Chapter Forty Six
1563 Words
♠ Austin Hames ♠
My first day as the temporary CEO wasn't as stressful as I'd expected it to be.
In fact, not much had been done apart from the fact a few important workers had introduced themselves to me.
My secretary, Tina, had scheduled meetings for several days of the week, so I could assume I'd be busy for a really long time.
And well, here I was, closing my car door as soon as I'd entered it after leaving the company, just for my phone to vibrate.
I reached for it in the pocket of the black suit I had on, not surprised to see a message from Susan pop up.
She'd said she'd message after work, and well, I guess this was it.
Susan- Hey!!! How was your first day at work?
Before I had a chance to reply, another one appeared.
Susan- The day must've been stressful, so why don't we cool off your head with a drink.
Me- No thank you, I'm not in the mood to drink.
Susan- I don't mean alcoholic drinks -Eye roll Face Emoji-
Susan- There's this coffee shop a friend of mine bought me last week, and it's lit.
Susan- Trust me the coffee there is tongue dancing, you have got to try it.
I couldn't resist rolling my eyes.
For all I knew about her, she wouldn't let me go if she really wanted us to head to the coffee shop.
But I'd just gotten out from work, and at the moment, all I needed was to rest and nothing more.
So her coffee whatever might have to be postponed to some other time when I was less busy.
Me- Sorry, can't come.
Susan- Oh come on, please -Pleading Face Emoji-
Susan- I really want you to try the coffee, it's lit.
Susan- Dami Coffees, I can assure you'll love it. Come on, please -Pleading Face Emoji-
That word.
Dami Coffees.
It was the one Kim had invited me to the first time we went out.
And it was also only a few blocks away from her house.
Who knows, maybe I could catch a glimpse of her on my way.
I quickly sent her a reply.
Me- Alright, on my way.
Susan- Yay, thank you so much.
She sent me a kissing face emoji, and I found myself involuntarily cringing at that, before returning my phone.
It was only when I started the car and was on the road that my brain snapped on what I was doing.
Why did I even want to meet with Kim? Why would I agree to drive to a place ten minutes drive away from home, just to do what? Catch a glimpse of her?
Did that make sense?
After much thinking, I was able to convince myself it was actually all because I wanted to ask how her sister was doing.
Yep, that was it and nothing more.
About fifteen minutes later, rain started beating my windshield, so I had to use the wiper to clear the rain out of view.
As I passed Kim's area, the rain worsened, pouring like it had a war with the world.
No one needed to tell me twice that with the rain, it wasn't safe for driving, so I parked the car at a safe place before grabbing an umbrella I'd kept in my car for emergencies like this.
Pushing open the door, I got out, releasing the umbrella so it could shield me from the rain.
Suddenly, I began regretting the fact I accepted the offer to take a dumb coffee so late.
The rain seemed like a way of laughing at me for being so bee-brained.
But now that it had been done, I had to move through the running crowd, just to be able to move, and hope no one recognized me.
Though that chance seemed slim as people looked eager to just get out of the rain.
My feet stopped in their movement at the sight of Kim.
That made my heart do a little flip flop, but I ignored that, forehead creasing at the sight of her heading into a shady route all alone.
What on earth was she thinking?
I contemplated whether to follow her or just let her be.
I mean, this was her neighborhood, so if she was going there alone, then she probably knew what she was doing.
But that thought didn't stop the uneasy feeling that curled around me.
It made me wonder if I really could leave her out there alone.
But then again, she wasn't a child.
What would she think if I were to just appear beside her? What would I even say?
‘Hey, just wanted to walk you home to ensure you're safe’
The thought of how she'd stare at me like I was dimwitted made me almost change my mind.
The key word being almost.
No matter what, I couldn't sit back and let her go there alone.
So, to prevent giving it a second thought and changing my mind, my feet moved me towards the direction she'd disappeared into.
And geez, it really was a terrible place for anyone to be.
The rain beat up my umbrella and I had to wonder if it'd stop anytime soon.
But as I drew nearer, my gaze caught sight of a female on the floor, a male crouched in front her, and three ugly dudes behind the male.
They didn't seem to notice my presence.
My brain immediately sparked because no one needed to tell me twice that the female was none other than Kim.
The man raised his hand, about to hit her.
That was enough to get my blood pumping faster than ever as I threw the umbrella, rushing with as much speed, and grabbing his wrist before his hand made contact with that beautiful face of hers.
The men gasped at my sight, obviously not expecting that.
Kim slowly raised her head to me, opening her eyes.
There was slight surprise there, but mostly gratitude as a drop of tear slid down her cheeks.
“Austin.” Her tone came out so soft, it ran straight to my blood, only making me hate the men even further.
“How dare you touch my woman!” I demanded, fury overtaking me.
The man's eyes widened, “y—” but before he had a chance to reply, my fist had come in contact with his nose.
He groaned, covering it with his palm and jumping to his feet.
I stood up also, grabbing Kim's shoulder to pull her up.
“It's the basketball player,” one of the men recognized me, followed by murmurs of agreement.
“Well, I don't give a damn about that!” The man, whose nose was now bleeding, barked. “Break his already broken ankle in such a way he can't walk again.”
The three dolts angrily scurried towards me.
I placed Kim behind me, “stay here,” then focused on the dimwits.
Within five minutes, they were all on the floor, groaning in pain with bleeding parts of their body.
“I guess I haven't lost my fighting skills,” I muttered, heading to Kim who stared wide-eyed in shock.
“Y-You—”
“Are you alright?” I hurried to her, worry erupting in me.
She didn't reply, so I continued, “I don't know who these jerks are, but they'll certainly rot in jail, that's a promise.”
“Th-The—”
She was cut off by my hands wrapping around her, pulling her in an embrace.
At the moment, my body just needed to feel she was actually alright. That she was safe.
I breathed in her scent, the both of us just staying in that position.
For a moment, we forgot the rain still drenched us furiously.
This was all I needed.
When we pulled apart, I led her to my car, not caring that her wet body soaked my car seat.
“You can just take me home, thanks,” her voice trembled, obviously from the cold.
“No, I'll take you to my house so my personal doctor can attend to you.”
Her eyes widened when she turned to me, “what? But my house is just a few blocks away while yours is like—”
“You're cold, and I already messaged my doctor so he would be there when we get there,”
“But my house is just around the corner,” she sounded like I wasn't making sense.
And truthfully, even I was aware I wasn't making sense.
But at the moment, my body just seriously yearned to spend more time with her.
There was no way I could risk losing an opportunity like this.
“We really shouldn't be arguing when you might catch a cold by tomorrow morning, you need a doctor now before things worsen.”
Without waiting for a reply from her, I started the car, driving off towards my house.
The rain had already lessened, only falling as drizzles.
I could feel her surprised gaze on me, but didn't return because even I found my decision a little too extra.
Well at least let's look at the bright side of things.
We get to be with each other for a while longer.
- Writer
