Obsessed With Him

Love is a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person.

...

"Get out of my sight!" As she splashed hot soup on the waitress's white shirt, a woman in her sixties yelled. "You don't respect an elderly person." She continued, frowning.

Instead of looking in their directions, Claire Hutton stared down at her stained shirt, tears streaming down her face. When she finally got a job at the posh Hotel deLuxe, she was bullied by an older wealthy woman who wasn't happy with her order and told her she didn't have respect.

What had she done to earn such a fate?

She pondered this question and excused herself to use the restroom. She found herself crying in front of the mirror, and a lady about her height with black hair handed her tissue paper to clean herself up.

The lady straightened her hair and adjusted her makeup. "You can cry all you want; this is a safe environment."

The lady mumbled and then walked away. Claire wiped the stain out of her blouse under the water, but it wouldn't come out.

She walked into the restaurant after drying her clothing. She noticed a white pause on the ground in front of the exit door and chased down the owner, who was about to enter her black car.

Claire called after her as the woman turned to face Claire. She was the focus of the woman's attention. Claire's clothing had a stain on it, which she had noticed.

She was in her forties and was holding a black Louis Vuitton handbag and matching shoe. Her hair was parted to the side and her outfit was white. She wore a standard lipstick shade. She took off her sunglasses.

Claire Hutton had seen her before. The billionaire retired supermodel and well-known stay-at-home mother Loren Cohen stood in front of her.

Claire kept her excitement contained as she continued, "Your purse ma'am." She doesn't want Loren to know she was a weird number one fan.

Loren took it from Claire and smiled. She said, "Thank you...Claire Hutton." Claire's expression showed her surprise.

"How did you..."

"Your barge." She spoke up before Claire could complete her sentence. "Your name is prominently written on your barge."

Claire examined her barge as well as Loren. "Mrs. Cohen, it was great to see you face to face. I am pleased to be your biggest supporter. Is it possible to get your autograph? Perhaps a picture?" Claire had asked.

Claire had admired Loren since she was a child, watching all of her fashion presentations on the runway and wishing to be like her when she grew up, but her fate had altered since her brother had taken all of her father's money following his death.

Her mother was sick and she had tried everything she could to get extra money so that she could send her sister to school. Loren collected Claire's phone and took a picture with her.

She removed money from her purse and handed it over to Claire. "I'll pay you for finding my handbag." It was turned down by Claire.

"I didn't hand up your purse to you because I was short on cash. I would have done that to anyone and not only rich people." Claire said this as she pushed Loren's hand back towards her.

Loren returned her gaze to Claire's ruined shirt. "How did things go down there?"

Claire stared down at the stain as she said., "That was done by a wealthy woman. She claimed I was impolite since I only gave her what she asked for and she dumped boiling soup all over my body." Claire exhaled deeply. "I need to go or I'll be fired." Claire gave Loren a friendly smile. "I'm glad I got to meet you in person." She murmured this as she approached the door, but Loren stopped her before she could enter.

"Please take this." Claire received a card from Loren. "My son is looking for a new manager, and there will be a lot of competition for that post, so I recommend that you submit your resume as soon as possible." Claire retrieved it.

"How come you're doing me such a tremendous favor?" Loren giggled when she asked.

"Claire, I've taken a shine to you and hope we can hang out when you obtain that job. I wish you all the best." As she got into her car, she said.

The automobile sped away.

Claire stood there watching the automobile drive away. She examined the card. "Cohen Fashion industry?" She stroked it with her fingertips. "You are an angel, Mrs. Loren Cohen, and thank you for dumping hot soup on me, aggressive old lady."

As she walked into the restaurant, Claire grinned. Louis Batty, the owner of Hotel deLuxe and an old friend of Claire's, had stopped her on her way into the kitchen. He always smiles whenever he sees Claire.

Her face was as innocent as a dove and he liked seeing It.

As soon as he observed the stain on her shirt, he called her. He grew enraged. "Was that the ruckus from earlier this evening?" He inquired. "And you couldn't have told me about the woman who bullied you and poured soup all over your body?" As he approached her, he yelled at her.

Instead, Claire gave him a kind smile.

"After being bullied like that, how could you smile?" He inquired of her. "That woman needs to be taught a lesson. Nobody has the right to treat my friend badly, even if they are wealthy."

He sprang for the kitchen door, but Claire intervened. "You must not become enraged, Louis. Following the soup mishap, the woman did me a favor. Loren Cohen gave me a business card and told me to submit my CV as soon as possible because her son needed a new manager. I hope I am chosen. Loren was so lovely and nice." He shook his head as she smiled warmly at him.

He collected the card from Claire. "Do you mean I won't see your face every morning?" He inquired. Claire began to chuckle, and he joined in.

"That is if I am approved. Is it possible for me to leave early today? Before it's too late, I need to create and submit my résumé." He handed her the card, which she accepted.

He made a shooing motion with his hand while nodding. "I'll make an effort to function without you. Anyway, a happy birthday to you."

"You remembered." Claire came to a halt and stared at him.

"Certainly."

"I appreciate it." As she stepped out the door, Claire smiled.

You are my heart, my life, my only thought.

....

Elijah Cohen examined the gleaming white rectangle on the doormat. It appeared to be an envelope.

Who would have thought to smuggle this past his hotel door?

He heard a knock on his door and saw his best friend Louis enter, followed by three chefs.

As the chefs entered the room and set the tray of food on the table, he made a motion with his hands scrutinizing them.

As he stepped on the white envelope, Elijah stared at Louis. "I had no idea people still sent letters in handwriting," Louis stated as he took it up.

"Hey, buddy, I never said you were welcome to come inside my room." As he took the letter from Louis and turned the envelope over, Elijah pretended to pout. Mrs. Cohen was addressed to him, according to the printing on the back of the envelope.

"Why would mother use handwritten letters instead of a phone to communicate?" When he opened the letter in front of Louis, who was already seated on the couch, he inquired. Elijah smirked. "It's blank, but..." he said as he detected a gleaming material and completely unfolded the paper.

Glitters tumbled to the ground, and he immediately recognized who had written the letter.

"Mrs. Cohen sent you a glittered blank letter. She certainly enjoys playing." As he prepared to dine, Louis made a remark.

"Britney wrote the letter. She's the only one who uses glitter in everything she does, and don't you think you're getting too cozy in my suite?" Elijah questioned. He continued. "Just because this is your hotel doesn't mean you have authority to enter my room without my permission every time I come to your hotel for some alone time."

As he talked, Elijah's voice was calm. Louis had always been like that to him since childhood, and he had no intention of changing.

His parents and the well-known Cohen had been close friends from the beginning of their careers, and Louis had always treated Elijah like a brother rather than a friend.

When Elijah needed him, he was always there. Louis smiled instead than listening to what Elijah said. "Why would your sister send a glitter blank letter? Did she do anything else to irritate your father?" Louis asked. Elijah breathed deeply.

"I suppose so. She wrote on my car and ruined it the last time she needed money because she didn't want her father to trace her number to mine. Britney has such a dramatic personality." As he sat down on the couch next to Louis, he remarked. He took out the food. "Her card must have been blocked again by Dad."

"Does she really despise remaining at home?"

"This is something Father does all the time. He enjoys peeping into our personal lives, and Britney isn't ready to have that conversation with him. Maybe he's afraid she won't listen and turns to follow Abraham's route." Louis joined in the laughter. "I think that's why Abraham ran away from home and now he's a millionaire, but trust me when I say Britney won't call him and ask for money."

"He does illegal jobs and he is one of the youngest mafias," Louis said. "I'm still puzzled as to why your brother isn't in jail for selling drugs."

"Every darn time, Father saves his ass."

"Are you willing to help your sister?" Louis inquired. He drank all of the water from the bottle in front of him in one go.

"Of course, but not in this way; if Father discovers that I gave her money without his knowledge, he will be forced to involve my grandparents. I need to figure out a way to get the money to her."

"Fortunately for you, I know someone who also attends Harvard. My friend's sister. She could be useful." Louis stated.

"Please help me in delivering this money to her." As he wired money to Louis's account, he said.

"When I see her later, I'll talk to her." Louis smiled as he received the money and proceeded to tap his phone.

Elijah had no idea what was going on with Louis, so he snatched the phone away from him to see what was making him so happy.

A lady? Louis fought to reclaim his phone, but he couldn't match Elijah's power, so he gave up.

Elijah chuckled.

He appeared to be fascinated by the image he was looking at. "So she managed to make you smile? What is her name?" He inquired as he began to smile.

"Claire Hutton is her name. She is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

"She's lovely," Elijah murmured, and Louis turned to face him. He knew his friend was good with girls, but this was the first time he'd heard Elijah describe a girl as attractive, which was remarkable in and of itself.

"She is. Her smile has the power to transform a gloomy and moody space into something vibrant."

"Hmm." As he went over Claire's photo, Elijah kept smiling. "Do you have a thing for her?" He inquired.

"I'm not smitten with Claire. I don't like her the way you think." Elijah was well aware of his deception. "Tomorrow is her birthday. You may make her wish. She is a tremendous fan of your mother and is unaware that you and I are friends, so hearing from the handsome and famous Elijah Cohen would make her day." Louis gave him a wink.

"I believe I should wish her then."

"That's what I said and no no no, don't you think about her that way. What's with that look on your face? She is not like those girls you dated or played. She is clean and innocent and deserves the world so you should wish her but please nothing more than that."

He removed Claire's number from Louis' phone and returned it to him. Elijah pushed himself off the couch. "I've got some stuff to do, and I may not be able to go to work tomorrow. I'm exhausted from all the tension."

Louis went to look at Claire's photo on his phone, but Elijah had already deleted it. "You got rid of the photos?"

"If you don't like her, why do you retain her pictures?" As he proceeded to the other room, he inquired. Louis kept looking, even going to his recent erase, but Elijah had already deleted the photos from his phone. "I wanted to share her picture on Instagram, you jerk!" Louis yelled, but all Elijah could do in the other room was silently chuckle.

Louis began to regret showing Claire's photo to his best friend. He was well aware of Elijah's personality.

Claire isn't for someone like him, who is a lion but also delicate and deadly. She is a very vulnerable person who is constantly hurt, but she chose love over everything else.

Oh, he wished for nothing but friendship between them, despite the fact that he knew it was a lie. Elijah sat on the chair, grinned at Claire's photo on his phone, and turned on his laptop.

He had done something horrible to his friend by emailing Claire's photo to himself and removing it from Louis' phone, but he didn't feel bad about it.

Even though Louis was lying to him about his affections for Claire, he informed him he doesn't have feelings for her and he doesn't want Louis to like her.

He had received emails earlier that day from a variety of persons interested in the manager post, but none of them piqued his attention. He was looking for someone he could connect with and speak with, and the more he read about these folks, the more he realized they didn't fit what he wanted.

When the name 'Claire Hutton' appeared, he was prepared to turn off his laptop. He hadn't expected her to send him a message. He only clicked on it to see if it was the same Claire Hutton that his friend Louis had mentioned, and it was.

When the clock struck noon, he was about to wish the same girl a happy birthday.

He had fallen in love with her at first sight after seeing her images earlier. He smiled as he realized he had found the person he was looking for. "This isn't by chance. It's destiny."

Why must it be you of all people? You make me want to love you more.

~~~

It was exactly 12 a.m. Claire's phone beeped as she unlocked it and read Louis' text message. She smiled.

She didn't expect her 25th birthday to be the best because her 24th birthday had disappointed her, and her fiancé had pulled out of their wedding plans roughly a week ago.

Claire recalled chasing him and grabbing his hand. She apologized to him in the rain because she didn't know what went wrong, but she promised to do everything she could to make things right between them.

Michael had asked her if she could do whatever he wanted, and Claire had pulled her hand from his as soon as he said those words. He became enraged, tossed his umbrella to the ground, and walked away, leaving her alone to grieve in the rain.

She tried to get over it, but things just weren't going her way. With her and the guys, it had always been like this. They always depart, and she moves on to the next job, and so on.

She was a simple person when it came to love, and once she was over them, she moved on. However, they tend to return when she is finally back on her feet, prompting her to reject them because she had given them not one, but more than five chances, and they always abused those opportunities.

Her screen displayed a message from an unknown number. Every year, it happens. She meets new people, becomes close, and then they leave. She didn't seem surprised. She responded to the unknown number, and they began a real conversation from there. She didn't expect anything more from him than friendship.

She had just sent a message to The Cohen industry requesting the management post. She hadn't expected a response from the employer by noon, but she had hoped she would get the position.

She and the unidentified man exchanged photos, and he introduced himself as Elijah. They discussed their preferences. The man in the photograph had brown hair and dark eyes. He appeared to be 6'1" tall and thin. His jawline wasn't flawless, but it was enough to knock some ladies off their feet.

He was interested in learning more about Claire. She was fascinating to converse with, and she was also curious about him. They had this connection from the time they started conversing, and she had never experienced anything like that from any of her ex-boyfriends.

When her phone rang, it was him. They'd talked on the phone for hours, and she'd told him more and more about her life, including how she met the celebrity she'd adored her entire life, and how the celebrity had saved her life by inviting her to apply for a position at her son's company.

Elijah never told her the truth about his life. Only his first name and his stories were correct. He hoped they kept talking like this because the picture and everything else was fiction.

He desired her. Sure, but he's not sure if she won't end up like the previous girls. He knew he shouldn't be thinking like this, but even though he hadn't met her yet, he wanted her in his bed.

He desired to touch her. Her serene voice, the way she laughed and sighed and chuckled over the phone. He wanted to know what she had done to him to make him want her as soon as he saw her images.

Claire finally dozed off at 5 a.m. after they had talked all night.

***

Claire Hutton received a call around 8 a.m. from an unknown number, and she answered with a smile on her face. She was hired, but the person said the director would be unavailable.

Elijah Cohen, the son of the woman she admired, was someone she was looking forward to meeting. Elijah was the man who broke the internet two years ago after his first real picture was posted on Instagram, and Claire had never imagined seeing him face to face because people like her who are always busy with life wouldn't have the chance, and now that the chance had finally arrived, he wouldn't be in the office on her first day.

It's too bad. Too bad.

Claire was overjoyed to have such good news on her birthday. She sat in the tub for a warm bath after opening the bathroom door. She was getting used to her simple existence, and her dream was finally coming true. She'll have to buckle down and figure out a method to make more money in order to reclaim Hutton's company, even if it means returning to her father's home after a long absence.

Claire exited the bathroom after some minutes and turned on the hairdryer on the side of her bed. She was drying her hair when she remembered her younger brother Charlie. What would have happened to her if he hadn't taken the money from the company? Would they have been able to pay off her father's debts without having to touch his mansion?

Her leg is tucked into the black pencil heels. She wore a long black straight slit skirt with a buttoned-up antique long sleeve shirt and straightened her short black hair. Anyone would have spotted her long legs selling her off. She fit perfectly in with the Cohen industry's taste for exquisite gowns.

She stood in front of the mirror, adjusting her makeup. She kept returning her gaze to herself. She breathed deeply.

Claire knew she'd have work to do on her first day because the director wouldn't be present. Because it was her birthday, she wanted to go out and have a good time, but she also needed to work in order to rescue Hutton's company.

She's not going back now. She needed to be at work by 10:30 a.m.

She picked up her purse after she was finished with everything. Claire exited her apartment, closing the door behind her.