Chapter 16

Samantha's POV:

The next day, I walked into work with a huge smile on my face. I blushed thinking about the events of the previous day. Nate was so damn sweet and the way he cared about me even though I pushed him away showed how much I really meant to him. He was perfect and I was willing to give this a try because he made me feel safe and comfortable. I was able to tell him things that I've never told anyone before and it felt nice to open up to him.

"Ms. Perez, can you hear me?" came David's voice, and his hand waving in front of my face brought me back to the present.

"Uhh... I'm sorry, what?" I asked in confusion as I walked towards my office and he kept following me like a lost puppy.

"Ms. Perez, you didn't show up for the meeting yesterday and we just lost our investors. The HR department is pissed off." He rushed out and I stopped walking.

Holy fuck!

"Are you serious?" I asked, swallowing hard.

"Yes, Ms. Perez. They should be reaching out to you soon and I thought of warning you ahead," he gave me an apologetic look and walked away while I groaned in frustration.

Oh god!

What if they fire me?

I couldn't tell them I went home because I was feeling sick. God, I was fucked. I reached my office and turned on my laptop, taking a deep breath.

"Okay, just relax." I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself. I opened my mail and saw one from the HR department, asking me to meet them at 11 am. It was 10. 15 am now.

This is it.

I am going to lose my job.

I held my head between my hands and closed my eyes, trying to think about how to explain the situation to them, but I was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," I shouted, not looking up from my laptop.

"Rough morning?" I heard a familiar deep voice and looked up immediately. He stood in front of me, wearing a light blue formal button-down shirt with a tie loosely hanging around his neck. He looked ridiculously handsome and I sighed, getting up from my seat.

"I'm getting fired, Nate." I exaggerated, throwing my hands in the air and he gave me a puzzled look.

"Look at this mail," I showed him my laptop and he went through it before turning towards me.

"It's just a meeting. You explain to them what happened and if anything, it's the company's fault for the power outage in the elevator or God knows what happened to that stupid thing yesterday," he shrugged causally and I pondered over what he said. It was actually a valid point and I finally relaxed a bit.

"Okay. I'll tell them that," I mumbled silently while he pulled me closer, hugging me from behind.

"Stop worrying, baby girl. I missed you," he whispered, moving my hair to one side and kissed my neck. I smiled, loving the feel of his lips on my skin.

"I missed you too," I whispered as he kept kissing my neck and collarbone. I threw my head back, giving him more access and bit my lip to hold back my moans.

"God, I want you all to myself." he murmured, caressing my boobs over my blouse and my nipples became hard in an instant. I turned around to face him and grabbed his face, kissing him deeply. He kissed me back with the same need and I moaned against his mouth as he squeezed my ass and I could sense him smiling against my mouth.

"We should stop before I lose control," I pulled back from him, catching my breath and he nodded, pushing a strand of hair from my face.

"Fair point, Ms. Perez," he breathed out, and I lifted my gaze to meet his grey orbs.

"Umm...How about dinner tonight? My place?" I asked, blushing like crazy and he tried so hard to suppress his smile.

"Shut up. What are you smiling at?" I smacked his arm and he chuckled in response.

"I can't help it, baby. You look so cute blushing like that." He kissed my cheeks. "I've seen you being all confident and sassy which is hot and sexy as hell but this side of you is a major turn on too and I'm lucky that only I get to see it," he explained, making me blush even harder and my heart did a flip.

"There it is, again." He caressed my cheeks and I laughed, pushing him away playfully.

"Stop it." I smiled, trying to hide my face with my hair and he pulled me closer.

"So, dinner huh, are you cooking?" he asked, resting his hands on my ass.

"Yeah. Is that a problem?" I asked him with a frown and he shook his head immediately.

"No, not at all. Unless...you don't know how to cook," he teased, making me roll my eyes.

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" I smirked, running my hands all over his chest and went south. I sensed him in taking a deep breath and I stopped moving my hands just before his pants.

"You are such a temptress," he groaned, making me laugh.

"We could leave together after work," I added, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Looking forward to it, Ms. Perez." He grinned widely and his entire face lit up. He looked like an excited kid who was given a candy and I could help but admire how beautiful he was, both inside and out.

"Now get out. I need to prepare myself for this stupid meeting," I released myself from his arms and walked towards my desk.

"It will be fine, baby. Trust me," he kissed my forehead and made his way towards the door. I watched him leave with a stupid grin on my face and shook my head, hoping that everything would be fine.

"So Ms. Perez, Why didn't you attend the meeting yesterday? Our company lost a major investor because of you." One guy with a bald head spoke up, and I stood there, eyeing each and every person in that room. Around five people were seated in front of me. Three middle aged men and two women who were probably older than me. For some reason, this reminded me of high school and I felt like I was being investigated by the principal for some kind of crime.

"There was a power outage and I was stuck in the elevator. By the time, the power came back and the elevator came back to life, it was obviously too late." I tried to explain and there looked at me like I had grown two horns.

"Ms. Perez, that is the lamest excuse I have ever heard," one of the women spoke up this time. She must be in her later forties and had a bitter look on her face. I tried to stay calm and took a deep breath.

"But it's the truth." I rolled my eyes, folding my hands in front of my chest.

"Our company has never had a power outage. Even if we did, we have generators and stuff to handle such situations," She spoke in a bitchy tone and I was losing my patience.

"I wasn't stuck in the elevator alone. There was another employee with me and you can just ask him. Why would I lie about something like this?" I replied, shutting her up, and they began to discuss among themselves for a while.

"Well, I hope this doesn't happen again, Ms. Perez. Since you are new to our company, we are letting you off with just a warning." The bald guy spoke again.

Warning?

What the hell?

It wasn't my fault at all, I wanted to argue but I kept my mouth shut as I didn't want to lose my job.

"Understood, gentlemen. Now, if that is all, I would like to go back and resume my work." I gave them all a tight smile and stood up to leave.

I was pissed out of my mind and kept thinking about what the woman said.

No power outage at all.

Generators.

That made sense. It was very strange and unusual. I mentally made a note to talk to the maintenance department and inform them about what happened yesterday so that it doesn't happen again. I made my way towards my office and my phone vibrated in my hand on the way. I saw a text message from Nate which instantly lifted up my mood and huge smile was plastered across my face.

'How did it go?'

'Guess, I'm not getting fired today.' I hit send and got a reply almost immediately.

'That's my girl. Can't wait for the dinner, especially the dessert' he replied with a wink and kiss emoji.

I let out a small chuckle and sighed in content, shaking my head to get him out of my mind. I needed to get some work done and he was constantly popping up in my mind which was not helping at all. This was all new to me and I loved the way he made me feel. He deserved so much better and I honestly couldn't believe that he wanted to be with a me.

I've never been this happier before and now I could understand why people in love were always smiling and acting crazy. Woah! My eyes went wide at that thought.

People in love?

Am I in love?