Alex walked up the stairs while yawning widely. It was still 11 o'clock at night, but she was already sleepy. Her brother still feels at home in the living room, watching the DVD he bought this afternoon. Cold weather seems to make her sleepy easily.
Sighing, she walked towards her bedroom window which was on the right side of her bed. The window curtains weren't closed yet, and she couldn't sleep like that. She sometimes imagined that if the curtain is open, someone would reveal a form that was far from attractive or worst, a ghost. And it was the last thing a scaredy cat like her wanted on this cold night.
The rain pours heavy again, thought the amount is still within normal limits. At least the roads weren't completely covered by flood proving that it hadn't been raining for too long. She immediately hid under her thick blanket after closing the window curtain. And she almost fell asleep when she heard her cell phone vibrating loudly on the nightstand.
She chuckled when she saw Adrian's photo filled her cellphone screen. "What do you need now? For your information, Mr. Herrera, it's already eleven o'clock at my house, so stop bothering me! If you can't sleep, then let me sleep." she scolded immediately.
"Alex..."
Alex felt her sleepiness immediately evaporate somewhere. She immediately changed her position into a sitting position, and the blanket immediately piled up around her waist. Ignoring her cold arm. "Adrian? Are you okay? What happened?" she blurted out in panic. The man's hoarse voice managed to make him anxious.
"Alex," Adrian groaned on the other line.
"Good grief!" she ruffled her hair in despair. "Where are you?"
"In bed, of course! Where do you think I could go with this headache?" the man grumbled.
She exhaled slowly. Trying not to panic. "Listen to me carefully, okay? Don't get out of bed! Not even one bit, you understand? I'll be right there! Remember, don't go anywhere!"
She quickly cut her best friend's call unilaterally. She then ran to the closet, grabbed any of her jackets and immediately left the room. She descended two steps at once, and arrived at the end of the stairs gasping for air.
"Hey, where are you going?" Ace asked when he saw his younger sibling running across the room wearing her jacket.
"I'm going to the apartment," Alex answered shortly.
She grabbed her car keys, and ran back to the front door. Just as the door behind her closed, she froze in place. The rain was was still pouring heavily, so that the roads began to be covered with floods even though the vehicles could still pass.
"Shit! Can't this damn rain just pour tomorrow?!"
"Hey, little miss! Where are you going?"
She jumped, then turned her body to the source of the sound. "Ace, I'm twenty seven years old. Stop calling me little miss!"
"Okay, Alex," said her brother. "In case you forgot, it's already eleven o'clock, and it's raining heavily! Why are you chasing after Adrian's apartment, huh? Did he bring another girl there?"
"I will kill any girl who dares to set foot in that apartment," Alex muttered with determination. Then she added, "Adrian is sick, I have to see him."
Ace chuckles. "If he was sick, he should have called an ambulance. You're not a doctor, are you?"
"Tell mom and dad, I'm staying at his place."
"Of course, where else do you want to stay, if not at his place?"
Alex glared. "Just shut up, Ace," she snapped. "By the way! I'm leaving!"
*****
"I warned you not to stay up late," Alex muttered as she placed the cold compress on Adrian's forehead. "I also told you to come home early this afternoon."
"Stop nagging," the man protested hoarsely, and soon his dry cough followed.
"At least your fever isn't too high."
As soon as she arrived at Adrian's apartment, she just felt her panic evaporate because she found that the man didn't move at all from his bed. She doesn't know if the guy really obeyed her orders, or maybe because he couldn't move anywhere anymore because of his headache.
After forcing the man to finish a loaf of bread followed by cold medicine, she compresses her best friend's forehead. The man just got the flu. Due to the cold weather, plus his immune system was not that good due to working too hard.
"You'd better not go to work tomorrow," she said as she lifted the cold compress on Adrian's forehead which was starting to dry out. She soaked it again with cold water and put it back on the man's forehead. "I'll call Jennie tomorrow morning."
"I have a lot of paperwork to take care of tomorrow. Besides, I also have an important meeting tomorrow afternoon."
"No, you will only rest tomorrow."
Adrian glared at her. "Do you want to lose our company?!"
"Okay," she said. "Just that one meeting. After that, you have to go home. I'll come with you to the office, and wait for you in front of the meeting room. Got it?"
"Do you think I'm a five-year-old kid just starting kindergarten?!" the man protested loudly. "You..." he didn't continue his words, because he was coughing again.
Alex smirked in satisfaction after giving the man a glass of water. "Just be a sweet kid without throwing a tantrums. Okay?"
Adrian glared at her once again, but didn't say anything. He put his glass on the nightstand beside his bed. Then he turned his back to Alex, like a child who was sulking.
"Good night, Herrera," Alex said while ruffling the man's hair. She smiled a little when Adrian immediately slapped her hand away.
She also threw herself on the soft sofa in front of her best friend's bed, after inserting an action film on the man's DVD player. She turned the volume down to the minimum she could hear, but will not disturb Adrian's sleep.
When the movie started playing, she felt her eyes getting heavy because of sleepiness. But she was trying her best to hold back. Because she can't just sleep. At least for the next few hours. She had to make sure that the man's fever will not get any worse, and that he will not move an inch from the bed.
When the hands of the clock turned six in the morning, she really couldn't hold back her sleep anymore. Several times, she even fell asleep sitting up, only to wake up when her body nearly fell forward. Adrian woke up a few times because of his severe cough, and she had to go back and forth outside the room to get water. She had also stopped watching movies an hour ago, and replaced it with a television channel that showed the morning news and the weather forecast for the day.
"Well, that's good," she mumbled sleepily, hearing that it would be a hot day and there will be a low possibility to rain.
She immediately turned her head when she heard a noise behind her. Her eyes bulged when she saw Adrian trying to get out of bed while his body was still wrapped in the blanket. She heard the man cursed in annoyance in his hoarse voice.
"Where do you think you're going?!" she asked with her hands on her hips.
"Oh my gosh," the man mumbled. "Who's really sick between us? Why is your face so messy and tired?"
Alex glared and looked at the one and a half meter high mirror on her right side. She sighed in exasperation because her face was really scary even for her. Her eyes were droopy, the dark circles under her eyes made things worse, as well as her tousled hair. "Don't insult me," she muttered. "I became like this because I've been looking after you all night."
The man smiled. "Oh, you're right." he leaned forward and stole a kiss from the woman's lips. "Thanks for taking care of me, baby."
Alex looked at Adrian fiercely. "Be thankful that you're still sick right now," she hissed when she saw her best friend was hiding behind the bathroom door, only showing his head. "Because otherwise, I'll hit your head hard with this!" she then raised the remote in her hand high.
Adrian smirked. "That must have been a lot of fun." But the next second, he immediately closed the bathroom door before something he didn't want happened.
"Fuck! Get out of there, now!" Alex snapped out of patience while banging on the man's bathroom door.
*****
Alex was really serious when she said that she would wait for Adrian to finish the meeting. But the man forbade her to wait in front of the room where the meeting was taking place, instead, she come inside the man's office.
She lay down on the soft sofa that Adrian often uses to talk to his managers, or other guests. She almost fell asleep, when she remembered to open her social media accounts to internet portals. Unknowingly, she smiled with satisfaction when she didn't see any photos or articles about her and Adrian's lunch yesterday. Meaning, the two teenagers got really afraid of her threat. At least she could be indifferent to their cursing.
She looked up when the room door suddenly opened. She immediately changed her position to sitting down, and smiled back at Jennie very friendly. She really liked the woman ever since she first stepped foot in this company.
"I thought you needed a cup of hot chocolate," Jennie said as she placed a cup of hot chocolate on the table in front of her.
She smiled. "Thank you, but I honestly need more sleep."
The secretary laughed at her remark. "I was really happy when I finally didn't have to come early this morning, and only came for this meeting," Jennie admitted. "His face is really pale, and he looks exhausted. I was desperate to get him to take at least two or three days off since his schedule wasn't too tight, and you'd of course know the answer he gave."
"Well, he's really stubborn," Alex sigh. "You can definitely imagine his disapproving face when I forbid him to come to the office today."
"But, has the fever really gone down?" Jennie asked. "You know, it's better for him to take two or three days off to rest, than to spend a week curing his illness."
She nodded. "Before I came here I've confirmed it, although the cough hasn't subsided yet. Maybe I should take him to the doctor after his meeting."
"That's a great idea." the secretary smiled widely then looked at her as if she's hesitating to say what's on her mind. "I was thinking, if you and my boss have a serious relationship, judging by how close you two are, you two are almost like an engaged couple or something."
Alex choked on her drink. "W-what?"
Jennie shrugged her shoulders gracefully. "But, a few months ago, when you publicized your relationship with James Hidalgo, I was quite surprised."
Alex forced herself to smile. "Oh, I see?"
"Maybe it's because our boss never brought other woman to this company, that's why I thought that you two have a serious relationship," said the secretary. "This is just my opinion, but you are more compatible with sir Adrian. Compared to that actor, you seem compatible in every way with our boss. That's why even though it was insensitive of me to say, I was quite happy when your and James Hidalgo's relationship ended."
She scratched her neck. Not sure what to comment. Until finally when she was about to open her mouth to ask about another woman that her best friend never brought to the company, the door to the room opened again.
Adrian sighed disappointed as soon as he saw Alex. "I really thought that you would sleep in my room."
Alex frowned disapprovingly. "Is your meeting over?"
The man nodded. He was surprised to find his secretary in his room sitting next to Alex. "Wow, Jennie." He looked at his secretary and best friend in turn, grinning. "I suspect that you two are talking about me."
Alex snorted loudly. "Please, you are not that interesting to talk about," she said curtly, and took a sip of her hot chocolate.
Jennie suddenly got up from her seat when her boss decided to sit next to Alex and took the cup of chocolate drink from the woman's hand and drink it, making Alex glared at the man. They both look really cute. "I'm sorry, sir, Miss Sullivan..."
"Miss Sullivan, you say?" Alex asked, not liking what she heard.
Jennie chuckled. "Right now I'm back to being Mr. Hidalgo's secretary."
Adrian chuckled. "Whatever you say, Jennie."
The secretary gave a short bow, and left the room.
"Are you really in a meeting? Why didn't your secretary come with you?" Alex asked.
The man took another sip of the hot chocolate drink and smiled in satisfaction at the taste. "It was not really a formal meeting. Just signing a contract."
"Isn't that something other people can do?" Alex murmured.
Adrian shrugged nonchalantly. "Let us go home!" he asked as he stood up.
"Let's go to the doctor first, then go home."
"I've recovered, why else should I go to the doctor?" And a second later the man coughed again.
"It's a sign that we should go now!" Alex chuckles happily. "I'd better take you to the doctor, before you spread the virus to me."
"Yeah, whatever! Just do what you want, annoying miss!"
That made her smiled even more with satisfaction, and immediately grabbed the man's arm tightly. "With pleasure, mister pervert!"
Adrian glared as she opened the door. "I'm not a pervert! I'm a normal guy, you know?"
Jennie's smile immediately greeted them as soon as they left Adrian's room.
She ignored the man's words, and smiled back at the secretary.
Adrian jerked his hand from her grip, and she automatically looked at him. "Don't glare at me,"
"What else now?" she asked while crossing her arms. They were even still in front of the man's room, and Jennie looked at the two of them with interest. Gosh, from which side did the woman see that she looked compatible with her boss?
"I'm not a pervert!"
"So that's all you wanted to say?" Alex asked in disbelief. "Everyone knows that you're a pervert!"
Adrian shook his head disapprovingly. "You should be grateful because I only kissed you. Isn't that right, Jennie?" Adrian looked at his secretary for support.
The woman looked at the two with a shocked expression, but she nodded anyway.
Alex covered her face with one hand. Does the man need to say it in front of her secretary? Where should she hide her face? "I want to go home," she hissed in embarrassment, and immediately galloped away from her best friend.
Adrian was fast enough to catch up to her. He grabbed her right hand, and pulled it tightly until she was in his arms. He smiled when he saw her blushed. "Aren't you going to take me to the doctor, Mrs. Herrera?"
*****