Chapter 2

The next morning, Catherine was arranging some goods inside her mother's boutique when she approached her.

"Hello Catherine, you should start going before you get late. I can take care of all these things myself." Catherine's mom said to

"Don't worry, mom, my boss said that he will come and pick me up, so no need to worry about me being late," Catherine said to her while arranging the goods she was holding.

"Your boss is coming to pick you up?" her mom asked her with a doubting tone.

"Yes, mom, he suggested coming and picking me up this morning, and before you start having any ideas, there's nothing between the both of us," Catherine said to her mom sharply.

"I never said that there was anything between the both of you; you are the one saying it," Catherine's mom replied teasingly, and Catherine frowned.

As she was about to reply, Jerry walked into the boutique.

He was wearing a black suit with a pair of brown shoes and transparent glasses.

"Good morning, Catherine, and good morning, Mrs." He greeted the both of them with a warm smile.

"Good morning," Catherine replied, avoiding his gaze.

"Good morning," Catherine's mom replied. "You must be Jerry Catherine's boss, right?" Catherine Mum inquired.

"Yes," Jerry replied. "And you are Catherine's mom, right?" Jerry asked while smiling.

"Yes," Catherine's mom replied. "

"Our company has really undergone enormous development since Catherine's arrival. That's why I decided to pick her up this morning in order to show her my gratitude," Jerry said while smiling, and Catherine eyed him angrily.

"Wow, I'm happy to hear that," Catherine's mom replied happily.

"Don't you think we should start going?" Catherine asked Jerry with a frown.

"Yes, of course," he replied while looking at his wrist watch. "Mrs. Edmond, it was really a pleasure discussing with you. I hope I will be able to discuss with you next time when I'm a little free." Jerry said to Catherine's mom

"The pleasure is mine, Jerry, and any time you are free, you can come over to our place; Catherine will be glad to bring you," she said to him happily while turning her gaze towards Catherine, and immediately Catherine turned her face away.

"OK, I'll be happy to come over when I'm less busy. Have a nice day," Jerry said to her before following Catherine, who was already heading outside.

Once he came outside, he opened his black Chevrolet car with the car keys; afterwards, he opened the door for Catherine, who got in, and then he too got in and drove off.

During the ride, they both remained silent until Jerry decided to break the silence.

"Hope everything is okay." Jerry inquired.

"Yes," Catherine replied while facing the other side of the window.

"Are you sure?" Jerry inquired, turning his gaze towards her.

Catherine waited for a few seconds before replying.

"Well, the owner of the boutique where my mom is selling wants to sell it off because he is planning to relocate out of New York soon. Meanwhile, my mom doesn't actually have enough money to rent a new boutique where she will be selling,"Catherine explained with a sad tone.

"Well, you see, Catherine, you can't find a solution to a problem if you don't discuss it with someone," Jerry said to her without turning his attention away from staring, but Catherine remained silent. "Have you tried talking to him?" Jerry asked her.

"Yes, but he has made up his mind," Catherine replied, her gaze still fixed on the other side of the window.

"We will find a solution," Jerry replied, and Catherine nodded without uttering a word.

"Have you thought about my proposal?" Jerry inquired.

"Yes, I have," Catherine replied.

"So what's your final decision?" Jerry inquired.

Catherine remained silent for a few seconds before turning her gaze towards him.

"I will do it," she replied, and immediately Jerry turned his gaze towards her and smiled.

"But on one condition," she said, and immediately the smile disappeared from Jerry's face.

"I'm listening," he replied, his attention still focused on the staring.

"No intimacy," she replied, and immediately Jerry furrowed his brows at her.

"I don't understand," he replied.

"No kissing or sex; I don't want to get pregnant," Catherine said to him with a straight face, and immediately Jerry turned his gaze towards her and busted into a round of laughter.

"Deal or no deal?" Catherine asked angrily.

"Deal," Jerry replied while smiling.

"Perfect," Catherine replied, facing the other side of the window.

In less than fifteen minutes, they were already at Ethic Textiles, and Jerry stopped in front of the company.

"Don't forget your appointment with the new client today," Jerry reminded her.

"Yes, sir," she replied before getting out of the car.

Jerry kept staring at her lustfully as she walked into the company.

As he was staring at her, he heard a knock on the opposite side of the window, and immediately he jerked back to reality.

He turned immediately and saw that it was Boris, his best friend and also the accountant, and immediately he frowned and whined the glass down.

"Do you want to break my window?" Jerry asked with an angry tone, and immediately Boris smiled at him, putting his head through the window.

"You should mind how you stare at people if not one day you risk wiping someone away with your stare," Boris said teasingly, making Jerry frown more.

"What do you mean by that?" Jerry asked Boris while pretending not to know what Boris was talking about.

Boris furrowed his brows at him before replying to him.

"I was observing how you were staring lustfully at Catherine; do you love her?" Boris inquired while smiling.

"What!" Jerry exclaimed with an angry tone. "And what makes you think I'm in love with her?" Jerry asked Boris with an icy glare.

"Firstly, since I started working in this company, I have never seen you fetch any employee from home, not even me, your best friend," Boris said to Jerry who furrowed his brows at him. "And secondly, how you were staring lustfully at her answers everything," Boris said, not minding Jerry's frown.

"You can think anything you want, but trust me, I'm not in love with her, and secondly, she is my employee," Jerry replied in defense.

"Are you sure?" Boris inquired with a low tone, and immediately Jerry, who was already getting irritated by his accusations, tried punching his face, but he was too quick to withdraw his face from the window.

"I see that you don't have work to do this early morning; that's why you decided to come and accuse me, right?" Jerry asked Boris angrily.

"Wait, let me park my car. I will make sure you do all the paperwork in my office." Jerry threatened Boris, who seemed not to mind what he was saying before whining up the glass of the car.

"Do your worst," Boris replied to Jerry, who was already driving towards the garage.