Chapter 131
KATE
My cell phone alarm went off, waking me up. I had to be at work in an hour. I quickly got up, feeling a bit groggy. Wait, where is he?
Damn it! I said those words. Damn it! Damn it! Was it too early? Of course, it was. But I didn't care; it came out naturally. I just said what I felt.
But deep down, I knew I was just trying to convince myself that saying it was the worst part. And the truth was, what bothered me the most was that he didn't say it back.
I needed to forget about it. I had to rush to work. I took a step and felt a slight pain between my legs, a reminder that he had been there.
I reached for my phone again; there was a notification, a message from him.
From Nathan: I went for a run in the park. Have a good day, baby.
I stared at the phone screen. It wasn't exactly what I expected. It was too direct and simple for Ryan. There were no jokes or innuendos about sex. That made me certain that I shouldn't have said, 'I love you.' Would he act strangely around me?
I dropped the phone, assuming he didn't need a response, and headed for the shower.
I had been hammering away at documents and reports for so long. I was going crazy. I thought about everything, how he had acted strangely earlier, wondering if he scared me, if I was afraid of him, saying he wouldn't hurt me, something was wrong.
Something told me it wasn't just naughty phrases before sex, said to provoke me. To make matters worse, I had said that I loved him. And now he felt pressured, maybe even scared.
Damn it. I definitely needed to talk to someone, someone who knew Nathan.
And who would be better than his brother?
Since I couldn't just ask Nathan for his number, I figured Lisa would have it, since they had flirted at least once on my birthday. And I was right.
So during lunchtime, I called him, but he wasn't answering. I didn't know he was so busy.
He only picked up on the fifth attempt.
"Hello?"
"Stephan?"
"Yes? Who's calling?"
"You can't recognize my voice?"
"Well... little sister-in-law? Is that you?"
I wanted to laugh immediately. He was always in a good mood. He was completely the opposite of Nathan.
"Bingo! Are you busy?"
"Not at the moment. I just went out for lunch. Why?"
"I don't want to bother you."
"What's up, Kate? After our last encounter, we're practically family now, don't you think? You would never bother me."
"Thanks for reminding me that you've seen my boobs. That's embarrassing. Maybe I should hang up now."
"Don't do that, and tell me, what do you need?"
"Alright. I was wondering if we could meet when you have some free time."
"Hmm, I don't know if Nathan would like that," he said in a suggestive tone.
"You joker. I need your help."
"Alright. How can I refuse a request from my new sister-in-law?"
"Great. When are you available?"
"You're in luck; I'm free after six."
"Do you want to choose the place?"
"No, just send me the address, and I'll be there."
"Alright. Thank you, Stephan."
"Who else could rescue you from Nat, other than me?"
"No one. Really, thank you."
"Thank me later. See you soon, Kate. Say hi to both of them for me."
"Both of them?" My face blushed when I understood. "Okay. Hanging up now. Bye."
When I returned from lunch, Mr. Cooper called me into his office.
"Katherine, we have a trip to Vancouver next week. We're leaving on Thursday and returning on Saturday."
"We?"
"Yes, you're my assistant, aren't you?"
"Yes, Yes, but it's just that..." My boyfriend will freak out. I thought."
"Well, forget. This trip is about?"
"We're going to discuss an important deal. As you know, Vancouver Media is interested in our services, and the board has voted for an offensive strategy."
"I understand."
"I'll send you the travel schedule by email. I want you to prepare, okay?"
"Of course. Will anyone else be going with us?"
"No."
Damn it. This wouldn't help with Ryan. But it was my job; I shouldn't even be thinking about what he would think. And the vacation would be here soon.
I waited for Stephan at the somewhat rustic bar on a quiet, dimly lit street. The place was calm; I used to go there with Lisa and the guys. Sometimes they played jazz, and they had good beer.
Stephan arrived wearing a dark blue suit, which impressed me. Seeing him dressed so formally was strange. It didn't quite match his relaxed demeanor, but it suited him very well. After all, he was a Ryan.
"Hello, little sister-in-law," he said, approaching with a charming smile and kissing my cheek. "How are you?"
"Well, as well as can be expected."
"What did Nat do?"
"Well, first, tell me how you're doing."
Stephan's energy made me feel incredibly comfortable.
"I'm great, can't you tell?"
"Yes, always."
"Now, spill it."
"Well... Um... Actually, I want you to tell me more about him."
He raised a thick, blond eyebrow.
"Nat isn't the most open guy in the world. I'm not sure if he'd like me telling you about his life."
"Sure, it's just that sometimes I feel like he's so strange."
"Strange?"
"Distant, somewhat dark."
"Hmm, do you know he's crazy about you? Don't you?"
"Well..."
"Seriously, you have no idea how much he had to face his own demons to go after you. He's my brother, Kate, and I had never seen him so low until you left him."
"But not knowing anything about him, about his life before me... it creates a barrier between us, and I don't know how to deal with it, Stephan."
"Have you tried talking to him?"
"Yes, he always insists it's not important."
"Alright. He's going to kill me, but I think this will help you understand him better. But first, a drink.
Two martinis, please!" he said to the bartender. "Well, where should I begin?"
"From the beginning..." I shrugged.
"It's easy to look at my brother and think he's a cold guy obsessed with work, but maybe there's a reason why you find him a bit dark sometimes..."
Swallowing my saliva anxiously, I listened intently, staring at Stephan's face without blinking.
"Nat was just a normal boy until he was around twelve or thirteen. I remember some happy moments from when we were kids; we used to play a lot, and he was a great older brother..."
The smile that appeared at the beginning of his speech faded as he seemed to recall something bad.
"Then he started having some problems at school, like fights with other boys. Our parents considered it normal at first, but the fights became constant. Nat became quite temperamental at that time, a lot happened, and then... our parents found out he had intermittent explosive disorder."
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