Penelope tried calling Nelissa the entire morning. Yet, Nelissa didn't pick them up; she was overwhelmed with work, especially the project involving the Hales Group.
When Nelissa was almost done with the day, Penelope called again. Nelissa finally picked up the call this time.
As soon as the phone got through, Penelope apologized repeatedly on the phone. She knew that Penelope just wanted to help.
Nelissa couldn't bring herself to blame Penelope. After all, Penelope didn't know about the actual reason for her breakup. In fact, Nelissa's relationship with Zayden was very complicated.
"Penelope, don't worry. I'm not mad. I'm just very busy at the moment. Let's have dinner again some time."
Nelissa hung up the phone right after that. It wasn't hard forgiving Penelope for what she had done. After all, Penelope had been a good friend to her back in high school.
But Nelissa had a lot on her plate at the moment. Everyday was a constant battle for her to put food on the table for the twins. After work, all she wanted was to relax at home with the twins and Jolene. So all of Penelope's invitations in the following days were declined.
After closing a sale, Nelissa was assigned another task by Marcel straightaway. Marcel was going to meet a client and he wanted Nelissa to join them. Nelissa couldn't possibly refuse an order from her boss.
Nelissa then got herself together and went off with the team. Before she left, she sent a message to Jolene reminding her to fetch the twins from school.
They were supposed to meet the client at a nearby hotel for dinner. Marcel ordered a lot of dishes while they waited for the client. Time ticked by and the client was nowhere to be seen.
Nelissa decided to get herself some fresh air. She left the lounge and strolled along the corridors. She disliked places and occasions as such; it felt suffocating.
She leaned against the wall and massaged her calves. Wearing high heels for ten hours straight definitely took a toll on her legs.
Right then, she heard someone call her name. She turned around and saw a smiling man.
"Hey, you remember me? It's Joshua."
Joshua was one of Edward's wealthy friends. Nelissa shook his hand before Joshua pointed at another lounge.
"Master Hales and the others are having dinner in that private lounge, care to join us?"
Nelissa instantly declined, "I'm sorry I can't. I am waiting for someone else in that other lounge."
Joshua let out a sigh. "Oh, it's alright then. I'll just ask Master Hales to come meet you at your lounge later."
Nelissa knew that these rich brats would never take no for an answer; their arrogance would never allow them so. However, she couldn't risk having Marcel meet Edward too.
It would be a disaster!
She had no choice but to follow Joshua to their lounge. She was going to just have a few bites and leave as soon as possible.
There were a lot of people inside the lounge; she could recognize almost everybody, except a curvaceous woman who was dancing beside a pole.
Joshua immediately introduced her to everyone, "Master Hales, look who's here!"
Everyone looked at Joshua when he spoke. Nelissa greeted them with her forever polite smile.
From the corner of her eyes, she could sense Edward's intense gaze although she didn't look in his direction. At that instant, she swore she could literally hear her own heartbeat and her nervous breaths.
There was no one sitting beside him. With his luxuriant hair coiffed to perfection, Edward, as dashing as ever, wore ritzy clothes this very night. His androgynous scent blended with his perfume permeated every corner of the room.
Nelissa reckoned that she'd better say something to Edward to cover up her heartbeat. Hence, she said, "Mr. Hales, what a coincidence."
He offered her a glass of transparent liquid.
"Try this," he said, his voice as low as the summer music of a brook.
Nelissa didn't know what it was, but she had decided to take a sip. She was going to leave right after that.
To her dismay, it tasted horrid. The aftertaste was weird. She struggled to swallow it and looked at Edward. Her face began to turn scarlet as anger began to smolder inside her.
Penelope came back from the restroom and saw Nelissa. Almost instantly, she called out excitedly, "Nelly!"
Nelissa was so relieved to see Penelope.
"Are you still mad about last time?" Penelope asked.
"Let's talk outside," Nelissa replied.
"When both of you went missing, I tried to look for the both of you and gave up after some time. One day, I stumbled upon Zayden at a banquet my father joined. That was when I knew that he had been searching for you this whole time."
Penelope paused for a while, seemingly waiting for a reply from Nelissa. The latter, however, remained silent.
Penelope continued, "Nelissa, I know it isn't easy being a single mother with two kids. I talked to him and he didn't deny that the kids were his. He must really want you back. Why don't you give him a chance?"
Nelissa frowned; her head was spinning. Never did she expect that Zayden would do something like that. He was bearing the responsibility for someone else's actions. It was so unlike him! Or was he pulling some tricks again?
While Nelissa was deep in her own thoughts, Penelope on the other hand continued to blabber on beside her.
Nelissa was still feeling unwell from that glass of liquid earlier. She didn't want to explain anything to Penelope, for it would not change her life in any way.
"Penelope, it's fine. Nothing is ever going to happen between Zayden and me. Not again."
She patted Penelope on the shoulder and went back to the lounge. Marcel and the others shouldn't be kept waiting.
Nelissa continued mingling with the client and her colleagues before they called it a day. They saw the client off before Marcel offered to take her home.
She politely declined, for she knew that it wasn't appropriate for her to be seen with her boss so late at night. It would bring her unnecessary rumors and gossip.
Hence, she had to protect herself from the men around her-for herself and for the twins.
Nelissa sent Marcel off and sat down on the couch in the hotel lobby. She was considering spending the night here.
It wasn't the first time either. She had done this before. She could just ask Jolene to bring her a fresh change of clothes the next day before going to work.
She almost dozed off when someone called out her name. It was Penelope.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you heading home?"
Penelope and her friends had just finished their meal and were heading home. Someone in her group offered to send Nelissa home.
She then said, "Thank you but I'll be spending the night here today."
Penelope shrugged and said, "You look unwell. Let me get you a room."
Nelissa nodded. That glass of weird liquid combined with the sheer amount of food she consumed was making her nauseous.
Penelope helped Nelissa with her check-in and passed a key card to her. She then asked Nelissa, "Will you be able to make it to your room by yourself?"
Nelissa nodded and stumbled her way to the elevator…
"Miss, here is your second key card," the receptionist said.
Penelope actually booked a double room!
She took the keycard and made a call.
"Hey Zayden, it's me..."
...
Nelissa curled at the corner of the elevator and struggled to read the numbers on the key card. She really shouldn't have consumed that much food earlier.
Especially that glass of weird liquid; it felt horrible.
The elevator stopped at the tenth floor.
She staggered, swaying a little along the corridor while helping herself up against the walls. She reached room number 1009 and she extended all her might to swipe the keycard at the doorknob.
She tried twice but to no avail; the door wouldn't budge.
She couldn't take it anymore; she was going to pass out…
All of a sudden, someone scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the room.
Nelissa felt the man pressing against her. He was heavy and large, his hand roaming through every inch of her skin, making her gasp in pleasure. The man, instead, let out a growling moan.
She closed her eyes and allowed the surrounding darkness to engulf her. Before she knew it, she was already on the ground.
She got up in a daze. She thought she must be hallucinating. She was still perplexed from what she had experienced earlier.
She reached to the side to pour herself a glass of water to drink. To her surprise, there was really a man in the room!
Edward sat at the side with a cigar in his hands. He pushed the cigar against the ashtray to extinguish it and stood up.
The number of cigar butts in the ashtray indicated that he had smoked a lot that night.
His every movement emanated charm and seduction, even the way he exhaled the smokes in the air made her heart flutter.
With a tiger-like tread, he marched to the side of the bed and placed his hands on Nelissa's chin. His eyes bore into Nelissa as he asked, "Do you know who I am?"
His words, thick with temptation struck her body, like a mallet battering against metal iron. Energy seeped away from her system as she allowed his manly voice to carry her away.
It took her much strength to muster up her remaining willpower to push him away weakly.
"Yes, I do. You're Edward Hales," Nelissa answered softly.