His secret

Chapter 37

We've been greeting, mingling, and making conversations with guests for two hours without any break. I'm even beginning to worry about my feet because I've lost all the feeling down there. Alexis's idea of "comfort before looks" doesn't sound half as bad right now, maybe I too should have worn a pair of airforces. 

"You okay, Kid?" Alexis catches me off guard, I didn't notice when he left the big group of people he was chatting with for what felt like forever. "I'm doing fine. How about you? You sure have been busy ever since those doors opened up," I feel bad for him because while I was tired he must be exhausted, I'm just a worker here so I've gotten a few minutes for myself where I could grab a drink and gather my thoughts, but he's the owner and he's been talking non-stop with a dozen of people the whole time. "What can I say, it's not easy being a successful businessman," he grabs a drink from the table beside us, winks at me, lifts his glass, and take a sip from it. "Well I guess I don't have to be worried about you, Mr.arrogant," I tease. "Ah, Kid, don't be jealous, I'm sure you're going to be successful yourself one day," 

"Chef, someone named... I forgot their name but they're looking for you," one of my coworkers who I remember by the name Piper tells Alexis. "You can't even remember a name for a few seconds?" Alexis's questions make her fold her arms over her breast. "Excuse me, but I've been trying to find you for about ten minutes in this massive group of people it isn't that easy to remember a new name for that long. You should be thankful I even bothered to look for you, I could have let those important-looking people wait for you until they get tired of waiting and leave without offering you whatever deal they're here for," Oh, she is sharp. "Deal? What deal? Omg, it could be the Parker couple," he puts his glass down on the table and straightens his clothes. "How do I look, Nova?" I scan him before answering. "Presentable," 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"It means you're good to go," I assure him. "Then say so in the first place, this is very important, no time for games." He sighs before turning back to Piper. He points a finger at her, "I'm gonna let this one slide, but I swear if you chased my new sponsors I'll..." 

"Yeah, yeah I get it, don't waste your time, go chase your investors," An involuntary laugh slips out of my lips. Alexis's hand turns into a clenched fist. "Nova, you're free to take a break now," He tells me without leaving Piper with his gaze before he walks away. "Well, I should probably take the opportunity to take a break," I tell Piper before I head to the bathrooms. She just smiles in answer. 

I take my time peeing and fixing my makeup in the bathroom before heading out again, and the first face I see from a distance makes me question if I'm going crazy, if I'm delusional and am seeing things I want to see or if the face in front of me really belongs to him. Miles. My heart swells, my breaths become heavier and I can almost feel my tears hiding behind my eyes. No, it can't be. It just can't. I blink one time, he's still there. Two times, he's still there, three times, he's still there and I'm pushing myself through the crowded places, eager to reach him. One second passes, and my heartbeat races, two seconds pass and the voices around me become muffled, three seconds pass and I can't breathe, four and I'm standing in the place I saw him, five and I notice that he isn't there. No, no my brain can't be playing games on me, I saw him there, standing straight in a black suit and a drink in his hand. 

Alexis. I need to find Alexis. I look around and spot him standing with an old couple. I hurry over to them, not carrying about the importance of their conversation. "I saw him, Alexis, I swear, I saw him," Alexis's head turn to me fast. "What? Who? Who's him?"

"Miles, Alexis, I saw Miles, I..." Alexis turns from the old couple and directs all of his attention to me as if they weren't in the middle of a conversation before I came. He places his hands on my shoulders. "Nova, calm down, I can't understand you," 

"What don't you understand?" I hiss at him, "I fucking saw Miles," confusion settles on his face. "That's impossible," 

"I'm not crazy, I saw him, I promise, the was right there," I turn around and point a finger at the spot where I saw Miles just a few minutes ago. "I'm not saying you're crazy, it's just... you know what, come here," he grabs a hold of my hand and leads me to the entry, "John, can I please have the list of our visitors," John nods at us and hands over a black notebook with golden details. Alexis takes it from him and folds it open as both of us start going through the names one by one. No Miles Sanders. "Nova, you sure you don't want to go home and get some rest?" Alexis looks at me with concern in his eyes. "But, I..." I cut my sentence in half and turn to John instead. "Are you sure you haven't missed any person? Isn't there any chance that a person might have slipped through you?"

"No, there is a very strict protocol for this big gathering for security reasons, not even half a person could have slipped through me," I look at John's serious face and big figure and just want to be convinced that nobody could pass by that big bodyguard, but no, I couldn't. "So you haven't seen this man..." I put my hand in my pocket, searching for my phone but Alexis's hand on my arm stops me. "Kid," I look up at him as he blinks his eyes at me. "Maybe we should get some fresh air, I think you're getting tired," I take my hand out of my pocket, close my eyes and take a deep breath. Maybe he's right, maybe I'm just really tired. "Common," he tells me and I follow him outside. We sit down on the edge of the sidewalk in total silence. My thoughts start kicking in as soon as I calm down and the adrenaline leaves my body. Why was I so excited? I ran to him, or the person I thought was him without any second thoughts, while he left me without hesitation, and it's been what? Two months? And never even bothered to ask about me. What would I even say to him if I saw him? Why do I still have hope? Why am I waiting to see him at all? I shouldn't allow him to still have this effect on me. 

I feel strong pain in my head as the annoying thoughts overflow it. I clench it with my hands, trying to ease the excoriation thoughts and pain, but all I get are tears streaming down my cheeks. "Hey, hey, shh" Alexis stretch his arms out and tog me into an embraces, pushing my head against his chest with a hand that rests on my head. "It's okay, Kid, cry all you want. Just take it all out," 

"I...I'm...really," the sobs make it nearly impossible to talk, "Shh, no talking allowed, just crying," he strokes my hair. "You know, you've really made me immune to crying people, so you might take advantage of that now, Kid," he keeps talking, which I'm grateful for because his words have a calming effect. "I think we've had enough of the restaurant today anyways, we deserve to rest now that I've seen how the night went and I'm sure that it is going to be a total success," his hand keeps stroking my hair, moving a few strands of hair from my face on its way. "Although, I think resting at home might be a much better idea because I feel like my precious ass is freezing to death on this hard asphalt," I giggle between sobs, "Well, I take that as a yes," he reaches into his pocket and grabs his car keys. "Juan," he calls and Juan appears before us in seconds. "Bring me my car please,"