, my name is Florian Hollis”he said.“I don't know why but you look familiar, I just can't place a finger on where I've seen this face before”my father said, stroking his chin.He lay in bed, his skin strikingly pale. A call bell rested within arm's reach on the nightstand, ensuring he wouldn't have to stand up whenever he needed assistance.“I'm sure







