26. missed collision

Snapped out of a dreadful nightmare she didn't even want to think about, Paige shot straight up in bed, to find she was in bed. She'd slept walked again. She found this realization a little disconcerting as she’d never slept walked before in her life, so why did she suddenly now seemed to be doing so. Then brushing off the thoughts as a mystery never to be solved, Paige grabbed a change of clothes from the dresser and went into the bathroom.

Walking out of the bathroom a little while later she realized it was around six in the morning, three hours before she was due to be at work. Aware Noah normally didn't rouse from bed until around seven, leaving her nearly an hour before she needed to prepare them breakfast. With this thought in the forefront of her mind, grabbing her sketchpad and some pencils, she went to the veranda, drawing sketches. Paige had taken his statements to heart when Noah told her to decorate the patio however she wished, having every intention to following suit.

“Your drawing skills are good,” his deep timbre spoke from behind her, as Noah walked out on the veranda upon seeing her at the table outside.

Dragged out of her private thoughts at the reality she was no longer alone, she whipped around to see him sauntering outside. “You scared the life out of me.”

Noah could see he really had scared her, her eyes had grown wide, her face ashen and hand clutched her chest as if to steady her heart. Hold on, was that fear in her eyes? Was she afraid.....of him? On second thought he shook those thoughts out of his mind, she couldn't possibly be afraid of him, else she wouldn't feel so comfortable snuggling into him or kissing him. He softened his features, incase he was wrong. “I'm sorry.”

A crimson blush creeping across her face, Paige tried to hide her moment of fear behind embarrassment, least he discover the truth. “No need to feel sorry, just sometimes when I get lost in my thoughts I kinda zone out.”

He nodded towards the drawing. “That's really good. How come you never became a painter?”

Paige put aside her drawing. “There was a time when I thought about being an artist, I'd even gotten a scholarship to an excellent art school, but I dropped out to help my mom.”

Noah sat in a chair across from her. “Just because you didn't finish art school doesn't mean you can't be an artist. It'd be a real shame to waste all that talent.”

Paige considered her drawing. '“My talents aren't a complete waste, I have a small jewelry and handicraft line I sell out of a shop in town, I even opened a small online store.”

Noah secretly grinned as he received that information from her, having hoped she’d finally admit the truth to him, but hadn't wanted to ask. That would've proven his investigation against her. “How's that going?”

“Pretty good actually,” Paige found herself admitting the truth to him, for some inane reason she wanted him to know, as if his opinion of her mattered. She reasoned that he was her husband now and nanas treasured grandson, that's why she told him the truth about it. “My friend Amber keeps trying to get me to expand my line, says it could be a successful all on its own and I should open up a store.”

“Is she right?”

She shrugs. “Who knows. It doesn't do too bad and provides me everything I need to survive, but eventually people are going to buy everything I have. So I'm attempting to add different pieces to give people something new.”

He tipped his head towards the drawing. “Why don't you do some sketches and paintings.”

She became uncertain then. “Who would want to buy them?”

Noah caught her gaze. “I know quite a bit of people that would be amazed at your talent & love to buy one. I'll even hang one up in my office.” Noah gave a smug smile at the thought of his nana and cousin who had one of her figurines up in his office, knowing he'd be the first to have one. Served them right.

“Okay,” she admitted after a moment of insecurity. “I'll draw you something. Any suggestions?”

He mused. “Think of your last happy moment, make it something enchanting. Magical.”

“Deal.”

Pleased that their conversation had the outcome he was hoping for, Noah straightened up to his feet. “We might have to go out for breakfast, there isn't much here.”

Jumping to her feet at this realization, she took her sketchpad inside. “There's a diner near the market, it's nothing fancy but the food is good.”

Together the two of them climbed into his National MPV where they drove to the diner she mentioned, that was nothing more than a hole in the wall. Noah instantly felt out of his element as he only ever enjoyed the establishments of richer cuisine, but knew it couldn't be helped this time. He's the one that’d chosen the route of the normal everyday joe to test the character of his wife, now he had to deal with the repercussions.

Sitting down in a booth table that was the farthest away from everyone inside, he tentatively tested the coffee that’d been poured for him. “Umm, not bad. Actually pretty good.”

Paige smiled. “Papa Joe brews it fresh from ground beans.”

“Papa Joe?” Wasn't she adopted, he thought.

She waved towards the middle aged man in the back. “He's not actually related to me or anything like that, that's just what people call him. My mom and I used to come here all the time when I was younger.”

His gaze zeroed in on her. “You don’t talk much about your family.”

Leaning back for the waitress to set down the plate of steaming hot food, taking a bite of eggs Paige looked at him. “Honestly there isn't really much to say. I don't have much family. Most of my life it was just me and mom.”

“No grandparents, uncles?,” he mused.

Her brows furrowing, her face clenched so tight it was hard to miss her anger. “There is other blood relations, but that doesn't make them family. My mom's parents were killed in a car crash when she'd been younger. Her grandparents and uncles were very mean spirited, old fashioned they weren't pleased she was a girl and had handed her over to the government.”

Then just as suddenly the anger was gone and the smile returned in full force. “Let's not talk about them. The fact remains is mom is my family. She married about ten years ago, my step-father Eric isn't necessarily the best man in the world, but they have twin sons so I guess he's family.”

Watching her down the eggs Noah watched her curiously, wondering what there was about her past she was concealing from him. It was plainly obvious to him she’d become a master of concealing the truth about the depths of her relationship with her step-father. The way her eyes creased at the corners, the hallows of her face deepened and the smile came out a bit forced, it was obvious things with her step-father weren't the best. Was he the reason for the fear in her eyes? Had he hurt her?

Noah growled inwardly at the thought the man could've somehow hurt her in the past, forced into a marriage or not she was his wife now. Don't worry Paige, he promised his wife in the silence of his mind, I will never allow anyone to ever hurt you as long as I am around and if I find out your step-father will live to regret it.

They moved onto happier conversation.

Following the finishing of breakfast paying the bill, leaving a rather hefty tip to the staff for their excellent service, he drove back to the house. He glared at the motorbike. “Those things are dangerous.”

Paige burst out laughing. “Their not as bad as you think, it's always been reliable.”

Noah became stubborn in that moment. “You need a car, before too long winter will hit. We'll go out Saturday.”

Shaking her head laughingly at his determination to get a vehicle she lumbered out of the car and moved towards the motorbike. “Will you be home for dinner?”

“I don't think so,” Noah admitted after a pause. “I have a business meeting that might get late.”

“Okay,” she sighed.

Was that dejection in her voice? Nah, he was most likely imaging she was sad at the thought of not being able to share another meal with him, wanting her to miss him.

On the back of her motorbike she pulled out of the driveway and headed out of the gate she wasn't counting on the damned rolls royce again. She was forced to jerk out of the way to keep from crashing.

Oscar hissed at the nearly collision, then smacked Peter on the side of his head. “Watch where the hell you are going man, you almost hit the missus. Mr. Cromwell will not be pleased.”

Peter gulped. “Does he have to know?”

That's of course dependant on James, as head of his security detail he would be the one that would determine what to tell their boss about these events. Fifteen minutes later the Rolls Royce pulled over onto the side of the road, where the national MPV parked directly behind the car. James opened up the door upon seeing his boss alighting from the vehicle, then once he'd gotten in James climbed in right behind him.

Instructing the vision to be closed that would block the driver off from seeing into the back seat, Roth stared at the man. “From now on don't come so near. Paige has seen the car on three separate occasions.”

“Yes, Mr. Roth.”

Sometime had passed since they were driving when James focused on his boss. “There was a slight hiccup this morning you should be aware of.”

He arched a brow. “A hiccup?”

James bobbed his head, praying his boss didn't blow a head gasket when he found out. “When the missus drove through the gates earlier, Peter became distracted and the two of them nearly collided.”

“What?,” he roared.

His head of security took a deep breath to control the racing of his heart. “The missus was quickly able to regain control to avoid the coming car, but I thought you should know.”

Roth's brooding gaze stared straight ahead at the reality of what he’d been told, at the thought his driver had nearly run over his wife. If his gaze could burn a hole through the visor, then Peter would be dead. It didn't seem to matter to him that it’d been an accident or he'd known the woman less than a week, the fact remained she was his wife.

James wasn't surprised at the anger his boss suffered in that moment, as his wife she was a Cromwell and they'd die to protect one of their own. Especially when it came to this particular member of the family, that held family pride and dignity above all the rest. Now he was being informed because of him, whether it was his employee or not they were an extension of him, his wife had nearly been hurt.

“She's okay?,” he growled.

The man tipped his head. “I insured she didn't hurt herself, she was able to collect herself without injury.” Brooding into the silence of the vehicle he thought long and hard on what he’d been told this morning and what would be his decision on the matter. Stepping out of the vehicle when the door opened at their arrival at CromCorp, he waited for James to come stand next to him and security to surround him. He glared at James. “Peter is immediately to be removed from his station as my driver, he's to have two months of pay docked and send him to Winehurst. He can play babysitter to my cousin Korren.”

“For how long?,” James wondered, grimacing at the thought of the punishment that’d been heaped on the man's head, knowing it wouldn't be pleasant.

“Until I say otherwise.” As the rest of them moved towards his office James stepped out of the encircle of men moving towards the car, responsible to inform him of his punishment. The depths of his punishment for his actions assured James the master wasn't as indifferent to his wife as he'd like people to believe. In the very least it proved to him the boss was beginning to warm up to the new missuses, possibly even developing feelings for her. Of course, he didn't dare point that out to Mr. Roth, aware of his unruly temper and had no desire to join Peter in his brand of punishment. He wasn't stupid.