Determined to reason with him, I continued,
"Look. Chances are, I will still be able to survive these threats Jake, but I won't be able to accept it if you distance yourself from me. Again." I inched closer, if that was even possible, "it might seem like an easier option to you, but I would rather be threatened on my life than stay away from you."
I felt drained, I had tears welling up in my eyes, and no matter how hard I tried, they were now rolling down my cheeks.
Jake immediately closed the gap between us; he held me in his arms again and kissed away every drop on my face. His kisses now made their way to my jawline, as his soft hands caressed the length of my hair.
"You have no idea how hard it is for me to stay away from you, Emm." Jake whispered while still giving me soft kisses; it felt like tiny fireworks were teasing every inch of my body. His mere touch held me captive and ignited such intense desire, a sensation I seldom felt before.
"You know it was a beautiful drizzling night, the first time I saw you in that coffee house, months before we met at my office." Jake murmured in his husky voice, his soft breath fell on my skin, and I felt every nerve of my body pulsing under his sensual touch.
As he referred to our first meeting in a coffee house, I suddenly got out of my reverie, apprehending what day and time he was talking about, as I didn't remember seeing him before our meeting at his office.
"I was so tempted to take your soaked body in my arms, to kiss your glossy lips, to touch you, to hold you." He said as he sniffed my hair, while his lips lightly brushed against my collar bone.
I listened silently. I had no strength to say anything; I was too lost in his embrace.
Slowly he moved up to face me now. His icy blue eyes reflected heart-wrenching passion. He put a loose strand of my hair behind my ear, leaning his forehead against mine, before he said, "But I controlled myself. I did not want to risk putting you in danger."
He was confusing me, every hair on my flesh stood up as fright dominated me, guessing what he might say next. I just shut my eyes, waiting to get over with it. He was going to push me away; this thought alone gave me a stabbing pain in the chest.
"Yet when I saw you again in that conference room, I knew it in my guts that I won't be able to keep away from you anymore. I tried. I failed."1
I let out a long sigh of relief.
"I can never push you away, Emma. You are like a drug to me; I am addicted to your existence, and in all honesty, I won't be able to survive a second, knowing you are not a part of my life anymore."
I was relieved listening to his words, I held him tightly, "Then don't. And also, don't ever regret be with me. We will get through this, together. I promise."
This time, I took the initiative, and kissed his lips hungrily, as if my life depended on it. I wanted to conquer his heart, kiss away all his worries and assure him that we can work it out.
This kiss had so many different meanings, layers of soulful and stirring emotions. It meant so much more, to me at least.
It was, a promise that I would never give up on us,
a determination that I would beat all the odds to stay in his life, and a realization that I was madly, irreversibly and unconditionally in love with him.
It was the longest we had kissed thus far, our lips parted, gasping for air. I was absorbing every second of this moment. This was the first time I truly realised how I felt about him. He was caressing my cheeks with the back of his hand; I don't know if it was my heart that made me imagine things, but right now, in his deep blue eyes, I saw love; naive, honest and pure love.
We hugged and stayed like that for some time. Both of us were quiet, just drawing peace and comfort from each other. Our hearts did the talking; they were beating in sync, entrusting each other to never let go.
After some time, Jake broke the silence, "I will be going out of town for a couple of days. I have full-day meetings today, and I am flying to meet my mom tomorrow."
"Okay. I remember you told me your mom shifted to LA briefly after your father died."
"Yes, it was so hard for her. She couldn't keep up with his memories here. So, she decided to move to our house in LA for some time."
"When will you be back?"
"Not before Sunday evening, after visiting mom, I have to go to Norway for some important business."
"Oh, okay. That means I don't get to see you until Monday. That's like six long days." I pouted.
Back of my head, I was very anxious knowing he would be away for so long, but I didn't want to show him that.
"I will try to be back as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Brett would be here. He will always be here looking out for you. He will be guarding you to ensure your safety from a distance."
"Hey! We talked about this already. I don't need a babysitter." I protested.
"It's not negotiable Emma. We have to work through this. Your safety is everything to me. Never forget that." Jake cut me out in a solemn tone.
I dared not argue further. He does get a little intimidating at times, especially when it comes to protecting me.
"Ok. You only got a couple of hours left, come get some sleep. You have a long day ahead." I put his arm under my head and turned to hug him as my head rest on his chest.
Within minutes, we both drifted to sleep.
****
It's been two days since Jake left town, and I have been keeping myself occupied with office work. We chatted a couple of times in the past two days, but majorly he was busy.
I missed him so much.
Brett had been around. I found him outside my apartment when I left for work, and he was always escorting me through commute or wherever I went. He even guarded me on my office floor, not letting me be out of his sight even for a minute.
To be honest, I felt pressured to have someone follow me like a shadow. It was suffocating, but, right now, I could not risk to bring it up with Jake. He was so stressed already; I did not wish to add to his worries.
This is a passing phase, Emma, it will all get better. I consoled myself to handle it patiently.
I was engulfed in work when I heard a soft knock at my cabin door. "Hey, Emma. Free for five minutes?" Mark asked as he stood at the door.
"Sure. Come In. What's up?"
"We have a last-minute meeting scheduled with the Internal Audit team; will you be comfortable taking the lead on it?"
"Oh, sure. What time is it?"
"Four pm."
"Ok. Yes. I will take it up." I nodded, looking at my calendar, which was free for meetings until the end of the day.
"Thank You. You are the best. I will forward you the details." He smiled warmly.
"No worries at all."
"It's almost one pm, do you want to break for lunch? My treat today." Mark asked; his eyes were shining in excitement.
"Alright. Can't say no to a treat, right? What's the occasion?"
"No occasion, I am just trying to get my beautiful colleague, to spare some time, and have lunch with me." He smiled warmly.
I felt a bit awkward at his sudden tone and complement, but giving the situation the benefit of doubt, I let it pass.
We both headed to the Italian restaurant two blocks away from our office. We gave our respective orders, and Mark was as always joking about random things, making me laugh at his silly comments.
Our food was served, and I saw Mark giving me a strange look from time to time.
"What's up, Mark? Are you feeling ok?"
"Yes, I am fine."
"Okay, great." I gave him a reluctant nod, really unsure of his strange behavior today.
"Emma, so I was thinking, what are you doing this weekend? We can probably catch up. I would very much like to spend time with...".
Before he could complete, I had an immediate hunch on where this was heading, and to avoid making things awkward between us, I quickly replied, almost cutting him out, "This weekend? Well, Friday is date night, and then over the weekend, I have plans with my friends."
&n
bsp; "Oh, I see. Ok, no problem." He was a bit taken aback by my sudden response.
"I am sorry; it looks like a busy weekend". I said in a friendly tone, trying to diffuse the situation.
"It's fine, I understand. So, umm… you are seeing someone?" He asked in a reluctant tone.
"Yes. Been a while. It's going very well.
But we can definitely hang out next weekend. I will like us to spend time as well; after all, you are my only friend here at Richmond's." I gave him a soft smile.
"Yes. Of course. Next weekend it is then." He said nervously, trying hard to cover up.
We both finished our food in silence after that. Mark was put off post our awkward conversation. He got unusually silent.
I gave him his space too. I did not want to make him more uncomfortable. I felt terrible for him, but I could not mislead him at all. Even if he meant to know me better as a friend, I wanted to come clean with him.
Mark was a good guy, in fact amongst the most genuine person I had come across in my life. I admired him a lot, and just hoped we could get past this and continue to remain cordial as friends.
Chapter 26
Craving a hug
Jake
Los Angeles
"Mom, I am concerned about your safety. You should consider moving back. It's getting dangerous."
"I told you I am not ready yet. Relax, I can take care of myself. I am so glad you took out time to visit me." She gave me a warm hug.
I felt so relaxed meeting her. I missed the family bond; ever since dad left, nothing felt the same anymore.
"So, how's Erica doing?"
"She has been better. I am worried about her."
"Of course, darling. You have a good heart. But I think you should keep your distance from her; this girl is bad news." Her expressions were blank, but her words had weight. She meant what she said.
"I know what I am doing, mom. I have a bad feeling about the Murials too. But I feel what happened with Erica was wrong and unfair."
"Murials? Are you talking about Ben?"
"Yes. I don't trust him."
"Hmm, I see. Well, in my opinion, I don't see him as a threat. We go way back; we were together in college. All three of us were batchmates: Ben, your father and I. He was competitive for sure, but I think it has always been harmless." She tried to explain. It was odd to see her defend the situation so much, I just shared my opinion, but nothing had been normal in this family since months now.
"I don't know mom. Time will tell I guess." I shrugged.
"His daughter, though, has serious issues. Ben lost his wife when Erica was just three. It must have been difficult for her, she was a lonely child, and she now lashes out at everyone trying to put a brave face." She re-iterated and warned me again about Erica.
"I get it, mom. And there is nothing between us that should worry you. Erica is not the one for me."
"Really? Then who is?" She asked in a curious tone trying to read my expressions.
I smiled warmly at her.
"Her name is Emma." I had never introduced a girl to my mother before.
"Emma? Who is she, never heard of her before?"
"Yes, I met her only recently, but she is amazing. Very beautiful, inside out."
"Oh God! I am so happy for you, Jake. I really am looking forward to meeting her. This is the best news I have heard ever since your dad left us." She hugged me tightly, I could hear her meek sobs, dad's passing away did create a void in her soul, she had never been the same. How I wished, I could make it better for her.
"I know mom. I will get her to meet you as soon as all this is over."
"Jake you should put all this behind. You should move on and live your life. Whatever happened is in the past. Sometimes I feel scared, I have already lost your father, I cannot afford to lose you too." I could see mom's reasons but I felt determined nevertheless.
"I can never put this behind mom. Not until I get to know who was responsible for his accident. I can never live-in peace, knowing dad's murderer is out there. He deserves justice."
"Oh. My boy. How I wish this nightmare ends for all of us."
"It will, mom. I promise."
As they say, no matter your age, you will always need your mom. After dad, I felt an overwhelming urge to take care of her. I hoped that she moves on and lives a happy life.
***
"What time do we meet him?"
"We will land by one pm, and we can head straight to the meeting location," Augustin said.
"Just ensure nothing goes wrong. We need this."
I was now in Norway with Augustin and his team. The pieces of evidence we were going to fetch were vital for our situation with Windson's. As soon as we landed, we were driving to our meeting location with our contact, which was a farmhouse at the city's outskirts.
We were an hour into the drive, that's when I felt Augustin was acting alert, his posture got stiff and his eyes were suspicious.
"Boss, we are being followed." The driver said.
I turned around and saw a black SUV following us.
"Take the next right; try to lose him." The driver nodded and took a sharp turn.
"We have another car with some of our men tailing us. Let me send them our location." Augustin said. He immediately took his phone and called a number.
"I had no doubts left that David Windson was watching us like a hawk." I sighed, gripping my fist in an attempt to control my anger.
"There is a basement car park two miles straight onto the left, try and lose this idiot and park there. Our back up will meet us there. We can change cars". Augustin instructed the driver.
We went in circles for a while, but eventually, we were successfully able to lose the SUV. We changed cars in the basement.
"If you reencounter him, give him a good tour." Augustin winked at the driver of the car that we were initially in.
We met our contact, and he gave us solid proof against David Windson, including many forged documents and audio of his dealings with an in charge at the tender committee.
This gave me solid ground to slap him with a lawsuit. The litigation will be a huge financial blow. Even if I could not hold him behind bars, but I could cost him a lot of his resources and take his company back by several years. That will help me buy time to find more about his involvement in my dad's accident, and also in the recent attack on Erica.
I was deep in thoughts when Augustin broke the silence. "Today was good progress. We will fly back early morning tomorrow. It's not safe to stay long in a foreign land under such circumstances, especially in David's territory".
"I agree. Make the arrangements."
"Sure. We are going to check-in into a modest motel for the night if that's ok with you."
"Sure."
***
Emma.
NYC
It was the weekend, and I made plans to meet with the girls. It felt like a decade when I last hung out with them. We decided to meet for lunch at a cafe in one of the malls in the city center. As usual, Brett followed me there.
I met Niki at the entrance while Britney hadn't showed up yet; she was running late. We decided to take a walk in the mall for a bit to wait for her.
We were strolling around, while Brett's attentive eyes never left my back. When Britney arrived, we all headed in the restaurant. I gave Brett a slight nod before getting in.
"Who is this monkey? And why the hell is he following you? I think he is in for some special treatment by me; you guys wait here; I will go sort him out." Niki growled, she clearly noticed Brett when I gave him a nod.
"Hey, Relax. Wait, I know him. He is Brett. He is umm… a bodyguard."
"What?" Niki and Britney said in unison, completely shocked.
Here we go. What was I supposed to tell them? I did not want to give a lot of details about Jake's personal life. Wasn't my place to talk about it.
"Since when do you need someone to guard your body?" Britney was bewildered.
"Jake assigned him. It's for
my safety. He is the one who saved me in Lofoten too."
"Jake assigned him? Bossy much, isn't he? Is he a control freak or something? I don't understand." Niki was in a state of total disbelief.
"Is he a dominant kind of guy or something? I have heard rich guys often have kinky personalities?" Britney added with her eyes and mouth, both wide open.
"Eeww. No and No." I told both Niki and Britney in an annoyed tone.
"God, you two have no filter on your mind and mouth. Jake is amazing. Please don't jump on stupid conclusions. This arrangement is… just temporary, umm until he resolves some things."
"What things?" Britney inched closer to my face. She was hell curious. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath." Well, some business rivalry. But it's just precautionary." I murmured, almost struggling to find the right words.
"Are you in some sort of danger Emma, like real-life danger? You are scaring me." Niki held my arm. Her cheeks lost their color.
"No. Nothing like that, I said it's precautionary, Jake just worries too much. Chill." I let out a giggle and continued in a confident tone, trying hard to diffuse the situation.
"I hope you know what you are doing, Emma." Britney said, giving me a gentle squeeze on my arm too.
"Yes, of course. Trust me, I am fine. Enough about me, what's up with you two?" I made a meek attempt to change the topic.
"I don't feel good about this, you know we are here for you, and you can tell us anything that worries you. Anything at all." Niki reiterated, trying to be sure that I am not hiding anything from them.
"Of course, guys. I am fine; this is just Jake's way of showing his concern. Relax you two."
Thankfully, the waiter came in to take our orders. As we gave him our choices, Britney broke the first conversation, she started gleefully "well, my parents are visiting Max and me next weekend. We are going to fix the wedding date."
"Wow! That's great news. I am so happy. You guys make a lovely couple." I almost jumped in joy, making people turn in our direction.
"I can sing to the wedding bells already." Niki chimed in.
I will lower the moon for you Page 14