50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Chapter Ninety-Two

    "I can't even believe I'm looking at you right now."

    Aubrey traced the curve of Destiny's face with one hand. His head was propped up on his other hand. He was stretched out on the hotel bed beside her, drinking in the sight of her. He'd taken his suit jacket off and rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up to his elbows. "I can't believe it, either. It almost feels...too easy. Like I'm going to wake up and this will all be a dream."

    She stared at him for a long time without speaking.

    He stared back, knowing that something was troubling her...knowing what was troubling her. He suspected that something had transpired between Brian and Destiny when they were all out in the living room area of the hotel suite. The two of them threw each other looks that were all too easy to read. Aubrey's suspicions were all but confirmed when she returned alone with her luggage. There was a sad look on her face that was unmistakable, and she'd barely been able to look him in the eye. Trying to ease her mood, he moved his free hand from her face to the hand she had resting on the pillow. He picked up her hand and inspected it. "When was the last time you went to get your nails done?"

    She laughed and turned her face into the pillow. "I don't remember," she said, her voice muffled. "There has been so much going on, the last things on my mind were salon trips."

    "We'll fix that," he assured her. "Just because I have to be a prisoner in this room doesn't mean you have to be."

    She slanted a look at him and smiled, but even her smile was sad. "Aubrey...there's something I have to tell you."

    "There's nothing you have to tell me," he contradicted.

    Her brows drew together.

    He returned her hand to the pillow, but kept his hand over hers. "I already know."

    Tears shined in her eyes. "You weren't going to say anything?"

    "There's nothing to say about that," he said simply. "I understand why it happened. All I care about is that you're here with me, right now."

    "I don't deserve you," she whispered.

    "I'm the one who gets to decide that," he countered, lowering the hand that was supporting his head and wrapping his arms around her. He pressed his forehead to hers. "While I was down there... I prayed to see you again," he told her. "Even if it was for just one more time. I prayed, and prayed, and prayed. I didn't care what it took. I didn't care what I would have had to sacrifice. I didn't even care what you had done. I've made mistakes before, mistakes that you've called me out on. Mistakes you don't even know about. Mistakes that would probably fill you with disgust if you ever found out about them. I'm far from perfect, Destiny. But...all I want is you. You're all I want. I don't care what you did while I was gone, as long as you're still mine now."

    She sniffled and nodded. "I am."

    "You are...?" he asked softly, brushing curls back from her face.

    Tears cascaded down the side of her face, dampening the pillow. "I am, Sir."

    He hugged her tight and kissed her forehead. "That's my girl."

    A knock sounded on the door. "I'm sorry to interrupt anything that I might be interrupting," Darius's voice awkwardly sounded through the door. "But I just received authorization to allow the call to your board of directors to go through."

    Aubrey continued staring into Destiny's eyes, not budging. "I'll be right out," he called.

~~~~~~

    Brian returned to Aubrey's hotel room approximately ten minutes after Destiny sent him a text saying that the call could be made. His hair was disheveled, and his shirt was slightly wrinkled. When he entered the room, the first thing he realized was that Destiny wasn't in it. He glanced down the hall towards a cracked bedroom door and could barely make her out; she was sitting Indian-style on the bed. There was the slightest twinge in his chest cavity, but he tried to ignore it.

    "Thank you for coming back down," Aubrey greeted.

    Brian tore his gaze away from Destiny and met Aubrey's gaze. "Yeah, no problem." He accessed his call log and put in a call to Wayne Macht, the board member who'd been practically harassing him for the past two weeks. "Hi, Wayne, it's Brian. Yeah. I have Aubrey here with me. I'm going to put him on." He handed the phone over to Aubrey.

    Aubrey accepted the phone, then turned his back and walked away from Brian. "Hi, Wayne, it's me. Yeah, I know I left rather abruptly. I apologize for that, something major came up. I'll explain when I return. When?" He glanced over at Darius, who was standing in the kitchen area of the suite. "That's still to be determined, but I will be back as quickly as possible. I was thinking maybe a teleconference. Yeah. Bridgette's replacement?" He turned and looked towards Brian.

    "Human resources is interviewing for her replacement," Brian told him. "Myself and Daniel Atkins have been helping with covering your meetings and returning your phone calls. Zorica has been helping to cover some of Bridgette's duties, including drafting correspondence and fielding your company e-mails."

    Aubrey repeated those words, pretty much verbatim, to Wayne. "I'm extremely proud of how Brian has stepped up in my absence," he said into the cell phone. His eyes narrowed at Brian. "He has stepped up in more ways than one."

    Brian arched an eyebrow.

    "Yeah, definitely. I'll touch base with you again as soon as I can, and we can have that teleconference set up to appease the rest of the board. And again, I apologize for the lack of notification. Everything will be explained when I return. Thank you, Wayne." Aubrey crossed the room and returned Brian's phone to him. "Thank you so much for that. You've been an exemplary asset to Graham Enterprises, and to me."

    "Any time," Brian told him.

    "Also..." Aubrey stroked his chin. "I don't know how else to put this, but I know what happened while I was gone."

    Brian fought to keep his face expressionless.

    "Destiny was going to tell me, but she didn't have to tell me," Aubrey went on. "I just want to let you know that there are no hard feelings. I don't blame you. I don't blame her. You were there for her when I couldn't be. I just...want us to all move on from this. Basically, I want to make sure you're not kicking yourself or putting yourself through a guilt trip over anything that happened. I know that you tend to do that."

    Jesus. Brian lowered his eyes and nodded. "I'm going to head back to my room," he announced, hooking a finger over his shoulders. "I looked up flights, and I'll be flying out late tonight."

    "Have a safe trip," Aubrey said, and he sounded like he meant it. "I'll make sure that you are comped for all of your expenses, including travel to and from D.C. I'll make sure you are comped for a lot more than that. Thank you. For everything."

    Brian nodded again. "Thank you. And again...I'm glad to see that you're all right." He left the hotel room and walked down the hall. Knowing that he would be returning to his house in Toronto that wouldn't have Destiny in it made him feel empty inside. At least I know that Aubrey knows, and doesn't hold a grudge, he thought. I didn't expect him to be quite that cordial once he found out, if he found out; I expected to be decked. Laid flat on the ground. I expected to maybe lose my job and have to start my career from scratch. Instead, he gave me nothing but accolades and appreciation. On some level, I understand it. He knows how heartbroken Destiny must have been. But on another level, I cannot possibly relate to how jovial he's being about the entire situation. If the roles were reversed, I'd feel jealous. Livid. Not with her or him, but frustrated with the situation. He was as cool as a cucumber, which goes to show why he's such a better man than I am. It goes to show why she should be with him, instead of a sensitive chump like me. He stood at the elevator, waiting for it to reach the floor he was standing in. He fought back tears and depression that attempted to set in as the doors slid open.