Chapter 28
"Stella? Stella!" A voice exclaims, snapping me out of my thoughts as I stare down at my phone. I look up to see Sheila standing in front of me with her hands on her hips.
"What?"
"You're needed in the conference room. What are you doing?"
I giggle, "Texting Julius."
She shakes her head as a small laugh escapes her lips, "It's nice to see you so happy, but right now we have work to do. We're getting closer and closer to our deadline." She reminds me.
I nod, switching the phone off and standing from my seat. It had been a few days since our trip to Boston. Julius and I were definitely in the honeymoon phase of our new relationship. I wasn't sure if we were dating, since we were 'engaged'. But I did know we were actually acting as a couple.
Even as I sat in the conference room, listening to whoever was talking at the moment. The only thing really on my mind was Julius.
I missed him.
Us being together didn't affect my work. I wasn't distracted or anything, but I wasn't as focused as I'd normally be.
As the workday came to a close I entered my office again and noticed a letter on my desk. I quirk my brow as I recognize the familiar formatting.
Letter of Termination
I picked up the paper quickly, reading it over to be sure. And there my name was in big fat letters saying I was to be terminated immediately. With my father's signature signed clearly at the bottom.
I grab my things and head to the top floor of the office. Everyone was packing up to go home but I wasn't going anywhere without a word from my father first.
"Mr. Harris isn't seeing anyone right now!" His secretary calls out as I storm past her toward his office.
"Terminated?" I exclaim as I enter his office. He was standing, packing his things up for the day as everyone else was doing at the hour.
"Manners is one thing you lack Stella." He mumbles.
"You're firing me? For what?" I ask, ignoring his statement.
"Your wedding is next month, it's time for you to be relieved of your work to focus on your marriage."
I scoff at him, "Father you're ridiculous, do you know that? A woman can work and still be married!"
"You heard Ratliff, it's not a good look for you to be working for the company and marrying its CEO. It sounds like a scandal."
"But it isn't! You made me marry him, and you made him CEO. Now you're firing me?"
"There's nothing more to discuss here Stella." He says calmly.
I glare at him, he was just making excuses at this point. I rip up the termination letter before throwing it at him and storming out of the office.
-
I enter the condo tiredly, sliding my heels off and carrying them between my fingers. A beautiful bouquet of flowers sat on the counter. I walk over to them, reading the card on the front.
Dinner this weekend?
I chuckle at the card as I admire the beautiful roses in front of me. I pick one up from the bundle, inhaling its scent.
"I hope you like them." Julius's voice says from behind me. I turn around to face him, nodding lightly. "They're beautiful."
He smiles as he placed his briefcase down beside him and enters the kitchen. His hands snake around my waist pulling me to him. "So what's your answer?"
I smirk as he gazes down at me, "Only if we can get dessert after."
He chuckles, "Anything you want." Butterflies erupted in my stomach as he brings his lips to mine, kissing me softly as he held my waist securely.
His kisses were something I could definitely get used to.
"How was work?" He asks once he pulls away.
I sigh as I look away, "I was given my termination papers today."
His face drops and his jaw clenched as he lets go of me. "This is my fault. I might've pushed your father to the edge."
I quirk my brow, "What?"
He sighs, "I know you told me to leave it alone but I couldn't. He was saying all these things, really starting to piss me off-"
I chuckle lightly as I cradle the side of his face in my hand, stopping him from his rambling. "It's okay, it's not your fault."
"But it is."
I shake my head, "My father was going to fire me regardless. Thank you for trying to fight for me."
He places his hand on top of mine as it lay on his cheek, "Always." I smile at him as we pull away as he gazes at me with adoration. I remove my hand before grabbing my phone off of the counter, "I'm going to take a shower."
"Maybe I can assist?" He flirts with a smirk.
I chuckle as I begin heading in the direction of my bedroom, "Hold on to that offer for next time. I'll be out in a few."
I shut the door behind me as I enter the bedroom. I begin undoing my top and loosening my hair. I start the shower before strolling out of my remaining clothes and stepping in.
I was officially unemployed.
The realization dawned on me as the hot water ran down my body. I would never be able to understand my father. He never once indicated that he didn't want me to work until he started searching for potential husbands for me. He's let me work for the company for the past seven years and now I've been terminated.
I hate the fact that I've worked so hard, all these years and it's come down to this. I've never received any acknowledgment for my hard work, not even a simple thank you for anything I've done. I've even gone along to getting engaged to Julius just to make him happy. I didn't run away, I could've but I never did. He didn't appreciate anything, ever.
I hadn't realized the tears that had fallen from my eyes until I felt a sob in my chest. I decided to let it out, finally expressing the hurt I had felt for so long. I lay my head against the shower wall as I cried. I don't know how long I cried, but it ended with me quickly washing my body and getting out of the shower.
I dry off my body and moisturize my skin before throwing on my robe. I sat down in front of my vanity mirror, staring at the puffy-eyed woman in front of me.
A knock on the door snaps me out of my self-evaluation. I get up and open it, coming face to face with Julius. He sighs when he sees me, before pulling me into his tight embrace.
I was a bit surprised but accepted it regardless and relaxed. He strokes my hair softly as he hugs me, "I heard you crying." I don't respond as a tear falls from my eye again. "Do you want to talk about it?"
I shake my head as I remove myself from his embrace. "There's nothing to say." I turn away from him before walking back toward the vanity, "Thank you for the hug. I'm fine now."
He doesn't leave, staying in the same spot I left him as I rummaged through my drawers. "You can go now." I repeat.
He shakes his head, "You know you can talk to me right?"
I nod, "I know."
"Then talk to me. It's not good to hold it all in."
"Says you." I blurt out without thinking.
He frowns, "That's different Stella."
I sigh, "I know, I'm sorry. Can you leave? I need to change."
He sighs before walking out of the room, shutting the door behind him. I quickly change out of my robe and into some comfortable loungewear. It was evening time and I was very hungry for dinner.
I enter the kitchen and begin looking through the fridge for something to eat. Julius enters the room as I began pulling out ingredients for spaghetti.
I hear him sigh before speaking, "My parents wanted a child so badly, but weren't able to have one on their own." Julius says suddenly. I turn around to face him as he continues. "So they adopted me as a baby, and they're all I know."
I sigh, "Julius you don't have to do this."
He shakes his head, "You wanna know why I feel the way I do. So I'm telling you." He continues, "I grew up always thinking things were off. My parents had such high expectations of me and I just wanted to have fun. Even at a young age, I was expected to do so much."
"I failed at every instrument they wanted me to play, piano, saxophone, violin, you name it. I sucked at them all." He chuckles, "My parents were disappointed but they didn't show it."
"The only thing I was really good at was coding, but my parents weren't big fans. They just saw it as me sitting around on the computer all day, so eventually, I stopped."
"As I got older I was constantly getting into trouble, unintentionally. The company was starting to grow and I just wanted to have fun. The fun led to some ugly headlines for dear old dad and I was sent off to boarding school to be reformed."
"Nowadays I do what I do to please him. And I keep it that way because I don't want to disappoint anyone."
"But you're disappointing yourself in the long run." I point out.
He shrugs, "I'll be fine."
I sigh, "Thank you for telling me that Julius. You didn't have to."
He shakes his head, "But I did. You were right about me being hypocritical. I want you to feel like we can talk to each other."
I nod as I take a seat beside him in the living room. "I am upset about the termination." He takes my hand as I continue, "I've been working for the company for so long and he wants me out so bad suddenly. I just don't get it and I can't help but feel like he has a personal grudge against me. But I don't know what I did?"
He strokes my forearm softly, "You didn't do anything Stella. He's just an asshole."
I sigh, "I know. But he's still my father, and it hurts." Julius pulls me closer, laying my head against his chest. I sigh in relief as he begins to stroke my hair. "When I was little it never seemed like he cared for me. I feel like I've always been trying to seek validation from him, but I never got it." Julius remains quiet as I speak.
"I hate to admit it but the only reason I've ever done anything in my life was with the hopes of finally getting some kind of acknowledgment from him. I had told myself several times that I wasn't ever going to get it, but deep inside it was still what I wanted the most." I sigh, "I wish I could say I don't care about how he feels about me. But I do and I always have."
He sighs, "I know the feeling. I don't know if it helps, but I think you're amazing."
I smile at him, "Says the app developer, you're amazing. When are you going to tell me what kind of app you're working on?"
He chuckles, "Maybe when it's finally done."
I pout, "I can't even get a hint?"
"Maybe one day." He says with a chuckle before standing up from the couch, "Let's order in, I'm starving."
"I was going to make spaghetti."
He shakes his head, "I don't want you to lift a finger tonight. Not after the hard day you had."
"Then you'll cook?" I ask hopefully. Julius hadn't attempted to cook a single meal since I forced him to make boxed macaroni and cheese.
He smirks, "I'll order."
"You're going to need to start cooking at some point." I tell him.
"For what? We could always hire a personal chef or order food."
"Because it's a basic life skill. What if in the future the kids are hungry and you're the only one home?" I say as I scroll through my phone.
"I would just-" He pauses for a moment before turning around to look at me from across the room. He gives a knowing smirk, "The kids? As in our kids Stella?"
I quirk my brow, "What?"
"You just implied you want to have my kids." He teases.
I scoff, "I never said that."
He smirks as he pulls out his phone, "One day, just you wait." Before I can say anything he puts the phone to his ear. "Hello, can I get a large order of fettuccini Alfredo?"
I shake my head at him as I look back down at my phone. I was scrolling through emails but the thought was now planted in my head.
Kids?
Did I even want kids? It was way too early to even talk about this. We just started dating officially! But the thought of kids with Julius sounded...nice?
I had never in my life thought of having kids at all. With the way I was brought up I don't even know if I could raise a kid at all. Another thing to be scared of but not something I have to consider right now.
I look up at Julius who was strolling carelessly around the kitchen with his phone on his ear. His work shirt was unbuttoned, exposing his defined chest. I smile as I look at him, I really liked him.
I mean what was there not to like? He was so sweet, genuine, handsome, and he made me happy. Nothing at all like my backstabbing ex-boyfriend.
He strolls over to me as he gets off the phone and takes a seat on the couch. "I told you I didn't want you to order in." I say with a frown.
"But I ordered your favorite."
"And what's that?"
"Gnocchi." He says with a smirk.
I hit him with a couch pillow as he laughs, making me smile. Gnocchi was my favorite. He grabs the pillow from me and begins to hit me in return, making me laugh.
We spent the rest of the night bickering about stupid stuff like an old couple and eating Italian food.
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Shout out to @Renababylove55 and @AbigailGonzales7 ! Your constant comments keep me motivated to keep writing, thank you so much!
Don't forget to vote! I don't know if I'll have the next update done by Saturday but I'll have it done by next Wednesday for sure.
- AuggiePooh_