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know.

Chapter Three
     
    I
took a deep breath before unlocking the front door of Caden's townhouse with
the key Macie had given me that morning before she left for the airport.
Despite Macie's insistence that I could dress casually, I felt at ease in more
formal clothing, almost like a suit of armor. I had chosen my outfit carefully,
wearing black pants and a gray blouse with the hope that I looked professional.
My clothes were fitted enough to not look sloppy but loose enough to not bring
too much attention to my curves, especially my generous breasts that seemed
even bigger on my small frame. I had wished more than once that I was built
with less curves or was at least taller so they were less pronounced. I would
embrace a boyish figure any day, but I had learned to dress to disguise my
figure.
    I
was surprised to find Caden at his desk when I opened the door to the office. I
hadn't expected to find him there, waiting for me, although I reasoned that
this was his office and he wasn't necessarily there because of me. He was
dressed casually in jeans and a blue button-down shirt, and I couldn't help
feeling a bit overdressed. I also couldn't help noticing how handsome he
looked.
    "Good
morning," I said cheerfully, trying to sound chipper.
    "Good
morning, Lauren." Caden's eyes tracked me as I sat down at Macie's desk,
which I guess was mine now, and dropped my purse underneath it. Macie had told
me that Fridays meant confirming all of Caden's appointments for the weekend,
as well as catching up on all the correspondence he had received during the
week. I had been amazed by the amount of emails and letters Caden received from
fans of his work; apparently they all got a nice form letter thanking them for
their interest. A nice form letter that Caden had nothing to do with. That
didn't even take into account all the women who contacted him to volunteer to
be his model, although I suspected that the term model was a euphemism of what they hoped
Caden would do to them.
    I
remembered his parting words yesterday and looked at him as I turned on my
computer. "You said you had a lot of things you wanted to go over with me
today?"
    Caden
nodded and indicated the chair in front of his desk. "Why don't you come
over here?"
    I
grabbed a notebook and pen, acutely conscious of Caden watching me as I walked
over to him. I gave him a slight smile as I settled into the seat in front of
his desk. I looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to start giving me a
list of tasks, but instead he remained silent. He studied me in a way that made
me feel like he found me wanting.
    "Well?"
I said with a bit more bite than I intended. As surprised as I was by my
attraction to him, I knew it was only surface deep, and it in no way made me
warm to him. In fact, the opposite was true. It made me more wary of him.
    "Macie
told me you two met at DePaul."
    The
last thing I expected was a getting-to-know-you conversation, but I decided to
indulge him. After all, he was my boss.
    "Yes,
we met our sophomore year."
    "What
did you study?"
    Maybe
he was interested in my background, to see what my qualifications were. It
seemed a little backwards since I was already working for him, but I went along
with it.
    "I
was a psychology major."
    "Why
psychology?"
    My
pressed my lips together, my patience thinning with this line of questioning. I
didn't understand what my college major had to do with running his personal
errands. There was nothing I disliked more than talking about myself.
    I
didn't let any of my feelings show as I shrugged. "I've just always been
interested in how the human mind works. Why people do the things they do."
I would never reveal the real reason why I had studied psychology. I had wanted
to understand how people could be so cruel. How people could rationalize their
depraved actions away, not caring about the lives they left shattered behind
them.
    Caden
seemed to process my response. He was all business when he spoke again. "I
need you to order