Wanting My Assistant

Chapter 32

My shoulders are tense, almost every muscle in my body is tense. Steaks are high with this meeting. If this deal falls through, I could lose millions. I need this to go well. No matter how hard the work has been. I've been non-stop working on this since me and Isadora got back from Vegas. It's always coffee and work. I've barely slept well since last Friday. It's weird, laying down in my bed without Isadora's small form there, hogging all the blankets and wrapping herself up tightly before snuggling into my side. Waking up early without her leg thrown over my hip, her face pressed to my chest. Making coffee and breakfast for her as she wears my shirt. Hearing her soft voice as she tries to rub the grogginess from her hazy eyes.

But no matter how hard I try to focus, I can't seem to. Something is eating at me. Something feels wrong. Something is wrong. Kelly called me earlier and said Isadora sprinted through the lobby and bolted out the door before disappearing. My mind keeps wandering. Is she okay? Has she eaten yet? Is she asleep?

   She was so pale. So cold in my office earlier. She looked sick. Her voice so tired sounding I almost didn't recognize her. Her eyes seemed dull. She was cold to the touch. Her lips in a thin line.

   I wanted to take her home and care for her then, but I can't leave the office for this. And then Samantha showed up. She didn't make this difficult day any easier. She likes to say we dated but we never did. We bumped into each other at an event and then we went to events together. She claimed we were dating. I try to get it through her thick skull that we weren't even close to a thing, but she doesn't listen. It shocked me when she came barreling into my office, arms wide. She crashed into me, talking to me like we were dating. I quickly shoved her off and had to deal with her whining and pouts all the way to the door. That woman is ridiculous. She wouldn't understand no if it slapped her in the face.

   After she left, I went back to my work. And struggling with my thoughts. This meeting could cost me everything. I need it to go perfectly. In order for me to get the result, I need to put in the hard effort. I've been cooped up in my office every day since Las Vegas, closing everything around me out.

   The last time I remember truly talking with Isadora, she looked happy, her skin still tan and soft to touch. The way she smiled brightening my room and making my heart race. She always enjoyed my cooking and she slept so soundly in my arms and on me. What's happened? Is she okay?

   I should message her—

   "Dawson will now explain the blueprint process," Jack declares and I snap out of my thoughts, pushing up out of my chair abruptly. The man hoping to build a half a billion dollar hotel sits on the other end, his eyes focused for any slip ups or concern. Jack looks up at me from his papers about the material and distribution. I told him everything that happened over call when I got back home. He knows my encounter with Isadora earlier. He knows everything. He keeps saying I need to go for it now that she's single, but what if she doesn't want me? What if she already has someone else? Do I even deserve such a woman?

   I shake my thoughts away, trying to focus in on the problem at hand.

   The meeting room is tense. Not a single person has said anything. The sound of a gruff cough seems to loud for this room. The silence is harsh on me now. I used to enjoy the silence and peace. But now I miss the music me and Isadora listened to during the rainy days. Or hearing her soft laughter. Everything with her was better, even silence.

   But now, my best workers are surrounding the table, all focused and sitting to attention. Taking notes and muttering answers to questions if needed. Also, some provide some extra knowledge. They all sit alongside Clark's highly trusted workers. All my workers watch and listen closely, keeping their attention on me. As they should.