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"All right. Well, I shall leave you to get dressed. There is breakfast in the kitchen if you would like it."
"What time is it?" asks Teal.
"Seven," I reply. "She locked—"
I am about to reveal why we were locked in here, but I do not need to tell Teal that. I need to make sense of it first. Charlie used a plot device from one of her crappy romance books to force us together, and I hate that it worked.
It might not have worked out the same way it did for the characters in her book and TV adaptation, probably a couple named Brock and Chastity, but I am ashamed to admit it did work with us. We are not in love with each other, but we just spent the good part of twelve hours making love in an enclosed room.
I take my shirt from Teal when she offers it to me and turn away to allow her to get dressed in private. Last night was different, but I should not be ogling her now.
"That was… well, I'm glad we got on last night," she says. She smiles at me coyly with a sincere twist of her lips.
"Yeah, I am glad too," I say, unable to look away from her.
I put on my shirt and button it up. I do not intend to eat breakfast in the kitchen. I have to leave this place. The house is amazing, but something about Charlie Morton makes me uncomfortable. I know exactly what it is. I hate her romance books and all romance books like them. They are too contrived and neat. Yet, I have just been forced into a room with a sexy woman, and now I feel like I am one of the characters in her books. I hate that I allowed myself to be manipulated by that woman.
"Listen, I need to get out of here, but would you like to go for breakfast with me?"
"Oh? Like now?"
"Yeah. I know a place close to here, and I texted my driver to come and pick me up. We have a lot to discuss with the IP rights and the baby."
I do not want to ever mention the baby to Charlie Morton because she would freak out. She will find out eventually, and I will clarify that the child wasnotconceived in the panic room. I almost explored the house to find her. It is all a trick. Does that mean she could have let us out at any time? I would rather not know the answer to that question.
"I have to make a phone call," Teal says. "And then we can go for breakfast."
"Sure."
We leave the house with no sign of Charlie Morton or anyone else, and the crisp morning air is a welcome reprieve after the heat of the previous night.
Teal walks a little ahead and pulls out her phone. The car is waiting for me in the driveway, and I signal that I will be there in a moment.
"Hi, it's Teal," Teal says into the phone. "What's that? Yeah, I'm just leaving her house now. No, I can't come straight in. I have—" There is a pause. "I have another meeting. Yeah… Yeah, I know. Listen, I don't think I can… Can you please just let me finish? I don't think I can work for you anymore. Yeah, I am. No, I don't need to work my notice."
Teal holds the phone away from her ear, and I can hear the shouting from ten yards away.
"Do you remember when you said that you could replace me in a heartbeat? That I was expendable? Yeah! Well, go screw yourself." Teal hangs up the phone and turns to me with a smile. "That felt good." She practically skips over to the car and gets in.
I shake my head but cannot stop the smile from growing. I get in on the other side and find her bouncing up and down on the seat.
"So, you are accepting my offer?"
"Oh, fuck! I should probably have checked that it was still on the table. It is still on the table, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is."
Teal holds out her hand, and I shake it.
"This is going to be a rollercoaster ride, isn't it?" I ask.
"Oh, yes!"
The driver pulls out from the front of the house and takes us down the long driveway and out onto the main road. I give him directions to the breakfast place I want to go to. Teal rolls down the window, and she reminds me of a large dog, only less hairy. She has a big grin on her face and a positive energy that is almost intoxicating.
I want her to have this moment as we ride in silence to the eatery. I ask the driver to grab some breakfast for himself and wait for us to be done so we can take Teal home, and then I can go get some sleep.
When we get to the place, Teal orders the biggest stack of pancakes they have, with lashings of whipped cream and a whole punnet of strawberries.
