His Duchess [Completed]

Chapter 15- Calm Before The Storm [E]

Annie work up early on Friday at six o'clock and headed for the shower. She put her hair up in a shower cap and began to undress turning the shower on, steaming up her bathroom. She hopped in letting the hot water cascade down her overworked body. Trying to massage her shoulders to relieve the tension while rolling her neck from side to side, she started lathering her loofah and thought back to the past few days.

It was a very busy, stressful week that passed by quickly. Annie worked endlessly readying reports and presentations for Sonny and Cici so they would be ready for Friday's back to back meetings; since she'd be covering in the hospital.

The St. James' started moving in the very next day after they signed their paperwork.  Annie didn't see any of the family members all week, she was either too busy, out of the office, or they were too occupied setting up their offices. Annie was thankful if not relieved she didn't encounter Julien. She would be kidding herself is she didn't believe she was trying to avoid him at all costs, because she was. She even made an effort to come to work earlier than everyone else so she would avoid encountering him.

It took a lot of effort on her part to dodge any sightings of him. She always looked over her shoulder, or would make sure he wasn't waiting at the elevators, making sure to look ahead before approaching them. Her paranoia was causing a tension headache that started to form by mid-afternoon, nearly everyday making it difficult to concentrate.

She was attracted to him physically and mentally and was afraid she would finally succumb to his advances if they were ever alone. Annie didn't know if she was ready for that yet.

She's witnessed countless times when his grey eyes turned silver, stormy and even darker when he looked at her.  They always held a promising glint in them that put her on edge. Try as she may she couldn't get him out of her thoughts.

She felt like a coward, she was never one to hide or be fearful. She hated that she didn't know what would happen next. Being prepared for the worst was always something Annie knew well when it came to business and life in general. But the reality of it all was, she needed guidance and reassurance from herself. Nobody could give her advice or show her the right path. This time she needed to figure out her own future.

After work for the last week, Cici, Annie and Sheila have been picking out color schemes, flowers, viewing different cake designs, and dinner menu options for the upcoming wedding. With all the running around they've been doing, it was a little easier to forget her problems and concentrate on Sheila and the wedding.

It's been very time consuming and Annie was exhausted.  They weren't even close to being done, and on top of it all they still had to plan the bridal shower. February was just days away and so much still had to be done.

Annie turned her face up to the shower head closing her eyes, letting her tension run down the drain. After a few more minutes she shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, dried her body and wrapped the towel around herself. Slipping off the shower cap, she started applying moisturizer to her face and neck.

A loud yawn escaped her lips as she opened the door to her closet.  The shower wasn't enough to help wake her up like she would have liked. She grabbed her light blue scrubs and a plain white long sleeve cotton shirt. She put them on over her soft pink bra and lace underwear. Pulling her hair up in a bun, lastly she applied very light make-up.

Heading downstairs, she sat on one of the barstools in the kitchen and helped herself to the breakfast Winnie set out for her, of pancakes and fruit. She heard shuffling upstairs as her family started getting ready for the day. Annie refilled her cup of coffee getting up and leaving her plate still half full. She couldn't force another bite down her throat, not having an appetite to begin with. Taking a deep breath she headed to the garage toward her car heading for the hospital.
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Julien was making his way down the hall to the breakfast room when he heard moaning coming from Phaedra's room. He frowned and stepped closer to her door listening in. She moaned again and it sounded as though she were in pain. Julien immediately knocked once in warning not waiting for an answer and stepped inside his sister's room. His eyebrows shot up in surprise when he saw her in bed, laying to the side hugging her middle. Her features were twisted in pain and her eyes were tear stained.