Chapter 35: In which he realizes…
Nathan's P.O.V :
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
I shut the alarm off.
Why had I set it in the first place? I had hardly slept a wink last night, playing the scene where I acted like a dick and slammed the door shut on Savannah's face, over and over again.
Why on Earth did I have to be so dramatic and over-reactive! She said she'd explain everything on Christmas. Couldn't I have patiently waited another month to clarify things? And besides, the photos were taken from a certain angle. That guy could be kissing her forehead for all I know!
Last night, we had an amazing moment. Not just dancing with her, but seeing that old couple together, happy and so in love even after 50 years of being together. I wanted that to be us.
Maybe....it can still be us.
I jumped out of bed and dived into the shower. I needed to see Savannah and for that, I had to get to office, fast.
"Breakfast's ready," Beth called when I came out of my room all dressed and ready.
"Thanks," I sat down on the table, too excited to eat but too hungry to leave. Somehow, I felt good today. Normal.
"You seem happy," Beth commented.
"I am happy...ish." I will be happy once I've spoken with Savannah and apologized for being a dick...and after she has forgiven me.
"Good to know." Beth smiled. "It's been a while since I saw you smiling. Not since Savannah left. You were happy with her, she's such a lovely child."
"That she is...woman, I mean. And don't worry," I reassured her. "I'll take care of it soon."
Beth left me alone to eat breakfast after that. I didn't tell her that her cooking needs improvement. She's been cooking for my family for ages. But there was no comparison. No one, on Earth or otherwise, can cook better than Savannah.
*
*
"Sir?" Tina poked her head inside the office. "There's someone here to see you."
"Who is it?" I asked, still dialing Savannah's number once again. It kept going to voice mail. It's 11.45am and still no sign of Savannah. She's always early, what happened today? If she had something important, she would have told me otherwise, last night. But instead, she'd confirmed that she'd be here. Where on Earth are you Savannah?
"Samuel McKenna from the McKenna Corporate." Tina informed. "Should I call him in or...?"
"No, no." I stopped her. "Call him in. It's about signing the contract." The contract that Savannah got me and that I had practically forgotten about.
"Right away, Sir."
" Yes Boss!"
I smiled. That would've been Savannah's favourite comeback, walking out of my cabin.
I tried one last time before Samuel McKenna reached my office, but it went to voice mail, again. I sighed. I think I should just leave her a message instead. She'd been taking a few days off lately for some work in her hometown. This maybe another one of those things. I shouldn't always be assuming the worst.
"Savannah, where are you? You said you'd be here today. If you've gone back to your hometown then call me when you get time. I'm worried about you and...." I sighed as I ran my hands through my hair. "We need to talk....I have a lot to tell you, so please, call me back?"
A knock sounded at my door. Samuel McKenna was here. I kept my phone aside before I answered. "Come in."
"Mr. Synclair," Samuel entered my cabin, dressed in a grey suit and blue shirt…and I almost stopped breathing.
It was like looking at a mirror image of Savannah. Almost like…a twin!
And that’s when everything became clear to me.
*
*
Savannah's P.O.V :
"Roan...?" My eyes took some time to adjust to the lighting in the hallway.
I blinked several times before I could open them...only to find myself in the presence of two very familiar faces. Roan...and Beth.
"What the hell are you guys doing at this hour!" I snapped at them. "This isn't any time to be joking around!"
"I'm sorry, Savannah," Beth looked at me sadly. "We thought you were taking care of our boss but you turned out to be a traitor. So please, answer our questions first."
"What questions?" I asked before asking them to come in. it was around 10pm on a winter night and I didn’t want to be having conversations in the hallway where everyone could hear me. “Now tell me. What questions are you referring to?”
"What is your relationship with Samuel McKenna and why are you trying to ruin Nathan? I thought you loved him! I guess you had us all fooled, but not anymore!" Roan spoke like a detective out on murder investigation.
"What on Earth are you talking about?" I could pretend not to know anything, but I was getting scared now. How did Roan know about me and Samuel? But strangest of all, why does he think I'm out to get even with Nate?
"Don't try to act smart! Answer me right now or I'll hand you over to the police. I'm sure they'll get everything out of you." Roan barked.
"Alright! Alright! I'll tell!" Shit! This isn't good. Roan doesn't look like a person to make empty threats and judging by how protective he is of Nathan, he just might hand me over. But that's when I remembered something. "Wait, how do you know about me and Samuel? I made sure no one-" Double shit! "It was you! You took those photos!"
Fucking hell! After all the shit I had been through this last month and it turned out to be him?
"I saw you sneak out a couple times and got suspicious. Then I followed you for a couple days and saw you meet up with the same man. I later found out that he was Samuel McKenna, heir to the McKenna Corporate. Why did you let the master fall in love with you if already had someone? Did you have fun playing with his feelings?" Okay, I could handle a lot of things, but a melodramatic Roan wasn't one of them.
"Whoa, slow down Alfred!" I groaned as I felt a headache coming. "I'm not here to take revenge on Nathan. And Samuel is my friend! Ask Nathan if you have to, he knows!"
"Then what is this whole plan you two were talking about? Someone paying for something they did?" Beth asked after being silent for so long.
"That is none of your business! All you need to know is that this doesn't have anything to do with Nathan or any of you!" There were some boundaries that I needed to keep, no matter how much I cared about these two.
"And what about the-"
I cut him off. "Look, I have been through enough emotional traumas my entire life and yet, this past month had been hell for both me and Nathan. I don’t want you two interfering in my life anymore, no matter how much you care about your boss. You need to learn to keep boundaries. Nathan is a grown ass man who can take care of himself and if he finds out that you two are here to blackmail me, I think we both know who’ll be handed over to the cops. You guys have done enough damage. So please, leave and don’t let Nate know about this. I won’t tell him either. What happens between us is a personal matter.”
Beth looked terribly ashamed as she dashed out the door, but Roan stayed and gave me a hard look. “I trusted you with a boy who is practically my son. Why did you break his heart?”
“And what makes you think any of this is easy for me?” I asked instead. “You’ve met Samuel, haven’t you? Have you ever seen his face? If you had, then you would’ve known why I was doing this a long time ago.”
“His face?” Roan gave me a confused look as he pulled out his phone from his coat pocket and looked through it. It didn’t take him long to realize what he had missed before . “But…but, how? You two have different last names!”
“Yes, we do.” I smiled sadly, and even though I didn’t elaborate, Roan must have guessed something.
“Then I hope you get your justice.” With that, he left.
Nathan's P.O.V :
"Nice to meet you, Mr. McKenna." I shook hands with him but even as I spoke calmly, my insides were anything but calm. "Have a seat."
Samuel raised an eyebrow at my shaky tone as he took a seat across from me. I curled my hands into fists to stop them from shaking.
Samuel gave me a polite smile as I smiled nervously. "Is there something wrong?"
"Why would you say that?" I asked instead, a little too quickly.
“I'm sorry, I must be imaging things." He added, before he handed over a file. "First, I'd like to invite you to the Christmas party that'll be held in Central Town Hall tomorrow evening, I really do hope you can make it. And that, consists of all the original copies of the financial details, sales records and product purity reports from our lab, the tests have been done by NSF/ANSI, the same ones that I'd send you via email along with a copy of the contract and lawyers notice. I'd request you go through them once before you sign the contract and become an official shareholder."
"I'll have it done immediately," I forced a smile as I rang the bell connected to Tina's desk.
"Yes, Sir?" Tina poked her head in through the door.
"Mrs. Moore, have this file checked by the board and ready within the next hour. I'd like to wrap everything up before Christmas." Tina took the file from my outstretched hand and left the office, shutting the door behind her.
"Now," Samuel leaned forward, placing both hands on the table and entwining his fingers. "Let's talk a bit about personal matters, shall we?"
I knew this was coming the instant I saw him. What a fool I had been for assuming the worst and he didn’t have to tell me to my face for me to know that I had acted like a dick to Savannah this past month.
“Yes.” I answered. “We do have important matters to discuss.”
“Indeed.”