An Affair With The Ceo (Natasha and Jared) novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18 Soaked with Mr. Rundell

Chapter 18 Soaked with Mr. Rundell

“So you’re really gonna jump into the ocean just because you can’t hook up with me?” Jared said, sounding totally fed up.

His comment blew away all the gloom Natasha had bottled up inside.

A few seconds later, she burst out laughing.

Just a moment ago, she’d been feeling down and miserable.

“M-Mr. Rundell, why are you here?” Natasha asked, snapping out of her daze.

“Get in the car!” Jared barked.

Natasha hesitated, frozen in place.

‘After all, this isn’t even during work hours. I have no reason to get into his car.

‘I mean, it’s not like we were close or anything outside the office, she thought.

“So, what, if I don’t pay attention to you, you’re really gonna throw yourself into the ocean?” Jared arched his eyebrow.

“I wasn’t about to jump into the ocean, and trust me, I’m not after you or anything, Mr. Rundell. Seriously, you don’t need to bother with me,” Natasha replied.

She was in such a lousy mood today that she honestly couldn’t be bothered to entertain him.

But Jared seemed convinced she was about to throw herself into the ocean.

“Seriously, you’re wandering by the seaside road this late? If you fall in, am I supposed to claim it as a work injury?” Jared said.

“Don’t even think about blaming this on me for compensation. Get in the car.”

Without another word, he shoved her straight into the passenger seat.

Natasha probably had no idea what she looked like right now.

Her eyes were red, her hair and dress were a mess from the wind, and she looked like a kid who’d just been picked on and had no one to stand up for her.

She seemed so pitiful and helpless.

Out of nowhere, Jared felt a sudden pang of sympathy for her.

‘Am I seriously losing it?’ Jared thought to himself. ‘When did I start getting so nosy?

‘I never even cared about the private lives of my longtime employees.

‘So why did seeing her all alone by the roadside suddenly hit me with this weird pang of sympathy?

‘And why did I even bother to reverse my car just to pick her up?’

Natasha could feel Jared’s intense gaze fixed on her from the seat beside her.

It gave her a subtle sense of pressure, like the air was suddenly tense.

She turned her head, her eyes full of confusion as she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Just waiting for your cry,” Jared said,

His hand lounged lazily on the steering wheel, his tone annoyingly smug.

Natasha was so thrown off by his comment that she honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She blurted out again, “I will not cry!”

Jared teased, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Too shy to cry in front of me? Gonna save your tears for your husband at home, huh?”

There was an unmistakable tinge of jealousy in his voice.

When Jared brought up her husband, Natasha’s eyes unconsciously lost their shine for a moment.

She parted her lips, almost blurting something out.

But she had no idea where to even start.

There was absolutely no way she could talk about all those messy, shameful problems between her and Percy.

‘Like I could ever tell Jared I’m out here alone by the ocean tonight because I just realized my husband and my mom both care more about my sister than me, Natasha thought bitterly.

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Chapter 18 Soaked with Mr. Rundell

Good thing Jared didn’t push it or try to dig for more.

He waited for a moment, but when he saw Natasha wasn’t gonna cry after all, he floored the accelerator and took off in his fancy ride.

Right then, rain started falling from the sky.

The downpour kept getting heavier.

The luxury car raced down the wide avenue, picking up speed.

Natasha was worried the rain would make the roads slick, and with him speeding like this, they might end up in an accident.

She was just about to ask him to slow down when the car suddenly lurched, jolting her hard.

The luxury car came to a sudden, jarring stop.

Natasha’s head nearly smacked into the window.

She glanced over at Jared, taking in his sharp, handsome features, still a bit dazed. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll go check it out,” Jared said, not wasting a second as he pushed open the car door and got out.

Natasha watched the rain pour down outside, then glanced at Jared, who was standing in front of the car, opening the hood.

She quickly pulled an umbrella from her bag.

She hurried over to Jared, holding the umbrella above them. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“The car’s stalled,” Jared said.

Natasha blinked in surprise. “Seriously? Even a luxury car like this can just break down?”

“I was driving too fast, and with the rain pouring down, I missed a pothole-front wheel dropped right in…” Jared explained, keeping it short. “Go back inside and wait for me.”

Natasha offered him the umbrella, her voice gentle. “Take the umbrella, then.”

Jared shot a look at the tiny umbrella that barely covered her and frowned. “A little rain won’t hurt me. Go on, get back in the car before you get drenched.”

Natasha paused, kind of stunned-this was the first time in her life she actually felt someone cared about her.

During her life, her parents, her family, even Percy-her so-called husband-never really gave a damn about her feelings.

But Jared was out there, acting all gentlemanly in the rain. He didn’t take her umbrella; instead, he told her to get back in the car.

Feeling genuinely grateful, Natasha slipped back into the car.

After more than ten minutes, Jared showed up again, totally drenched, like he’d just walked straight through a waterfall.

Natasha hurriedly grabbed a pack of tissues and handed them to him. “Did you get the car fixed, Mr. Rundell?” she asked.

Jared gave himself a quick wipe-down. “Yeah, got it fixed, but the front wheel’s stuck in a puddle. I’ll try to see if I can get us out.”

He tried a bunch of times, but the car was still stuck.

He went back out, grabbed a big rock, and shoved it under the wheel, but the car wouldn’t move an inch.

And just his luck, his phone slipped out of his pocket and plopped right into the muddy puddle.

When Jared finally made it back to the car, he was soaked to the bone.

Water dripped from his short, wet hair, tracing the sharp angles of his handsome, chiseled face.

A single droplet slid down his strong jaw, rolled over his sculpted Adam’s apple, and finally slipped onto his chest. Natasha swallowed, feeling a little flustered-she just couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

‘Eyes up, Natasha. Don’t ogle, she mentally chided herself.

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