Chapter 68

NATHAN

"I don't know what you were thinking," Stephan says, sinking into the couch. "It was such a hassle for me to clean up the mess you caused. The last time I saw you like that was in high school, remember? When you broke Queen's nose. But what was the reason again? Did he steal one of your girlfriends?" I wonder how I'm going to work with this damn headache.
"Are you going to stay here?" Stephan asks.
"Are you sure you don't like her?"
"I have to go. Let's drop this."
"Nat, I think you're going to ruin all the plans I had for us."
"I suppose your plans involve a strip club or a party here with more strippers like you did last time you visited me," he laughs.
"You didn't complain then. Maybe you need to accept that she rejected you, Ryan, and move on. A while ago, you would have already been dating some model."
"Stop bothering me. I have to go to work."
"I understand the sex is incredible, but I think you're already out of the game for her. At least, that's how it seemed last night."
"Fuck off!"
I leave him alone in the room. Damn, Stephan. It was a terrible idea to go to her house earlier. She's not going to give in, and I have no idea what to do. My situation gets worse every day.


KATE

"How was your trip?" I ask, getting up to hug Megan.
"Well, I think I managed to resolve everything."
"That's great!"
"And you? How's everything going here? How's Mr. Kindness doing?"
"Normal."
"Normal?"
"Yeah. He's still the same jerk as always. What did you expect?" She shrugs.
"I saw something about him getting back together with his ex-girlfriend. There was a picture of her at his parents' house on one of those gossip magazine covers."
"I met her." Should I tell her? Shouldn't I?
"So it's true?"
"I don't think they're back together, but she seems to have a friendly relationship with his family." I try to show disinterest and sit back down in my chair.
"So the women at Ryan's company don't need to lose hope then."
"Does that include you?"
"No. Mr. Kindness is not my type. I don't like wonderful and sexy billionaires." She pretends to dismiss it.
"Sexy?" I raise an eyebrow.
"No. I mean extremely sexy." We laugh together until we hear someone clearing their throat behind us.
"Miss McCartney, I believe you have work to do." How did we not see him coming? He watches us with a scowl and arms crossed over his chest, leaning against his office door.
"Yes, sir, I was just..." I notice Megan tensing up.
"Megan just came to bring me some papers I asked for." I lie, his presence clearly affecting my mood.
"And then decided to catch up on some gossip?"
"Sorry, Mr. Ryan. I'm leaving now." How can she let herself be intimidated like this? She leaves without even saying goodbye.
Jerk, he's only doing this because he's annoyed with me. I try to ignore his presence, but it's impossible.
"Do you need something?" My eyes meet his.
"For you to stop wasting time talking to anyone and everyone."
"Do you want me to apologize? Because it's not going to happen." He approaches my desk.
"I think you sometimes forget that I'm your boss."
"If you acted more professionally, it wouldn't be hard to remember."
"Wasting time during work hours is not an example of professionalism."
"Taking out your anger on your employees is even less professional. Don't you have anything better to do than to bother me?"
"Challenging me as always."
"Please leave me alone, Ryan."
"I hope this doesn't happen again, Collins. I don't like people wasting time. I know you're thinking that I'm saying this because of our issues, but I'm not."
"Okay. It won't happen again. Happy?"
"Great." He turns his back on me but stops and turns again. "Extremely sexy?" He raises an eyebrow, with an almost smile on his face.
"I think the women who work for you have a good impression of you in mind. Not very professional, of course. They don't really know you."
"I'll stick with extremely sexy. That's fine by me. Much better than... good-looking." I have to hold back from laughing. Remember what he did.



"I am shocked by his behavior."
"It was to be expected, Lisa. He is a control freak and thinks he can do that to me."
"It could have been much worse, at least nobody got hurt."
"Yes, but where were you when it happened?"
"Probably in a dark place." No surprise there.
"He won't accept that it's over so easily. He said that yesterday."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. Maybe distance me from Ryan."
"But you need the job for university."
"If I leave now, I can still put together something new somewhere else."
"You can't do that, Kate."
"What am I going to do if he won't leave me alone? It's already impossible to be near him without thinking about having sex with him, especially with his provocations."
"I don't know what he did to you, but he turned you into a depraved person." We laughed as I threw a pillow at her. Someone knocks on the door, interrupting us.
"I'll get it," she says, getting up from the couch.
Seconds later, John enters, and I adjust myself on the couch.
"Hi!" he approaches me.
"Hi!" I stand up to greet him. What is he doing here?
"Well, if you need me..." Lisa says, indicating that she will be in her bedroom before leaving.
"Sit down," I gesture to a spot on the couch.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" We sit down. Did he come looking for an answer? Oh, God!! Once again, I completely forgot.
"Yes, it's been a while since we've seen each other. How are you?"
"I'm good. I wanted to see you, I was traveling for work and arrived today, I'm sorry for not keeping in touch, sometimes I get caught up in work."
"I understand, don't worry. You don't owe me an explanation."
"I feel like I do, but I'll get straight to the point. Besides seeing you, I also came to ask you something."
"What?"
"I have a charity event tomorrow and would like you to accompany me."
Accompany him to an event? Why not? Because you didn't accept his proposal and don't plan to. It would be like giving false hope. But I like him, admire him, and find him charming. Maybe I should try. Really try.
"Well, I don't think I have any commitments, depending on the time."
"It will be at nine."
"Then I accept the invitation."
"That makes me happy. And now? Can we go somewhere?"
"What place?"
"I have something in mind."
"Are you not going to tell me?"
"I prefer to show you."
"Okay. You've got me curious. Give me a few minutes to dress up."
"Sure."


We stopped in front of a small park. I don't remember being here before, but it's not too far from my apartment. We got out of the car. There are only a few lights on, scattered throughout the park.
"Come on," he says, taking my hand as we walk. I can see a lake ahead. We walk further until we stop at the edge. It's cold because of the night breeze.
"I didn't imagine you had a place like this in mind. Is there a special reason for bringing me here?"
"My dad used to bring me here when I was a kid. I loved this place."
"That seems very special to me." Why was he showing me such an intimate place? It must mean something. Maybe he's trying to show that his intentions are true. I imagine a young John running through the park, with big blue eyes and black hair.
I end up getting lost in memories of outings with my dad. Most of them involved fishing and baseball. What can I say? I loved those things that are supposed to be for boys. I didn't do it to please my dad, but because it was fun. Especially being with him, but now I feel so far away from him, not just physically.
"Katherine?"
"Huh? I'm sorry. You made me remember some of my adventures with my dad."
"I can't imagine a girl having big adventures with her dad."
"You'd be surprised if you knew."
"Yeah. I'm sure."
"John, I think... I mean, I owe you an answer."
"It's okay. You don't have to worry. I like this. Getting to know you better, and whether you want something more serious or not, I'll wait for you to decide." God! Did he come out of a fairy tale?
"Okay." I move closer on instinct. "Sometimes I think you're too perfect." He smiles, that charming smile that soon turns into a mischievous one.
"Unfortunately, I have to say that you're wrong." He whispers, wrapping his arms around my waist, and then he kisses me. Not calmly, but passionately. Awakening other desires within me.
"Can we go to your place?" I ask, making a decision full of uncertainty, driven by an impulse and the desire to leave everything behind. To really try.
"Do you really want this?"
"Yes," I say before losing my courage.