Chapter 29: Helpless.

After that, Seven had fallen asleep on Nick's shoulder for a few minutes. Nick carried him back to the car and drove Seven back to his apartment.

It was now the next day [Friday], and Seven was just getting to the office. His stomach was spinning, butterflies swirling inside of him ever since he woke up in the morning. He held two cups of coffee in his hands, stepping into Nicolas' office, witnessing him napping on his desk.

What happened after holding Nick's hand was a blur to him. Though, he could only assume that Nicolas took him back home while he was asleep. He closed the door to his office, a smile appearing on his face, "Good morning, Mr. Anderson," he greeted, waking up Nick who groaned, not moving.

Seven set the hot cup of coffee on the desk while holding his own, "Did you come back to the office after dropping me off?" he asked.

"Mmhm," Nicolas moaned, "What time is it?"

"Seven o'clock, sir," Serene responded, sliding the coffee a little, making it touch Nicolas' hands that laid above a stack of papers.

Nicolas murmured again, picking up his head from the table and grabbed the coffee, "I needed to finish some work from last night with the sponsor, but it took me a while to get it done and I ended up passing out." he shut his eyes, taking a sip from the warm beverage.

Seven beamed slightly, giving him a nod. He walked back to the couch, seeing his laptop set out on the table. Usually, he'd take the device home, but since he wasn't able to come back to the office, it was left here. Seven's cheeks warmed alongside his hand that held his morning drink. Memorizing the kiss from last night brought warmth to his stomach as well as the sensation of Nick's fingers behind his neck, bringing chills down his spine. He didn't think much about it during the event since he was taken aback by the situation.

Though, remembering it now, Seven started to feel a sense of comfort and nervousness when he thought about what had happened at the donation party. The second kiss to him was Nicolas showing him that the CEO wanted to be with him; The indirect declaration when Nicolas said he 'felt like he was at home' when he was around the assistant was enough of a confession for Seven. His head kept spinning, reminding him of that moment and it was like straight out of a romance cliche. Seven's grin grew without him even realizing as he sat down on the couch, opening up the laptop.

Nicolas kept his gaze on the assistant, chugging down at his hot coffee. He was too preoccupied to realize that his throat was stinging from the nonstop drinking. Coming back from dropping of Seven, Nicolas couldn't pay attention to the work given by the sponsors. His cheeks glowed the entire night, rubbing his hands as he craved the assistants touch more. The whole night, he was distracted and lost focus of the job in front of him thanks to the constant blushing and recall of the second kiss. He hoped that the embrace was a confession enough for the assistant because the CEO couldn't think of any other way to admit his feelings.

**WebBaze Cooperation: Very well. I'll meet you and Mr.Anderson this coming Tuesday at a party we'll be hosting down at Denver Rd.

Seven rose from the couch, his eyes widened, "Oh my god," he softly spoke. He eyed up at Nick who lifted a brow as he set the coffee on the table.**

"I got them," he muttered, "I got WebBaze!" A chuckle came out as he saw Nicolas grow a smile, standing from his seat, "You did?" he asked. Nick strolled out from his desk and towards Seven, waiting for a clear answer.

"They agreed to a dinner meeting with us on Tuesday!" The assistant clapped his hands together, stepping towards Nicolas as well. Anderson smiled, wrapping his arms around Seven, pulling him into a hug, "I'm proud of you." the CEO mumbled, embracing Seven who kept the smile on his face.

It was too early for both of them to be this happy, but the relief the two felt from WebBaze's response was pleasing. Especially for Seven, who admitted last night that he wasn't sure he'd be able to convince the company again. The difficult order was out of the blue.

The door opened and Nicolas kept his arms wrapped around the assistant. Though, once Nick's eyes went to who the person at the door was, his smile faded, and pushed Seven back carefully, clearing his throat, "Good morning, Ms. Henderson."

Seven tensed up, his eyes widening at the name, turning his attention to the woman who stood by the door. Her turquoise dress matched her dark blue heals and it looked like she was going to prom. Elegant and beautiful, her hair in curls, Seven looked at her with awe. He wasn't bothered by how quick Nick was to push him away, but more worried about the fact that Victoria had seen them hugging.

Ms. Henderson marched towards her fiancé, putting her pale hands on his cheeks, "Nicolas, you look like a lifeless person!" she shouted softly, lowering her purse as her hands caressed the faded marks on his face that happened after falling asleep on his desk. Her rosy fingertips moved underneath Nick's eyelids, tracing the bags under his eyes. Nick pulled away lightly, grabbing the woman's wrist, "What are you doing here so early?" he asked, pulling her fragile hands away from his face.

Victoria frowned, "To see you, silly! I also wanted to propose a vacation for this weekend!"

"This weekend?" Nicolas repeated, sounding almost disappointed.

The chairman of GamerCave entered the room, surprising both Nick and Seven. Nicolas raised a brow, his frown falling deeper, "Mr. Anderson," he coughed up, "Surprised to see you here... so early in the morning."

Victoria stepped aside, letting Nicolas' dad come face to face with his son, "Goodmorning, Nicolas. Your fiancée wanted some time with you this weekend," he chuckled, putting his hands on his hips, "She was messaging me all night about wanting to get to know you more. Quite frankly, I've never met someone so eager to spend time with you, my son."

Victoria giggled, her hand on her pale cheeks, "Nonsense! I'm sure Nicolas has had constant attention from other girls before me. I'm quite embarrassed now~"

Nicolas eyed Victoria, squinting as if he were confused about the conversation, "Wait- a vacation? What about the company?" He turned his attention back to his dad who had a beaming smile on his face.

Joseph Anderson chortled, shaking his head as he placed a hand on Nicolas' shoulder, "Nonsense! It'll just be for two days. I'll have a friend take over for the time being."

Nick's eyes widened, his legs trembling. He eyed Joseph's hand that was set on his shoulder, furrowing his eyebrows at the sudden notice. Nick blanked out for a few minutes, not knowing what to say. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to leave Seven, and the idea itself of not seeing his assistant for two days was heartbreaking, even after giving him a second kiss.

The fact that Nick wasn't even in the right mindset to think about this - having slept so uneasy and being given sudden news was draining to him and it was giving him a headache

Victoria placed a hand on his other shoulder, stepping forward, "It'll be fun, Nick." she grinned, as if her calming voice would knock him out of distress. Though her 'calming' voice didn't get much of a reaction since Nicolas kept his brows furrowed, and still no words came out of his mouth.

"Son," Joseph chatted again, dropping his hand from Nick's shoulder. Nicolas didn't stare at his father, keeping his gaze on the floor. His heart pounded against his chest, his body slowly going numb. An ill sensation crept behind his throat as if wanting to throw up; a sickness crawled inside his body, not knowing what to do. Hearing the voices of his father and Victoria put pressure on his chest as if forcing him to stop breathing.

"Mr. Anderson," the soft-toned voice spoke from behind him.

That voice of sincerity and peace. Home. It brought Nicolas back to reality, blinking a few times and turned around as if the voice of his assistant dragged his attention away from the two most important people in the room.

Victoria saw this, dropping her hand from Nick's shoulder. She saw how easily Seven was able to get a reaction from Nick. Even so, she saw how much stress Nicolas was in and it was like the assistant took it away from the sound of his voice.

Joseph and Victoria turned their attention to Serene who walked closer to them, "Are you going to tell the chairman about what's going on Tuesday?"

Seven didn't want to intrude. He really didn't. Though, remembering how much stress the chairman put Nick in, he couldn't stand there and watch his boss have a silent attack. Seven remembered how Nicolas mentioned that his father convinced him into blaming himself about his mother's death and immediately that sent a warning to Seven - a warning that Joseph was not the best father that he believed he was. Seeing Nicolas standing quiet and still with no movement, he didn't want him to start panicking and Seven got the idea that Nicolas needed a way out of the situation.

"Father," Nicolas mumbled, "Seve- Uh, my assistant has convinced WebBaze to meet on Tuesday."

Joseph smiled, nodding at his son, "Good job, Nicolas." He turned to Victoria who kept her light blue eyes on the assistant, "WebBaze is a very well known company and my son has successfully set up a meeting with them!" Joseph gloated, crossing his arms with a proud smile on his face.

Victoria nodded lightly before turning her attention back to the chairman, giggling, "Oh? How amazing!" She grinned at Nick who shook his head, "Wait, no-"

"Right now, you need to focus on the vacation, my boy! After all, I'm sure all that hard work of convincing our favorite company was a big stress on you. Ha! I think it'd be a good idea to send you two off to a nice hotel near a beach, right? Release some of that stress!" the chairman stated, a stupid smile on his face.

Nicolas felt ill. A lump grew in his throat, narrowing his eyes at the way his father spoke words that made Nick's body tremble. Even so, the fact that he was taking the credit about WebBaze sent tension through his skin, his head pounding as the world around him starting spinning. He took a glimpse at Victoria who kept a smile on her face.

Seven wasn't bothered by the lack of credit, but he was bothered at how much pressure the chairman was putting on his son. The way Joseph was speaking such words without acknowledging the fact that Nicolas was not in the right mindset for the conversation made his blood boil, putting his hands into a fist. He furrowed his brows, crossing his arms, grabbing Victoria's attention. The assistant gazed at her, nodding his head to Joseph, and tapping his index finger casually to his pale lips, signaling her to shut the chairman up.

The woman nodded, stepping in front of the chairman, her back to Nicolas, "Uh- sir, maybe I should give him the details of the vacation. It'd be better if it came from the future wife, no?"

Joseph stopped talking, keeping his gaze on Nick whose shoulders tensed. He sighed and nodded, "Very well. Your father and I expect you two to leave by tomorrow morning."

Victoria nodded, "Yes, sir!"

The chairman smiled at her, then his eyes darted to Nick, his smile fading as he turned towards the door and walked out, leaving the three in their anxious state. Victoria sighed, spinning back around to face Nicolas. The CEO brought his hands to his face, rubbing the anxiety off, groaning, "Tomorrow morning?" he asked again.

Victoria nodded at him, "We don't have to get into the details right now. We can reschedule later today." She placed her hand on Nick's cheek, giving him a pitiful smile, "You seem like you haven't slept for days."

Nicolas grabbed her thin hand once more, pulling it off of his face, "I'd like to reschedule. Thank you again, for uh, informing me."

Victoria grinned sadly, leaning in to kiss Nicolas' cheek, "I'll message you the details." She turned around, eyeing Seven who kept his arms crossed, staring at Victoria, not even smiling at her. She grabbed her purse from the floor and walked out of the room.

The office door closed, and Nicolas groaned again, his hands rubbing his face harshly, "Aahhh!" he shouted. Seven snickered at the reaction, tilting his head, "That was... yet another surprise visit from your future wife."

Nicolas turned to his assistant, walking towards him slowly with a frustrated look on his face. Seven raised a brow, dropping his crossed arms, not knowing what to expect from the CEO that marched towards him.

"Nicolas, what are you-"

Before Seven could finish, the taller male wrapped his arms around Serene, digging his face into his cold, slender neck. Seven felt the butterflies flowing back into his stomach, feeling the warm embrace once more, "Uh- Mr. Anderson, what are you-"

"I'm sorry," he murmured. Seven raised his hands, wrapping them carefully around Nick's back, "For what?"

"For taking the credit. For going through with this-" he let out a sigh and dug his face deeper into the assistant's neck, making Serene tense up from the warmth, " - I can't back out of this." he finished. He pulled away from the hug, looking sadly at Serene.

Though it did pain the assistant that Nicolas admitted to not being able to back out of the marriage, he couldn't help but feel a bit angry at the fact that Nick didn't even want to try.

"If it bothers you so much, why don't you tell him?" Seven asked, his voice shaky.

Nicolas tilted his head, stepping away from Seven, "I told you," he responded, "I don't want to disappoint him anymore."

Seven frowned again, seeing Nicolas turn his back to him as he walked toward his desk. He bit the inside of his cheek, wanting to say something else, but not wanting to speak out of turn. The assistant sighed and turned to the leather couch.