His Beautiful Addiction

''You make me want to chase you, Ari,'' Xavier said in the most alluring voice Ari has ever heard. Her face turned a shade of red as she glared at him. She had just finished a full-blown sermon on why they should keep their distance from each other, and that was his reply?

Was something wrong with him?

Ari breathed out. She was mad, but she said nothing. She just turned to her food and ate.

There was no need to beat about the bush. She already told him what she wanted to say. It was left for him to take it or leave it, but she would not go out with him again.

''Do you have a boyfriend? Is that why you do not want to hang out with me?'' Xavier asked as she ate, but Ari just peeked at him and did not reply.

Xavier said nothing else.. It was obvious she was angry now. There was a long moment of silence before he apologized;

''I'm sorry. ''

Ari looked at him; she was surprised to hear him say that. His eyes looked sincere as he watched her, and Ari would give it to him. He had a flair for making hearts weak, because, for a moment, she could not find her anger anymore; but she quickly recovered herself;

''What are you apologizing for exactly?'' she asked, frowning slightly.

Xavier licked his lower lip, maybe unintentionally, but Ari's eyes caught it, and she regretted it cause her eyes were staring at his beautiful lips now;

''For everything. I think I got you upset by what I said, and I'm sorry about that. ''

Ari sighed; ''It's not about what you said, can't you see what is wrong here? You are in a relationship and you want to have something with another woman?''

Xavier shook his head; ''I and Melissa are not dating, it's kind of open relationship, we can see other people, in fact, she actually knows I'm seeing you now. ''

Ari was dumbfounded; he actually had an answer to everything; ''So why does the internet think you are dating, you both basically attend most events together as couples? ''

''Because it is part of the agreement.''

Ari shook her head. ''anyway, no matter what it is, I don't want to get involved in any of it. Just keep me out of it. I would be very grateful if you do.'' Ari said.

''So you want nothing from me? You know I can actually give you anything you want, just name it. '' Xavier said and Ari laughed;

''I am not greedy, Xavier. I'm quite content with what I have, as long as you won't throw me out of your company for turning you down;'' she laughed; ''so no, I want nothing from you.''

Xavier smiled, ''Alright, let's eat then; ''

Xavier wouldn't lie. She had hurt his ego. She was the first woman that had looked him in the eye and rejected both his beauty and his money. There was nothing else to offer her. She didn't want any of him.

The rest of the meal was silent, as only the sound of their cutlery on the plates could be heard.

Ari did not mind though, as she enjoyed her meal to the last bite. 

After dinner, Xavier drove her back home. During the ride, he received a few calls. Ari did not want to listen, but she was forced to cause he had lowered the volume of the music to answer the calls.

From the way he spoke, she quickly guessed they were women.

Ari watched the cars drive past as she wondered how easy it was for him to get laid. Women must be around him all the time. He was rich and handsome. But was that not tiring sometimes?

She wondered, but she did not dwell on it. It was not her business. Thankfully, he had agreed to let her be.

Xavier held the door open for Ari as she stepped down from the car;

''Thank you for your time and company today. I appreciate it. '' Xavier said and Ari smiled;

''Don't mention, I also enjoyed the meal. It was great,'' Ari said. That was all she enjoyed… well, his beautiful face too, but she would not tell him that.

''Goodnight. '' Xavier said, and she waved;

''Drive safely,'' she said and walked to her door. Without looking back, she entered her house and locked the door.

Xavier watched her till she was inside before he entered his car and drove off.

…

Ari was glad that they returned early because the next day was a workday, and she did not want to be late. So the moment she got home, she took a quick shower and slumbered.

Life continued normally. Xavier did not contact her again, and Ari was glad. At least that chapter was completely closed now.

But was it?

About two weeks passed, and everything was normal until Ari came to the office on one fateful Wednesday morning to see her colleagues casting her weird glances. She wondered what she did wrong. Looking at her wristwatch, she was on time, and she was sure she did nothing wrong the previous day. So why were they all looking at her that way?

She sat down and turned on her laptop and started working. After some minutes, Paula, a colleague of hers, a chatterbox; who was never missing where the gossip was, sneaked up to her side;

''What is your relationship with the CEO?''

Ari turned to her with a deep frown on her forehead and a slight panic in her eyes, but she covered it up before Paula would notice.

''No... nothing, I don't know him. Why do you ask?''

''You're just a newbie, but you were selected for the trip to Paris. Only seasoned employees go on business trips, and rumors had it that the CEO had specifically asked for your name to be included.''

Ari looked at her in utter shock; ''wait… what do you mean? What trip are you talking about?''

Paula frowned; ''Haven't you checked your email this morning? It was published in the company WhatsApp group too. Did you not see that?''