Chapter Thirty-Eight

Owen turned to his side, his hand landing on an empty space in the bed. Half-awake, he started patting the mattress. Wasn’t there a warm body beside him just a while ago?

He slowly opened his eyes only to find Olivia was no longer in bed with him. “Olivia?” he said in a croaky voice. Getting no reply, he got off the bed, stretched his back, and walked to the bathroom. Knocking on the door, he called out Olivia’s name again to check if she was in there taking a shower and didn’t hear him the first time.

After a moment of silence, he opened the door slightly and peeked inside. “She’s gone,” he mumbled, after finding that room empty as well. He scratched the back of his head. Why did she leave without saying anything? he wondered. I thought we sorted everything out last night. Did she regret it?

He glanced at his watch. “Oh shit, the conference. I’m late.” He undressed and got into the shower. So that’s why Olivia left so early, he thought, relieved, while lathering his body. I wish she had stayed a bit longer, though. I would have liked another round with her before work.

His mind filled with images of them making love last night; of her soft skin and the way her curves fit perfectly in his hands; of her sighs and moans as he pleasured her; of his own satisfaction in the throes of passion.

His body coming to life at the thought of touching Olivia soon again, he turned the water to cold to squelch his lust. It wasn’t the right time now to let his mind wander like that. He needed to finish his shower quickly and get back to the conference ground to make arrangements for their return to the city. Not that Martha needed his help to organize everything, but usually there were last-minute clients that wanted a meeting with him before the end of the conference.

A few minutes later, he was out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and searching his suitcase for clothes. His phone buzzed and he walked to the bedside table to see who was looking for him this early in the morning. Touching the screen, he was surprised by the number of notifications of unread messages and missed calls.

Clicking his messages open, he scrolled down the list trying to decide if anything needed immediate attention or if he could deal with these issues once he was back to his office. A message from Steve Thompson caught his eye.

What does he want now? he wondered before reading the message.

“Owen, your secretary told me you’re out of town. I hope it’s not an excuse to avoid meeting me again. You keep cancelling our appointment. If I don’t hear from you early on Monday morning, I swear I’ll drop you. I do value our friendship, but if you can’t meet my contract requirements, I’ll take my business elsewhere.”

“Damn it!” Owen said, frustrated. With his mind at the conference and reconnecting with Olivia, he had completely ignored Steve these days. But this was a partnership he couldn’t afford to lose. He typed a quick reply: “I’m heading back to the city tonight. Come by my office tomorrow and we’ll talk.”

His phone pinged instantly. Steve’s reply was menacing: “You’d better be there this time or else…”

Owen let out a sigh of exasperation. He threw the phone on the bed and continued dressing. I’ll deal with the rest of the messages later, he thought. For now, all he wanted to do was head back to the conference venue quickly to spend some more time with Olivia before they began their trip back.

He sat on the bed to tie his shoelaces and his phone started ringing. He saw that the call was from an unknown number and pressed decline. A moment later, it rang again. He considered letting it ring off while he finished getting ready, but seeing how persistent the caller was, he picked it up.

“Is this Owen Kim?” a female voice said.

“Speaking. Who is this?”

“I’m calling from the hospital. Your grandmother was just brought here.”

“What?” Owen said, shocked. “Is she all right? What happened?”

“Apparently, she had a nasty fall down the stairs. She is getting x-rayed at the moment, but it seems she has hurt her hip.”

“Is there severe damage?” he asked, his tone of voice hinting at how worried he felt.

“That’s all the information I have for now. It would be best if you came here the soonest possible.”

“I’m out of town, but I will head back right away. Please take good care of her.”

Ending the call, he quickly typed a message to Martha: “Grandma had an accident. Heading back now.”

“Is Mrs. Kim all right?” Martha replied instantly.

“Don’t know much yet. Will you be okay on your own?”

“Of course, Mr. Kim. Everything is under control. Please let me know how she’s doing when you have news.”

Owen ran around the room picking his stuff and throwing them messily into his suitcase. Once he was sure he had packed everything, he called his chauffeur.

“Good morning, Mr. Kim.”

“Tom, I must head back to the city immediately. Make sure you drive Olivia back to my grandma’s to pick up her brother.”

“Of course, Mr. Kim. Is everything all right? You sound upset.”

“Granny is at the hospital. Let Olivia know too. Tell her I’ll call her later. Have to go now.”

Owen hung up, picked up his suitcase and headed to the lift. Once the doors pinged open, he walked to the reception area and returned his keycard. His stay at the hotel being prepaid, he wasted no time talking to the receptionist. He stormed out of the hotel and strode to where his car was parked. He quickly maneuvered his way out of the labyrinth of alleyways until he was back on the highway.

Driving as fast as the speed limit of the area would allow, he sent a silent prayer to the heavens that his nana was safe and not in too much pain. “I promise I’ll do whatever she wants me to from now on, just let her be all right, dear God. Please!”