Safe

Chapter 14

By the time I make it back into my apartment, Ashley and Blake are at the counter, acting as if they didn't just hear the entire thing.

"Friends..." I repeat under my breath since I know they heard the entire conversation.

Ashley is smirking by the time I plant myself in the seat next to her.

"I can't believe I just met the man of my dreams," Blake breaks my trance, and a roar of laughter escapes the three of us.

Before I can catch my breath from the serotonin, my phone notifies me of a text message coming through. To my surprise, it's from Pierce!

Pierce: Hi Honey! After this company meeting in New York, I'm coming to Portland to close a deal with another company for a couple of days. I have some time in between to see you for a bit!

Nova: That's great news! When are you flying in?

Pierce: Tonight. The company we're working with changed the location last minute, so our meeting with them is tomorrow morning.

As I finish telling him how excited I am to see him, I beam with joy returning my attention to Ashley and Blake.

If I had taken the offer to go to LA with Wilson, I would have been stuck trying to explain myself. But now, I don't have to and thank fuck for it.

Ashley can see that I've changed moods drastically, "What happened?" She questions.

"Pierce is coming into town!" clapping my hands as if I'm a 16-year-old who just got a million followers.

Blake lights up first, "Finally, a man I can hang out with."

"He's only staying for a couple of days, and most of that time will be with work, so tough luck there, buddy," I say to Blake, watching him sink back into his seat.

--

Pierce texted later in the evening, telling me he had landed and will be spending the night at the hotel with his coworkers to finish up their final plan before the meeting. Apparently, they need to get this deal, and everything must go right.

However, before doing so, Pierce has made special arrangements to see me for a bit before heading to the hotel. As usual, he brought take-out so we can enjoy one another's company. That, and he has to give me a run-through of his plans.

At the beginning of our relationship, Pierce and I had to get accustomed to his career and titles. In fact, it's ingrained in our brains now the many things he and I have to prepare for. Lunch sittings, dinner parties, you name it. He and I have done it all.

At our three-year mark, Pierce got a promotion that brought him to be a leader in his company. His authority was so high that I lost track of all the titles. The last time I visited him at work, his office was huge; it was practically my apartment times 2.

In the end, it doesn't matter what it is. Pierce and I have always been able to secure a deal, funding, and/or sponsorship for anything we've set our minds to.

We are that good.

--

The next morning, I'm awakened by Pierce's text asking if I could come in during lunch. I assume he wants me to take a final look before the proposal. Even though Pierce has a partner with him, he still entrusts me to have the final say.

It's nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, it's second nature for us to do this. However, a large part of me wished he was visiting for something other than work.

11:45. I arrive at the office address Pierce texted. Walking into the lobby, I'm greeted by the receptionist, "Can I help you, Miss?"

"Hi, I'm here for Mr. Dae," I smile at her.

"Mr. Dae? Oh! You must be Nova! He has notified me about your visit. Please, come this way, so you don't have to wait here. He said you could wait in his temp office until he's finished with his morning meeting."

"Thank you...." Reading her name tag, "Emma."

"It's not a problem at all," She smiles and gestures me to follow her up into the elevator.

"Have you worked here long?" I query while she pushes the button to the top floor. Doing my best to make small conversations, I try to gather as much information as I can. Pierce has always admired that about our relationship. We easily win people over just by our charm.

"Not long. I was hired by his partner, Mr. Night, to control their scheduling and meetings for the trips. Mr. Dae was very excited to know that we were going to Portland for this meeting. It was originally scheduled for California, but their CEO had some changes," I can already tell Emma will be loyal to the two. I have known Daniel Night since Pierce started his job. The two of them are practically brothers.

"I'm glad. The universe definitely has its ways," I say as I give Emma a comforting smile.

Once we've reached the top floor, Emma leads the way down an unusually large hallway. It's massive, and the fact that Pierce has a temp office here blows my mind.   By the time we reach what I assume is his office, I struggle with the demons inside of me.

Forgetting that Emma is next to me, "Let me know if you need anything else. You can ring me on the phone here. The number should be 1543."

"Thank you, Emma," still in shock of the enormous office.

I can see the view of the city from behind his desk, and the birds are flying too close for comfort. Taking a deeper look around, I notice a picture of us placed next to his work computer. My heart begins to soar as it's a picture of us when we were at his 25th birthday celebration—cheesy man.

This is the picture he insists on bringing with him everywhere when he travels for work. He used to travel before, but not as much as he does now. I've made him leave it at home many times, but he would make copies without my knowledge.

Pulling me out of my trance, the phone begins to ring, and I jump from the sudden noise, "Mr. Dae's office," I say through the phone, unaware of how my voice cracked.

"I see you've made it to my office, love," Pierce says through the phone.

Laughing, I can't help that he knows me so well, "This place is huge. What are they paying you to do here?"

"Let's just say I am a big deal -" Pierce responds.

"Don't flatter yourself, babe."

Laughing through the phone, I can hear Daniel say hello. "Honey, I'll be there in a bit, okay. If they come into my office, tell them I'm still in the meeting room with Daniel. It's all about the power move, so make sure they know we mean business."

Bossy, "Yes, sir." I say, and I can hear Pierce grunt out curse words that the human ears should not hear.

Suddenly I'm startled as someone walks through the door.

"Oh, my apologies, I thought this was Mr. Dae's office," the woman says as she makes her way to close the door again.

"It is," I begin, "They're in the meeting room. Did you need anything?"

Before closing the door to say no, she takes a double-take, and I suddenly feel uncomfortable, "Have we met before?" She addresses me while she analyzes me up and down.

"I don't believe we have," I say, bringing myself to get up to shake her hand, "I'm Nova."

While my name escapes my lips, her very eyes light up, "Jennifer," she says.

From the way Jennifer talks, I can tell she's a well-mannered woman. It's written all over her face. I can't help but feel like there's something I'm missing with how she looks at me.

"They're in the meeting room waiting if you're still looking for him," I smile a sincere smile making sure Pierce gets this shit over with.

She doesn't budge, and the way she continues to look at me doesn't go unnoticed. I'm glad that I had the decency to put on impressive clothes today: a navy-blue top and a curve-hugging shirt that defines all the curves of my body. I don't normally dress like this, but I know I need to if it has anything to do with Pierce's work.

"Right well, I'll be on my way then," She says as she closes the door behind her.

Weird.