Chapter Eight-Richard
1252 Words
Yesterday had been insane.
Richard had slept for barely an hour.
One hour.
That was all he had gotten before his alarm went off at seven in the morning.
By seven-thirty, he was already working.
By eight, he was in his first meeting.
Then another.
Then another.
His entire day had become one long blur of conference rooms, phone calls, documents, signatures, negotiations, and people asking for his attention.
And somewhere in the middle of all of it was Rowan.
Richard hadn’t forgotten him.
He simply hadn’t had the time to think properly.
After picking Rowan up the previous evening, Richard had returned to the office and worked late into the night.
When Rowan had sent his morning message, Richard hadn’t seen it.
His tablet didn’t receive personal messages.
It was strictly for work.
Emails.
Documents.
Contracts.
Schedules.
Nothing else.
His phone, meanwhile, had been buried somewhere inside his briefcase while he moved from meeting to meeting.
So when Richard finally checked it later, he saw Rowan’s message.
Good morning.
He stared at it for a moment.
He had wanted to respond.
But another meeting had started.
And then another.
By the time he remembered again, hours had passed.
He knew it probably looked like he was ignoring Rowan.
He wasn’t.
At least, he hadn’t meant to.
⸻
At ten that morning, Richard sat in his office after finishing another meeting.
His assistant entered with a tablet.
“Mr. Avery.”
Richard looked up from the documents in front of him.
“Yes?”
“Your next meeting is in two hours.”
Richard nodded.
“What else?”
“You have a call with the European clients at two-thirty. Then the board meeting at four. After that, your father’s dinner is at seven.”
Richard closed his eyes briefly.
“Anything else?”
“Two additional calls.”
“Move one.”
“Which one?”
“The later one.”
His assistant hesitated.
“That would be difficult.”
Richard looked at him.
His assistant immediately nodded.
“I’ll handle it.”
Richard leaned back.
His eyes drifted toward the window.
For some reason, he remembered Rowan from the night before.
The way he’d gotten into the car without saying much.
The way he’d sat there looking annoyed.
Richard hadn’t needed to be told.
He had seen it.
Rowan had been upset.
Richard still didn’t know why.
Maybe it was the message.
Maybe it was practice.
Maybe something else.
But he had noticed.
And because he had noticed…
He wanted to do something.
Richard frowned.
That wasn’t like him.
He didn’t usually try to make people feel better with gifts.
He wasn’t the kind of man who sent flowers or bought expensive things simply because someone seemed upset.
But Rowan wasn’t exactly a stranger anymore.
At least, not completely.
Richard picked up his phone.
“Give me the name of a good flower shop around here.”
His assistant blinked.
“A flower shop?”
“Yes.”
“Of course.”
“And contact a jewelry store.”
His assistant looked at him again.
“Jewelry?”
Richard gave him a calm look.
“Did I stutter?”
“No, sir.”
His assistant quickly left.
Richard looked down at his desk.
What was he doing?
He didn’t know.
Maybe flowers were too much.
Maybe jewelry was ridiculous.
But he couldn’t stop thinking about Rowan.
A few minutes later, his assistant returned with several options.
Richard made a call.
Then another.
He didn’t spend much time choosing.
He found a diamond tennis bracelet.
Elegant.
Simple.
Beautiful.
The price was seven thousand dollars.
Richard didn’t hesitate.
“Send it.”
“Where?”
Richard paused.
He didn’t know Rowan’s exact address.
His assistant handled it.
Within the hour, everything had been arranged.
Flowers.
The bracelet.
Delivery.
Richard looked at the confirmation on his phone.
Then locked the screen.
It was just a gift.
Nothing more.
At least, that was what he told himself.
⸻
Later that afternoon, Richard finally called Rowan.
He didn’t text.
For some reason, he wanted to hear his voice.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
“Hello?”
Rowan’s voice sounded slightly annoyed.
Richard’s mouth almost curved.
“What you doing?”
There was a pause.
“Today’s my rest day.”
“Rest day?”
“Yeah.”
Richard leaned back.
“You’re at home?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re alone?”
“Yeah.”
Richard nodded.
“There’s a package coming for you.”
A pause.
“What is it?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Richard.”
He heard the curiosity in Rowan’s voice.
“It’ll come. When it comes, you’ll see.”
Another pause.
“Oh.”
Richard smiled.
“Okay?”
“Okay.”
“I have to go.”
“All right.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
The call ended.
Richard placed the phone down.
He had barely returned to his documents when his next meeting began.
⸻
About an hour later, Richard was sitting in a conference room surrounded by executives when his phone vibrated.
He ignored it.
It vibrated again.
He glanced down.
Rowan.
Richard knew immediately what it was about.
He couldn’t answer.
He was in the middle of a meeting.
So he declined the call.
A few seconds later, another message appeared.
What is this?
Richard almost smiled.
He typed beneath the table.
A gift.
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Why are you sending me a gift?
Richard stared at the message.
He thought about it.
Then typed:
I just wanted to.
He put the phone away.
The meeting continued.
But his attention wasn’t completely there anymore.
Because his phone started ringing again.
Rowan.
Again.
Richard looked at the screen.
He couldn’t answer.
Not now.
So he declined the call and sent another message.
I’m in a meeting. I’ll call you later tonight.
He waited.
No response.
Richard put the phone down.
For some reason, he wondered if Rowan was upset again.
He shouldn’t care this much.
But he did.
Just a little.
⸻
The meeting lasted longer than expected.
Then another one began.
Then another.
By the time Richard finally had a moment to breathe, it was almost evening.
His assistant entered.
“Mr. Avery, your next meeting starts in twenty minutes.”
Richard nodded.
“Move it.”
His assistant looked surprised.
“To when?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is completely full.”
“Then make room.”
His assistant nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
He left.
Richard sat alone in his office.
He looked at his phone.
No new messages from Rowan.
Richard stared at the screen.
Then he realized something.
He wanted to call him.
Not because of the gift.
Not because he needed to explain.
He simply wanted to hear his voice.
Richard shook his head.
He had no business getting distracted by a twenty-three-year-old basketball player.
He had a company to run.
A family to deal with.
A schedule that was already impossible.
And yet…
He picked up his phone anyway.
His thumb hovered over Rowan’s name.
He didn’t press call.
Not yet.
Instead, he put the phone down.
There would be time later.
At least, he hoped there would be.
Because somehow, without Richard realizing when it happened, Rowan Baker had become the one person he kept thinking about between meetings.
And Richard wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing.
But he wasn’t ready to stop it either.
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