Chapter 37 - Stolen truths.

I have searched for her everywhere. Can you give her a call again?"

Xavier asked in frustration as he paced around in Amelia's hallways. She was nowhere to be found as far as he was concerned. Either that or she was seriously avoiding him. That was the only answer to the fact that nobody knew where she was. Her line was dead, her friends too and her parents knew next to nothing about her even being in New York. Nobody knew anything and it was safe for Xavier to assumed that Amelia must hate him so bad that she had gone to great lengths to avoid him.

He was willing to wait, but he wanted to try and find her first.

Another call came in and he picked it eagerly, hoping it was his driver that he sent to check out the penthouse while he waited in front of her apartment for her.

"Mr Black! It's me Meyers. The Spaniards will be arriving for the meeting at nine am."

Xavier scrunched up his face.

"What meeting are you talking about Meyers? I specifically told you I wasn't coming to work today. I only told you to brief me about it later."

He shouted but his personal assistant seemed nonchalant.

"They insisted on the original meeting date. They do not want to reschedule Mr Black and you have twenty minutes to be here in time or we lose the deal."

"Is Brandon around? Let him take over the meeting."

Meyers sighed frustratedly over the phone.

"Brandon is in Italy sir. You gave him permission last week to attend his mother's wedding."

"Yes, but isn't he back? I'm not sure I can make it there right now."

"Sir, you know how impatient our business partners are. You have to be here."

There was urgency and frustration in Meyers voice and things rarely got him rattled but Xavier could sense that he really was rattled. It was a serious work emergency.

Xavier stared at Amelia's door still locked. The file he had brought with him was still in his hands and he was conflicted. He didn't want to leave just in case he wouldn't be able to meet up with Amelia. But the receptionist at the building lobby confirmed that she saw her yesterday,  so Xavier was able to confirm that she was still living in the building complex, he could possibly run into her.
He decided to come to meet her after his business meeting.

He looked at the file in his hands and a thought popped in his head. For all he knew Amelia could still be in her apartment, refusing to open up because she heard the sound of his voice. He slipped in the file underneath her door hoping she would see it. He knew she would.

He thought as he stood on his feet and turned to walk away, thoughts of calling his driver to bring around the car on his mind.

He turned and he found a tall hunky man waving at him. The man was wearing casual ripped jeans and a white plain T-shirt. His hair was in two plaits and he had a smirk on his face. Xavier felt like he knew him from somewhere. But he couldn't place it where.

"Hello there. May I ask what you're doing there?"

The man asked and Xavier's eyes widened.

Who was this guy?

He thought as he walked closer to him assessing the muscular guy. Xavier decided that he didn't like him, the sheer arrogance that was ripping off him was enough to put Xavier off.

"I think I should be asking you that question."

Xavier retorted and Boston shrugged.

"Well, I live here... And I get particularly suspicious when a strange man walks around passing strange things underneath my friend's door."

Xavier chuckled.

"Your friend? Wait a minute... Amelia?"

He asked with a frown and the man nodded.

"Yes..." He replied slowly as he watched Xavier with growing interest.

"Well, if you were really her friend, you'd know that I'm her husband. So why don't you back off buddy."

Xavier deadpanned as he watched Boston's jaw drop.

Xavier was still reveling in rendering the man speechless when a smile crept in on the man's face. Who was this guy? Xavier thought. He could swear that he remembered his face from somewhere but he couldn't place it.

"You're the douche who cheated on her?"

Boston asked as he folded his as and Xavier's jaw clenched.

"I didn't cheat on her!"

"And who the hell are you anyway? Why do you care?"

He fired back desperately trying to remember where he had seen the man before. It couldn't be around the office because the man didn't look anything like someone who worked a nine to five job.

"I'm Boston McNamara. I'm Amelia's friend."

Ohhhh! Xavier thought as he slowly nodded his head. He remembered seeing a picture of him pop up when he was running a background check on him. Boston was the dude who sent Amelia the tiny painting, the one that clearly intended deeper things than Amelia took it for.
He was also the dude who liked Amelia, but why was he speaking about Amelia like he personally knew her?

Xavier thought as he frowned annoyingly. Did Amelia become friends with him already? Was that why she was pushing him away?

Those were the questions that ran through Xavier's mind as he stared down Boston.

"Listen now Boston, I know the kind of game you're playing. And there's only one way it'll end."

Xavier said and Boston scoffed.

"What game? You cheated on Amelia, you couldn't even see her worth from a million miles away. She's done with you."

Xavier tried very hard not to flinch at the thought of Amelia getting over him.

"Like I said, there's only one way it'll end. You, will get your heart broken brutally and Amelia and I would get back together."

Xavier said as he prepared to leave, Boston started laughing.

"She's never going to take you back after what you did! Mark my words!"

Boston said as he raised his voice but Xavier was already leaving.
When Amelia saw the file, everything was going to go back to normal. He would call her and explain. He would explain to her and all would be well.

She would understand him and come back to California with him and Boston would be nothing but a forgotten memory.

"Boston, a friendly advice."

Xavier said as he turned when he got to the elevator.

"Leave Amelia while you still can."

With those last words, Xavier entered the elevator, leaving Boston fuming.

Boston watched Amelia's door, what did Xavier slip in?

Why did he look so confident?

He thought as he looked at the door ominously. There was a confidence attached to the way Xavier talked that Boston didn't like. He hadn't seen the man before, well, it was only because Amelia chose to keep her private life secret. All his pestering about their relationship never got him anywhere with Amelia. She chose not to talk, not even a single bad word about him. She also still kept the ring on her finger. He'd often catch her touching it, or slowly playing with it. It infuriated him, that she couldn't let go of the man who hurt her.
All he ever wanted to give her was love.

Wasted was the word to describe Amelia. Wasted. After spending a lot of time with Molly and Ruby, the two girls decided to hit the clubs. And since Amelia was out with her girlfriends, she drank to her heart's content. She had spent the majority of the morning sleeping at Ruby's apartment, but then later she decided to head back to her apartment. Still very much hungover and wasted. She didn't want to drink, she didn't like using alcohol to solve her problems, but it was a bad habit she had picked up from Princeton. And she was struggling with it. With Xavier she didn't have to worry about drinking or anything, being with him kept her in check.

But without him, Amelia had to slowly admit that she was turning into an alcoholic. And it mildly disturbed her. Maybe it was time she admitted she had a drinking problem and deal with it.

She walked out of her apartment elevator with her heels in her hand and dark sunshades covering her eyes. She was still very tired and wasted. And the sunlight was bothering her. She would have stayed over at Ruby's apartment if Ruby didn't have work but she did.

She walked into her hallway slowly, holding on to the walls for support. She wondered if she left with her key card. She thought as she felt her purse, her clumsy hands rummaging through the lipsticks and wipes in the tiny purse searching for her key card.

Her phone fell out amidst her search and Amelia swore loudly, bending down clumsily to get it.

"Amelia?" A voice called out and Amelia looked up, still on all fours with her short sparkly dress riding up her thighs as she tried to find her iPhone. Boston rushed to meet her, her black dress was riding up her thighs, showing her creamy thighs and her ink black hair fell around her like a curtain, obscuring her face.

"Maybe I should take these damn sunglasses off." She murmured as she took them off and was able to find her phone.

"What are you doing on the floor?"

Boston asked as he rushed to Amelia's side, slowly picking her up.

"My phone fell. It's okay. I got it!"

She said as she raised up her phone as Boston helped her up.

"Where's your keycard? Let me help you with that."

Amelia absentmindedly handed Boston her keycard and he helped her with her door. While in her apartment, Amelia noticed a brown paper file on the floor.

"What's that?" she murmured as she bent to pick it up, Boston beat her to it.

"It's... it's nothing. It's actually mine, I gave a friend of mine the wrong apartment number and I guess he sent it to you."

Boston explained as she picked it up, his heart beating crazily in his chest.

Amelia furrowed her eyebrows, nothing seemed to make sense to her.

"Are you sure? Looks like it's meant for me."

She said as she walked into her apartment.

Boston shrugged.

"Well, are you expecting a package?" He asked and Amelia shrugged.

"I wouldn't know, my phone is switched off."

"It's mine. Don't worry yourself about it. Let me drop it off in my apartment. Will you be okay here alone for a while?"

Amelia nodded as she collapsed face down on her couch.

"Yes, I just need some shut eye."

Her words were muffled by her face on the pillow but Boston heard her clearly and he dashed out of her apartment.

His hands were shaking as he opened the file. He didn't know why he lied, he didn't know why he told Amelia that the file was his but if Xavier dropped it off, it must be important enough for him to have been rattled about Amelia not getting it.

The file contained three things, a toxicology report stating Xavier was under the influence of some heavy drugs. A report from a woman named Daphne Steele who wrote a written statement claiming that she drugged Xavier Black and tried to seduce him when he was heavily under the influence of hard drugs and a formal request for a restraining order against the said Daphne Steele.

Xavier didn't cheat on Amelia. The realisation dawned on Boston as he looked at the evidence with hurt in his heart. He had no doubt that once Amelia knew what was wrong, she would jump back to him in a flash and he would be left all alone.

Xavier could also be lying, from the looks of things, he was a wealthy man. And he could change things to suit his
narrative.

He looked at the file ominously, still deciding on what to do with it. It felt wrong to hide it from Amelia, but he was in internal conflict between his mind and hi heart.

And his heart won.

Boston set down the file under a stack of books on his coffee table.

"I'm so sorry Amelia. This is for your own good."

He whispered as he dropped the file under the books and walked out of his apartment.




Did Boston do it for love? Let me know in the comments!