Damage Control

Chapter 70

Nathaniel chuckled. "I'll do my best."

After saying our final I love you's and goodbyes, we finally ended the call giving me time to process what the hell just happened. My eyes lazily shifted to the clock sitting on the nightstand, seeing that it was already 6 AM, the usual time I'd be waking up. Sighing heavily, I slipped out of bed and took a quick shower, made myself up then grabbed Carter's phone before heading downstairs.

"She's alive!" Carter rejoiced as soon as he spotted me from the massive living room where he was leaning against the edge of the leather couch.

"Barely," I laughed, tossing him his phone.

"Sorry I had to wake you up like that," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck guiltily.

"It's not your fault; if Nathaniel were a normal boyfriend, you'd still be home right now."

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I'd do the same for Gabby."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "God, you guys are dramatic."

Carter smiled. "That's what happens when you're in love. I never thought in a million years I'd see Nate like this with anyone, but all I know is that I'm very grateful you're in his life, and if I have to get up at the crack of dawn to check on you for him, then I will."

Tears pricked my eyes. "Thank you, Carter."

"Anytime."

I cleared my throat, blinking back the waterworks before speaking again. "Now that you're here, there's something I need to talk to you about." 

Carter crossed his muscular arms against his chest and tilted his head to the side. "Okay, shoot."

I explained my plan for the fourth time, and just as expected, he thought the idea was amazing and wanted to help out in any way he could. I then told him that I was meeting back at my place with Dylan after work to start the process and that he was more than welcome to join us.

After we said our goodbyes and I was settled in the limo, I quickly called Stella and updated her on everything that was happening, and by the time I made it to work, not only was Carter on board with the entire plan, including meeting at my place tonight and all the other nights until this project's complete, but as well as Gabrielle, Stella, Theo and of course, Dylan.

Now that I had these extra sets of hands, I was more than confident we'd get the Museum finished by the time Nathaniel came back, and just that thought alone was enough to make my stomach bubble with excitement.

The following two weeks were spent working non-stop at work and on the project. Thanks to Theo and his connections, we ended up finding a beautiful building which ironically was a museum that had to be shut down due to poor money management, meaning it was still in perfect condition. Despite the renovation time getting cut in half, we still had a lot more work to do. I ended up putting Stella in charge of finding a catering company and event planner that could fit us in last minute; Carter and Gabrielle took up the job of creating a guest list for the museum opening. Frank ended up flying out to Italy to help Nonna ship off the merchandise while Dylan and I grilled countless Museum Curators until we found the perfect one.

A few days later, we toured the building with the Curator, making a list of things we would need to complete the museum, such as gold frames to hold the paintings in and showcases for whatever artifacts we ended up adding to the collection and by the time we left, our to-do list was longer than we originally started with, stressing me out even more.

It was now the beginning of the third week, and I still hadn't figured out a name for the Museum.

"You should get some sleep Ms. Stazi," Dylan spoke hesitantly as he stared over at me from the other side of the living room. The crew had left not too long ago, but Dylan insisted on staying behind to look after me.

I rolled my eyes and waved him off, jotting down a few more name ideas. "I'll sleep when all of this shit is over."

"You're funeral," he mumbled softly, getting up and heading to the kitchen.

I sighed heavily, turning my attention back to the long list sitting in front of me, wracking my brain for more ideas. I knew I should've started working on names when I first got the museum idea, but I was so consumed in getting every other detail in order, it completely slipped my mind.

"Your phones ringing," Dylan called out from across the room behind me, where my phone was charging on the kitchen counter.

"Answer it and tell them I'm busy and that I'll talk to them later," I mumbled, too distracted by my thoughts to carry a conversation right now.

"But it's—"

"Dylan," I snapped impatiently, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I don't care who it is; I'll talk to them later."

"I don't think he's gonna like that," he whispered, but I was too consumed with what I was doing to fully understand what he meant, and it wasn't until I heard the following sentence that came out of his mouth when everything clicked.

"Good Evening Mr. Creed; Ms. Stazi is currently too busy to take any calls right now; can you leave a message?"

My eyes nearly popped out of my sockets as I shot up from the couch and spun around to face Dylan, who was already holding the phone out for me to grab.

"Why didn't you tell me it was him?!" I mouthed angrily, snatching my phone out of his pale hands.

"I tried to tell you," he mouthed back, crossing his arms against his chest.

I growled lowly, flicking him off in the process before pressing the phone against my ear as I made my way into my room for privacy.

"Hello?" I spoke hesitantly, squeezing my eyes shut in anticipation, not knowing how he was going to react.

The sound of rustling filled my ear instead of his voice, and a few seconds later, the line went dead. I immediately called back, assuming something out of our control had happened to make the call drop, but when he didn't answer after the fifth ring, I knew he previously hung up on purpose. At this point, I wanted nothing more than to curl in a ball and cry my eyes out, not only because of what just happened but from all the stress of this project that has slowly been building up over time. I sucked in a deep breath, reminding myself that I wasn't only doing this for him but for his mother as well.

I quickly sent him a text, explaining the miscommunication, but in order to keep the museum project a surprise, I had to lie and say I was still at the office late with Dylan catching up on some paperwork; it was the only way to explain why a man would answer my phone this late at night. I then waited a couple of minutes, chewing my lower lip while pacing back and forth, waiting for Nathaniel to text back, but eventually, I gave up hope and tossed my phone on the bed, taking a few seconds to gather myself before returning to the living room where Dylan was waiting for me.

"How'd it go?" He asked nervously, wiping his sweaty palms against his jeans.

'"It didn't," I sighed. "He hung up."

"Oh god, Stazi—erm Ms. Stazi, I am so sorry—"

I held my hand up, stopping him from continuing. "This isn't your fault Dylan; it's mine, so save your apology for another time; right now, all you should be worried about is helping me complete this project before it ends my relationship."

Dylan nodded quickly, taking a seat beside me, and grabbed the list of museum names I had created. "You want a name with meaning, right, something that hits close to home?"

"Yes, exactly."

He nodded again, staring off into space, deep in thought. "Has Mr. Creed told you anything about her like her favorite color or animal—"

"Animal!" I interrupted loudly, suddenly remembering the conversation I had with Nonna about Isabella and how she had a love for a particular type of bird: a Phoenix.

It's why Nathaniel names all of his clubs after the fiery animal and why he has it tatted in the middle of his chest. I couldn't think of a better idea than to name the building after the bird that holds a special place in Nathaniel's heart which is how I finally came up with the perfect name for the museum:

Gallery Of Phoenix

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