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“One thing at a time,” Mariah counseled.
I took a deep breath. She was right, of course. I couldn’t obsess over the next insult when it hadn’t even happened yet. I would bunk with Nate for the night, and allow Mariah’s organization to help me in the morning.
“If there’s anything else you need…” Mariah said before leaving.
“I can’t ask you for anything else,” I demurred. “You both have given me too much already.”
“Nonsense,” Mariah scoffed, pressing her lips to my forehead. She stood up, every bit the mother in the situation. “We’re billionaires. We can afford to help out a friend.”
I stood up along with her, ready to go back inside. I wasn’t comfortable sitting on the porch by myself. It was some crazy notion that Marcus might be driving by at any moment. Although, with the gate and the guard, that was unlikely.
It was easy to forget that Nate was a billionaire. Obviously, I knew he was CEO of a multinational company. He was accustomed to getting his way even though once I got to know him, I could see he had a soft side. I wondered if he had a yacht, or if he had property in other parts of the world.
Compared with what he likely had, putting me up for a night was negligible. We could just go to work together tomorrow. Not a big deal. I felt better, though I still didn’t want to become a burden. It was all fun and games now, but what if I needed more long-term assistance? I resolved not to accept a penny more than I had to.
Walking back inside, I couldn’t find Nate. I walked from room to room, searching for him, and got a self-guided tour of his home. I didn’t want to go upstairs. Whatever was up there was probably personal. I stuck to the lower level, but even so, it seemed like there were dozens of rooms.
I finally found him all the way in the back, in a room that had been turned into a home gym. There was a treadmill and a rack of weights, but Nate wasn’t focused on either of those things. He was standing in the middle of the space, shirtless, punching a device that looked like the offspring of a robot and a boxing bag.
I didn’t want to disturb him, so I turned away. But he must have heard me in the doorway because he stopped and turned around. “Did my mother leave?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said.
His shoulders relaxed as he reached for his wrist, peeling the gloves off one by one.
“You don’t have to stop,” I insisted.
“I was just letting off steam.”
“I’m sorry for all this drama,” I told him.
“It’s not your fault.”
“I feel like it’s a little bit my fault,” I argued.
He gave me a look, turning my insides to jelly. I knew it wasn’t the right time for affection, but he made it hard to walk away. We went into the living room together, and Nate poured us each a glass of wine. I didn’t want to get drunk, but figured that a single glass was okay.
“I’m sorry I interrupted your day,” I began.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said.
I didn’t know if we should talk about what happened in the office. It hadn’t been very long and our ardor hadn’t cooled at all, judging from the barely contained sexual tension that was zinging through the room. I decided not to bring it up. It was better left undisturbed, bubbling just below the surface. It wasn’t the right time to act on it, but who knew what the next day would bring?
I excused myself after finishing my glass. I wanted to let him get back to whatever it was he was doing. If I couldn’t offer release through sex, then at least I could make myself scarce. I went back to the guest room to grab my toiletries bag.
I really didn’t want to be naked, but I knew I couldn’t inhabit Nate’s space without taking a shower. As a respectful guest, it only made sense to keep myself clean. I could wash away all the anxiety and the stress sweat that I had been sitting in for the past few hours.
Knowing that I was safe, and that Marcus couldn’t touch me, I closed the bathroom door and turned on the faucet. I had my own shampoo and a little bottle of body wash. Taking my clothes off, I stepped into the spray, determined to accomplish my objective as quickly as possible.
I wondered what Nate was doing. Had he gone back to the gym to work out? Did he stay in the living room and turn on the television? Maybe he went upstairs to his own room in order to decompress.
I finished my shower without incident, toweling off and getting dressed. It was still a little early, but I was exhausted and wanted to sleep. My thoughts were scattered; I felt like I was living a nightmare. Maybe if I went to sleep things would be better the next day. I threw in the towel, not even cluing Nate into my plans. It was best all around if I ended the day and tried again in the morning.
I opted to sleep in my clothes instead of pajamas. The time at the homeless shelter taught me that letting down my guard was dangerous. By wearing sweatpants instead of pajama bottoms, I would be prepared for the unexpected.
I paired the sweatpants with a T-shirt and a sweatshirt, everything I needed to roll out of bed and fight off an intruder. Pulling the covers up to my chin, I tried to shut off my brain. The day’s events were playing through my mind, taunting me with echoes of my former life.
I wished that Marcus would just go back where he came from. I was almost over him and then he forced himself back in. I knew he did it deliberately. His flowers were having their desired effect, making me think about him and worry about where he was. He wanted me to know that I wasn’t safe anywhere. He wanted to prove that he could have me again any time he wanted me.
