by Ml Preston
"You didn't have a lot of things to do at work today?" I asked. Wondering why he was off and Nicholas was still there.
"Not really. Nicky and I went to a few meetings and he has more to go to today for site starts. Then he and Rick have contract meetings. He has dinner with a client and his dad and maybe he'll get to go home. He already said that he was not coming in tomorrow." I was astonished at his load for the day. I wondered why he wanted me at his place tonight. I wouldn't want to do anything but sleep after a day like that.
"He seems busy,” I said, trying to hide the disappointment in my voice.
"Yeah. Since taking over, his plate stays full. Rachel keeps the schedule neat. The vacation was planned months ago. It was to have been a company vacation, but Nicholas changed it to a couple’s vacation.” I was beginning to think that Tabitha was trying to keep Nicholas and me apart.
"Ready?" Samantha opened the door and announced.
"Don't you knock?” Jason asked. “I could've been in here knocking her off,” he said.
"If you were, I want to join,” Samantha replied with a naughty girl smile and a wink.
"Really?” Jason said as he pulled her to him. They began to kiss and make out as if I wasn't there.
"Get a room," I said, rolling my eyes. A little envious since Aunt Ruby Red was in town. I couldn't pleasure myself if I wanted to.
"Bye, My. Hugs and kisses,” Samantha spoke as she left.
"See you in the morning, Red. Hugs and kisses.” They left and I dove back into my work. My door opened and I looked up at a delivery guy from a local sandwich shop.
"Amaya Davis?" he asked.
"Yes," I said with an inquisitive look on my face.
"This is for you," he said. "Enjoy.” I bet Samantha had something to do with this. It never takes her that long to shut down her computer. My message alert rang on my phone.
Nicholas: Enjoy your lunch. Love you.??
Me: Thank you. Love you. And Samantha.
Nicholas: ha-ha.
I sent Samantha a text.
Me: Thanks, Red.
Samantha: Anything for my friend.
I went back to work and enjoyed my lunch.
****
I drove to his place after grabbing a few things from my place and my car. When I arrived, there was a bouquet of Stargazer lilies on the counter with a note attached.
“Maya, sorry for not being there. I should be home around nine o'clock. I'm so sorry. There is a bottle of your favorite wine in the fridge and dinner will be there at seven. Have a drink, relax, and enjoy your meal. Love you.”
I looked around and realized that he wasn't here. It felt odd. It was quiet. I walked to the fridge, grabbed the bottle of Moscato in the fridge, and poured a glass. I went to the bedroom and put away a few things I had brought over from my place. We had been spending so much time together between each other’s place that we had started leaving things for convenience. I decided to take a bubble bath while waiting for dinner. The doorbell rang promptly at seven o'clock. Nicholas had arranged for an Italian meal to be delivered. I had a salad, lasagna, breadsticks, and tiramisu for dessert. They also brought over a bottle of red Moscato to compliment my meal. I cleaned up after I ate and went to the media room where I fell asleep wrapped in a throw wearing one of Nicholas’s T-shirts.
I was awakened by his soft touch and his arms caressing me as he carried me to the room.
"Nicholas, what are you doing?” I asked sleepily.
"Carrying you to our bed." We entered the room and he laid me on the bed and pulled the covers over me. He had on his pajamas, apparent that he had been home long enough to shower and change his clothes. I looked at the clock and saw that it was now twelve o'clock.
"What time did you get in?" I asked, my body now becoming more alert and aware if its surroundings.
"I got in around nine thirty,” he said as he climbed into the bed behind me. He pulled me into his arms and continued running down his evening since he came home. “I saw you were sleeping so I did some work for tomorrow, talked to Rick and Jason about projects and stuff, showered, and put on my pj’s. I got the bed ready and went and watched you sleep for a few minutes. You looked so peaceful. I didn't want to disturb you while you slept, but I couldn't leave you in that chair as you were.” He stroked my face as I lay there in his embrace. It was serene and comfortable. I began to grow sleepy again.
“Did you enjoy dinner? I know you enjoyed the wine.”
"Mmhmm," I muttered, answering his question.
"Good. I'm glad you enjoyed." He yawned and I could feel his heartbeat and breathing slow to a resting state.
"I love you, Mr. Hansen," I managed to get out as sleep was overpowering me again.
"I love you too, future Mrs. Hansen." He kissed the back of my head and I could hear a slight snore emit from him. I lay there, oblivious to what he said and drifted back to sleep. The next morning, I quietly got out of bed, careful not to disturb him and got dressed for work. Now I was the one watching him sleep. He looked peaceful, happy, relaxed, and had a morning boner. It was tempting to take him in my mouth to wake him up, but nothing would be reciprocated. I kissed him on his forehead and headed to work. On my way out, there was a note with my name on the door.
"Morning, baby. Your yogurt and granola are in the fridge. Have a good day. Love Nick."
I opened the door to the fridge and there, as promised, was my usual breakfast. I grabbed it and headed off to work. My heart fluttered and I couldn't help but smile when I thought of the effort he put into our relationship.
I arrived at the office around eight fifteen thanks to an accident along the way. Generally, I would be upset, but after last night and this morning, nothing was going to make me upset. As I stepped off the elevator, Samantha was standing there.
"Where are you headed?" I asked.
"Look what the cat dragged in finally," she said with a yawn.
"Why are you so sleepy?"
"The same reason you are so happy." Her attitude was that of bitchy and sleepy.
"Trust me, if Nicholas and I did have sex, I would not be here," I said with a smile.
“I didn’t think you were going to be here anyway since Nicholas is off,” she replied. Since Nicholas and I started getting serious, I was usually playing hooky just to stay home with him.
“I have a lot of work to still knock out from yesterday plus I received an email from the NFL expansion committee wanting me to come to New York next month or the month after I think. I need to confirm it and make the reservations. Plus, I am out of play for the next three days.” Samantha looked at me with a look of confusion. “It’s not the best time of the month,” I said with a look of catch on, please.
“Oh. I get it,” she replied. “I guess I’ll have to come into your office and you can live vicariously through me for once.”
“It’s a deal,” I replied with laughter and headed to my office.
****
The afternoon had come quickly and I had barely made a dent in my work. I had proposals drawn up, emailed and confirmed requests for appearances for sponsors, and made travel arrangements for the NFL meeting in New York next month. Brochures of the Dolphins sponsored events had arrived and I reviewed them for errors and called to confirm who was going to be making an appearance. I had texted Nicholas earlier, but I received no response. I shook it off and figured that he must be sleeping still. I was in the middle of sending him another text when there was a knock at the door.
“Mr. Binnings, how are you?” My heart was beating uncontrollably. It’s not like the Binnings to come to your office unless something was terribly wrong with an account and you were no longer welcomed. Samantha had walked in behind them. She came directly to my desk and stood next to me.
“Okay, what is this? Is something wrong with one of the accounts?” I asked.
“No, I wish it were that simple,” Jim Binnings said. I looked at Samantha for clues and I found tears welling in her eyes.
&nb
sp; “Oh no. Is it Mr. Anderson?” Tears began to fill my eyes as the thought of a dear sweet colleague and friend no longer with us.
“No, Charles is fine. Resting his back.”
“Then what is it?” A lump in my throat began to form as paranoia began to set in. “I don’t like dealing with this shit and you are scaring the fuck out of me. What is it?” Carl Binnings left the room visibly shaken by the news they had yet to share with me.
“It’s Nicholas.”
“Nicholas, what about him?” Tears began to fall from my eyes not knowing what was going to be said to me.
“There was an accident today at one of the sites.” I shook my head in disbelief. I knew Nicholas was at home sleep.
“No, Nicholas is at home. I left him there this morning. He was not going in today. Surely, it’s the wrong person. I will call him now.” Mr. Binnings walked over to my desk and took my phone away from me as I began to cry frantically.
“John called me about fifteen minutes ago to alert me to the situation with Nicholas and asked that I tell you. We have arranged for our driver to take you to Jackson Memorial Hospital if you want.” I was in sheer terror. My heart began beating a million beats per minute. I didn’t know how to react. I felt panicked, nauseated, and nervous. I shook my head in agreement with being rushed over to the hospital.
“How bad is it?” I asked, wanting to know what I was going to be dealing with once I got to the hospital.
“He is in critical condition. The driver is downstairs waiting for you. Samantha is going to hold off your key appointments. Take as long as you need,” Mr. Binnings said as he helped me to the door.
“Maya, I will be in contact okay?” Samantha began to cry as she was trying to comfort me. We hugged without speaking another word. I understood she was going to take care of the office and she understood I would keep in contact with her. I got on the elevator and headed down to the front of the building where the car was waiting for me.
Chapter 21
I arrived at the hospital in a complete panic among news cameras covering the accident on the job site and that Nicholas was here in the hospital in critical condition with head injuries. I tried to tune out the news broadcasts, but it was everywhere I turned. I needed to find out where Nicholas was. I needed to be near him.
“Yes, ma’am, may I help you?” the lady behind information asked.
“Nicholas Hansen, please.” Tears continued to stream down my face as I tried to force composure on myself.
“And your name, miss?” she asked, her attitude turning a little south and in the condition I was in, that only turned mine up.
“Amaya Davis.” I withheld my frustration with her as she was only doing her job.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Davis. Your name is not on the list of approved visitors.”
“But they knew I was coming. They called for me to come. I have to be on that list.” My voice raised and attitude emerged.
“I am sorry ma’am, but your name is not on this list.” I began to grow infuriated with her and the bitch was coming out.
“I do not care what you have to do, but you need to call for Mr. John Hansen or his wife down here and they will validate that I am to be allowed to visit my boyfriend because they called my job for me to come here.”
“Amaya, what are you doing down here?” John Hansen said as he approached the information desk.
“Mr. Hansen, she said I am not on the list and she wouldn’t give me any information, and I don’t know what is going on.” I began to cry hysterically and he grabbed me and comforted me.
“Didn’t you get the list of approved visitors?” he asked the clerk.
“Yes, Mr. Hansen. I received the list, I inputted the names, but Mrs. Davis was not on the list.” She handed the list to John for verification.
“Something is not right. This is not the list I sent down with Tabitha.” Suddenly it became clear why I was not on the list. I looked up at Mr. Hansen and he looked back at me.
“I’ll take care of this,” he said.
“Please be sure to add her to the list and anyone else she wants to add she has my permission.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Hansen,” she replied. We apologized to the clerk and we headed upstairs. Once we were upstairs, Mr. Hansen grabbed my hand to speak with me.
“Now listen. I need you to understand, he is in a coma. He has tubes running through him and he is hooked up to all these machines.” He fought back tears and took a deep breath. “Obviously we know how much he loves you. He calls all the time talking about you. He actually stopped his meeting yesterday to make sure that your lunch was delivered and while driving to our evening meeting, he made sure your dinner was delivered too.” I smiled at the comfort he was sharing with me. He was trying to put me at ease and prepare me for what I was about to see. “The team is here and, of course, the family is here. But we have agreed to allow you a few minutes by yourself.”
“Okay,” I said. “Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this.” I hugged him tight, returning the comfort to him.
“You ready?” he asked. My stomach was a bundle of nerves. I knew I was not ready for what I was about to see, but I needed to be with him. Nicholas needed me to be there.
“Ready.” We headed into the trauma unit and to Nicholas’s room. Once I stepped into the room, I saw his family standing around his bed holding hands in a prayer. I bowed my head to join in the prayer when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and Tabitha was standing there.
“What are you doing here?” she asked with an attitude.
“Excuse me? I am here to be by the side of my man, not yours, and by the side of his family because they sent for me.” I stepped out into the hallway, as eyes were not focusing on Nicholas, but on us. “And you thought your ass was slick by changing the list of visitors to not include me? Trust, you fucked up.”
“I wasn’t too much of a fuck-up last night at dinner with Nicholas. Did he tell you that last night over the phone? Did he tell you how warm his bed was with me in it?” I smiled knowing she had no clue that I was at Nicholas’s place last night.
“Hmm, that’s funny because I was at his place last night while he was at dinner with his dad and a client as was confirmed by Mr. Hansen himself. Nicholas came home and carried me to his bed, no our bed, as he called it and slept with me all night. He made sure that I was taken care of for lunch, dinner, and breakfast.” Her face was turning red with anger.
“You may have had him for the night, but I will never stop giving him what he needs. When he is stressed out and needs to take frustrations out, I’ll be there for him. Waiting for the paddles, the floggers, and the handcuffs, whatever he needs. While you are being the good little girl, I’ll be the bad little girl he needs.” I looked at her in wonderment. I am not sure what angle she was playing or if she was playing at an angle at all.
“Let’s make this clear, I am all the woman he needs. I satisfy him the way he needs to be satisfied. That’s why he has no use for you. You are just on the outside looking in, hoping for my table scraps. He has no need for you, and that is tearing you up. Now before I tear you up, get the fuck out of my face, and as long as I am here, do not come back. Mr. Hansen gave me the power and I do believe your escorts are waiting for you.” Hospital security and Mr. Hansen were headed toward where we were standing and I knew they were there to escort her out.
“This is not over, bitch.” She scowled.
“But it is over for now, bitch. Excuse me, but I have to get back to my boyfriend.” I walked away and headed back into the room where his mother greeted me with a big hug. I walked over to Nicholas and held his hand.
“Hi baby, I’m here,” I said with tears flowing again. Lance put a chair at the side of the bed for me and I sat.
“Maya, we are heading to the family room to regroup and take care of business. If you need us, dial the waiting room and we will answer.”
“Thanks, Jaimie.” We hugged each other and Lance gave me a kiss on my
forehead. They all left and closed the door behind them. I turned and looked at Nicholas and began sobbing uncontrollably. His head was wrapped in bandages and he had bruises around his eyes, which led me to believe he was hit on the head and had bleeding on the brain. One of my sisters is a doctor and she talks to me about sports injuries a lot considering I am in sports marketing. She helps me spin negative things about player’s health after an injury.
“Baby, I am here if you need me.” I leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. It was the only part of his face that wasn’t obstructed. I began to cry and I laid my head on his chest. I sat back down in the chair and continued to hold his hand. I wanted him to know, somehow, that I was there. I moved the bed rail, rested my head next to him, and silently cried until I fell asleep.
****
Over the next three days, there was no change. The swelling had continued to reduce, but still no response from Nicholas. The family came in and relieved me to go call Samantha to bring me my laptop and charger because I was not leaving the hospital until Nicholas was leaving the hospital. Jaimie would sit with her brother while I showered and changed. Lance would bring me something to eat, but I couldn’t. I was worried about Nicholas. I looked at my phone, at the picture of us he sent the day before to help me refocus. I would sit and talk to him, remembering our vacation and the silly things we did. I would talk to him about the NFL stadium that they were building, the upcoming wedding of our friends—anything to keep him interested. I would cry in between our conversations, but quickly recovered when I thought about him hearing me crying.
“Hi, Amaya,” Rick said as he entered the room. “Can we come in?”
“Sure thing. Come on in. I’m sure Nicholas would like it.” Rick, Jason, Chris, Tia, Gabrielle, and Samantha all walked in. I got up, went to my girls, and hugged them tightly. The girls were crying and in total shock.
“I didn’t want to believe it,” Tia said as she wiped the tears from her face.