I took a deep breath and opened Cole's messages first. My stomach was in knots as I started to read them.
C: good morning. How's the conference going, meet any new and interesting people? :)
C: hey. Everything ok? Haven't heard from you since last night. I left like 5 voicemails. Call me back.
C: I'm starting to get worried. Where are you?
C: called your mom. She also hasn't heard from you. Call me Ana!!!
C: what the fuck Ana. Your phone has been on for hours. Are you avoiding me for some reason? Call me
I moved on to the next thread
E: hey babe. Works kinda boring. Mr burnham was in earlier with his daughter looking for you. Wanted me to tell you she's getting discharged today. When are you back home?
E: is everything ok? Cole said he's been trying to call you with no luck. Call when you get this. Or at least text to let us know you're ok.
I stopped reading and turned off my screen. I was so angry I wanted to scream and throw my phone against the wall. Here are the two people I cared about the most pretending they still care about me too. I held back my tears and decided to get dressed instead.
After I washed my face with actual product and brushed my teeth, I felt almost human again. I noticed a few items of makeup placed neatly on the counter and examined them closer. The concealer and powder were my exact match.
I wondered how Marcus would know that.... not creepy at all.
Every other item was something that I already owned or would have bought. Whoever bought these knew my taste in makeup.
I must have been making noise as Marcus left his study and entered the main living area.
"You look better" Marcus stated as he snuck a peek into the room and looked at me approvingly, "was a bit worried back there. Especially when your face turned green".
"Hey, I was told I can pull green off very well" I playfully stuck my tongue out. "Thanks for all the hygiene products"
"Oh, those" he looked a little embarrassed " my assistant Maria went out to get those, hope they were ok"
I nodded my head
"Well, since you're ready And you don't look like you're going to get sick again, let's get some dinner and get you some clothes"
I tried to protest but Marcus shooed me towards my shoes and passed me my coat.
As we walked down to his car I silently wondered how he managed to get me up into the penthouse. It was quite the distance. As if reading my mind Marcus answered "I carried you, and let me tell you, you're a loooooot heavier than you appear" I chuckled and punched him lightly on the shoulder.
Marcus dropped onto the floor howling in Exaggeration. I couldn't help but laugh at his ridiculous display. "Get up before I really give you something to cry about"
"Don't threaten me with a good time" he chuckled.
As we got to Marcus's car he stepped in front of me and opened the passenger door. I offered him a smile and entered the car. As I reached for the seatbelt I swore I saw a flash of red hair hiding behind a concrete pillar. As the car started moving, I turned to get a better look but saw nothing.
This is crazy Ana, you're totally seeing things. I took a deep breath and made a mental note to get to bed earlier tonight. I tried to relax but for some reason the uneasy feeling never went away.
It took us about 20 minutes to get to the restaurant. Marcus wouldn't tell me where we were going and the conversation was close to non existent in the car. I fiddled my fingers nervously and was grateful for the silence. My phone continued to vibrate which I stubbornly refused to acknowledge.
I was still deep in thought when we neared our destination, a row of buildings with small shops and businesses that lined the sidewalk. Marcus parked his vehicle and we exited into the quiet dimly lit street.
I looked over at Marcus and admired how well put together he was. He didn't have to try hard to look good and that was something I was envious of. Guys had it so easy. He simply wore a dark pair of denim jeans with a white shirt loosely tucked in and looked like a model. Suddenly I felt really extremely frumpy in his company. Marcus caught me staring and smirked in my direction "you like what you see?"
He kept his gaze on me and I felt myself getting flush. I tried to move closer to the door and get away from the awkward moment. The last thing I needed was to develop feelings for my boyfriends boss.
I cleared my throat nervously and reached for the door breaking whatever trance he had me under. I needed to keep focused on the task at hand and reminded Myself that I had a whole mess at home that I needed to deal with.
As we walked in we were greeted by what I assumed was the owner. He simply waved us in and we took the booth closest to the window. As he walked over, Marcus stood up and grabbed the man into a warm embrace.
They stood there exchanging pleasantries before the man, who was named Luka, introduced himself.
"Leave it to Marcus to avoid introducing me to a beautiful woman" he reached over and kissed my hand.
"It's because I actually like this one" Marcus swatted away my hand playfully.
"What have I ever done to deserve such treatment" Luka looked at Marcus with puppy dog eyes. He was definitely cute. Tall, dark handsome and screamed trouble.
"Well there was Stacy, amber, samatha..."
"Ok ok, I will leave this one alone" Luka interrupted Marcus's rant. They continued on like this for a bit before Luka went into the back to grab us our meals.
"I preordered. I hope you don't mind" Marcus said.
"No. It's ok" I wasn't picky with food and realized I was extremely hungry. Luka appeared 5 minutes later with a couple plates of pasta, ceaser salad and bread sticks. I dug in like I haven't eaten in days.
My phone began vibrating again when Marcus looked at me expectantly. When I didn't react he quickly swiped my phone and answered it for me.
"Hello, Ana's assistant speaking" I tried grabbing it back but he got up and kept moving away from me.
There was nothing but silence on the other end. I finally grabbed my phone and whispered hello into the speaker. For some reason I felt like I was doing something wrong and breaking some rule.
"Ana" oh, so it's the best friend. I composed myself as best as I could.
"Hi Elise. What's up".
"What do you mean what's up. We've been trying to get a hold of you since last night. Cole is worried. I'm worried. Who was that" she asked.
"Who that was is not important . I'm fine. Maybe when you see Cole you can tell him that for me" I sat back down and waited for an answer.
"Why would I see Cole?" Elise's voice seem to go up a pitch level.
"You've been such a good friend. Always taking care of me and Cole. I just figured since I was away and he was lonely. You'd be a good friend and keep him company. Make things easier for him" I tried to sound as sweet as possible.
There was a moment of silence and what I heard next was completely unexpected.