Chapter 9 - Infatuation

Infatuation is the love of a beautiful eye upon a sensitive heart. - Joseph R. Barlette

Sapphire's POV

I was nervous when I was told that the CEO wanted to see me. My mind moved at a hundred miles a minute, trying to think of the possible reasons why he wished to see me.

I knew I was most likely in trouble when I had left so abruptly the other day. But for me, the family was always going to come first. It mattered the most to me in nearly all situations.

My mind had been a mess since I saw him there. I couldn’t believe that it was him at first. I had always thought he was nothing more than an illusion, and when he said that, he finally found me. What did he mean by that?

After my moment of shock at the sight of ‘him,’ I immediately rushed home. I found Mum breaking down in hysterics and rushed to her immediately.

"What happened? What's wrong, mum?" I had asked her in panic.

"It’s Michael. He had a heart attack." she sobbed through tears.

I felt my heart drop at her words. My heart sped up as my mind began to assume the worst. Tears pricked my eyes at her words, but when I noticed my mum’s vulnerable state, I knew I had to pull it together for her. I would have time to cry later.

"It's going to be fine, mum. Let's go to the hospital and check up on him." I said to her, trying to control my shaking voice.

She nodded at me as she grabbed my arm tight for support. As soon as we got to the hospital, she rushed to his side. I left them alone, needing a moment to compose myself, but the minute I stepped out into the hallway, I let the tears fall from my eyes. I didn’t realize till then how much Michael meant to both of us. I didn’t know how we’d cope if anything happened to him. Thankfully the doctors said that it was nothing serious and that he had most likely gotten it from overworking himself. They suggested he take a break for the next few days and go easy on himself.

Mum had asked what could have possibly been the cause of him going through so much stress, but he had brushed her off by telling her that it had just worked. I smiled internally, knowing that the real reason was that he was scared that she would reject his proposal.

We stayed indoors for the rest of the week and spent much time bonding. Michael was feeling a lot better now, but mom still pampered him and made a huge fuss over him.

I dreaded returning to work on Wednesday, knowing my boss would throw a fit when she realized I hadn't been at work. I got weird looks from Suzzy, the receptionist. She was a bit of an attention seeker, and no one liked her. She always tried hitting all male workers, but I ignored her.

It was halfway through the day when I saw Carlos at my cubicle. He had a smirk on his face as he looked at me, which caused me to only roll my eyes at him.

"What is it, Carlos? I am really not in the mood." I said honestly with a groan.

"Boss man wants to see you." He grinned. I felt my body stiffen at his words.

"What, why would he? What did I do?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders, still smiling brightly. "Well, I don’t know. But he is probably going to fire you."

I felt my eyes water at the thought. I got up on shaky feet and tried to muster up the courage to head to his office.

I had no idea what to expect as I knocked my fist against the door. There was a deep ‘come in,’ and I sighed before slowly walking inside.

As he examined his paperwork, his head was cast down, and I cleared my throat to get his attention. The moment our eyes met, my body froze, and it was as though everything else around us seemed to fade away.

I had expected him to shout or yell. For him to demand, I tell him why I had been absent from work for so long. What I didn't expect was for him to give me a promotion. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t like my job. In fact, I hated it. But I had only been working here a month, and numerous others deserved it more than me.

I couldn’t help but feel something was not adding up, but I pushed away the feeling. As I stood up to leave, I couldn’t help but notice the smirk on his features.

For the next week, I came to work early and helped guide him on the company's agendas. I would sit with him through meetings taking notes and helping him where he was stuck. He had admitted to me earlier that he had no knowledge of architecture. It made me wonder why he had chosen to buy the company, but it wasn’t my business.

Working for him was interesting. He wasn’t the hot-headed boss with bad people skills that I had expected. He treated everyone with kindness and respect and preached the importance of working together like a team, Like a pack.

But one thing that got me was his eyes. The dreams had stopped, but I could never forget those eyes that watched me. I knew I had a bit of a crush on him and found myself staring at him often, but I knew that it wouldn’t lead anywhere.

He was my boss, and I was his employee; there was nothing more to that. There could not be anything more than that.

**********

I was having a particularly bad day. I had missed my alarm and ended up late, so I had to rush to work. The clouds were thick in the sky, and I had to run to the bus stop. By the time I got there, the rain was already falling heavily.

The bus was late, and I didn’t get to work until nearly eleven in the morning. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the smirk on Suzzy's face. I took a deep breath before heading to Mr. Sterling's office.

I could hear him shouting at someone on the other end of his phone before I had even walked in, and I could instantly tell he was not particularly happy.

I knocked on the door before slowly walking in before he turned to me. His eyes hardened as he ended the call.

"Why are you wet?" He asked simply. I gulped as I watched his eyes darken.

"I woke up late, and it started raining before I reached the bus stop," I explained.

His eyes drifted over my body as they spent too long on my chest. I glanced down and a deep blush formed on my cheeks as I realized that my white blouse had been stained and now sensed through my pink bra.

He quickly turned his gaze away from me, and I watched as he removed his suit jacket. He came to stand in front of me, and I felt my heartbeat quicken as he stared down at me.

"What are you doing?" I asked breathlessly. He dropped the suit jacket over my shoulders and pulled my arms through.

"Next time, don’t take the bus when it rains." He whispered in my ear, and I gulped as I struggled to swallow the saliva in my mouth.

"Not that I mind the wet look on you. But you could catch a cold." He said with a smirk before pulling away. I felt my heartbeat pick up as he went back to his table and sat down, continuing with his paperwork.

"Sir, what do we have for today?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Clients couldn’t come in because of the heavy rain. And I did all the paperwork since you didn’t come in. So, we have nothing to do." He said calmly.

"I am sorry about that." I apologize sincerely.

"It's okay. But why didn’t you come with a car?" He asked in confusion.

"I never got my license, and Michael would have offered to drive me, but he isn’t feeling too good," I said casually.

I heard a deep growl from above me and flinched at the sound. "Who is Michael?" Grey asked as he stared at me. "My mum's boyfriend," I whispered.

I watched as he visibly relaxed. "I am sorry about that. It was none of my business." He said calmly before asking, "Have you eaten?"

I shook my head at him, still shocked about what had just happened.

I watched as he pressed the intercom. "Suzzy, get us two servings of Chinese takeout." He said, staring at me the entire time.

"I hope you like Chinese." He asked as a slight blush coated his cheeks.

"It is my favorite," I confessed.

He smiled as he said, "mine too." I smiled back at him, feeling warmth come over me. And that was how we sat at noon, eating food out of a cardboard box while the soothing sounds of rain calmed us. It was like the world faded around us, and we were the only ones there.

Alright, maybe I had more than a little crush on him.