I wake up to feel a heavy weight on me. I am lying on my stomach and Nathan is lying on me, his arms wrapped around my waist. Why does this keep happening? How did we fell asleep like this?
"Arghh!" I groan and try to get out of his grip but he tightens it and turns us around, now I am lying top of him. I loosen his grip and try to get up. Argh, this is so uncomfortable. No that's a lie, this feels completely comfortable. But I am not ready to admit that to myself. After trying and failing two-three times I shake him.
"Nathan," I finally say, "Leave me. It's me, not your pillow." I am telling you if you ever sleep with him a wall of pillows is very necessary.
"Hmm..." he hums but doesn't move. His grip loosens and I get up. I have to tell him to stop this. We have to stop touching each other. Specially to avoid this heat that is between us. I don't know what he feels when he touches me but my body is always on fire and I hate it.
I stretch my arms and realise we are still in the theatre room so I go across the hall to take a shower and freshen up. I wrap a towel around my body and enter the closet. I dress into a jeans and tank top. When I come out Nathan is back in his room and sleeping on the bed with his legs and hands spread wide. He is so deep in sleep, snoring softly. He works all the time, his phone almost never stops beeping. I grab the bottle of lotion and sit on the couch to apply it.
As I brush my hair and dry them I hear his phone beeping continuously. His eyebrows furrow indicating his sleep is being disturbed. I reach over to the side table and put his phone on a silent mode. I move downstairs to the kitchen to make some breakfast for me, but Mary is already there working on sausages and French toast.
"Good morning, ma'am!" she says with a smile.
"You are here quite early."
"Yeah. I am almost done with breakfast, you wait on the table. I will bring it for you." I thank her and sit at the table surfing through my phone.
"You live here?"
"Yes, there is a quarter at the back of the house. Mr Walsh had it specially made for us." she smiles.
"Who the fuck touched my phone?!" I hear Nathan yelling from upstairs. Oh no, I shut my eyes in regret. Whenever I try to do something nice for him, it blows up in my face.
"Mary! Did you enter my room?!" he shouts.
"No, sir." she answers in a low voice, "I have not started cleaning the rooms yet."
"Then who..." he stops as he sees me. He meets my eyes and I give him an apologetic look.
"You!" he shouts and both Mary and I flinch, "I want you upstairs. Now!" he says trying to keep his voice calm. I dare not to move from my place. "Now!" he yells from the stairs. I get up and follow him upstairs.
"Nathan... I thought..." I try to cover up.
"No! You need stop keep sticking your nose around!" he is genuinely very angry. I look down not saying a word.
"What is it huh, April? What you are trying to pull here? Am I a fool letting easy on you?" he accuses and I look up at him straight in his eyes.
"What the hell do you mean? First of all, I never try to pull anything. And have you laid easy on me? Don't do this, don't do that! Stop being a child! Stop embarrassing me! You are all about the complaints!" I retaliate.
"Yeah, I complain because I have so much pressure on me. I have to control you, it's part of my goddamn job. Do you have any fucking idea what I go through? You sit here laughing away with Venessa when I have to handle this bloody merger just because I got married to you!"
"You think I like this life with you? I am having the time of a lifetime. Do you have any idea how hard it is to handle you?! You are nice one second and annoyed the other. At least you have a life. I don't have a life anymore!"
"What life? Going to the office and handling the tantrums of clients is what you call life? You didn't wanna do your dad's business and your parents respected that! Well, I didn't want to get into business as well, but my dad didn't listen!" He rants out. What? He didn't?
"What?" I say out of confusion, " But you were in the business with your dad before we even met."
"Yeah, it happened before you." He calmed down as well, "That is not the topic of this conversation! What I want doesn't matter anymore, the point is that Robin might have lost a very old client just because you switched off my phone. Now, I will have to deal with his shit!" he sighs and sits on the bed.
"You can always blame it on me, who cares?" I shrug.
"That won't matter. What matters is that we lost a client. "
"No, you haven't." I pick up his phone and toss it to him, "Call him. Tell him exactly what happened. Tell him that you were extremely tired and your wife switched off your phone so that you rest. Tell him that he might your first priority but you are your wife's first priority. That would be enough to woo him." I wink and he chuckles.
"I am your first priority?" he asks rather hesitantly.
"That all depends on my mood. You can come across a time when a plastic bag could be my first priority." he chuckles at my answer, "Now get back to work." I say in a heavy voice. I leave the room to get my breakfast. I decide to have my breakfast downstairs only so that Nathan has space. I think about him all through the breakfast, wondering if he really thinks his choice doesn't matter anymore. That shouldn't happen. He shouldn't think that. Nobody should think that.
After finishing up I move upstairs to the room. Nathan is still on the phone apologizing to the client.
"Yes I know that..." he was saying, "Of course, I know. It's just that she thought I would be free the whole weekend." he said, "Oh no, not at all," he chuckled nervously, "No, we had no plans. I would love to meet you today itself. Uh-huh, that sounds nice...What? No no, that's no problem, I'll bring her along. Okay see you, sir." he hangs up and looks at me. I raise my eyebrows asking him how it went. He gives me a small smile and I reciprocate. See, honesty is the best policy. I walk into the closet to grab my jacket.
"Where are you going?" he asks me as I wear my shoes.
"I have to go to the orphanage."
"Oh, is it necessary?"
"No, not necessary. I volunteer there but it is good to be regular."
"There might be a catch." he scratches the back of his head and I give him a questioning look, "Mr Paige wants to meet you. He invited us for lunch today."
"Nathan no!" I whine.
"I know, I know. Even I don't want you there but what could I do he was so insistent I couldn't refuse. But Grey, this could be your chance to make it up to me for this morning."
"There is absolutely no need for me to 'make it up to you' Walsh. I did what I did so that you could rest." I say and begin to leave for the orphanage.
"April! April!" Nathan grabs my wrist, "Please, I am requesting you. I will make it up to you later I promise." I chuckle and pull my hand out of his grip.
"Fine," I roll my eyes. Nathan thanked me and I informed Ethan that I won't be able to come. Turns out Ethan and Gemma will be there for the whole day today. It's good that I am not going today I don't want to be a third wheel. I did enough third wheeling last year of university for Amy. Dylan had already gone to London by then so Zack and I were the only singles left. Thinking of Dylan reminded me of the voicemail I had gotten from him on my birthday. I didn't even reply to it, how rude of me! As soon as I play the voicemail, Nathan looks at me with an amusing look, "Looks like somebody is missing you. Isn't he a little late for your birthday?"
"Shut up, this is an old message." He chuckles and goes back to whatever he was doing. Two minutes later his head pops up again, "Wait a second, are you missing him too? Aww, am I the reason Romeo and Juliet aren't together?"
"Shut up, Nathan!" I scold him and he laughs. Of course, I miss Dylan. My only serious relationship was with him, I have only known love with him. I wonder would we be in this mess if I had said yes to his proposal for a long distance. We would still be together. I smile at the thought and look at Nathan going through a file. I am not saying he is not a nice person but he is very different from me. His life has completely changed in a very short time and he is still trying to cope with it. I sigh at the thought of how things turned out.
Nathan kept file aside and stretched his arms, yawning. I watch his perfect chest move up and down rhythmically as he breathes. He is pretty perfect-looking, I can see why so many girls are attracted towards him.
"Planning on cheating on your Romeo, Grey?" Nathan looks at me with a raised eyebrow.
"What? Ew, no! You are disgusting." I say and get up. He laughs behind me as I leave the room and move downstairs. I spent my time watching TV, and Nathan informed me that lunch was at 2. I go upstairs at 1:30, Nathan is deciding between two suits. He looks at me and asks me to choose.
"None, why are you dressing up so formally?"
"It's a business meeting."
"No, it is an afternoon lunch where you just happen to talk about business." I move into the closet and search for something to wear. I close the door and change into a peach, floral, knee-length dress and maroon stilettos. I keep my make-up very light and end with a pink lip gloss. I am dressing up after so long, it feels nice. When I come out, Nathan is dressed in blue pants and a white shirt.
"How's this?"
"Umm, wear the jacket and not the tie that would do."
"Since when are you the fashion expert?"
"Since you cared for my opinion." He looks at me for a long time as if evaluating something then dresses up.
"Grey," he calls.
"Yes?"
"Maybe switching my phone off wasn't a bad idea after all. I feel very fresh today."
"Speak for yourself, it blew up in my face. First, you shouted at me and now I have to go through this lunch." I roll my eyes. I see an instant wave of guilt in his eyes. I internally smile, from what I have learnt about him so far it is that he realises his mistakes quickly. "But it's okay," I say to him.
"You shouldn't be involved in the business," He states.
"What do you mean by that? Oh my God, I can't believe that after living with me for almost three months you still think I am a gold digger!" I am so stupid. Why do I believe him so easily?
"What? No...." I cut him off by slamming the door. I move downstairs and calm myself. My cheeks are so hot from the sudden outburst. What is it that I am missing out here? Why is he so confusing? Is he a good person or not? Five minutes later he comes downstairs and I follow him to the car. The car ride is very silent although I do feel his gaze on me a couple of times.
"Uh, we have to look like a married couple in front of them so please behave nicely." He breaks the silence once we reach. I see his hand moving towards mine but I move mine away.
"You will not touch me just to show your affection for me to the world, is that clear?"
"April what you fail to understand is that I don't have genuine feelings for you, so, me just looking at you will not give out the vibe," he says and gets out of the car. He walks to my side and opens the door for me. I sigh and take his hand. He gives me a fake smile and I return it.
"Ah, there they are!" Nathan nods towards the entrance, where an elderly gentleman about fifty is standing with a young man beside him. Nathan pulls me closer as we walk, his hand never leaving my waist.
"Hello Mr Paige, thank you so much for meeting us here. This is my wife April Grey and April this is one of the most important client of our company, Mr George Paige." I shake hands with Mr Paige. My eyes move to the young man while Mr Paige compliments my beauty.
"This is my son, Edward." Nathan and I shake hands with him. Edward greets us with a warm smile.
"You are a lucky man, Nathan." Edward laughs looking at me.
"Yes I am," He replies pulling me into his chest and pecking my cheeks.
"Let's go in, shall we?" I ask everyone.
"Of course, baby." He smiles. Baby? Man, he is a good actor. Mr Paige has already booked a table for us. Nathan and I sit together and Mr Paige and his son right across us. Soon they indulge into business talk leaving me bored. The waiter interrupts them.
"What would you like to have baby?" he reaches for my thighs from under the table and I instantly move my legs away.
"An-anything," I stutter.
"A bottle of your best wine and a lobster for me and the lady." He orders.
"I thought we were acting as a couple." He whispers in my ear in a voice raspier than usual. His hands bring my legs back to their original position.
"They can't see under the table." I say sternly and remove his hand. He reaches for my hand on the table and intertwines our fingers while the men discuss their boring business. My heart is already hammering in my chest. This wasn't a good idea. The way my body demands his touch is almost threatening. Nathan draws circles on my palm till our food arrives. My senses are do heightened right now.
I finish my food faster than usual. I just want to get out this before my body goes out if control. Nathan is a stubborn man, his hand ultimately snaked back to my thighs drawing circles on them.
"Don't move, they'll suspect." he says when I try to move away.
"Well, that was wonderful, Nathan." Mr Paige says as he finishes his desert, "And you two make a delightful couple specially with Nathan having a hard time keeping his hands off you." he laughs along with Edward. I give them a forced smile.
"Maybe you can join me for horse racing?" Edward suggests.
"No- Uh it's fine." I say.
"Of course we will." Harry cuts me off. He increases the pressure on my thigh which feels good, "Never say no to a client, Baby." He smiles against my ear as he calls me baby again.
"Don't call me that!" I whisper snap.
"So our we going?" Edward looks back and forth between us.
"Yes we are." I say and get up from the table, "It was a pleasure meeting you Mr Paige." I tell him sweetly.
"Oh the pleasure is all mine, April." he shakes my hand, "Don't let this one go," he whispers in my ear motioning towards Nathan and leaves the table.
We ride to the horse racing in Edward's limo. Harry had intertwined our fingers when we left the restaurant and refused to leave my hand since then. Why is he being so damn good? I feel so tired.
"We are here!" Edward announces in a while.