Hey guys! Here's a new chapter of Chasing After the PA and Oh my fuzzy chicken nuggets. We Hit 100K readsssssss111111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Honestly, what the fudge? Like I can't even describe what the heck I'm feeling right now. I started this story on December 15 of 2015 and... this just goes to show you how bad I am at updating this story but thank you for sticking around :3 But seriously. Thank you guys for reading and voting. I never could imagine the story reaching 100 reads let alone 100K so thank you!
I love each and every one of you and appreciate every vote, read and comment that you guys leave.
Alright, enough with the sappy crap, there's enough of it in the story. lmao, but really. Thank you guys, <3
Anywho, enjoy the chapter and I'll see you at the end of this chapter. <3
Song - Halsey, Ghost
~Jessica
"Perhaps it's impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be."
― Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game
************************************
+Hunter's POV+
I woke up with the worst hangover.
The pounding in my head increased as the sun bleeding from the blinds came, blinding me at full force.
"G-Good morning," I heard a voice call out.
I sat up and looked over at the doorway where Payton stood with a tray of food in her hands.
"Good morning," I said, my voice raspy.
She walked over, placing the tray down on the nightstand, then picking up a glass of water and a pill. She handed it over to me, "Here, you must have a headache from last night."
I accepted it. "Thanks." I swallowed the pill down with a few gulps of water then placed the glass back down.
"I made you some breakfast," She said quietly gesturing to the tray.
Chocolate chip pancakes and a bowl of kiwi.
My favourite fruit. I felt a small smile creep onto my lips and I looked at her, "Thanks."
She nodded, seeming a bit more relieved from the smile that I sent her. I noticed that she was sitting on the very edge of the bed so I patted the spot beside me. "Come, sit here. Eat breakfast with me."
Slowly but hesitantly, she made her way over. I brought the tray closer and placed it in between the two of us.
Everything seemed awkward and stiff but seeing what happened last night, I couldn't blame her nor I.
As we sat there, with me eating silently and her occasionally picking up a piece of fruit, I contemplated whether or not it was a good time to bring what happened last night up.
As I opened my mouth to speak, she started.
+Payton's POV+
I could feel the tension in the room the moment that he had waken up.
As we sat next to each other, silently eating, I thought back about what Bill, Becca and Xavier all told me.
Talk to him.
I looked at Hunter as he placed another forkful of pancakes into his mouth, and chewed slowly.
"I'm sorry," I said softly. He froze. "I wasn't thinking straight last night and some things that I said, I didn't mean them. They were just fears."
He didn't look at me as he spoke, "It's fine. I get it, I wasn't really thinking properly either yesterday, and the drinks kind of wiped out half of my memory from last night."
He didn't remember what happened last night; he didn't remember the conversation we had before drifting off to sleep. A part of me was relieved that he didn't but another had wished he had. It would have made things so much simpler because talking to a drunk Hunter was easier than talking to a sober Hunter.
But now that he was sober, I'd have to tell him everything once more. I think something in me knew last night that Hunter wouldn't remember anything that I told him the morning after, and that was why I told him. I wanted to tell him how I felt to his face and that was what I did, except, I wasn't talking to him. I was talking to the guy who came out when he was tipsy, the real guy, the guy who had built up this whole new persona and identity; a mask to conceal all of his weaknesses and fears. Alcohol did this special thing to people that made them break down all their walls for a while and let others see their true selves; that's the part of Hunter I saw last night and truth be told, he wasn't that different from when he was sober.
I half expected him to tell me that everything he had told me was all a lie and that he hated my guts. I expected him to say that all those feeling that he had claimed to have were fake. But he didn't.
I guess drunk Hunter was almost the same as sober Hunter.
Sure, there were some differences when it came to hiding his vulnerabilities but other than that, he was the same when he was with me.
"We're good, right?" I asked looking over at Hunter.
He gazed at me and nodded. "Yeah, we're good," he smiled tightly.
I didn't believe that but I didn't try to push any further. It would take time to heal from everything that had happened but I hoped that it would work out in the end.
For now, I'd have to keep a little distance between him and I and let everything settle down for a bit.
I sighed as I placed a slice of kiwi into my mouth and looked away.
That was going to be a problem.
*****
"Ms. Flores," Hunter called, pulling me out of my daydream.
I quickly straightened my back and looked over at Hunter who stared at me with a frown.
"Yes sir?" I asked.
I noticed him flinch from me calling him something other than Hunter. It had been a while since I referred to him with something other than his first name. But if he was going to start calling me Ms. Flores, then he'd just have to deal with it.
We had grown a bit distant over the past week or so.
As much as I hated it, it was very much needed. I felt as though Hunter and I had never really gotten to know each other personally throughout this whole time being with each other and that was a part of why all of this had happened. If we had really taken the time to get to know each other, other than just playing that game of twenty questions, then maybe none of what happened during that vacation would have happened.
Hunter cleared his throat. "Please hand out those files to everyone."
I nodded and walked around, passing papers to everyone who was at the meeting.
Hunter was attempting to buy a few other companies and none of the other CEOs were very willing to let their companies go. This meeting was going pretty much nowhere ever since an hour ago when it started.
Everyone there was like a carbon copy of Hunter and that meant that they possessed the same kind of stubbornness that he did.
They were all dressed in pristine, tailored suits and sat in such a way that it looked like they had a ruler stapled on their back to stop them from slouching. They all moved in a graceful manor and didn't make a sound doing anything. They always spoke in a calm tone, with no stutters or pauses, they seemed programmed, like robots.
But I also knew another side of them; a side that they probably hid from the public because just like any other human being, they had emotions and they weren't totally stuck up.
Some of them were wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. They had kids who they loved, relatives that they cared for. Everyone in that room had someone that they valued.
When I first started working for Hunter, I thought that people like him were ruthless, arrogant and overall just a huge asshole and maybe some of them really were. But because of those few people, the rest of them were misunderstood. I saw another side of Hunter when we started to live together. I saw a side of him that not a lot of people did.
I saw a brother who as much as he didn't like to admit, still worried for his older sister's well-being and happiness.
I saw a son who although wasn't that close to his parents, still cared enough to turn to them for their approval.
I saw a guy who claimed to hate clichés, still believe in happy endings.
I saw a man who was written as a heartless player in books, change into a hopeless romantic in real life.
The point of the matter was, that no matter how bad of a person someone may have been portrayed, they all had another side to them, a side that not everyone saw or was supposed to see.
If you had asked me a few months ago what I thought about people like Hunter, I'd say that they were all cold, conceited people who had nothing better to do with their lives than to earn money and judge others for what type of status they had.
But now, I knew that they were just misunderstood, trapped with a stereotype that the public had stapled onto them. They acted the way they did in public because that's how people expected them to act and that's why they became the people that they are today. They spent so long putting up this front, that they had forgotten what they were like before and their capacity to stay humble and caring minimized until they only had enough of it to show to the ones that they loved and cared for the most.
As I finished handing out the papers, Hunter nodded at me and I sat back down in my seat that ever since I started working here, was placed beside Hunter's.
The room was pretty large, with an oval table placed right in the middle. There were five people sitting around the wooden table not including Hunter and I.
Right as I took my seat, Mrs. Boyde, a woman in her mid-forties who owned five successful real estate agencies spoke.
"Ms. Flores, would you mind getting me another cup of coffee? I'm quite parched."
I nodded and as I got up, Hunter placed a hand on my arm and looked over at Mrs. Boyde with a small unsatisfied frown on his face. "I'm sure you can get your own PA to do that for you." He gestured over to her assistant who was already sitting by the coffee machine looking at her phone.
"Yes, I could do that but I asked Ms. Flores over here." Mrs. Boyde frowned. "Is this how you treat everyone who you're trying to buy companies from?"
Before Hunter could argue I quickly pushed his hand away from my arm and gave him a tight smile. "Oh, that's quite alright Mr. Blackthorne, I can get the lovely Mrs. Boyde here her coffee." Mrs. Boyde smiled at me as I smiled back then walked over to the machine.
I could tell that Hunter was annoyed but I couldn't just stop doing my job properly because I was involved with him.
I finished boiling the cup of coffee that Mrs. Boyde asked for and placed it in front of her.
"Thank you Ms. Flores."
I smiled a bit and sat down next to Hunter.
"You should have gotten her own assistant to do that," I heard Hunter whisper.
I turned around and leaned closer to his ear. "It's a nice thing to do. After all, you are trying to buy her company."
I saw Hunter scowl a bit before moving back away from me while adjusting his tie. He cleared his throat, "Alright, back to business."
By the end of the meeting, two out of the four company CEOs that were there had planned out some sort of agreement plan with Hunter. Mrs. Boyde at first was hesitant with partnering up with him but by the end of it, she had agreed to co-owning two of her agencies and allowed Hunter receive 50% of the earnings.
"It was lovely meeting you dear," Mrs. Boyde said patting me on the shoulder.
I smiled back at her and felt another hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Hunter looking down at me with a small smile.
"She's a nice lady but damn, if you get on her bad side, she's literally the reincarnation of the devil."
I smiled tightly and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." As the last person left the meeting room, I too, started walking away. "I'm going on my lunch break now."
I heard a small sigh behind me but I continued walking.
*****
"Hey, why so serious?"
Jordan sat in front of me with his meal and took a bit of his sandwich.
I smiled weakly, "I'm fine, really."
Jordan chuckled. "I didn't ask you if you were okay or not but I guess you're not. What's bothering you, muffin?"
I had a lot to tell him but none of them seemed like the greatest news. How was I supposed to tell him that my ex-boyfriend was the one to beat him up? How could I tell him that the reason why he landed in the hospital for two weeks was because of him know me?
I took a deep breath. "I really don't know how to say this Jordan..."
"You're pregnant and I'm not the father?!" He exclaimed.
"No!" I took a double take. "Wait, how could I get pregnant from you? I didn't-"
Jordan burst out with laughter. "I'm just kiddin' Payton. You should have seen your face."
I scowled at him.
"Alright, what is it that you wanted to tell me," Jordan asked wiping a tear away from his eye.
"I- You know how you were beaten up about a month ago...?"
He nodded and shuddered. "Yeah, if you want me to take self-defence classes, I'm already being forced to take one by Gideon so I'm good."
I felt a little smile creep onto my face. Of course Gideon would still do that for Jordan. "Well... Hunter and I figured out who did it to you."
Jordan became a bit more serious and leaned closer to me. "Who?"
"It-it was Adam."
"Adam?" Jordan asked and I nodded. "You mean like your ex-boyfriend Adam?"
I nodded slowly.
"Well, shit."
"I'm so sorry Jordan, It's all my fault."
Jordan came over and placed an arm around my shoulders. "It's not your fault, how could it be?"
"If you didn't know me, then none of this would happened. It's because of me, that he now knows you."
"I'm glad that I met you," Jordan said hugging me. "You're a great person Payton, and just because the people you may have had connections with weren't, it doesn't make you the cause of bad things happening to others that you care about." He let go of me and looked me directly in the eyes. "Anyways, we are totally gonna kick his ass when we find him."
I couldn't help but let out a guffaw. "Let's hope that we do then."
*****
I finished up the last of the paperwork handed to me.
Since Hunter had succeeded in expanding his company name, there was a bunch of documents that went along with it. I hadn't seen him ever since lunch but Nancy had told me that he was still somewhere in the building.
I looked out, above the city. The sun had just started to set and the sky was a pretty combination of pink, orange and blue. I smiled and took in the sight. That was a perk of having an office with a full floor to ceiling glass wall. I always got a nice view of the city.
I looked back at my office, the one that I had been working in ever since about five months back when I started working here. Still as plain as ever.
I never really customized my space although I had been here for a while. I didn't expect to be here for this long.
The bookshelf that came with my office remained empty, collecting dust. There were no pictures of anyone on my desk, the walls were like blank canvases.
Even Jordan's small, square cubical was more eye-catching than this.
I felt my pocket vibrate and I pulled out my phone.
Elie: Hey, I'm going dress shopping for the wedding, wanna come with me? X
Payton: Yeah, sure. What time?
Elie: Around 6, maybe? I'll drop by your office to pick you up.
Payton: Sounds good, I'll be there :)
Elie: Alrighty, see you soon!
I turned off my phone and put it back onto my desk. I hadn't talked to Elie ever since the Halloween party and almost completely forgot about the wedding.
I checked the clock.
5:50pm.
I was about done everything for the day. I shut down my computer then went over to get my jacket and purse.
"Going somewhere?"
I jumped a bit and turned around. Hunter was leaned against the door frame.
"Um, yeah. I finished all the work you asked for."
He came in and sat down on the leather couch in my office. "Are you going home?"
"Actually, no. I'm going to hang out with Elie for a bit, she wants me to go dress shopping with her."
Hunter frowned a bit, "I don't like her."
"Hunter, you can't like everyone. Besides, you're probably just salty because she was the one to break up with you."
He smiled at the mention of his name and visibly relaxed a bit more, sagging into the cushion a bit more. "I guess you're right."
"Well, I'm going to get going now. There's still some leftovers in the fridge if you want, otherwise order something or cook whatever you want." I started to walk out of the office. "Oh, and umm, don't wait up for me. I'll probably be home late."
I heard another sigh escape Hunters mouth. "Alright, have fun."
*****
"This seems cute doesn't it?" Elie pulled out a baby blue, flowy sundress.
"It's the middle of winter, you'll freeze."
She flicked my nose. "For the honeymoon silly. We're going to be in Hawaii for a month."
"Oh, well then it's perfect."
She smiled and rang it up.
As we walked out of the clothing store and wandered around the mall, Elie laughed softly.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Now that I think of it, it was kind of weird to invite my ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend to my wedding." She giggled.
I chuckled, "I guess it kind of was. But I'm happy to go."
Elie smiled at me, "You're definitely something."
I tilted my head, perplexed. "Hmm?"
"I don't know, if I were in your position, I'd be all over the idea of not going. I mean, who want's to go to a wedding for their boyfriend's ex-girlfriend anyways?"
"I guess I'm just different. Anyways, I felt like it's be good for Hunter y'know. He kinda has a grudge against you and I thought that maybe if he went to your wedding, he'd in a way get over it. No offence though."
She shrugged. "None taken."
We walked into another clothing store.
"Hey, you should get a few dresses too!" Elie exclaimed.
"Nah, I'm fine," I said.
"Oh come on!" She pleaded. "It'll be fun!" With that, she pulled further into the store.
Once we finally made it out (with a load of shopping bags) we sat down in the cafeteria and bought a smoothie.
"So, are you from New York or did you move here?" Elie asked.
"I'm originally from Washington but moved here a few months ago."
"I'm from Washington too!" Elie said excitedly. "I moved here for high school and met my fiancé there. Well, at the time, we were just friend since I was still dating Hunter but everything worked out in the end. I'm happy that Hunter found someone as well."
I smiled. "Do your parents live in New York?"
She shook her head. "They still reside in Washington. I've tried persuading them to move here but they like it over there I guess. They're flying in tonight so they can come to the wedding this weekend."
I internally freaked out. I had totally forgot that the wedding was the weekend. I thought I still had a week. I didn't have any time to pick out a good dress yet. Sure I went dress shopping with Elie but none of them would do. Everything that she had made me try on were more of a summery or vacation-y vibe.
I smiled tightly. "I can't wait to be there."
Yeah, if I don't totally embarrass myself with a totally out of place dress tomorrow.
Elie smiled, "How about your parents?"
My chest tightened. "They're... They passed a few years ago."
Elie placed a hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked-"
"No, It's fine." I brushed it off.
She placed a hand over mine. "If they could see you right now, I bet they'd be proud of how beautiful of a woman you've become."
I smiled, "I hope so."
*****
It was around 9pm when I finally got home.
My shopping trip With Elie wasn't at all that bad. In fact, I felt like we had more in common than I thought. I learned a lot about her and her family life and she seemed like a sweet girl.
I went to the kitchen to find some Chinese take-out on the table and a piece of paper.
I went over to pick up the paper.
Payton,
I know you told me to not wait up for you, but I decided to order enough food for the both of us.
I've gone to bed.
I'll see you in the morning.
Hunter. X
With a little smile on my face, I picked up the food and put it in the microwave to warm it up.
As I ate, I worried about tomorrow.
Elie's wedding was tomorrow and I didn't have dress yet.
I'd probably have to stay up all night digging through my closet to find something that somewhat suits a wedding vibe.
Hunter and I weren't on the best terms and the wedding place was about two hours away which meant a long and awkward car ride with him.
As I finished up my dinner, I got ready for bed.
Usually, I'd head over to Hunter's room or he'd come over to mine for the night but that wasn't the case for the past week.
Ever since what happened back at the cabin, we stayed in our own rooms and that was bad news for me. Something about having Hunter with me made me feel safe and it got rid of my nightmares. But the weird thing was, that even though Hunter hadn't been sleeping with me, the nightmares didn't come back this time. As weird as it sounded, I still felt as though me not having nightmares was connected to Hunter in a way and I just hoped that that connection wouldn't leave anytime soon.
I sighed and walked over to my room.
After taking a shower and brushing my teeth, I threw on some shorts and an oversized t-shirt and got in bed. I spent a while rifling through my closet and found something that seemed the closet to formal attire. It was a long, floor length dress that was cinched at the waist. It was long sleeved and didn't have such a deep V-neck. Yes, it was more of a party dress but that was the best I could do.
I turned off the light and tried to get to sleep.
After an hour or so of just tossing and turning, I ended up curling up on one side of the bed and gave up on finding a comfortable position. Nothing was cozy without Hunter by my side. I lay there, frozen in the dark hoping that maybe if I mimicked being asleep, then sleep would come.
Somewhere in the middle of the night, as I felt myself slowly start to drift off, I heard a small creak and a door opening and closing.
In the last few moment of me still being awake, I felt the bed dip and something wrap around me. I felt a warmth cuddle up to my side and something kiss the back of my head.
Before I could react to it, sleep consumed me.
The last thing I heard before I drifted off was someone whispering, "Don't worry cucumber, your nightmares aren't coming back anytime soon."
So... Are you ready for Elie's wedding?
Are ye ready kids?
I can't hear you!
Until next time... <3