Finding Nymphaea's Haven

Chapter Nineteen: Gossip during Lunch Date

POV

Nymphaea(Dehliah)

The day proceeds to go by slower than usual. Everyone stuck in their offices since the meeting was adjourned. No one dared to come out or to go to Atticus's office. I wouldn't even go in myself. Afraid if I trap myself in there with him, I'd let him take me on his desk.

It had to be close to eleven when I got a call from Nia. I answered as I kept typing.

"Please tell me you're still meeting us for lunch?" She says as I answer her call. She doesn't even say hello or anything else. I smirk to myself and shake my head.

"Why, hello to you too, Nia! Yes, love, I am coming still. I'm just finishing up here first. I'll be there ten minutes before one." I say to her as I look at the computer screen. Listening to her laugh at my remark from the beginning.

"Okay, great! Daisy and I are about to head that way in about fifteen minutes. We'll save you a seat. Just be careful getting there." Nia says to me.

"Okay, sounds great! I promise I'll be careful. I'll see you guys soon!" I say to her before I hang up the phone. Continuing to type the report sheet for the results of the meeting.

The office phone on my desk began to ring. I notice it's the main line calling me. It was Atticus calling me from his office. The moment I've been trying to avoid all day.

I answered the phone then. "Yes sir, what can I get for you, Mr. Williams?" I said into the phone. Staring directly at his shut office door.

"Can you please come into my office, Ms. Wells?" Atticus asks me in his deep voice. Sounding mischievous as ever. It's not like I could deny his request. "Yes, sir, I'll be right there." I told him before I hung up the phone.

I get up and walk out of my office. Making my way to his door. I stood in front of it for a few seconds. As I try to gain some confidence and courage before I open that door.

I walk into his office. The room was still the same. Nothing was changed around or misplaced. The only thing that's different in here is Atticus. Who's sitting at his desk. His arms rested on the arm chairs. He looked like a king sitting the way he was. Tall and proud but with an at ease side to him too.

I stopped about five feet away from the desk. Staring him down as he did the same.

"I need you to look over these and make sure everything looks good." He says to me as he goes to grab a piece of paper from his desk. I walk over enough to be in hand reach of the paper. Grabbing it from his grasp to see what it was.

It was the flyer for the booth that the firm will have at the carnival next weekend. Something they always do to raise money for the chairties that are presented at the carnival. It looks like our booth will be a kissing booth this year. Stating the cost and regulations for the booth.

"Don't you think a kissing booth is a little too cliché?" I say to him as I look back at him. The amusement look on his face makes the back of my neck, and my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"It is a little on the nose. This is why no one has volunteered from the firm to do it." He says as he looks at some paperwork.

I couldn't believe the words that came out of my mouth when they came out. "I'll do it then."

He stops to look back up at me. An eyebrow c****d up but not showing any sign of jealousy or possession about me volunteering.

"You're really volunteering to do this? To kiss other strangers?" The flat tone he had as he asks me definitely made me realize he was a little jealous.

"I mean, we're doing the booth to raise money for a charity. But if I do this, we have to give this to Futures Without Voilence organization." I say to him as I look at him. I kept my voice professional and firm. Watching his posture tense up a little at my statement.

"I can't tell you what to do. If you want to volunteer to do it, you can." He says as he begins to fix his posture. I knew there was a delima if I did the booth. He leans forward in his chair. Both of his elbows rested on his desk. His hands folded together in front of him.

The firey look in his eyes burned bright as he stared at me. His lips displayed a wicked grin before he spoke.

"But I must warn you, what I will do to you after the event will make you want to volunteer again. Just to get a rise out of me." His voice so deep and seductive. His eyes kept undressing me. I could feel the heat radiate not only off him but my body as well. I really have no idea how I can do this every single day.

I clear my throat and look down at the papers in my hands. I could tell he started to dial it down by leaning back. Trying to not look so intimidating but still looks somewhat to me.

"Well I guess that is something I'll have to think about. But you haven't said if you agreed to where you send the money." I say to him as I look back at him with an eyebrow raised at him. Investigating his body language as he sits there before speaking.

As I watch him I could see how relaxed he was as he began to calm his inner animal in him. But there was a serious notion about how he tries to calm himself down. It was almost as if it was the hardest challenge to do.

"If you are up for this then we will donate to the Futures Without Voilence organization. You have my word on that Dehliah." He says to me then. His tone was professional but I could hear the soft swaying tone in it.

I nod my head and smile at him. "Well it's settled we have one volunteer so far. I'm sure I can convince some more people." I say to him as I look at the flyer once more. Feeling the heat rise in my body and how flustered it was making me. I can't just act on my impulses especially in a workplace.

"Also I have sent an email to you for taking care of the files in their and setting up the calendar for the next two weeks. There is a lot that's going on and I definitely need a right hand man." Atticus says as he's looking at papers now. I couldn't help but snort.

He looks up at me then with an eyebrow raised. I'm surprised he doesn't see why I thought it was funny. I guess he really is trying to be professional then.

"Don't you mean a right hand woman?" I ask him with my best poker face possible. Because I knew I was right and I didn't want him to see how much it exhilarates me knowing this.

He let's out a deep chuckle with a soft growl in it. My body instantly vibrating in response to him. If I didn't know better I wouldn't be antagonizing him to try something. But some feral part of me is getting the best of me. Clearly begging him to make a move.

"I guess that would be correct. I'm surprised my father chose you to help run this place." He says to me with a devilish grin. I couldn't help but feel a bit stunned to hear him say that. My eyes even grew wide with disbelief. It just made him eye me more like he was ready to give it to me.

I then stood a little taller and straighter. Something in me just heard the last advice his father actually gave me. He clearly wasn't lying when he told me what he did. I was gonna have to bring him down from his high horse even if he has an attraction for me.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see how much I am useful to you and this company. Don't worry you will see it in time." I say to him with a triumphant smile. I don't give him a second to say anything as I point to my watch and speak again.

"It's about time for my lunch break. I will be back in an hour and I'll get started on this when I get back." I said before I turn to walk out of his office.

I could feel his eyes intently watch me as I walk out of there. I could feel my heartbeat hitch in my throat. My knees becoming weak as I try to walk proud out of there. God this is absolute torture to be in this situation but I can't help but want more.

I left the office and headed to a Mexican restaurant on the square in town. I park next to Nia's car when I pull up into the parking lot. Once I got to the entrance door of the restaurant my nose was greeted with the wonderful aroma of food and spices.

Walking into their you automatically notice the authentic Mexican style. The beautiful wooden tables with colorful cloths in the middle. Vases with marigolds in them on each table. The old ranchera music playing through the restaurant. I absolutely love this place and the hospitality they show to all their customers.

A waitress greets me and I tell her I'm here with some people. She immediately directs me to their table. I follow behind her as we make our way to the table. I realize it is not too crowded for a Thursday afternoon. Usually there are more people in here. But I did notice the girls did land a good table due to not that many people being in here yet.

I see Nia and Daisy sitting at a table near the big open view window. And the view through was breath taking. They had built a private garden with a water fountain in the middle. There was even some exotic birds and iguanas in there. Another perk I love about this place.

I thank the waitress for her assistance before she walks away from me. I walk up to the girls giving a small smile as they look up at me.

"Hey girl! I got you a sweet tea she should be coming back with it." Daisy says to me as she grins widely at me. I could tell she was in a good mood. She must have gotten some from Justin. I notice they've been in their honeymoon stage for quite some time. I couldn't help but feel envious for that with Atticus. Maybe I could get it from him but the question is am I ready?

I smile back at her. Thanking her as I sit down between her and Nia at the table. The waitress came back with my tea and took our order. Once she was gone Nia began asking Daisy something about what they were wearing for the ball. I wasn't really listening as I sat there munching on the chips and salsa. Lost in utter deep thought about everything I've experienced in the last four hours.

It took Nia snapping her long beautiful fingers in front of my face. Pulling me back to reality and looking straight at her.

"Hey did you hear me?" She asks me as she studies my face closely.

I shook my head and gave her a sheepish smile. "No I'm sorry I was lost in thought. What did you ask me?" I say softly to her. Hoping she wouldn't drag it out more.

"I asked you if you've gone up to the boutique to make sure your dress fits?" She says to me as she munches on a chip.

"I will be going tomorrow and taking Myla with me. Your friend said we shouldnt need to stitch anything up all the measurements you two took were right." I tell her as I fiddle with the straw in my cup.

"Okay where is your head at right now?" Daisy blurts out at me then. I look up at her completely thrown off and shocked. She puts her hands in the air and shakes them along with her head.

"I'm sorry it was blunt but I would have thought you'd be excited to talk about this? I'm just wondering what has got you so all caught up in your thoughts." She says before she begins to drink her water.

I couldn't get mad because she was right. My head was so caught up in my thoughts I couldn't even be excited about this topic. Even if I tried to fake it which clearly didn't work. Never does with these two.

"I'm starting to think Daisy is weirdly right." Nia says then. Daisy raises her glass up at her and giving her a nod. Nia waves off her sarcastic remark before she speaks again.

"Just hear me out, you seemed fine this morning before you left your house. The last time I heard from you was a few minutes before your meeting this morning. So it's definitely about this new boss of yours."

I let out a hysterical laugh then. Feeling my ribs ache from the deep disturbing bellows I was letting out. The girls keep staring at me like I'm a mental patient who flipped their switch. Daisy nudges for me to stop as the waitress arrives with our food.

Luckily I was able to control myself from embarrassing all of us like that. We all smile at her and thank her for our food before she walks away. Nia and Daisy both narrow their eyes at me as I began to munch on my tamales.

"Are you really going to scarf your food down after what you just did?" Daisy asks me looking horrified.

I shake my head a laugh then. I wipe my face with my napkin and stick a finger in the air as I do this.

"I think I should be asking you two questions since you both know this town. Especially better than myself." I say to her and they both look at each other then. I could see the confusion on their faces before they look back at me waiting fir me to continue.

"Daisy you went to high school here. Your family grew up here. And you're telling me you didn't know anything about Atticus?" I say to her as I take a drink of my tea.

She raises an eyebrow at me. Looking over at Nia and then back at me. "Well Atticus was three classes above me and his brother didn't go to our school. I didn't hand out with his crowd or Justin's until five years ago." She says to me then with suspension hinted in her tone.

"What happened today Nym?" Nia asks me then with a soft coaxing tone.

I shook my head as I run my hands through my hair. I let out a deep sigh before looking at them both.

"His name is Atticus Williams." I say to them. Their faces says it all. How the guy I've been seeing and screwing is my boss. The exaggerated shape their mouths made. The whole table felt silent but had an eerie quiet screams to it.

"Tell me you're joking?" Nia asks me as Daisy begins to laugh hysterically then. She begins to slap the table clearly not able to control herself and what she has heard.

"Do I look like I'm joking? You two know I don't date my boss. Let alone sleep with him. But clearly that cat has been drug out of the bag."

"You definitely let him drag that cat out." Daisy snickers at her own comment still laughing about it all. Nia shakes her head and rolls her eyes at her.

"Okay but that was before you knew he was the boss. The question is now what happens going forward with all this information?" Nia asks me then.

"Well for starters it is to be kept professional at the office. I have taken s*x off the table if we continue to see each other." I say to her as her face her wide with amusement.

"You're really going through with this? You're willing to break your top rule?" She says to me then. She knew I went by high standards after I left Brandon. I had to in order to protect myself and the twins. But something about Atticus makes me feel safe even if it look dangerous to others.

I shrug my shoulders at her and continue eating my food. She gasps in excitement and utter shock to my response to it all. She laughs along with Daisy.

"She's finally taking our advice! We need to drink to that!" Daisy squeals with excitement. She starts to get the waitresses attention. When she walks to Daisy's side she orders three lime margaritas and a patron shot each.

"Daisy I can't show back up to work drunk." I chuckle at her for thinking I was going to drink it all. She narrows her eyes at me and points.

"You're not gonna be drunk off this you'll be feeling nice and fuzzy if anything. Besides this is a moment for us let me have it." She says to me as she gives a friendly grin. "Besides he's already seen you drunk and naked not anything more he could witness." She let's out a laugh then and I laugh along with her. As Nia chokes on her drink before joining in with us. Making us all laugh harder.

We downed the shots immediately once the waitress brought it to us. Sipping on the margaritas as we sit here and chat. Going over our work schedule for Saturday before the ball.

We arrange to get ready at Daisy's house after we all got off. Nia shows me the designs she made for Myla's dress and hers along with Daisy's. She has the sketch of mine but I want to be surprised when I try it on Friday.

It was close to twelve fifteen when we got the check and headed our way out. Telling them bye and I'd see them at the park later today. We always go to the park on Thursdays and walk or run depending on everyone's moods. Also a way to take the twins out and let out energy.

Before I got in the car Daisy walks over to me on my side of the car. I turn to look at her. Curious to what she was about to say to me. I gave her a smile and patiently wait for her to speak.

"Hey I need to say something that I do know but I didn't want to do it in there." She says softly to me. I knew she didn't want to bring it up if it was going to be sensitive for me. The one thing I love and absolutely adore about her.

"What's up Daisy? You have my attention." I respond to her then.

"I may not know much about Atticus but I did know his ex. She was obsessed with him and probably still is. They always partner up to do the charity booth at the festival." She says to me and my heart stops then.

I did see on the flyer it said something about booth being run by a two partner business. I can't remember the name of the company to save my life right now. Damn this alcohol it's blurring my thoughts and starting to piss me off.

"I'm glad you told me this because I don't think he was going to and I might have just screwed myself." I say to her as I pinch the top bridge of my nose. Shaking my head to the hole I just dug deeper for myself.

She gives me a look like she doesn't know what I mean and is worried about what I'm about to tell her. "What did you do? How bad could it be?"

"I'm a volunteer for the booth. We're going with kissing booth theme." I blurt out to her quickly then. Her mouth made the biggest Oh shape I've ever seen. Exactly what I thought too if I was looking from her point of view instead of mine.

"Oh my God Dehliah! Are you sure you really want to go through this? You know we got your back but just want to make sure you know this is a landmine field you've never been in before. There could be more detonators about him if you continue this." She says to me as she reaches for one of my hands. Holding it in her hands as she smiles supportively at me.

I knew what she meant. There is so much no one knows about him. He's the type of man that has kept his life hidden since he left home. Being known as the mysterious Williams bachelor. Plus finding out his mother is trying to take the bar for some reason. As long as I got the facts that I needed I knew how I need to play my cards smart.

I nod and smile at her. "I'm sure I know what I'm doing. I know how to act and I know my worth. Besides it's not like I'm breaking all of my rules for him. My standards and suspensions about him are still in question. But I know when to walk away. I swear I'll be okay." I say to her as I squeeze one of her hands.

She gives me a hug and tells me bye and to let her know when I get back to work. I tell her bye and okay. That I love her and to be safe as well. We both get in our cars and she left before me. Waving at me as she drives away.

As I head back to work I couldn't help but feel the buzz start to tingle in my hands and fingers. I shook them for a few seconds. It began to help and I let out a small laugh.

"Get out of your head girl. This is not going to get the best of you. Absolutely not." I say out loud to myself sitting in my car.

As soon as I felt the flutters of anxiety and the lingering whispers from overthinking go quiet I knew my pep talk worked. I sit up straighter before I drove off back to the office. Atticus is not going to get the best of me. I know my place in this job and it is thriving with me.

His father knew it he saw it that's why he hired me ten months before he passed. I was the one that was here at his side being like a child to him.

But I won't tell Atticus that. He's going to see it just like his father did.