My Online Boyfriend Lives In The Next Room Chapter 15

My Online Boyfriend Lives In The Next Room Chapter 15

After we flew home, everything came to a head.

Sloane tried to fabricate evidence and frame me. I tore it apart.

She was taken into custody.

Alistair reported Graham to corporate headquarters. The investigation turned up bribery and embezzlement.

He lost his job. Then he lost his freedom.

I became Alistair’s private wealth manager. He entrusted a portion of his assets to me.

I might have been hopeless at reading romantic signals, but I had one thing going for me. When it came to money, my instincts were razor-sharp.

Under my management, Alistair’s portfolio didn’t just grow; it soared.

A million-dollar salary and performaance bonuses that made my head spin.

I did more than manage Alistair’s assets. I started taking on new clients. Eric, the industry leaders from the gala. One by one, they came to me.

I bought a home of my own.

The balance in my bank account continued to grow. And for the first time in my life, the ground under my feet felt solid.

When a massive performance bonus hit my account, I knew exactly how I wanted to celebrate.

I was going to cook for Alistair.

I prepared a candlelit dinner and invited him over. We clinked glasses over the candlelight.

A glass and a half in, the wine gave me just enough courage. “Alistair. When did you fall for me?”

He didn’t look away. Not even for a second. “The first time I saw you.”

“You mean when I knocked on the wrong door?”

“No.” He shook his head. “That was the first time you saw me. Not the first time I saw you.”

“The first time I saw you was on a rainy night.”

“I was sitting in my car on the side of the road. And I saw you, standing in the rain with your umbrella, stacking stones around a loose manhole cover.”

“You were soaked through. It was the clumsiest, kindest thing I’d ever seen.”

“That was it for me.”

I remembered that night.

I’d been walking home in a downpour when I noticed a manhole cover sitting loose on the sidewalk.

Someone could’ve stepped right into it.

I called the city to report it. No one could come right away, so I stayed. I warned every pedestrian who

passed by.

But I couldn’t stand there forever. So I came up with a clumsy fix.

I’d gathered some stones and placed them around the opening to warn pedestrians.

“I knew it was you,” Alistair said, “the second you added me on that account.”

“You left your phone on the table once, when you went to switch your laundry. I saw the screen.”

“Otherwise, I would never have accepted your request.”

“I was living at the family estate before. I moved into that apartment because I found out you worked at the

bank.”

Everything clicked into place. “So that’s why…”

Outside, the rain picked up, a few drops drifting in through the open window.

I stood up and went to close it.

When I turned around, Alistair was standing behind me.

His arms wrapped around me from behind. His voice was low against my ear. “Baby. I don’t want to leave tonight.”

“Mm.” I nodded.

He kissed me with the ferocity of the storm outside.

I pulled back eventually, breathless. “I’m going to take a shower.”

He caught my hand. Didn’t let go. “Together?”

My face burned. I laced my fingers through his. “Okay.”

Steam filled the bathroom.

Our silhouettes pressed against the frosted glass.

When we came out, the rain hadn’t stopped.

Alistair carried me to the couch and handed me a glass of water.

The storm raged on. Raindrops struck the floor-to-ceiling window in the bedroom.

It sounded like a rhythm.

Wind swept inside through the kitchen window, brushing against the roses on the kitchen island.

Their scent drifted through every room…

The next morning.

The climbing roses on the terrace were in full bloom, their planters brimming with rainwater.

I was still half asleep when I felt Alistair stir.

His fingers found mine under the sheets. “Baby. You won’t leave me, will you?”

I was still boneless from the night before. “We’ve barely started. Why are you already asking me that?”

He pulled me closer, grip tightening. “Move in with me. Or I move in here. Either way, I’m not spending another night without you.”

I half-laughed, half-groaned. “Isn’t that a little fast?”

The comments flooded in. [Too fast? Alistair has waited so long that he’s practically clawing at the walls.]

[He was terrified of scaring her off, so he kept the obsessive side locked down.]

[Now that he finally has her? He wants to be glued to her twenty-four-seven.]

[It’s obvious that Laurel enjoys this extreme possessiveness.]

“Mm.” I nudged him softly with my elbow, ears burning. “You’re crushing me. I can’t breathe.”

He pulled me tighter, his lips brushing my ear. “You don’t like it?”

I smiled, the kind that came from somewhere deep. “I like it.”

The End