My Handsome Assistant is a Hidden Billionaire

CHAPTER-04

ERIC.

As soon as my eyes landed on Anna at the gala, I couldn't stop staring. She was sitting in front of me when that asshole sat next to her. I eyed him like a hawk, and an uneasy feeling built inside me. I tried to ignore it until he began to harass her. When I saw her face, desperate and frightened, I knew I had to do something.

Not one damn person in that room stepped in. The only thing those assholes cared about was growing their businesses; they didn’t even notice what was happening around them. His hands on her body were enough to make my blood boil. I felt protective of her, especially since she was so drunk.

If it hadn’t been a business gala, I would have beaten the f**k out of him. But I had to behave, so a warning was all I could give.

As I left the ballroom with her, I was acutely aware of her soft body in my arms and the sweet scent of her rose perfume filling my senses. After ensuring she had everything she needed at her house, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. It felt as if Cupid had struck me with his arrow. For days, my mind was consumed with thoughts of her hazel eyes and long, brown locks.

I imagined running my fingers through her hair, feeling its silkiness against my skin. From that moment, I knew she had captured my heart. I wanted her, so when the opportunity arose to become her assistant, I had to take it.

Just being near her made my hands sweat and my heart race every time our skin touched; it left a tingling sensation long after she was gone. I have yet to see her today—it’s 10 a.m., and she isn’t at Petrova, which is a bit unusual. However, she might have a last-minute appointment, so I don’t think too much about it—not until two more hours pass with no sign of her.

With furrowed brows, I make my way to the front where I know Maggie stands with the other two girls, Sarah and Katie. “Have you heard from Anna? I keep getting her voicemail.”

All three women turn to look at me, but Maggie is the only one to answer. “Not this morning, no. I was actually just about to come and ask you. Her cell keeps going to voicemail, which isn’t like Anna. Would you mind going to check on her?”

Like she needs to ask me—I was already headed for the door as she said it. “If you find her, let me know,” she shouts as I run out.

The sound of the mall turns silent as I race toward the entrance, bursting through the doors and nearly knocking over a woman. I quickly apologize before rushing to my car.

Once inside, I press down on the accelerator, jolting the car forward and out of the parking space just as another car comes around the corner, honking loudly. They have to slam on their brakes, but I don’t bother to apologize this time.

My gut feeling is telling me something is wrong, and I never ignore a gut instinct. When I pull into her driveway and see her car still parked, panic begins to build.

“Calm down,” I tell myself. “Maybe she didn’t sleep again last night. She could still be asleep.”

As I approach her front door, I press the doorbell, and the chime resonates loudly. I expect her housekeeper, Polly, to answer; however, as the bell’s tone fades and silence stretches on, an overwhelming feeling of unease settles over me.

“Anna!” I shout, trying to see through the frosted glass of the door, but I realize I would only see a shadow if someone walked past, and right now, there’s nothing.

My fist bangs on the door, the sound loud and echoing. I’m glad she doesn’t have neighbors close to her property. “Anna, it’s Eric!”

Silence greets me again. Enough is enough. I grab the doorknob and twist it. I never expected it to be unlocked, but it swings open, allowing me entry as if it knows I need to be here.

“Hello?” I call out, my eyes scanning her foyer. I find her purse at the bottom of the stairs and her shoes still on the shoe rack, waiting for her feet to slip inside. She was ready to leave by the looks of it.

Everything seems in place, so where the hell is she? As I make my way toward her living room, my footsteps echo against the tiled floor. Turning the corner, I stop dead in my tracks when I see her body next to her bookshelf. She’s dressed in the pantsuit I picked up from the dry cleaners yesterday—she was ready to go to Petrova.

Rushing to her side, I lean down. “Anna, can you hear me?”

When she doesn’t respond, I place two fingers on her neck just under her jaw and feel a fluttering pulse. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding—she’s alive—but I realize just how hot she feels.

Slipping my arm beneath her back and legs, I lift her into my arms and carry her toward my car, gently laying her unconscious form in the back seat. I crack open a window so that cool air hits her skin as I drive.

As I navigate through the tangled mess of traffic, I anxiously press down on the accelerator, stealing glances at her still form. My hands grip the steering wheel with such desperation that my knuckles turn white, and I silently curse the slow-moving cars, longing for the light to change.

Finally, the familiar red and white sign of St. Mary’s Hospital comes into view. With her in my arms once more, I burst through the sliding glass doors, scanning the waiting room filled with patients and a line forming at the check-in desk. Pushing past the seated individuals, I call out, “I need some help here!”

The woman at the front desk looks up with annoyance, but her expression quickly morphs to concern as she registers the sight of Anna limp in my arms.

“What happened?” she asks, rushing from behind the counter, her wide eyes scanning Anna’s body with urgency.

I fill her in quickly as she guides me down the sterile corridor. “She didn’t show for work, so I went to her house and found her like this.”

Stopping at a bed, she instructs firmly, “Alright, put her down and give me a minute while I get a nurse. I won’t be long.”

I comply, carefully lowering Anna onto the crisp white sheets and brushing her hair away from her forehead. “You’ll be okay.”

“What’s her name?” a voice asks. I turn to see three nurses rushing toward us, their faces etched with worry as they grasp their stethoscopes tightly in hand.

“Anna Petrova—will she be okay?”

They push through a door into a brightly lit room, the strong scent of disinfectant hitting me like a wall.

One nurse secures the brakes on the bed to ensure it doesn’t shift. Moments later, another nurse enters, cradling a blood pressure monitor and a heart rate machine.

“I’m sorry, sir, but we can’t say for sure yet. We need to run some tests.”

“How long has she been like this?” the blonde woman, who is standing by her bed and checking her eyes with a light, asks.

I step back to allow them to do their job. “I’m not sure. Maybe a couple of hours? She was supposed to be at work for 8 AM, but when she didn’t arrive by 12 PM, I left to find her.”

The blonde and the brunette exchange worried glances, prompting me to ask, “What does it mean if she’s been unconscious for some time?”

“Well, it could lead to complications, but I’m sure she hasn’t been like this for very long. You’re lucky to have found her.”

One nurse begins taking her temperature while another grabs a bag of fluids and a needle. As the brunette approaches me and places her hand on my arm, she says, “Let’s go to the waiting area, okay?”

I look at Anna, taking in her pale face. “No, I’m not leaving her.”

“Sir, you can’t…”

My eyes bore into the woman. “I said… I’m not leaving her. Now go do your job and help her.”

She looks at me for a moment, then seems to decide she won’t change my mind and heads back to Anna's bedside.

There’s no way I’m leaving Anna alone. Even if she has to stay here tonight, I’ll be in that chair until she wakes up.

Time begins to slip by as they work on her, fluids flowing into her arm, and the heart rate monitor beeping. I watch the screen, focusing on the heart rate reading 120.

I begin to pace, my eyes flicking back and forth to the screen. As time passes, it drops to 110 and finally settles at its resting rate of 70. Relief washes over me, and my shoulders finally relax just as a nurse approaches me from the corner where I stand.

“Are you family?”

If I don't say I'm her family, she won’t tell me anything, and I’ll have to wait until Anna is awake to find out.

I look at Anna as I say, “Yes, I’m her husband.”

Turning my head to look at her, I find her staring at me, trying to gauge the truth, but I give nothing away. She nods once and begins.

“When she first came in, we suspected her condition was due to an infection. However, her fever, unconsciousness, and rapid heart rate could be linked to other things, so we ordered some blood tests. They just came back, and it seems she has a UTI that has spread into her bloodstream. Our conclusion is that she ended up having a seizure from the fever and fell unconscious. You’re very lucky you found her; any longer and it could have been devastating.”

Walking over to the side of her bed, I place my hand atop her head, slowly stroking her hair—the silky texture calming me. “So what does that mean for her now?”

“We have given her plenty of fluids and started her on antibiotics. I expect her to make a full recovery, but it will be a couple of days until she begins to feel better. She should wake up soon.” Her eyes shift to Anna as she continues, “Our suggestion is to keep her in for a couple of days just to make sure she’s improving.”

I nod as I take the seat next to her, my eyes trained on her beautiful, still-pale face. “She won’t be happy with that.”

“Some people never are, and we can’t force them, but it’s in her best interest to stay. If you can convince her that it’s better, she will have round-the-clock care.”

She will have round-the-clock care at home because I’ll be staying with her to make sure of it. “I will try,” I reassure her.

She nods again and gives a slight smile. “I’ll leave you to it if she needs anything,” she says, reaching over to grab a white remote attached to the wall. “Just press this button, and a nurse will come.”

Once we’re alone, I take her hand in mine, running my thumb in a circle over her skin. I sigh, my heart rate finally beginning to slow as time goes by. She looks so peaceful, as if she has no idea what has happened to her poor body.

When her fingers twitch in my hand, I say, “Anna.”

Her eyes begin to flutter open slowly. She blinks, swallowing a couple of times. “Eric,” she says, looking around in confusion. “Where am I?” She tries to sit up, but I stop her by placing my hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay. You’re at the hospital. I found you unconscious.”

Her hand goes to her forehead. “My head is pounding.”

“I’ll ask the nurse for some pain medication.”

I know she told me to press the button, but I’m worried they might interpret it as an emergency, and I don’t want to alarm Anna unnecessarily.

Heading towards the nurses' station, I see a male sitting behind the desk, his brown hair sticking up as he stares at the computer screen. He looks exhausted. “Anna is awake; she says her head hurts. Can we get something for it?”

He looks up at me. “Sure, give me a couple of minutes, and I’ll bring her some Tylenol.”

“Thanks.”

I take a seat next to her again. “He’s going to bring you something.”

She sighs. “Thank you.”

I take her hand again, linking our fingers together. She looks down at where our skin touches, and I notice goosebumps appearing on her arm. “They said you have a UTI. Didn’t you feel ill?”

She shakes her head, then groans, prompting me to ask, “You alright?”

“Yeah, just dizzy, that’s all.”

It’s so strange to see her so weak; it hurts me to see just how ill she really is.

“They want to keep you in for a couple of days just to keep an eye on everything.”

“What? No, I can’t! I don’t like hospitals!”

When the beeping from her heart monitor gets faster, I rub the inside of her wrist with my thumb. “It’s alright, Anna. If you don’t want to stay, they already said they wouldn’t make you. But if you go home, I’m staying with you.”

When she goes to protest, I say, “No arguments. You’re going to be weak. They said it will take a couple of days before you start to feel better. I need to make sure you get all your medications on time. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

She studies me for a moment. “You would do that for me?”

“Of course I will.”

Laying her head back, she sighs while closing her eyes and then whispers, “Okay.”

Well, that was surprisingly easy. I thought I would need to convince her a bit more than that; however, I'm not complaining. I got what I wanted, and that’s all that matters.

She agreed to stay for the night, but when morning came, she insisted on leaving. They discharged her with strict instructions to stay in bed and take her medications on time. I reassured them that she would, and as we got into my car to drive to her place, I stopped off at the store to grab her some painkillers and anything else she might need.

Once we arrived at her place, I carried her to the bedroom, where she has stayed for the past two days.

With a bath towel in one hand and her pyjamas warm from the dryer in the other, I gently set them on the bathroom counter as the warm water began to fill the tub. I thought a soothing soak would be a lovely treat for her— a comforting alternative to standing in the shower. She was slowly regaining her strength, and today, I noticed a hint of colour returning to her cheeks.

I added a drop of essential oil I found resting on a shelf beside the tub, then made my way into her room. She lay in bed with her eyes closed, but they fluttered open slowly when she heard my voice. “I thought you might enjoy a warm bath before dinner.”

A warm smile spread across her face. “thank you eric you have no idea how grateful I truly am”

I'm just grateful to be around her. I’ve stayed not leaving once to go to my own place I’ve made sure she’s okay. Needing a place to sleep she generously let me take the guest room, I’ve carried her to the bathroom whenever she needs to use the toilet or take a shower.

I left the room while she got undressed but stayed nearby in case she needed help; fortunately, that hasn’t happened yet.

“will you have dinner with me tonight?” she asked.

I do this every night, so I nodded and replied, “Of course, I would love to.”