The CEO and Her Driver

Chapter 2

I had received my share of letters disguised as love notes. A clusterfuck of jumbled emotions stapled together, declaring lies in the form of poetry. And after a while, it leaves you wary of even the most honest of things. If you aren't careful, you forget what it feels like when someone reaches out with kindness.

I felt strange as I stared down at the love note with my name attached to it. If I hadn't read my own name written in slick black cursive handwriting I would have assumed it was a mistake. No one saw me this way. And yet... the note was addressed to me. I had grown used to notes talking about my looks, but this note— no, it was too long to be a note— this letter was different. And that was the reason why I read it for what must have been the fifth time.

Allie,

Something tells me you are not a flower kind of girl. You are too practical for that. Flowers die fast and you have no intention of slowing down. You still have a whole world to conquer and are just getting started. So it didn't feel right to present you with flowers. Instead, I decided to find something strong and durable. Something that doesn't attract attention unless it wants it. That's what I think of when you come to mind. Someone strong who doesn't demand attention but deserves it.

I still have so many things I want to learn about you. I admire your work ethic, your strength of character, and your determination to fight for what you want. So I am taking a page out of Allie Winters' book and doing just that. I am going to fight to be seen in your eyes.

I look forward to getting to know you.

Sincerely,

Your secret admirer.

I stared down at the declaration, feeling betrayed as an old emotion reared her ugly head. Hope.

What if this one is different?

I killed the feeling by ripping the note into tiny pieces before throwing it in the trash. Love was a dangerous weakness. A distraction. One I couldn't afford.

Winters was a company I had built from the ground up with a pair of shoes. A beautiful pair of shoes that shocked the world by proving that high heels could in fact be comfortable AND affordable. So after finding a way to make pretty things affordable, Winters Fashion became a staple in the fashion industry with that as the foundation. Affordable fashion.

I didn't believe in dresses without pockets. High heels that left you bleeding. Or material that left you itching for freedom. NO. I was determined to create clothes that girls could wear all night on a date with ease. Clothes that didn't require a team of experts to put them in. Clothes that didn't leave someone needing dozens of bandaids and ice packs once the date was over. They say beauty is pain, but I didn't believe it had to be.

I believed that people weren't hangers for clothes. The clothes were supposed to highlight the beauty each individual had. Not the other way around. Curves were beautiful. Why pretend otherwise?

I walked to the closet I kept in my office— because which fashion office wouldn't be full of clothes?— And quickly changed into a pair of skinny jeans with zippers that ran up to my thigh on each side of the pant legs, a pair of red flats, and a white peasant blouse. After wrestling my wet hair into a side braid, I made my way back to my desk as a tentative knock hit my office door.

"Allie, you wanted Derik Lawson's file—," Susan said taking a small step through the door frame. Her eyes moved to the love hedge sitting in the trash can.

I raised a brow. "Are you going to bring it over here, or..." I waved my hand, waiting for her to finish my thought.

"Oh, right! Sorry." She blinked, yanking her eyes away from my love life represented in the garbage can, and dropped the file on my desk. She stood in front of me for a long moment, debating.