Disturbance: A King's Hart Novel Book 2 (BWWM)

VIII. Conference Room Session

A few minutes had gone by and I was almost to his floor. I made a quick detour to the vending machines and got a few snacks for Nathaniel to choose from. It was hard deciding if he was a Milky Way man or Snickers kind of guy, so I ended up picking five different snacks. He was bound to like one of them for sure.

When I finally arrived at the top floor, I greeted the receptionist. She had cherry brown hair with freckles. Smiling up at me, she said, "Ms. Hart. Are you here to see Mr. King?"

I was taken aback that she even knew who I was but quickly recovered. This was Nathaniel King we were dealing with here. He probably sent out a mass email declaring to the company that I was his woman.

"Yes, is he in?"

"He should be in his office, do you need me to show you the way?" she asked and was gearing to stand up.

"No I think I can manage. Thank you though," I cut her off at the pass and sought him out. How hard could it be to find him anyway. His office had to be the biggest one.

I walked pass a few conference doors and halted when I heard him speaking with another man. I would have retreated but they were talking about me. I heard my name repeated several times and curiosity got the better of me.

The two men sat with their backs to me, both smoking and sharing a glass of some dark colored alcohol I assumed. I noticed he was the same guy from my apartment. Maggie's guy.

"You look happy mon frere," Dread man said before taking a long drag of his cigarette. "Glad to see that femme be treating you right."

"Nuri?" Nathaniel asked, and I saw him check his phone.

Dread man nodded. "Yeah Nuri. The one that had you here driving everybody up the wall."

"Aw shit man, that woman will be the death of me I swear. I won't lie man. . . I want her. I want her bad."

"Not just to pass a good time?"

Nathaniel shook his head. "More than just a good time. I feel things for her."

"And Emma? What about her? You still having them dreams?"

My heart nearly stopped beating as I waited with bated breath for his reply. It never came. He grew still and didn't reply for a while.

"Merde." The guys with dreads cursed and sat back. "You mean to tell me that even in death, that woman still got her claws in you? Your precious Nuri know this?"

"No she doesn't. So what?"

"What you mean so what? So . . . you still love Emma. That be a big deal ami."

"Emma was the love of my life Ambrose. I spent a huge chunk of my life fighting for a life with this woman. I know she's gone, but my mind don't know that. Hell my heart doesn't either. "

They sat in silence for a while before the man named Ambrose put a hand on Nathaniel's shoulder. "Well my Uncle Delray told me once that the best way to love, is to love like you never been hurt," he said sagely. "That Emma, she hurt you bad. Ambrose know things didn't end like most relationships, but you have to stop living in the past. You got one beautiful woman in the now. And women, they real sensitive- - they know when there be another woman."

I had no desire to hear anymore. Hearing Nathaniel so heartbroken over his past love hurt me more than I wanted to admit. He'd never told me he loved me, so on some level I felt as though I had no right to be upset. We were just fucking at the end of the day.

Right?

Stepping backwards I turned to leave and went crashing into the receptionist.

"Oh Ms. Hart, I'm so glad I could catch you," she said a bit too loud for standing a foot away from me.

I tried to keep walking, but this loud woman kept at it.

"You see, Mr. King isn't in his office, he's in this conference room right here, please follow me," she said and walked in. "Mr. King, Ms. Hart here to see you."

"Oh, bring her in," he said.

My nerves were shot, and I was on the verge of tears. I had to face him and it was best to deal with things as they happened. Running would one cause this mess to snowball into something major. He didn't know I was listening. I had the upper hand.

Gripping the handle of my bag, I stepped in after her with a smile. It was fake, but I kept smiling. The receptionist left the three of us alone.

The ash tray, I noticed, had made it's way over to Ambrose's side to make it appear as though he had been the one smoking both cigarettes that lay crumpled inside of it.

I met Nathaniel's eyes and they stared back at me with great emotion. He looked like he couldn't get enough of me.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," I said not daring to take a step closer. Nathaniel didn't reply, the guy he called Ambrose gave us an odd look as he took a swig of the alcohol.

Nathaniel shook his head and scratched his forehead with his thumb. "Sorry. Armand Ambrose, meet my girl Nuri Hart," he introduced us.

Ambrose nodded at me, and I took a step forward with my out stretched hand. He wiped his free hand on his black Henley shirt and took my hand in his for a firm shake. "Nathan won't shut up about you. All day it's Nuri this, Nuri that. It's annoying," he said with a laugh.

I didn't feel like laughing but forced a choked giggle out. "You were with him yesterday morning right?"

"Yeah. He be dragging me into shit all the time," he said with a wink. "You best keep him in line petite."

Nathaneil was at my side in an instant, his hand resting on my waist. This was obviously some kind of signal, because Ambrose finished off his drink and said, "Ambrose real sorry for leaving like this, but there be a meeting soon."

"You're off than," Nathaniel asked, and I knew from his tone that he could care less.

"Mais oui, can't be late," Ambrose said. "It was nice meeting you Nuri." He gave a small bow and made his way out of the conference room leaving us to ourselves.