Chapter 4

Four years ago

Tate

My answer is honest. It’s a reflection of Nigel’s thoughts about me. He always tells me, he always tells me how beautiful I am. Never misses an opportunity to say it to me and everytime, he has wonder in his eyes when he says it . He smiles at my cocky tone then lays on the other side of the bed while I lay on his chest and trace his eyebrows.

“How was college?”, I ask

“It’s good. I wish I could be doing something else with my time though”

That earns a chuckle from me

“What? You don’t think the education is worth it?”

He bites his lip in response. “No, I just wish you were there with me”

My breath catches in my throat and I stare like an idiot at him. It’s him who chuckles this time.

“Anyways, I’d be done very soon. Just a few more months. I’d round everything up as soon as possible so I won’t have to spend any more time than needed there. God knows I’ve spent too many years there already”

I laugh. Nigel is five years older than me. I recently turned 19 and he’s 24. He’s on his way to becoming a lawyer and here I am, wondering if going to college is worth it. I want to be a nurse but I don’t know if the funds for that can be scraped out.

“How long till you go back?”. He laughs

“What? Already tired of me”, he asks cockily

“No, of course not. I just want to know how long I have to catch up with you before you leave again but I’m happy you’re back though”, I tell him sincerely. He stares at me for a few seconds

“Yeah, we can catch up later”, he says breathily then leans up and kisses me. We kiss for minutes more before he’s tugging off my shirt. Unbuttoning it is a hassle but he manages it just fine. When I shrug it off my shoulder, he unclasps my bra in a second flat and flips me over so I’m lying on my back and he’s above me. He pulls my jeans and snickers off. Shrugging off his own shirt, he leans down and continues kissing me. A myriad of emotions and sensations are coursing through me but it all stills when I feel him between my legs. I don’t know when he took my panties off. I don’t even know when he took his jeans off but I really couldn’t care less.

“I love you Tate”, he says, driving into me

<<<>>>>

Present

Noah

“He said insurgencies”, Benson interrupts the head of marketing while laughing. I don’t see what’s funny and everybody else feels the same way because they stop to look at him as well, probably wondering what knot he’s lost again.

Dad isn’t in the best condition at the moment and looking at Bensons face, I kinda regret my decision to sit in for him at this meeting .

Most of the board members are dads old friends, the people he built his empire with, while others were additions along the line who’ve also contributed to the growth of the company .I’ve never really liked some of the new board members but this Benson guy is a straight out idiot. The only thing that keeps him in the company is his abilities. The board members know it, dad knows it, I know it so we can’t fire him when he’s being his asshole self.

Benson stops laughing once he realizes that he’s gained everyone’s attention. He clears his throat and takes a sip of his water. The marketing guy goes back to the projector to continue explaining his reports for the month. Half an hour later, I leave after the meeting ends and I’ve managed to sort out most things. I need to be at the hospital by evening but I’d drop by my apartment first.

Somehow , I change my mind and end up going to Dotty’s instead. A restaurant close to my street. I’m hungry and could use some food.

Dotty’s not a five star restaurant. It’s just pretty decent and I prefer eating here than any other five star restaurant.

The owner of the restaurant sees me the moment I walk in and waves me over.

“Hello Dorothy”, I greet curtly

“Oh hi sugar. How’re you doing. It’s been a minute”, she says everything with a wide smile on her face. Dorothy has always been an erratic person and as much as I prefer quiet people, Dorothy has a charm to her persona.

“Yeah. Been a bit busy”

“So, what would you like to order?”. Her tone is suggestive and I almost crack a smile. Dorothy is middle aged, late forties if I’m not mistaken and flirts a lot with me but I’ve learnt that she doesn’t actually mean any of it.

“The usual”

“Coming right up. You taking it home sweetie?”

“Yeah, I have some things to finish up”

“Oh okay”. She turns to the window behind her to communicate with the kitchen staff then turns back to me.

“What’s up with you?”. She always asks this question even when she never actually gets an answer from me.

“Oh, we’re back on with late deliveries. Got a replacement for poor Jonah . Just telling you since you used to order dinner. We could whip you up something tonight as well”. I’m not good at cooking anything so I used to rely on Dorothy’s restaurant to provide my meals and truly, since their temporary issue with their delivery man last week, I’ve been getting my meals delivered from a less appealing restaurant or skipping dinner altogether.

“I’m glad you sorted out your delivery issue Dorothy, I was getting tired of missing dinner”

“Anytime sweetie”. I leave the restaurant to go home, eat and get lost in work. Somehow, I lose track of time and end up skipping dinner again.