“Well, as always, it was so nice to see you, Johnny. Nico.” Vera took my hand and we continued our walk down the street.
When we were out of ear shot I stopped us, ready to turn down the street to our car. “I’m so sorry I made you come out in public, honey. I think you’ve suffered enough. Let’s get you changed into your comfortable clothes.”
“It’s okay. I’ll get shit for it on Monday and they’ll have to work extra late and miss Monday Night Football.”
“Won’t that mean you have to miss it too?”
She smiled.” I don’t have to work late. That’s the wonderful thing about being the boss and having a team. I make them do the dirty work. But if you’re trying to get me out of my clothes, all you had to do was say so.” She winked and kissed me, making me forget about where we were or what we were talking about.
After we got home and I helped her out of her dress, I spent the next hour apologizing and she spent an hour teasing me until I couldn’t take it anymore and she gave in, making me come so hard I had stars dancing across my vision.
We got cleaned up and I offered to bake her something while I had to pack. I was going out of town for the next few days for work, and had some last minute packing to do, but I was feeling anxious so I needed to bake something. Vera was supposed to be keeping me company, but she was more of a distraction. Not that I was complaining.
I’d banished her to the patio with a beer so she could relax and watch the sunset while I finished up the peanut butter blossom cookies I was making. I had just put the chocolate kisseson and they were back in the oven for a few more minutes before they were done and ready to cool down.
I made sure all my chargers were packed away in my bag. I’d been charging everything that I’d need all day while we were out. I also made sure to put my medication and vitamins in my bag. I had anxiety when flying and high blood pressure so I made sure those were set out for the morning so I didn’t forget to take them.
Finally, the cookies were cooled down enough and I brought a plate out to
Vera who was sitting on the patio couch looking at the sunset. “It’s gorgeous isn’t it?” I asked.
I sat down next to her and handed a cookie over. “Thank you. Yes, it is. It never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many times I see it. It’s so peaceful.”
I smiled and snuggled close to her. She wrapped her arm around me and kissed the top of my head. “Why are you anxious, baby?”
She knew me too well. I sighed. “I’m always nervous when flying. And as independent as I am, I’m going to miss seeing you or talking to you everyday. I mean I know it’s only for literally a couple of days, but still. You’ve grown on me, okay?”
She smiled. “I know, but everything will be okay. You’ll go do your boss girl things and come home to me. It’ll be done before you know it.”
I wanted to comment on what she’d said. Coming home toher. I didn’t want to overthink things, and honestly, I wasn’t ready for that conversation yet, so I didn’t say anything about it. “I hope so. I’m just glad you’ll be here when I get back.”
She took my chin and tilted it so I was looking at her. “I’ll always be here. Béseme, Princesa.” And that’s exactly what I did.
Chapter Forty
VERA
“Yo, V. After work, you wanna grab a beer?” Nico yelled from where he was working on the carpet in the corner of the room.
We were almost finished with the project on the same floor as Cara’s office. We only had probably about a few weeks left until everything was completed. I’d miss walking by Cara’s office everyday, or stopping in to makeout. Sometimes more if no one else was around.
I smiled and nodded. “Hell yeah. That sounds great.”
I was headed to Cara’s office to say goodbye when he stopped me. She was leaving for two days and I was going to miss the hell out of her.
I’d just started walking away again when I heard some yelling, followed by a loud thud. I turned around to see Nico underneath a steel beam. “Shit! Nico!” I ran over to him, panicked.
When I got to him, he was laying on the ground, eyes closed. Shit. I checked his heart rate and blew out a relieved breath that he was still breathing.
“Joe! Call 9-1-1, Now!”
Fuck! I tried to talk to him, tried to get him to wake up, and nothing. I checked his pulse. Thankfully, he was still breathing. “¡Mierda!” I whispered.
I felt helpless. All I could do was sit there and wait for the ambulance to come. This was all my fault. I should’ve been more careful and made sure everything was safe and secure. I shouldn’t have left the job site until everyone was gone like Inormally did. I was eager to see Cara before she left, and I’d really fucked up.
After what felt like an hour, the ambulance showed up to take Nico to the hospital. He was barely coming to when they arrived and he’d asked what happened.
“You’ve got a shitty boss. That’s what happened. I’m so sorry, man.”
