By the time 6:00 PM rolled around, I had already showered, put light makeup on, and changed into another dress. I still hadn't spoken to Nate, and I wasn't planning on it either. After Luther left, we both went out separate ways as if neither one of us existed. Thanks to the massive estate, it was easy to avoid him and pretend I was at some high-class resort by myself.
The doorbell rang at exactly 6:00 PM, alerting us of Luther's arrival. I wasn't even supposed to be attending this dumb dinner until Nathaniel thought it was a good idea to include me just to piss his father off even more. I thought about not coming at all, but I knew Nathaniel would throw a bitch fit, so I decided to save him future embarrassment and show up. All I have to do is sit there and look pretty for an hour; how hard could that be?
"Be on your best behavior," Nathaniel growled in my ear as we both made our way down the grand staircase. He was so close behind me. I could smell his spicy Egyptian musk, making my mouth water. It didn't smell like the usual cologne you buy at a cheap store but the complete opposite. The smell was rich as if he had it made just for him and him alone. His scent was so intoxicating I wanted to smash my lips against his just to inhale more of it. God, I need to control my thoughts.
"Don't talk to me like I'm a fucking child," I snapped, attempting to walk faster to get away from his captivating aroma, but he quickly gripped my elbow, halting my movements. His touch sent a shock of warmth shooting throughout my entire body.
I hated how a simple touch from him affected me this much. Why couldn't I feel sick or grossed out? Ever since that night, he cuffed me to the bed, my body had this yearning desire to be caressed and explored by him. As much as I hate to admit it, the reason I felt grossed out by Piero's touch was because he wasn't Nathaniel. And yes, I hate myself for that.
"Tonight is not the night to open that smart mouth of yours; just shut up and eat, do you understand?"
"Your daddy's waiting," I replied, snatching my arm out of his firm grip.
"Donna testarda," he muttered under his breath. (Stubborn woman.)
Instead of going to the door to greet Luther, I went into the dining room and sat down, waiting for the men to make their way here. The table of food to the left of me was covered in dishes ranging from Italian deserts to different variations of pasta.
The main table I was sitting at had a beautiful white lace covering with pearls hanging on the ends. Plates, bowls, forks, and spoons were placed neatly in front of the three chairs, two at the head of the table and one in the center, my seat.
In all honesty, I just wanted to get this dinner over with so I could go back to my room and binge watch Netflix shows like the pathetic loner I am. Right on queue, Nathaniel and Luther waltzed into the dining room, both wearing deep scowls on their faces.
Would it kill these men to smile for once and at least pretend they like each other? As soon and they took a seat, two housekeepers emerged from the kitchen and began serving us the delicious food the chef cooked, making it feel as if we were at a five-star restaurant. I assume that it was Luther's doing.
"Looks wonderful, thank you," Luther told Martha, the head of housekeepers, with a fake smile. She nodded politely before shuffling out of the already tense atmosphere, disappearing into the kitchen along with the other housekeeper I have never seen before.
"So Nate," Luther cleared his throat before taking a sip of his wine sitting beside the plate of food. "How's work coming along?"
"How about you ask what you really want so we can get this over with," Nathaniel spoke calmly, clutching his fork tightly.
I stabbed my fork into the steaming parmesan chicken, stuffing a piece into my mouth as I watched the scene unfold in front of me.
Luther chuckled darkly and sighed. "It's always no-nonsense with you."
"You and I both know you came here for a specific reason; there's no need to beat around the bush."
"Fair enough," Luther nodded. "Have you thought about the proposal I sent you?"
What proposal?
Nathaniel's eyes quickly flickered over to mine before shifting his gaze back to Luther. "I have."
"And?"
"I've decided I'm not going through with it."
Luther clenched his jaw but kept his composure. "And why is that?"
Nathaniel's eyes flickered to mine once again, causing me to wonder who this conversation is actually about.
"Something came up."
"Son--"
Nathaniel's head snapped up as his eyes darkened with hatred. The fork in his hand was now bent out of shape with no hope of returning back to normal.
"Nate, we talked about this--"
"No, you talked, I listened."
I popped another forkful of pasta into my mouth before washing it down with the lemonade I requested.
"And here I thought we were on the same page," Luther scoffed, swirling the reminiscence of wine in his glass.
"No, you assumed I would go through with whatever ridiculous idea you suggest," Nathaniel revealed through gritted teeth, still leaving his food untouched.
Luther laughed bitterly while adjusting the gold Rolex on his wrist. "I can assure you this suggestion is far from ridiculous if only you'd take the time to think of how this could benefit the company."
"I've had more than enough time to think about it," Nathaniel replied as his eyes found their way back to mine once again, holding his gaze as he spoke. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, discreetly wiping my sweaty palms on my dress, trying to decide when was the best time to interrupt and ask what the fuck they're talking about. However, I chose against it and continued eating my pasta in silence.
"Just like you had time to think about Jason's deal before not going through with it?" Luther shot back, taking me by surprise. How the hell did he know about that deal and Nathaniel's decision? As curious as I was about this revelation, I was more curious about Nathaniel's answer.
"That does not concern you," he simply stated, finally tossing the useless fork aside and picking up a new one just to abuse it like he did the previous one.
Luther slammed his fist against the table, rattling the dishes in the process, causing me to jump at the sudden noise. "I've tried being nice and complying with your wishes, but I've had enough," he growled, finally showing his true colors.
Nathaniel remained unfazed at his father's outburst, looking at him through dark, murderous eyes. If looks could kill, Luther would have dropped dead the moment he stepped foot through the front door this morning.
"So you're here because of Jason," Nathaniel noted calmly, pushing his plate full of food away from him to rest his elbows on the table.
Luther sunk back into his seat and adjusted the cuffs on his sleeves before answering. "Jason reached out to me weeks ago pertaining to the deal we discussed. He informed me that you were no longer going through with it, but I assured him all you needed was time to think things through and come back to your senses but being here now is clearly proving that I was very sadly mistaken."
"If that's all you came here for, you know where the door is."
"What happened to the Nate that took my place years ago? Huh?" Luther asked bitterly. "Where's the Nate that wasn't afraid to get the job done no matter what obstacle stood in his way?"
Nathaniel clenched his jaw and closed his eyes briefly, attempting to calm himself down before doing something he'd later regret.
"That deal alone would've made you tens of millions for Creed Industries," Luther continued. "But you shut it down for what? What was so important that you couldn't go through with the one deal I specially asked you to stick with?"
Yea, what was so important, Nathaniel? I thought to myself, hoping I would get some answers to ease my scattered brain.
"I don't have to explain myself to you."
"The hell you do!" Luther exclaimed angrily as he pointed his index finger at his son. "When I appointed you CEO, I thought you were ready, more than ready in fact but clearly, I was wrong. So since you can't make the right decisions, I will. You will call Jason tomorrow and tell him the deal is back on. We need this, Nate."
"We don't need anything," Nathaniel growled viciously, slowly lifting himself out of his seat. "I am the CEO now, not you. If you wanted to keep running things and making decisions, you shouldn't have given me the position. I am more than capable of doing what's right for my company, so don't you dare sit there and act like I'm an incompetent fool. I have succeeded you in every aspect of this business, so you listen to me and listen closely. I will not be doing that deal with Jason, and that's final. So like I said before, if that's the only reason you came, you know where the door is."
Damn, that was pleasing to watch in more ways than I'd like to admit.
Soon after, Nathaniel turned and shoved his chair, making it fall to the ground before marching out of the room, leaving me alone with his father. Just as I was getting ready to take off as well, Luther's arm shot out, gripping my wrist tightly, stopping me mid-stride.
"Don't think I don't know you had something to do with this," Luther whispered. "I know exactly what went down between you and Jason; he told me everything. How you're nothing but a desperate slut looking for attention, but the moment you got it, you cried wolf. My son may not see you for who you truly are, but I do, and I will not let you ruin him as you've done with Jason. Consider this a warning because next time, I won't be this nice."
"Let go of me," I demanded softly, rapidly blinking away the tears that threatened to spill over. I didn't deserve this. This constant berating day after day was slowly starting to take a toll on my mental health.
I didn't even ask to be bought out by Creed Industries, much less be Nathaniel's secretary, so for him to sit here not knowing what I've been through and blame me for Nathaniel's decisions is inhumane. Luther released me from his tight grip but not before giving me a death stare as a warning to watch myself.
As soon as I was out of his grasp, I calmly walked out of the dining room and up the stairs. My vision became blurred from the flood of tears pouring down my face, but I somehow managed to make it back to my room unscathed.
Walking into the massive closet, I grabbed an empty duffel bag off the top shelf and began snatching random clothes off the hanger, not even caring about the items I was taking. I needed to leave, and I needed to leave now. I had no idea where I would go seeing that I'm in a foreign country with no family or friends that lived here, but I didn't care; I couldn't stay here any longer.
With shaky hands, I attempted to close the overly stuffed back, but my fingers kept slipping from the sweat that built up over the course of my angry packing. I took a deep breath and tried again, but it didn't budge an inch.
"FUCK!" I screamed, forcefully throwing the heavy duffel bag against the wall before collapsing to the ground in defeat. Why couldn't one fucking thing go my way for once? I wouldn't even be in this situation if it wasn't for my father. How could he selfishly put himself first before his own fucking child?
Times like this is when I wished I had my mother to comfort me, tell me everything was going to be okay as she played with my hair and kissed my tear-stained cheeks.
I always wondered what my life would've been like if she hadn't died. How different my childhood would've been. How much love I would've felt in my heart instead of this pain and emptiness. But I had to accept that this was my new reality. That my mother and father were dead, taking a piece of my soul along with them.
"Where do you think you're going?" A low voice asked, tearing me out of my depressing thoughts. I looked up through teary eyes to find Nathaniel casually leaning against the closet door, wearing a long sleeve tight black fitted t-shirt with grey sweatpants.
He looked down at me as a flash of concern flickered across his face but disappeared quickly enough and was replaced with his usual frown, making me wonder if I imagined it in my head.
"Please, just go away," I whispered, turning my body away from him so he wouldn't be able to see my puffy eyes and red nose, a clear indication that I've been crying. I hated showing any signs of weakness, which is why I usually did most of my crying in the shower where no one would be able to see.
"Why are you crying?"
Fuck.
I bit my lip, holding back the hideous sob that threatened to rip through my throat. "I'm not; my eyes are just sweating." Of course, he would insert himself in my business the one time I truly wanted to be left alone.
"I heard what he said to you," Nathaniel finally revealed, ignoring my plea.
I rolled my eyes in annoyance and wiped away the stray tears with the back of my hand. "Then why bother asking what happened, smart ass?"
I didn't have to look at him to know that he was clenching his jaw, trying his best to remain calm. "I just came here to tell you that you won't have to worry about him anymore; I've handled it."
"Gee, thanks."
"Look, I'm trying--"
"Trying what?" I laughed bitterly, turning around to face him, no longer caring about my appearance. "To make my life a living hell? Because guess what? You already have. Job fucking done. You were my problem long before he ever walked through that fucking door."
"That wasn't my intention--"
"Then what was?" I immediately snapped back, feeling my blood begin to boil. "Because that's all you've done since I signed that damn contract."
The silence between us was deafening; not even the sound of our breathing could be heard.
Nathaniel finally sighed and stuffed his large hands in his pockets, looking up at me through his thick lashes and taking me completely by surprise with his next words. "I'm sorry," he murmured.
Uh, what fuck did he just say? I have to be dreaming. Did I actually sleep through the entire dinner and just dream about what could've happened? If so, that would explain why this Nathaniel was being so...nice? Caring? Those two words don't even belong in the same sentence with his name.
My head immediately shot up, snapping out of my trance only to find the doorway where Nathaniel once stood, empty, as if no one was there to begin with, leaving me to wonder whether I did imagine that entire interaction in my head.
--