Chapter 7

Six weeks later…
Rachel blew out a shaky breath as she walked into the reception area of the office building. She had been psyching herself up for weeks before this meeting, still, she wasn’t ready for it but she couldn’t postpone it any longer.

“Hello, how may I help you?” Asked the pretty blond receptionist with a bright smile.

“Uh, hi,” said Rachel, uncertainly. Her heart was pouncing wildly in her chest and her palms were sweaty. “I’m here to see Derek Fraser,” she said, trying to match the receptionist’s dazzling smile.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Um, no, but it’s very important that I see him today.”

“I’m sorry, Miss, but that won’t be possible. You can only see Mr. Fraser if you have an appointment with him. If you give me your name and contact details, I can send them to his personal secretary and she might set up an appointment for you.”

Rachel tried to hide her frustration but she knew it would be impossible to see Derek without getting past this receptionist first. It had taken her so much courage to finally come here and there was no way she was going back home today without seeing Derek first. She had to talk to him now!

“Look, I don’t think I need an appointment to see my, uh, friend…” she quickly looked at the name tag on the receptionist’s blouse to check her name. “…Cheryl. I know I don’t have an appointment, but this was supposed to be a surprise visit.”

Cheryl’s bright smile dimmed a little. “Well, the thing is, Mr. Fraser is very particular about visitors having appointments before seeing him,” she explained.

“Even for personal reasons?”

“Yes.”

“Can’t you just call him at his office and tell him someone is here to see him?”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I cannot even call his secretary if I am not authorized to do so by my superior.”

“Oh, my god…” Rachel groaned. This whole situation was ridiculous. Why all these protocols just to see one person? If his family came to visit, would they have to go through this stress too? Would they have to book appointments to see him?

“You know what? I’ll wait,” she said and turned to go and seat on one of the comfy chairs in the reception area.

“You can just wait there all day,” said Cheryl.

“Why not? Do I need an appointment to seat on the chairs too?”

Cheryl cleared her throat quickly to mask her laughter. “No, Miss, but sometimes, Mr. Fraser doesn’t go through the reception when he leaves the building because he uses other exit points. I know you really want to see him, but I’ll suggest you do it the right way and fix an appointment instead.”

Rachel sat heavily on the couch, unable to hide her disappointment. She was reluctant to book an appointment because she felt that Derek may not want to see her after how they’d parted ways two months ago. He might think she was here to grovel at his feet and beg him to let her come into his life again, even though in reality, she wished the opposite was the case. For the billionth time in weeks, she asked herself how she had managed to get into this kind of mess? She had always taken pride in being the most level-headed person in her group of friends; she was not a risk-taker and was never impulsive, not until that night of her birthday, and now she would have to deal with the consequences of her actions whether she liked it or not.

She stood up and went back to meet Cheryl. “You win,” she said tiredly. “But, I will only give you my name and then you can send that to Mr. Fraser’s secretary.”

“Fair enough,” said Chery with a sympathetic smile.

“My name is Rachel Lane, and I’ll be back tomorrow to see Derek.”

“I know it’s none of my business, but I was wondering…”

“Yeah?”

“Since Mr. Fraser is your friend, shouldn’t you have his phone number?”

Bummer!

“Uh, yeah, I should, but we haven’t seen each other in a long time and I’ve just recently realized that I don’t have his number anymore,” Rachel lied.

“Oh, that explains it,” said Cheryl, scribbling Rachel’s name on her notepad. “Ok then, Miss Lane. I’ll pass this on to Mr. Fraser's secretary right away.”

“Great, thank you for your time,” said Rachel before hurrying out of the building.

*********

Once outside the building, Rachel inhaled deeply, trying to calm her buzzing nerves. She’d almost felt suffocated inside that building even though she hadn’t been able to accomplish her mission. She didn’t know why she felt so uneasy, but every part of her being was just screaming at her to get out of there and go back home. Maybe this had been a terrible idea, after all, maybe she should just take her L and quietly move on with her life. It was better that way than involving Derek.

“Rachel?”

She turned to face the familiar voice and found herself looking into Derek’s mesmerizing blue eyes. Her heart skipped a beat, and although she hated to admit it to herself, she was pleased that he remembered her.

He seemed to have just come out of a white Bentley that was cruising slowly towards the underground garage beneath the office building. He was dressed in a navy suit with a crisp white shirt and cobalt blue tie. His black patent leather shoes glistened in the mid-morning sun.

“Hi,” she said in a small voice that showed just how nervous she was.

“What are you doing here?” Derek asked, amazed.

“I needed to see you. I have something to tell you, it’s kinda important.”

“I thought as much because I would expect that you’d show up at my place instead.”

“Your place is like a fortress. There’s no way your security guys would let me through the gate without approval from you.”

“You’re right,” he said with a friendly smile. “Shall we go to my office then?”

Her eyes darted around nervously as if she was looking for an escape route. Now that she had his attention, she was no longer sure if she had the balls to go through with this meeting. Should she just drop the bombshell and run away, or should she tell him it’s nothing and leave?

“Are you all right?” He asked, noting her nervousness. “Is something wrong?”

She swallowed nervously and shook her head. Why was she acting so weird? All she had to do was break the news to him and leave, right?

“Sure, let’s go to your office,” she said finally. “I’m fine, by the way. Just a little out of sorts.”

He led her back into the building with his hand resting lightly on the small of her back. When Cheryl saw them, she was surprised because she’d thought that Derek had been in his office this whole time.

“Welcome back, sir. I didn’t realize that you’d stepped out of the building,” she said.

“Thanks, Cheryl. Yes, I was out briefly for a quick meeting.”

He quickly ushered Rachel into the elevator as if he was avoiding further questions from the receptionist. He didn’t like small talk, especially with his staff. In the elevator, he took a closer look at Rachel and he squinted.

“You look… different. Have you been ill?” He asked.

“Uh, yeah. Off and on,” she said non-committally. She didn’t want to have this conversation with him in an elevator. The ride to the top seemed to go on and on, and she started to feel nauseous.

“Aren’t we there yet?” She asked in a strangled voice, as she fought internally to keep her meager breakfast down in her stomach where it belonged.

“We’re going to the 16th floor,” Derek informed her. “That’s where my office is located. Are you sure you are ok?”

She nodded, unable to speak because she was afraid that she might throw up. Her skin had gone pale and her eyes were tearing up from the effort it took to keep her mouth shut. Although she wouldn’t say what was wrong with her, Derek could tell that she was not herself and it bothered him. Why would she come to see him at work if she was not well? What did she have to tell him that was so urgent that she couldn't wait until she was feeling better before showing up here? The questions buzzed around inside his head like a swarm of angry bees, but he didn't say anything. There was a puzzle to unravel here but he couldn't quite figure it out yet.
The Billionaire's Unexpected Fatherly Fate: Derek and Rachel's Stormy Saga
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