9. Amore Moi, my undoing

Oliver

I slammed my chest repeatedly, trying to kickstart my lungs to function properly. I felt his large hands caress my back and rub gentle circles along my spine. It felt…calming which was strange because I barely knew him.

I heaved, letting air swish down my throat, quickly swatting my eyes in Benjamin’s direction. He seemed to be immersed in a conversation with one of the women. For some reason, it made my stomach churn with a feeling I couldn't adequately describe, leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

“Does that line actually work for you?” I quipped.

“You'll be the judge of that, is it working?” He replied softly. I snorted, rolling my eyes in annoyance.

I didn't know why it annoyed me how Benjamin openly flirted with the woman when there was nothing between us. I had just slept with the man once! And I was feeling entitled.

I scoffed, shaking my head in disappointment with myself, interacting with my customers outside work was a rule I had made. But this was inevitable.

“No matter how long you stare, he won't turn your way,” he whispered in my ear, his hot breath fanning the folds of my ear. I jolted in shock at how close he had become without my notice.

“What the hell?” I placed a hand over my hammering heart.

“You're cute when you're scared,” he smirked, leaned forward and ran a hand along the bridge of my nose. My cheeks reddened instantly, burning with this heat. I was dumbfounded but I didn't get a chance to speak before I felt a presence behind me.

“Is he bothering you, Sebastian?” Benjamin spoke, accusatory eyes on me. I tilted away from him, I was the one being bothered!

“No, on the contrary, he is keeping me company,” Sebastian chuckled before he reached down and swooped the can of soda, lapping the spot my mouth had caressed.

“Oh.” I could hear the obvious disappointment in Benjamin's tone like he needed a reason to scold me further. Sebastian swallowed the entire content in one gulp, stood and moved a bit before he stopped.

“See you later, amore mio,” he winked causing me to flush harder. The little transaction didn't go unnoticed by Benjamin.

“Slut,” he muttered under his breath and my body tensed. I grabbed my plate with intensity, denting the fragile edges. What the hell is his problem? Like he hadn't just openly flirted with the woman staring in his direction.

The presenter lightly banged the table, making us convene once more. The rest of the presentation fired on with stolen glances between Sebastian and me, and for some reason, it made me feel…good.

~~~

It had been a long ass day but no matter how swamped I was from work, I made my way toward the hospital to check on my mother.

“How is she?” I asked the doctor casually, peering at my mother through the windows. He coughed and delayed to answer causing me to squint in his direction.

“Can we continue the rest of this conversation in my office?” He pointed in the direction and moved before I acquiesced.

Why would he need me to enter his office before he told me that my mother was fine? My heart started to hurry, from steady fast paces to light jogs as I followed him like a lost sheep.

“Please, have a seat,” he pointed at the seat and pulled his before he sat down.

“I'm comfortable standing.” It was a lie, I wanted to crash to the ground because of how wobbly my knees had become, but I forged ahead.

He sighed again, this time deeper than before, “there's no easy way to say this,” he began and I immediately felt that familiar dryness in my throat.

“Say what?” My breath shuddered.

“Oliver, your mother has a brain tumor and if she needs to survive, we need to perform an emergency surgery on her.”

Everything went mute, the whirring of the large fan blades ahead suddenly dulled into the recesses of my mind, the doctor looked as if he was mouthing words alone. Nothing made sense.

Brain tumour? How? When did it happen? I followed the gesticulating hands as he pushed a piece of paper to me. It looked like figures, I snapped toward him, squinting to read his lips as my heart thumped loudly in my ears.

The cost of the surgery? Was that what he had said? My eyes fluttered toward the paper again: a hundred and fifty thousand US dollars. Blood dribbled down my face, my skin paling as a result.

My eyes burned with intensity as I felt hot tears prickle them, how was I supposed to raise that much money? I didn't even have up to a thousand dollars in my account. My salary went toward Ruby's school expenses, my mother's health, basic supplies and food. I barely had enough to save.

I slowly pushed myself from the chair, staggering a bit. Everything seemed blurry like the world was spinning way too fast. I caught the blur of the doctor's coat as he made his way toward me, holding me firmly.

I stumbled forward, pulling away from his grip, I needed some air. Why did it become too hot? I snatched the buttons from my shirt, ripping my tie apart as I pushed through the people or patients for the exit.

I slumped by the curb, the impact of my crash being the last thing that bothered me at the moment. Where was I going to get that amount of money from? Benjamin? I scoffed. He was so repulsed by my presence that I was sure he would pay to watch me mourn.

My phone in my thigh buzzed, pulling me to the consciousness of the sounds in my environment. Ididn't even remember when I had unplugged it during my morning rush. Suddenly, the blaring car horn was audible, the whining children a few feet away were loud.

I peeled it from my pocket and flicked the screen alive, it was a message from Mark:

A client specifically wants you, Oli, and he is upping his price this time, twenty grand.