The billionaire's reluctant mistress

Chapter 10: We need to talk

Chapter 10:

Dalziel's face stiffened for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure, showing a bitter smile: “Don't call me by that name. I'm not Flynn anymore."

Rachel's stomach tightened, she felt like she was going to vomit. She couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed all this time. Or had she? Had she recognized him but didn't want to admit it? A thousand questions swirled in her mind, she didn't even know where to begin. She found her legs had no strength to move and her heart missed a few beats.

Eventually, the band stopped playing. Rachel stepped back hastily, neither looking at him nor saying a word. She needed to get out of here. She thought she was going to faint. Her palms burned and her head hurt like hell.

Confused, she returned to the table and grabbed her purse. Seeing her pale face, Lisa asked concernedly: "Rachel, what is wrong?"

“I feel really sick, I need to go.” As she ran out of the hotel, she could hear someone calling after her. But she didn't look back.

Rachel didn't remember how she got out of the hotel and took a taxi back home. She couldn't think of anything, her head was such a mess. She thought she wanted to cry, but her eyes were dry. It took her two minutes to find cash to pay the driver.

Rachel distractedly pressed the elevator button for her room. She was putting the key in the lock when a warm, strong hand pulled her from behind.

“Rachel!”

She turned her head. Dalziel Albanese was standing in front of her. But so was Flynn Williams, she didn't know which name to call him. She still couldn't connect the two identities.

“What do you want?” She suddenly felt angry. Now that the panic and self-pity had passed, she felt angry. She didn't understand what game he wanted to play all this time. He must have thought that she was an i***t. Why did he give her this job? Why did he come back into her life? Did he want to show off how much money he can make, and how many women he could have? He must be very happy because their lives are so different now. At the end of the day, he had gotten all he had ever wanted. He was always a workaholic, a man filled with dreams and ambition. She was bitterly reminded that, along with other things, his burning desire for a better position in society was the main reason why they had broken up. She knew with all her heart that he would sacrifice anything to advance himself. She was left injured so deeply that it had taken her the past few years to recover. To look at him now, by walking away from their relationship, he had gotten all he had wanted.

“No, what do you want?” To her surprise, he was also angry. “I’m the one who is supposed to ask you that question!”

“What?”

“It’s you who has pretended like you didn’t know me all the time. And then you suddenly mentioned it, and then you ran away. Are you trying to f**k with my head?”

Rachel suddenly realized that he had always assumed she knew he was Flynn. She did not. If she had known he was Flynn, she would never have accepted the job. Her anger cooled as she realized how stupid she had been. She didn't understand how she could have lied to herself for so long. Of course he was Flynn. He had always been Flynn. Of course, she recognized him, who could totally forget the one they once loved?

But looking at him now, he was so different from the image she had had in her mind. When they broke up, she was in her early twenties, and he was an ambitious young man. The Flynn she knew was a young man who was raised by a poor single mother, yet the one standing in front of her was a wealthy mixed-Italian aristocrat. She couldn't accept that he had come this far, and that she was still struggling all these years. She couldn’t even move on.

He seemed to calm down as she stayed quiet: “I've always wanted to talk but you never seem to be interested in bringing up the past.”

She thought carefully about his words, a bitter feeling rising up: "I don't think..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the door opened, and Alex appeared in ridiculous plaid shorts, holding a large bowl of popcorn. He and Katy must have been watching a movie together. They usually spent Saturday nights watching movies together.

"Rachel?"

She stared at him, not knowing whether to be glad or happy to be suddenly interrupted.

“I thought I heard your voice. You’re back earlier than I expected. Why didn't you come in?”

“I..” Rachel didn't know what to say, instinctively turning her gaze to Dalziel. He stood on the other side of the door, his expression cold. Following her gaze, Alex now discovered that there was another person.

“Oh, who is this?”

“This is my… um… my boss.” - Rachel stammered.

Alex gave Dalziel the most stupid smile ever, making her want to punch him.

“Oh, did you give Rachel a lift home? Thank you for doing that. Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?”

Alex and Dalziel were roughly the same height, but Alex was much younger than him. When the two stood side by side, Dalziel did indeed seem much more mature. Alex looked like a teenage boy.

Dalziel took a step back: “No, thanks. I have to go anyway. Nice to see you, and goodbye Rachel.”

“Oh, good bye then. Maybe next time.” Alex's gaze followed Dalziel's shadow as he disappeared into the lift.

When he entered the house, he remarked, "Your boss is handsome, but he seems difficult."

“Yes he is. Good night Alex, I need to go to bed now, I'm exhausted.”

That night, Rachel slept restlessly. She tossed back and forth between dreams. Fortunately, the next day was Sunday, so she didn't have to go to work. Rachel could pass a calm day at home. Rachel could not sleep until it was almost morning so she decided to start her day earlier than usual. She made coffee and took it with her while walking in the nearby park. Rachel's area was quite far from the city center, which meant that commuting to and from work took a long time. But in return, the rent in her part of town was quite cheap and there were many trees and green areas. After walking for about an hour, she stopped to rest. She took a sip of her coffee and sat on the concrete steps next to a stone statue with several children running back and forth. Her eyes seemed puffy and her mind lethargic. She shivered and placed the cup on her knee.

The first fingers of the dawn sun crept across the sky and shimmered on the dew-covered grass. Rachel wished she was a photographer so she could capture the sunrise in its entirety. Within seconds, the morning light covered her feet, legs, and face, and she closed her eyes and immersed herself in it. Having lived in the city for so long, Rachel had had to learn to hide her mountain accent, but she had never lost her love for green spaces. The sound of birdsong, the color of the foliage, the smell of moist soil, all these things helped her to regain her composure. She felt more clear-headed, less confused. Then, it struck her like a slap across the face.

In fact, she thought, it didn't have to be a problem at all.

She decided to quit her job and move on. After the previous night, she realized that everything had become too complicated. Maybe they should let what had happened in the past rest in peace.

That Monday, Rachel went to work as usual. The resignation letter seemed to be screaming in the bag as she walked past the golden lion logo. Everyone greeted her cheerfully. After half a year working at L&R, she was familiar with everything and everybody. It felt good to be in a place that she knew well. Of course, the high salary and benefits were also a factor that made her hesitate. She almost burst into tears when her colleague Chris bought her an iced latte with extra cream, just as she liked it. Everything was normal, only she was confused. She couldn't help noticing that Dalziel wasn't at work and wondered why. She intended to submit her resignation letter to the human resources department before lunch, but she missed the time because she was busy with paperwork. She only realized that everyone was on lunch break when Katy showed up and tapped her manicured fingers on the stone countertop.

“Hi, how are you?”

“Oh, hi Katy. I’m good. You?" Rachel raised her head.

“Not too bad. Would you like to go across the road to get some sushi with me?”

The idea of ​sushi was tempting. Only then did she look at her watch and realize how hungry she was feeling. Katy always showed up at the right time.

While waiting for the food, the two talked happily about work. Then, the conversation moved towards last Saturday's celebrations. Katy's beaming face showed she had had a wonderful evening. Katy laughed out loud as she recounted how Mrs Craig, the front desk manager, had had too much to drink and nearly started stripteasing and lapdancing some of the male colleagues. Remembering that evening made Rachel jittery. She took a sip of cool grape juice to soothe the dryness in her throat. Suddenly, Katy playfully asked: "How was dancing with our boss?"

Rachel's body stiffened, she smiled wryly: “Hah. It was just… weird.”

Katy seemed quite taken aback by Rachel's answer. She was expecting something explosive, intense, exhilarating: “You're so boring, if I had danced with our boss, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep that night.”

After a few moments of silence, Katy said seriously, "Do you know that you and our boss would look good together?"

Rachel almost choked on water.

“What?”

“Yep. I watched you guys on the floor. It was a nice image. Maybe it was just because you guys are both so good looking.”

Rachel smiled mischievously and decided not to say anything. Surely, Katy had not meant anything by her comment. Besides, she was always running her mouth. She quickly changed the subject. Rachel, taking another sip of grape juice, once again pondered the evening’s events. She felt tears welling in her eyes.

That afternoon, Rachel tried to work as normal. She tried to take herself to the human resources department to talk about leaving but could not lift her legs. At about three o'clock in the afternoon, her personal intercom rang. From the other side of the line came Dalziel's voice.

He said brusquely: "I want to talk to you."