9

Marie

"It was lovely meeting you Marie" Devin says with a smile.

"It was nice meeting you as well" I smile at him.

"I'll catch you later then Dev?" Karter says smiling at his friend.

"Indeed." With that Devin heads off to his car while Karter and I head to ours.

It was around 11 pm and almost everyone had left the event. We silently get in the car as the driver starts driving.

All the sudden the car hits an abrupt stop. Karter furrows his eyebrows, "What was that Richie?"

"I don't know Sir, I'll check" the driver gets out of the car.

After 5 minutes there was knock on the window and Karter rolls it down. "Sir. We have a problem" the driver says nervously. I can tell he's terrified of Karter. I don't blame him, Karter is very intimidating.

"What is the problem Richie?" Karter's voice was clearly laced with annoyance.

"Well Sir, the engine is very hot. The water has dried out completely. Also we have two flat tires"

Karter huffs in anger and raises his voice, "Damn it Richie! You had one job. To make sure the car is functioning properly at all times. Now go bloody do something! We're not going to spend all night here!"

"I-I'm sorry sir. I'll go look for a mechanic around here. It will take me a while"

"Just goddamn do it!" Karter says through gritted teeth as the driver disappears.

"Bloody great!" Karter mutters under is breath. I want to tell him to calm down and that everything will be alright but I don't want to make him mad at me. So I stay quite until he cools down.

I take out my cell phone and simply reply to a few text messages. I wonder if I should call someone to pick me up? All the sudden Karter speaks up in a calm voice, "Hopefully you had a good time tonight. Besides this car issue"

I turn my head to look at him. He's giving me comforting smile, "I did actually. Your friends are really nice" I say with a

smile.

"Indeed they are. I don't have many friends just a few good ones I can count on. The three guys you met tonight and well your former boss" Karter says rather cheekily.

"I can't help but notice that you only get along with English people" I say with an amused smile.

Karter lets out a dry chuckle, "Come to think of it, that's actually true. But Carl is the only one who I came across in America. Devin, Liam, Alex and I have been friends since sixth form then went to the same college so yeah"

"Do you miss it?" I ask, Karter looks at me, "England I mean? It's definitely not the same"

"Of course I do, all my family is there. I grew up there, even after so many years of living in America there are still days that I feel very homesick, I'm sure you can somewhat relate. You're also living in a foreign city right?" He asks.

"That's true. Until 18, I'd never even left Texas before. My parents were a bit hesitant sending me as well."

"Do you miss it?" He asks looking at me right in the eyes.

"Of course I do, it makes me sad that I won't be there to see my sisters grow up. They would barely know me" I say with a little sadness in my voice.

"Two half sisters right?" He asks.

"Yup one from my mom and step dad and one from my dad and step mom"

"I have a sister too you know." He smiles.

I look up at him, "Really? Just one?"

"Yup. Her name is Emily. She's a few years older then me. She's been my best friend growing up. Now she's married with a daughter living happily in London"

I smile, "That's nice. I never really knew what it was like having siblings. My parents got divorced when I was a kid so no siblings for me. I was so excited when my mom told me she was pregnant. I remember it clearly, I was studying for finals and I really couldn't focus!" I say with a laugh.

Karter joins me and laughs, "My parents also got divorced when I was just a kid. It was a good thing I had my sister with me. Siblings tend to be nice and annoying. You should consider yourself somewhat lucky"

"I guess, how old were you when you started this business?" I ask.

"I was just a year older then you and I remember clearly, I was jobless for quite awhile and the idea of my own business came to mind. After much persuasion my parents lent me money. You should have seen their faces when they got to know the success of the company" Karter lets out a dry laugh.

I laugh along, "Always trust parents to underestimate you"

Karter smiles, "So do you plan on working as an assistant for the rest of your life?"

"Well, I mean let's see where life takes me? I'm really not one to plan ahead of time."

"And why is that?" Karter asks like he was genuinely interested in knowing things about me.

"Well, I don't know. I'm just lazy I guess" immediately Karter starts to laugh.

I smile, "What?" I ask.

"That's your excuse? That you're lazy?" He ask with an amused look plastered on his face.

"Well yeah. I don't know" I trail off.

Karter smiles at me, "It's alright. You're pretty young. Plus I think you're on the right direction."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah. I mean once you resign from your job as an assistant you might get offers to work as the Chief Sales Office or even the Chief Operating Officer" he says.

"Fingers crossed" I smile.

"So how long have you and Daniel been together?" He asks, I notice that talking about Daniel makes him mad or something, a weird unreadable emotion goes through him that I can't really describe.

"Well three years now"

Karter nods and hums a, "Nice"

"What about you? Married or in a relationship?" I ask.

"No, I actually haven't been in a relationship in over six years" he says.

"Ex girlfriend broke your heart?" I ask jokily.

Karter seems to take my joke seriously, "Something much worse"

"Oh" I simply say.

"Do you visit Britain often?" I ask trying to change the subject.

"Yes and No, usually my family comes here for a change. I go there too but not quite often" He says plainly.

"You don't seem to trust people easily do you?" I ask all the sudden.

"Well that's true, I don't like making friends unless its a potential client of mine, I don't necessarily like opening up to people. I don't date. And I sure as hell don't do love. There's very little love left in me and that's for my family and few friends"

"Carl said that you have this thing about you, having a protective shield where you don't open up to anyone and show smugness and put up this cold exterior around new people" I say.

Karter gives me a slight smile, "He's very true. Like I said I don't enjoy making new friends or opening up to people. Too much hard work"

"But isn't that what you're doing now?" I ask. Karter raises an eyebrow at me, confused. "Opening up. Becoming friends. Aren't we doing that now?"

"Marie. We are not friends. We're barely co-workers. And this talk was just a polite talk to keep you company while the car is getting fixed"

I smile, "Whatever helps you sleep at night!"

Karter's lips curl into a side smile as he looks at me, "You think we're starting to become friends?"

"Yes, cause in this little while I've come to realize that you're not the devil and you have a soul!"

"As much as I like that compliment, don't push your buttons. Just because I didn't fire you for calling me rude earlier doesn't mean I won't for calling me the devil!" Karter says with a smirk.

"Will you?" I challenge.

"Maybe" he smiles.