Raphael's Captive

Chapter 4

EXHAUSTED YET exhilarated.

That's what Raphael felt when he hit his hotel room's soft bed. He had arrived in Nassau not even six hours ago, yet he had already had the best time in his life in years.

He had seen her. He saw the woman he had dreamt of all his life, and seeing her actually went good.

His cheek bones hurt from the smiling he had done all the way back to the hotel. Maybe his cheekbones were complaining about such a new position, not being in the least bit used to it. Yet he didn't care.

He rolled onto his side with his phone in his hand, gazing at the number he had gotten from her. And she agreed to see him tomorrow again! He just wanted to go to sleep so that the day would come quicker, but he was still so anxious, that he couldn't even close his eyes.

Despite all, he knew, just knew, that this woman was the only thing that would ever grant him happiness. She had made him laugh genuinely for the first time in years--over a decade, in just one night.

Only an angel herself could've ever done that, and an angel she indeed was. He didn't know what the future has in-store, but he indeed knew that he wasn't going to live without her. He couldn't.

And he wasn't going to.

Three hours earlier...

"Yes Maddie? Have you found a good place where I can have a decent meal in town?" Raphael asked his assistant as he shoved some chips from the plane in his mouth, frowning at its horrid taste.

The flight to Nassau was only 45 minutes, but he didn't bother to grab a meal before leaving the house like Mrs. Garcia suggested. He was so eager to set his feet on Nassau, that food had barely crossed his mind. But by the time 7:00 rolled around and he was starving on his way to the hotel his assistant had booked, he knew his plan of sleeping in that night was no longer an option.

Maddie, his assistant, had gotten a proper scolding when, to Raphael's demise, the hotel's food was crap. His assistant should've checked that everything with the place was perfect before booking him a room there.

She only gave some shitty excuse about it being the only one available in such short notice blah blah blah. Raphael had no concern for such excuses, and she knew this.

So, the anger and frustration in his voice as he spoke to the woman on speaker phone was enough to have her running back to Puerto Rico. Raphael never kept assistants long. Either they try and get too close, or they were simply terrible at their jobs. And he hated when people were terrible at their jobs. So he knew Maddie wasn't any different.

Now that he was going to live in the Grand Bahama, he might just send her back, and find a new assistant soon.

"Yessir. I- um-I found a restaurant just five minutes from the hotel. I've arranged for a driver to pick you up in ten minutes" She rambled out quickly, obviously quite flustered with her boss's anger.

"Make it five minutes Maddie. I'm starving"

"I-um, I'll tell the driver to drive faster then sir?" It came out more of a question than a statement, as even this was out of her power. But she learnt from the past never to question Raphael's requests. It was either you get it done, or get it done as closely to his liking as possible.

But despite all that, Raphael was furious when the driver had arrived two minutes late, and he was sure to give a good earful about it too. Yet, the poor driver did all he could to reach in five minutes, even breaking the speed limit. But as they say, a hungry man is an angry man. Or Raphael being Raphael, was just always angry at the world.