Chapter 54 LIV.
The busy city drew me in. I gazed at it from the big glass wall in my office. The passing cars and people moving about their day did nothing to ease the ache in my heart. Every day I thought of him. He was in my dreams, in my head, and in my heart. He was like a song that got stuck in my head and refused to come out. There had not been a day where I didn't miss Alessandro Ricci. He was like a drug in my bloodstream, and the withdrawal symptoms were severe.
Most nights I lay in bed hugging a pillow and wishing that I was hugging him instead, but I knew that was impossible. I always dreamt about our last night together and fantasized about him touching me in the exact same way he touched me that night. I tricked myself into thoughts of him, but it was never enough.
I even tried going to clubs and meeting new people—men, to be precise—but I couldn't bring myself to have sex with them. They just weren't enough for me. I missed Alessandro so much! So damn much, but there was nothing I could do about it. Twenty-one days without seeing him, feeling his touch, and hearing his voice felt like torture. I was alive, but I honestly would have been better off dead.
"Mr. Brooks!"
"Huh?" I mumbled dumbly and returned my attention to my secretary, Miss Jones. She was staring at me with her eyes squinted in worry.
"Mr. Brooks, are you okay? I've been trying to get your attention for five minutes now, but you seem to be lost in thought."
I sighed and rubbed my neck in slight embarrassment. "I'm fine, Miss Jones. I'm just feeling a bit under the weather."
Worry clouded her expression. "Do you want me to book an appointment with a doctor?"
I shook my head quickly at the professional-looking lady. "It's fine, Miss Jones. Thanks for the concern."
She nodded curtly, and I couldn't help but once again compare her to my secretary, Tina, back in California. Tina was playful and cheery. She would have probably teased me about getting a girlfriend. To her, that would make me think less about work and hurry home to my lover, who would take care of me as best she could so I wouldn't fall sick in the process.
But Miss Jones was all about professionalism. She had never laughed. Not once. And she didn't joke around. She took her job very seriously, making it hard to be free with her. It made me kind of miss Tina.
"So, why are you here, Miss Jones?" I asked finally. I hadn't even heard her come in.
"Oh, I came to inform you that there's a man out there asking to speak with you. He said he's from the other branch of our company in California, although I've never spoken to, nor seen him before," she replied, clear doubt in her voice regarding the identity of this stranger.
Miss Jones was a very smart woman, and she knew everyone who usually contacted us from Ricci Enterprise in California, both by face and by voice. So, it also kind of worried me that she didn't know whoever it was that was asking for me.
"Did you get his name?" I questioned. I knew almost all the employees at Ricci Enterprise in California.
She shook her head. "He refused to give his name, sir. He said he was sent here by Mr. Ricci himself, and he wants to speak with you directly."
The more she talked about this person, the stranger he sounded. Why would he hide his name? What was so important that he asked to speak directly to me?
Wait, did it have anything to do with Alessandro?
"Let him in," I said, adrenaline pumping through my veins.
She nodded. "I'll ask the security to stay alert just in case." With that, she left my office, her heels clicking loudly in the silence.
I sat there wondering who it was that might be here to see me. In that moment, the door to my office was thrown open, and the face of the person who stepped in was the very last I expected to see here in Paris.
In shock, I stood up from the chair I sat on, my eyes wide in sheer disbelief. I had to be hallucinating. There was no way Alessandro was standing right in front of me, looking a bit different with that beard, but as handsome as ever. His green eyes, which I was only granted an opportunity to see in my dreams, stared at me in relief, although he tried to mask it with a glare.
Alessandro looked just as good as always, but a bit unkempt. Even his brown hair was messier than before. It was a struggle to let the words out lest I was wrong and he turned out to be just a figment of my imagination. But I had to say it.
"Sandro," I called out, barely above a whisper.
Hearing the sound of his name from my lips seemed to set him in motion. In a second, Sandro was marching towards me with a terrifying glare on his face.
I expected a push, a slap, something related to violence, but to my surprise, Alessandro pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.
I instantly melted into his arms. The familiar warmth was so comforting and overwhelming that I was moved to tears. I hugged him back, burying my face in his chest.
"You fool!" he gritted in anger, but there was heavy emotion in his tone. "How could you do that to me, Rowan? Was falling in love with you a sin? Or was this your plan to drive me to an early grave?"
His words were filled with bitterness, but his voice was calming. I hugged him tighter. I really missed him! God, I missed him so fucking much!
"H-How did you find me?" I choked out, still finding it hard to believe that he was really here and this wasn't a dream.
He pulled away and stared into my eyes with his green, relieved eyes. "Sandra told me. It drove me insane not knowing where you were, Rowan. I almost went mad."
My hand lifted to touch his face. It was rough against my palm. I wondered how long it had been since he had shaved.
"It's really you. I can't believe you're really here." He came for me even after I abandoned him. I didn't deserve him.
Alessandro held both sides of my face, his thumbs gently sweeping across my cheekbones before he leaned down, completely eliminating the space between us. When he captured my lips with his, the impact was explosive. Every nerve in my body flared to life at the searing heat of his mouth against mine. It felt as though a raw electric current had been injected straight into my veins, overriding weeks of numb despair. With a choked gasp, I tangled my fingers in the messy waves of his hair and kissed him back with everything I had. It wasn't a gentle kiss; it was a desperate, messy, and breathless collision born of longing and deprivation, fueled by a fierce need to make up for all the agonizing time we had lost.
But Alessandro was quick to pull away, much to my disappointment.
"No matter how much I want this," he breathed hard, our foreheads still resting against one another, "we still have a lot to talk about, and here isn't the right place. I want you to take me to your place. It'll be more comfortable for a long conversation."
I nodded without hesitation. I was happy enough just knowing that I had seen him again when I thought I never would. I felt incredibly lucky right now.