Forbidden Heat

Reiner – Caught in the Middle

“I didn’t know that you were an expert at the things that I asked you about. You must know so much

about all this,” I said in appreciation.

“Not really. I just know a bit more than the other people…” Charles said humbly.

“Knight is taking a while. I guess, I’ll get you some of the cookies that I got after all. I sort of feel guilting

for making you wait without offering you anything,” I said.

“Don’t worry about that. You talking to me is more than enough,” Charles said with a smile.

“Well…” I murmured.

“Sit down with me. Why are you still standing up?” Charles said invitingly as he patted the empty space

on the sofa next to where he was seated.

“Thanks…” I said softly before sitting down on the sofa.

There were so many things that I wanted to ask Charles that I didn’t know where to start. I wanted to

ask him about what he knew about Reiner, and I also wanted to ask him things related to the project.

“You look quite tired. Have you been getting enough sleep lately?” Charles asked as he reached out his

hand and placed it adoringly on top of my head.

I smiled before laughing a little at his concerned face. It wasn’t anything serious, I just couldn’t sleep

very well but Charles looked so worried that it was slightly amusing.

“I’m ok. You don’t have to worry,” I replied.

“If you say so…” Charles said tenderly as his hand stroked my hair.

“Charles…can you tell me more about…” I began saying before I had to stop midsentence.

The door opened quite loudly, and we both turned to see Reiner standing tall and proud in the doorway.

Reiner is here already…

Wait! Reiner is here?!

The moment that I had dreaded had finally arrived and just as I had feared, I didn’t quite know what to

do or how to act. More than anything, I didn’t know how to feel about the two men meeting face-to-face

like this. That and the fact that Charles hand was still on top of my head.

This is for work. I repeated in my head as I watched Reiner’s face grow stern as his blue eyes

narrowed when he saw me sitting on the sofa very close to Charles with him petting my head.

The door closed behind him with a firm thud and Reiner’s full attention was on us. It wasn’t like I had

done anything wrong. The complete opposite was true, I was doing my job perfectly at entertaining our

guest while I waited for Reiner to arrive. However, the look on Reiner’s face told me that he felt

anything but pleased.

“Umm…Knight, Charles is here…” I mumbled. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Reiner’s eyes focused on my face before his gaze shifted to focus on Charles. I felt a chill run up along

my spine at the intensity of his gaze.

“How do you two know each other?” Reiner asked coldly without bothering with any pleasantries.

I was about to open my mouth to explain the whole situation, but Charles placed a hand on my arm and

began speaking before I could.

“You’re right, we both know each other. I’m a regular at the bar that she works at,” Charles replied

casually.

“I see…” Reiner said, and I could feel his eyes on me as I tried to avoid his piercing gaze.

I had predicted that the atmosphere might get a little tense when the two met but, honestly, I never

thought that things would get this suffocatingly tense between the two. The worst part was that I was

caught in the middle.

“Umm…should we start the meeting?” I suggested in a small voice.

“Will you be working at the bar tonight?” Charles turned to ask me with a smile.

I was stunned at his question. Don’t tell me that he’s doing this on purpose. Did he catch on that Reiner

isn’t simply just my boss?

“Umm…Yes, I’ll be there…” I replied with a polite smile.

I could feel Reiner’s gaze on me, and I felt his displeasure and his anger scorch me like a fire. Why is

he so mad?

“Great. I’ll see you later tonight then. Sorry, I have to go now. Knight and I need to have our chat,”

Charles replied with a smile as he got up from the sofa.

Charles turned to face Reiner and it felt like destructive explosions would go off when the two stood

face-to-face with their eyes meeting. This is crazy…

However, now was the time for work and I had to act professional. I prayed that we all could act

professional. Charles is here as an expert to help us with our project, and I wanted the project to be

successful no matter what.

“Would it be possible for me to join the session like I did with the agent interviews?” I inquired politely.

Reiner’s eyes flew to my face, and I froze in place. Suddenly, I felt very cold. Had Reiner’s eyes ever

been this scary before?

“No. You will wait outside,” Reiner replied.

I was shocked and intimidated by his gaze and how mad he seemed. It wasn’t often that I saw Reiner

this mad, and I wasn’t used to it at all. Not knowing what to say, I just nodded slightly in

acknowledgement.

“Don’t look so down. Knight and I will be done with our meeting in no time,” Charles said comfortingly

before following Reiner’s lead into his personal office.

“Sure. See you later,” I replied politely.

The door closed after them, and I was the only one left in the room. A loud sigh left my lips and my legs

felt so weak that I had to sit on the sofa for a while to recover from my shock. That didn’t go down well

at all. Reiner suspected a lot of things and if my guess was right, then so did Charles.

I felt like I wasn’t in the wrong but somehow, I felt like I owed both men some kind of explanation to

clear up the situation. However, the more I thought about it, I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to clear

up a situation that wasn’t ‘cleared up’.

--To be continued…