replied, barely able to focus on him, her fatigue overwhelming her. It was both mental and physical today.
“I’m driving home. Pack up and shut down. It is time for you to leave.”
Helen looked around at all the work she had to do. “No, thank you for the offer, but I’d really rather stay here and get some things done while it’s quiet.”
Dimitri was having none of that. He looked at the dark circles under her eyes and the weary droop to her shoulders and shook his head. “No. Nothing here is so important that you need to kill yourself to get it done. You’re exhausted and you’re going to go home,” he countered.
Helen started to argue with him but she could see the intractable expression on his face. Sighing heavily, she accepted defeat in this situation. “Okay. I guess I can work on some of this from home just as easily as I could from here.”
“No Helen. You’re taking the night off,” he said gently but firmly and pulled the files out of her hands, placing them back on the desk.
She felt as if this was just another point of failure in an already miserable day. Helen wanted to cry. “I can handle this, I promise Mr. Theopolis.”
Dimitri felt defeated with her eyes turning all soft and weepy. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss away all of her worries. But he suspected that she would run for the hills if he even made a move close to her. Soon though. He would have to do something soon or he’d go up in flames with this desire that was eating away at him. He wanted this tiny, sexy woman more than he could remember ever desiring another female.
“No Helen. I’m going to drive you home. It’s late already and it isn’t safe for you to take the subway this late at night.”
She looked out the window and saw that it was dark but didn’t want him to think she couldn’t handle the work load. “It isn’t hard at all..” she started to say but he interrupted her.
“No more arguments and no work. You’re going to go home and soak in a hot bathtub for at least an hour.” When he saw her open her mouth to argue, he stopped her by saying, “Helen, if you don’t agree to do exactly as I say I’m going to stand over you and make sure you take that bubble bath,” he threatened.
With those words, her face turned bright red for the second time that day and she had to bow her head to hide the evidence of just how much the idea affected her. “Okay,” she said, her words muffled since she was bending down to feign an interest in her lap.
“Good. Now where’s your purse?” he asked.
Helen dug her brown, dull carry-all out of the bottom drawer and stood up, following him out of the office.
“What are you going to have for dinner?” he asked when they were seated in his luxurious, powerful car.
Helen thought about the contents of her cabinets and cringed. It was shopping night tonight but she just didn’t feel up to the task. “I’ll probably make myself a bowl of soup or just a salad,” she said.
They pulled up to her house a moment later and Helen almost jumped out of the sleek, powerful car. “Thank you very much for the ride,” she said, bending down so she could see him across the passenger seat. But she was shocked when he wasn’t there. He was already at the little sidewalk in front of her door. “What are you doing?” she asked, rushing to catch up with him.
“I’m walking you to your door,” he said, turning to wink at her. “Don’t all of your dates walk you to your door?” he asked.
Helen laughed self-consciously. “I wouldn’t remember,” she mumbled.
“What was that?” he asked, turning to look down at her.
“Nothing,” she said quickly and pulled out her keys. “As I said, thank you for the ride and for seeing me safely to the door. I’m sure everything is okay now. And I’m sure you have plans for the night.”
Dimitri smiled and Helen’s stomach fluttered. “Are you trying to get rid of me Helen? What are you hiding inside your house?” he teased.
“Nothing!” she gasped. Then, seeing the teasing glimmer in his eyes, her shoulders sagged. “Sorry, I guess I’m a little too sensitive today, aren’t I?”
“Perhaps. But I’ll forgive you if you’ll tell me what happened earlier.”