After leaving Creed Industries for the last time, I swung over to the pharmacy, picked up my medication, and wasted no time popping a few pills into my mouth without reading the instructions. I just needed to pain to go away.
Now that I was officially fired, there was so much I needed to get done, but I had no idea where to start. As soon as I got home, I threw off my spy clothes and slipped into a t-shirt and leggings, making myself comfortable.
My stomach growled with hunger as I sat down at the kitchen counter with my laptop in front of me, but I had no desire to eat. The simple thought of putting food in my mouth made me nauseated.
I sighed heavily and rubbed my temples, staring down at the bright laptop screen, wondering what I should do next. I don't know how long I sat there copying and pasting the same email, sending it to everyone that had worked for Faye Industries, telling them the devastating news.
Many responded right away, but I didn't have the guts to open it. I promised them I would get Faye Industries back on its feet, but I couldn't deliver, and now we were all suffering because of it.
Tears pooled in my eyes as I continued sending emails back to back until my fingers were aching, telling me to stop. My eyes shifted to the top corner of my screen to check the time, and I was surprised to see it read 5:30 PM.
In that time, I had sent over 500 emails with about 10,000 more to go. Having an assistant right about now would've been a dream come true, but I lost that the moment I signed my life over to him, a mistake I'll spend a long time regretting. And If I could go back in time to rip that contract apart, I would.
My stomach growled again, begging me to put food in my system, but I still wasn't feeling up to it. I settled by taking giant gulps of orange juice, hoping it would ease my hunger for now, but instead, it had the opposite effect.
Nausea flooded my body, and the urge to throw up was stronger than ever before. My mouth was clammy, and my head spun in all different directions. I knew I wasn't going to make it to the bathroom by the time the vomit slipped out of my mouth, so I scurried over to the sink in the kitchen and threw up the liquid I had just put into my system.
The sour taste of orange juice mixed with stomach acid made me want to throw up even more, but nothing else came out because I had nothing inside of me. I stood there over the sink, gagging until my stomach was screaming out in agony.
A flood of tears poured down my face as I slid down to the floor, curled up in a fetal position gasping for air. I counted to 10, once, twice, until my strangled breathing returned normal. A splitting pain erupted through my body, feeling as if someone was smashing a metal bat against my abdomen as I lifted myself off the cool floor and staggered into my bathroom.
After brushing my teeth 5 times and gargling mouth wash 10 times to get the nasty vomit after taste out of my mouth, I plopped down on my bed and snuggled deep into my covers, my eyes fluttering shut from the sleep beginning to take over my body.
As soon as I felt myself drifting off into a peaceful slumber, the elevator leading to my penthouse dinged, and the sound of heavy footsteps followed right after it. I cursed lowly and sunk deeper into my bed, praying it wasn't who I thought it was because if so, Jeff was a dead man walking. I specifically told him to restrict his access to my penthouse, but I should've known that wouldn't have stopped him.
The moment I heard my bedroom door burst open, I flung the comforters over my head and held my breath as I heard his heavy footsteps stop right beside my bed. I was silently praying this was just a dream, not because I hated him and wanted him nowhere near me, but because I didn't want him seeing me like this.
Minutes passed as I laid there under the sheets, listening for his retreating footsteps, but when I didn't hear any, I whipped the covers off my head only to find Nathaniel staring down at me through his ocean eyes with a blank expression on his face. But what caught my attention was seeing him in a tight-fitting t-shirt revealing his muscular tattooed arms and sweatpants instead of his usual suffocating suit and tie.
"Get out," I mumbled weakly, flipping around so he could only see the back of my matted head.
"Anastazi—"
"As CEO of a billion-dollar company, I'd expect you to understand basic words like leave me alone."
"How are you feeling?" Nathaniel murmured, ignoring my snide remark.
"Please go away, I don't have time for this," I sighed, flipping the sheets over my head again in an attempt to block him out.
His footsteps finally retreated away from the bed, and when I heard my bedroom door shut, confirming that he had left, I let out a sigh of relief, thankful that he finally listened to me for once.
Or so I thought.
The bed suddenly dipped behind me, and a muscular arm wrapped around my sweaty body, engulfing me in a blanket of warmth.
"Don't fight me," Nathaniel whispered, slipping a warm hand under my shirt and rubbing small circles along my belly, his fingers brushing against my bare breasts occasionally.
A shiver of pleasure ran down my spine, and I found myself snuggling closer to his chest instead of kicking him out. At this point, I had no more fight left in me, I was drained, mentally and physically and my body had given up on me a long time ago. All I could do was lay there and embrace the comforting feeling until I was strong enough to handle things properly.
My eyes shifted to the clock sitting on my nightstand, and realization hit. It was well after 6 PM, the time Nathaniel should've been somewhere else signing a contract to close a deal with the redhead's father, the same deal he's been working on for the past month.
"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else closing a deal right now?" I whispered quietly, almost to myself.
He sighed heavily and pressed his lips against my hair but said nothing as he continued rubbing small circles along my abdomen. I almost thought he didn't hear me until I felt the vibrations of his deep voice against my head as he spoke.
"Something more important came up."
Butterflies immediately erupted in my stomach, and I couldn't help the blush that crept up to my cheeks. But I wasn't naive enough to think that things were okay between us now just because he knew his way around words.
Actions were what mattered most to me, and the fact that he was here with me now instead of somewhere else signing that contract putting himself first—his company first said a lot about the person he's becoming because the old Nathaniel would've already been celebrating another closed deal.
The last thing I remembered was him whispering incoherent words in my ear, but I was too tired to make out what he was saying as my eyes fluttered shut. I sighed heavily in contentment, and he pulled me closer, tucking my head under his chin as I drifted off into the darkness.
~
Disappointment flooded through me when I turned around the next morning and found the spot Nathaniel once laid in cold and empty as if he was never there, just like the time in Italy. I rolled my eyes and flipped the comforters over my head to go back to sleep, but the smell of eggs and waffles wafted into my nostrils, waking me up completely. I shot up out of bed too fast, feeling vomit rising in my throat from the spinning room around me, and it took everything in me to keep the liquid down.
After gathering myself, I quickly slipped out of bed, feeling my bones scream out in agony with every step I took towards the door. Still, I shook the discomfort away and tiptoed quietly into my kitchen to see the intruder creating the mouthwatering aroma in my penthouse, but the fresh colorful flowers decorating every inch of the counters distracted me. It looked like a garden threw up in the kitchen.
I turned my attention away from the flowers and my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw a shirtless Nathaniel twisting my waffle maker upside down with his back facing me; his hair was tousled as if he'd just gotten out of bed. But what caught my attention was the bright pink apron he wore to shield his body from the hot food he was preparing.
I stood there gawking, watching the muscles in his back tense as he flipped the waffle maker again and pried it open, plopping the waffle onto the plate in front of him that was already decorated with eggs, sausages, and muffins. How did he manage to make such a normal task look completely unnatural? I didn't even know he knew how to cook.
"Hungry?" Nathaniel's voice shattered my thoughts as he turned around with the plate of food in his hand, staring down at me with a blank expression on his face. I stood there still in shock, searching his eyes for answers, but he showed nothing as he dropped the plate on the kitchen counter in front of me.
My eyes hungrily roamed his body as he untied the apron around his figure and tossed it to the side, revealing his washboard abs and deep V-line sprouting from the sweatpants hanging loosely around his waist.
"Anastazi."
"Why are you still here?" I whispered, addressing the elephant in the room, not that I didn't want him here, but I didn't want to pretend things were fine between us just because he did one good deed.
Nathaniel sighed and planted his large hands against the counter, the muscles in his arms tensing as he leaned forward, boring his crystal eyes into mine.
"Atoning."
"What?" I squinted my eyes in confusion, not quite understanding what he meant.
His fists curled in a ball as his eyes flickered down to the bruises decorating my face and neck, stiffening his posture.
"This isn't how it was supposed to happen," he finally muttered, glaring down at the dark marble counter.
"What are you talking about?"
"This was supposed to be an apology breakfast. You were supposed to still be asleep when I brought it to you."
So that's what the flowers are for.
I nodded slowly and took a seat on the opposite side of the counter, feeling my heart swell at his sweet gesture. "Well, I'm here now."
Nathaniel sighed and dragged a hand down his face and looked away from me, his jaw ticking.
"I'm sorry," he finally muttered lowly.
"For what exactly?" I cocked an eyebrow, not letting him off the hook easily.
His eyes flickered down to my lips then towards the elevator doors contemplating his next move.
"For everything, Anastazi. You deserve better than how I've treated you over time, and I know this measly fucking apology isn't going to make up for the damage I've done, but I'm trying to show you that I can be a better person than I was before and I wanted to start by preparing this breakfast for you but..." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated from his ruined plan.
"But you woke up earlier than I expected, and now it's all fucked up." Nathaniel slammed his fist on the counter, rattling the plate sitting in front of me in the process. "I didn't even know what type of fucking flowers you like so I got them all."
A small smile stretched across my face as I watched him get riled up, wanting this moment to be perfect for me. But I didn't need it to be perfect. Sweet gesture or not, I knew he meant every word of his apology, and that alone was enough for me.
"Hey," I whispered, reaching out and placing my hand on top of his curled fist wanting him to look at me, but he continued staring off in the distance, his nostrils flaring in anger.
"Nathaniel, look at me."
His eyes softened as they found their way back to mine, and I gave his hand a gentle squeeze before continuing. "I don't need a fancy breakfast in bed or flowers; I accept your apology and I appreciate you for trying, it's a step in the right direction."
He cleared his throat and nodded but made no attempt to move, so I took that as an opportunity to speak again.
"I also want to apologize," I whispered, pulling my hand back and tucking it under my thighs.
His brow furrowed in confusion, wondering what I could possibly be sorry for.
"It was wrong of me to mention your mother that night we argued. I was just so angry, and I let my emotions get the best of me, so I said something I knew would trigger you, and I'm sorry. I mean, if I'm being honest, you deserved it at that moment, but afterward, I felt like complete shit—"
"Anastazi—"
"No, let me finish." I held my hand up to stop him from continuing. I needed to get this off my chest.
"I felt like complete shit after I said it because I understand how it feels to lose a mother even though I technically didn't know mine—"
"Anastazi—"
"I'm not done, Nathaniel," I snapped irritably.
"Even though I didn't know mine, I know the pain of losing a parent, and it sucks, so I'm sorry I ever brought it up and—"
Before I could finish my thought, Nathaniel walked around the counter, gently grabbed my jaw, and pressed his soft lips against mine, shutting me up completely.
Fireworks erupted in my stomach as I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer into the kiss. Our lips molded into one as our tongues hungrily explored each other's mouths, savoring each second that passed by.
"You have nothing to apologize for," he finally murmured, pulling away from me too quickly to look into my chestnut eyes.
"What do you mean?" I questioned out of curiosity as I took a deep breath.
Nathaniel pecked the corner of my mouth before answering. "Because you were right."
"About what exactly?"
"How I'm a coward for not being honest about how I felt—how I feel about you." He finally revealed, tightening his arms around my waist.
"And how do you feel?" I murmured, tilting my head to the side, peering up at him as I brushed my lips against his.
The corner of his mouth curled upwards, and as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, Stella's voice pierced through the air like a bullet, ruining the moment and the chance to hear Nathaniel confess his true feelings for me.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Stella questioned with a devious smile plastered on her face.
--