His Beautiful Addiction

''I understand ''

She replied indifferently, waiting for his next command, her lips pursed into a thin line.

''Anything else you want to say to me? '' She asked when she saw that he wasn't saying anything. Nicklaus shook his head, putting his two hands into his trouser pockets.

''No, you may go in. '' He said, and she turned around and walked into the mansion, not wasting another second.

Nicklaus watched her steps' distance and just at that moment, he remembered something and quickly called her.

''Tiana ''

She turned to look at him, her brows creased;

''Come to my room tonight. ''

Tiana's eyes widened and her face paled instantly at his statement;

What does he mean by that? Does he want to sleep with her now? So he really liked both men and women?

Tiana wondered as her heart pounded against her chest; she didn't know what to do. How would she escape this?

Seeing her scared expression, it took Nicklaus a few seconds to realize that his words had come out wrong.

''...I have something to discuss with you. ''

He completed it quickly. Tiana raised her eyes to him and nodded in relief.

So he didn't mean it that way. But was she going to escape if he requested to sleep with her?

Now that they would be staying in the same room for two weeks, would she be able to prevent him from touching her if he wanted to?

Tiana pondered as she turned back to the house;

If he tried to touch her, she won't even be able to scream because everyone thought they were couples. What would she do? Tiana's heart pounded painfully as she realized that she would face doom soon and there was no-one there to save her.

…

After taking her shower, she wore her undies and bra, and pajamas before going upstairs to Nicklaus' room.

She knocked lightly on the door and when she heard him call her in, she stepped into the room.

Nicklaus was smoking a cigarette when she stepped in; her throat tightened as the strong odor wafted into her nostrils.

He smoked a lot. She wondered why his lips were still pink when he smoked so much.

''Sit. ''

Nicklaus said to her as she approached him in the parlor. He stood up and threw the cigarettes into a trash can, before returning to the parlor.

Tiana sat down on the couch opposite his as she waited for him to tell why he had called her.

Nicklaus watched her briefly;

Now he thought about it, he rarely saw her on makeup, unlike most of the famous women who relied on makeups for their beauty. She was naturally gorgeous.

Tiana's eyes wandered about the room and suddenly settled on Nicklaus when she saw that he was yet to speak, a tiny frown on her brows.

Nicklaus blinked out of his thoughts when her gaze met his and he cleared his throat.

''Now that we will be staying at the ancestral home for a while, I thought maybe we should go over some details. ''

Nicklaus said as he waited to know if she had anything to say, when he saw that she would not say a word, he continued;

''I'm sure everyone would want to know who you are and how we met, so I thought we should talk about it before we go tomorrow. Basically, I want you to say that you're my personal assistant. Saying that you're my pa would prevent anyone from prying further into your background and it would solve many questions relating to how we met.''

He concluded; Tiana's expression was blank as she stared at one of the dark drawings on the wall,

''Okay. ''

She replied when he finished speaking. It wasn't as if she had a choice or a say. He just passed the instruction, and all she had to do was obey. Why did he even bother calling her?

Tiana wondered as she bit on her inner cheek softly.

Nicklaus stared at her for a moment. He was through with what he called her for but he couldn't bring himself to tell her to leave. Although she had an aloof expression on her face, her presence in his room gave him some kind of comfort. He didn't want her to leave, so he didn't speak.

''Is that all? Should I go now? ''

Sadly, even before he could relish her presence for five minutes, she asked with a seemingly angry frown on her forehead. Nicklaus pursed his lips and forced a nod.

''Yes, you may leave. '' His lips pressed into a thin line as he looked away from her; but Tiana cared less of his demeanor, she just stood up and walked out the way she came.

Nicklaus did not realize how lonely and secluded his life had been until she walked through the door.

He felt as though he was in a deep hollow, unable to find his way out; the air in the room becoming too stuffy,

He stood up quietly and walked to the side of his bed, picking a cigarette box and talking out a stick from it; his forever companion.

…

''Have you fixed the meeting with the client from Japan?''

Nicklaus asked as Tiana dropped a document on his table.

''No, I thought you said I should leave it till next week? ''

She asked, her brows creased; he raised his eyes briefly to her;

''No, push it forward, make it on Friday. ''

Nicklaus was working on a project with a Japanese firm for the production of new application software that runs artificial intelligence. The software is a human-like chat companion, which interacts with humans more naturally. Millions had been spent in building this application and if successful, it would be one of the biggest investments in Howells Corporation.

''Alright. '' Tiana replied and turned to leave.

''We'll be leaving soon. Round up any remaining work you have on your desk. '' Tiana's steps faltered a little when she heard him, and then she continued walking forward. Although she had been praying earnestly that that moment would never come, it was finally here.

It was just two weeks, but she knew it would feel like two years! She didn't even get enough sleep the night before; she was just imagining how she would stay in the same space with Nicklaus for so long and not faint. She didn't know if she could do this, but she didn't have a damn choice!