The Billionaire's Getaway Tryst

~Chapter 27~

"Uh-huh and in my case, it's anger. Raging anger. I just hope that this same intense emotion keeps me going and will help me find the reason and the perpetrator behind this. Until then, I won't sit still." It was like he was talking to himself and his brows were knitted together in tight calculation. "Jeez, that sounded dramatic, didn't it?" He laughed all of a sudden, embarrassed.

"I'm not complaining because it's adorable." I smirked and he just rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. "But anyway, count me in. If they think they could just use a woman like they used me, they have another thing coming for them. Never mess with a woman, especially the one who has her anger all bottled up," I told him with a determined face.

Once realization hit me about how comically stern we were seeming and sounding, we stared at each other's faces and burst out into fits of sputtering laughter.

"For a second - f-for-" Before I could even complete my sentence, I began laughing again. If I could see my face right now, I'd have surely stopped cracking up like a maniac but I couldn't help myself.

"What?"

"Okay… okay…" I muttered, trying to calm myself down by lowering my arms every time I took deep breaths in. Skye gave me a laughing smile. "Okay… for a second… I thought that we were turning into some crackhead philosophers entering into a war zone," I spoke so quickly before going into another fit of giggles.

"You're finding this really hilarious, aren't you?" He asked, chuckling. I could see his eyes twinkling with amusement. For some reason, I felt like there was another emotion weaving through them as well. Was it adoration? Affection? I couldn't really tell.

"I guess." I smiled out of embarrassment once I came down from my rambunctious laughter high. "So…" I clapped my hands once and looked at him curiously. "I am in too, right?"

"Of course because I'd need a confidante for this mission," he replied gently.

"I don't know but I'm finding this really funny." I beamed, sprawling my upper body on the couch and folding my arms across my chest.

"What are you finding funny?" He questioned, raising his brows amusedly.

"One jobless helping the other."

Skye sniggered at that and clicked his fingers. "Right."

For some odd reason, after making a joke about it, I realized the weight of our situation. No matter how much we were letting it slide by, by joking about it, it still pricked me to know that I was fired and that I would have to soon find myself a place to work at.

I sat up straighter and I guess, even Skye must have noticed the change in my mood because he gave me a worried glance. Shouldn't have made a joke on it when I know I can't handle it. But… adrenaline's got no boundaries.

"Um… do you wanna go out?" I asked him nervously, all the fun drained out of my body. I must admit, that question was quite impulsive and I wasn't thinking before voicing it out loud. My heart lurched in my throat. "I mean only if you want to because I was thinking we're both like, stressed out and you might also need some fresh air," I quickly added.

"Valerie…" Skye smirked teasingly. "Are you asking me out on a date or something?"

I visibly blanched like I was caught red handed. My hands were getting clammy so I straightened my back even more, masking my face with a fake confidence. "Why, yes. If that's what you wanna think." I smirked back.

"That's what I wanna think." He gave me his signature intense look but there was an imperceptible blush coating his cheeks. Just one look from him and it would make my heart go into an overdrive.

I broke our eye contact shyly and patted his shoulder as if we were talking about the weather. "I'll go get ready." With that said, I sprinted toward my bedroom with a thumping heart. It might even make a headline someday, "A heart gone bonkers because even it couldn't deny the gorgeous looks of Skye Williams!"

Who was I kidding? A headline couldn't even be that long. Maybe… "A heart gone bonkers!" would work just fine.

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I stopped the car once I parked it cautiously in the lot. Skye had sneakily wanted to drive his car so that I'd reveal to him the location to kill the surprise element.

However, I had another thing going on in my head and let him think otherwise. The moment we had reached his car, I'd quickly snatched his keys to drive. I had expected some fight from him but he surprised me with just a frown.

We both got out of the car at the same time and before Skye could take another step forward, I stopped him with my arms. "Wait."

"What is it?" He seemed innocently cute with a small furrow between his brows.

"Do you like painting?"

His eyes widened as if coming here was a huge mistake. "No… honestly? I… hate painting," he mumbled the last part abashedly.

"Good," I chirped. It was actually a good thing because for what I had planned out, it was better to be bad at painting than being better at it.

"Was that a trick question?" He asked me confusedly.

"No, really." I chuckled, shaking my head. "You'll know why I asked you this question."

"Okay then…" He was still seeming wary with the way his head was tilted to the side in confusion and his nose slightly scrunched. 

"Yep. So I just wanna tell you something before we go ahead." I grinned excitedly. "Okay so five or something years ago, I was literally stressed out with everything. All that college, internship stress and stuff so I was too overwhelmed with this city life even when I was quite used to it. I mean it's busy the whole time." I reminisced with a bittersweet smile.

"New York does that to a lot of newbies," Skye agreed, rolling his eyes.

"Exactly. Plus, my resume was rejected by ZAE Inc. because I had no real experience." Skye gave me a stumped look after hearing that. "It wasn't cool because it just added a lot into my already crushed hopes. Though a few weeks later, I was recruited at this small media company but not before this huge test they gave me, which apparently I had to pass." I made a grand gesture with my arms toward the parking lot.

"A test?"

"Yes. Like I didn't know such a thing even existed, let alone for an intern like me. I was asked to visit this exact place. 'Hayden's Art Studio' and God, was I banged by the time I reached here. I had a talk with Hayden, the guy who owns this art studio and I felt so refreshed. He showed me to his stress free room. Truth be said, I was feeling beyond rejuvenated and I passed my test too." I wiggled my brows, purposely leaving out the catch line. "Sorry, didn't expect for my explanation to get so detailed and boring."

"No, that's okay. I am actually glad to know your story. Especially how you've climbed up through the ladder." My smile sort of slipped from my face but I quickly covered it up. Maybe, I didn't actually climb up, after all. "You're still smart, job or not," Skye assured me, gently rubbing my shoulder. One simple touch of his and all my nerves settled down like a good dog.

"Yeah." I nodded my head with an earnest smile. "Now, come on."

"Wait. What was there in that stress free room again?" Skye threw the question at me, looking even more baffled than before.

"You'll see." I took his hand in mine and practically dragged him behind me because I was overly enthused for him to have the same experience as me too.