Chapter 4 Shaw&Partner

Chapter 4

​My eyes blinked once.

​Shaw & Partner.

​Shaw.

​I stared at his face with a foolish expression for a few seconds. "So... what is your name?"

​"Nicholas. I didn't know we were hiring an auditor," he replied, picking up his wine glass and drinking the rest. Giorgio, the waiter, returned with my chamomile tea, refilled the wine in Nicholas's glass, and disappeared again. Meanwhile, my brain was still trying to process the information it had just received. He wasn't a banker, but a lawyer. Nicholas Shaw.

​My God, I was having lunch with my client's boss.

​"...that means you'll only be in Manhattan for a short time?"

​I was only half-listening to his question. "A week. After my audit here is finished, I'll return to San Francisco," I answered hurriedly.

​I watched as the corners of his mouth pulled downward. Is he really gay? Christine's words from a few days ago echoed in my head again.

​"A week," he repeated to himself. Suddenly, the atmosphere became more awkward as he fell silent. Giorgio returned to our table carrying my salad and a steak for Mr. Shaw.

​I stared at the plate of salad with its attractive mix of colors in front of me. A plate of salad that looked expensive. Ugh.

​We ate in silence; he seemed as busy with his thoughts as I was. In this awkward quiet, I could barely taste the salad I was eating. I figured I would buy a burger on the way back to the hotel.

​After lunch, he insisted on driving me back to the office. I wanted to refuse, but considering he was technically my employer for the week, I just accepted it.

​The car ride was just as quiet as the lunch. He stared out the window most of the time, while I focused on my hands in my lap. When we arrived at the building, he turned to me.

​"I'll see you tomorrow, Eleanor," he said, his voice back to that deep, commanding tone.

​I nodded and got out of the car without a word.

​The next few days passed in a blur of spreadsheets and bank statements. I spent most of my time in the small office Mrs. Lynch had provided, digging through the financial records of Shaw & Partner.

​As I worked, I couldn't help but think about Nicholas Shaw. He was nothing like I had imagined. He was intense, brilliant, and-despite the rumors-he didn't seem gay at all. There was a way he looked at me, a certain heat in his eyes that made my skin tingle.

​But I had to stay professional. I was here to do a job, and that job was to find any irregularities in the firm's finances.

​By Thursday evening, I was exhausted. I had been working late every night, trying to meet the deadline I had set for myself. I stared at the rows of numbers on my laptop screen.

​"Just a little more, Ella," I muttered, pushing back the urge to sleep.

​But when my eyes began to burn, I gave up. I shut down my laptop, gathered my things from the desk, and stuffed them into my bag. I practically had to drag my body to the elevator. I leaned my back against the empty elevator wall, watching the numbers blink as it descended from the 15th floor toward the lobby.

​The Shaw & Partner building might be one of the older buildings in Manhattan; from the outside, it looked ancient with its dark red brick. But inside, the modern and elegant interior stood in stark contrast to the exterior. Even the lobby floor used black granite that stayed polished at all times, with a large Shaw & Partner logo centered in the middle of the floor.

​Nicholas Shaw was nothing like I had imagined.

​I checked my watch again; it was 10 PM. I could still stop somewhere on the way home to buy dinner. My mind drifted back to the chocolate mousse I had eaten at lunch; I could still remember the sweet taste mixed with the bitter chocolate, melting in cold softness. My stomach growled a second later. Well, what did I expect? I only had a plate of salad for lunch.

​The elevator doors finally opened in the lobby, breaking my train of thought. Before I could even look up from my watch, a voice beat me to it.

​"Eleanor?"

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