Endgame (rough draft)

Part 7

"Shit, Shit, Shit!" Rachel muttered to herself. It was difficult for her to fall asleep. Her mind wandered to her past, keeping wide awake. When she finally dozed off, it was already four in the morning. She fell into a deep slumber, sleeping through her multiple alarms.

Rachel sighed heavily as she wiped a few stray tears from her face. Even after all this time, her mind would often travel to her first love; Ryan. It was as if her heart still yearned for him despite the troubles they faced.

Quickly taking a shower and putting on light makeup to cover the bags under her eyes, she was flying out of her room at eight-thirty in the morning. She only had thirty minutes to be standing in Elijah's office. The only problem was that it took forty minutes to get to work because of the traffic.

Rachel chose a fitted pants suit with a pair of black heels. If she even attempted to do her hair then she was going to be more than ten minutes late. Rubbing oil through her hair, she tied it in a bun and ran out her bedroom door. She damn near made it out of the house until Skylar stopped her.

"I really have to go. Whatever it is, we can talk later." Rachel walked past her.

"It's Ryan! I recently reached out to him and talked about a few things..."

The sound of her ex-lover's name made her stop in her tracks. She couldn't grasp the feeling of hearing his name did to her. No amount of therapy could help her forget her first love. 

"What of him?"

"We talked over the weekend and he sounded a little off. There was no hint of life laced in his voice when we talked. Rach, I could tell he misses you."

"I'll call him. Same number, right?" Rachel asked turning to the door to run out to her used truck.

"Yeah!"

Rachel connected her phone's Bluetooth to the truck and began to drive away. Although she was forbidden to contact anyone from home she couldn't stand by and let her best friend and first love go through hell. The least she could do was block her number.

She waited for Ryan to pick up the phone as she swerves through traffic. She wouldn't even be surprised by the number of tickets that would be waiting for her in the mail in the future.

"Yeah." Ryan's gruff voice said through the phone.

He answered!

"Mickey." Rachel cooed on the phone.

There was a brief pause until realization hit Ryan.

"Ra-"

"Yeah, it's Minnie. Who else calls you that ridiculous name?"

"Where are you? Are you okay? Where did you go? Do you need anything at all?"

Rachel chuckled. She missed that man so much. It broke her heart upon learning that couldn't go back to her hometown until she was given the okay.

And that's been years.

"Are you able to do some traveling?" She asked, forgetting all the warnings. 

"You know I would travel the world if it meant seeing you again. Just tell me the place and time."

"How about Maryland? We can spend next weekend together?"

"I'm in. Text me the details and I'll book the hotel!"

"Will do, I have to go to work but I'll see you soon."

"It's really good to hear your voice. I miss you." Ryan cooed over the phone.

"I miss you too."

Ryan smiled as he hung up his phone. He was bewildered about how hearing her voice could make his heart skip a beat. He missed her like crazy and when he heard that she had vanished without a single word to her family, he began to think the worse. He assumed that the same people that kidnapped her the first time had come back to finish the job. He smiled to himself now that he got confirmation that she was indeed alive and well. 

More importantly, he was going to meet with her soon.

 Skylar had promised him that she would find a way to locate Rachel. Ever since then he kept the volume on his phone up and answered all calls. Ryan was ecstatic. His thoughts were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. His eyes landed on the gentleman that interrupted his thoughts. He had forgotten that he was in the middle of a staff meeting.

"Continue." He said to his board members with a straight face.

On the outside, he looked like a calm man that ready to handle business, but on the inside he was jumping for joy.

**

"Your lucky, I clocked you in at exactly nine." The tall slender man eyed Rachel up and down as he turned in his seat.

Jessie was his name. When she first started he gave her the stink eye mainly because he thought that she wouldn't last a day with the evil Elijah Henderson. But she came back with her head held high ready for more work.

"Thank you!" Rachel giggled.

"Whatever, bitch. If you last until he officially hires you then you can take me out for drinks as thanks. But don't thank me yet, Hunny. You better get in his office before he gets there." Jessie examines his nails as he sassed Rachel.

"Shit." She muttered to herself. She bolted to the elevator and took it to the top floor. She sprinted to the office without noticing the odd glances she received from others. She quickly took off her coat and checked the calendar for any upcoming appointments.

Once she checked the calendar she ran to the kitchen to get Elijah a hot cup of coffee with cream and sugar on the side. Walking carefully to his office, she noticed that he was not there. The woman sighed with relief. Placing the mug on a cup holder, she stood to her full height. The office door was pushed opened to reveal an irritated Elijah Henderson.

"Good morning, Mr. Henderson." Rachel greeted with a smile.

Elijah scanned her from head to toe and then examined his wristwatch. He scoffed and returned his eyes to Rachel.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that name? Surely it's not hard to comprehend." He said as he removed his jacket. Handing it to her, he said, "Don't just stand there. Do something."

"My apologies, sir."

The man clearly did not like her.

"You have an appointment in two hours with-"

"Did I ask you for my appointments? Do me a favor and just be quiet for a minute." Elijah picked up the black coffee and took a sip. He sighed in contentment.

Rachel stood back as she watched her soon to be arrogant boss drink the entire cup of coffee before he turned to her. She was muddled on what she should be doing. Elijah was the type of person she would never try to understand. 

"Appointments?"

Did this man really wait until he drank an entire cup of coffee to allow her to speak? He was worse than a woman suffering PMS symptoms. 

"You have an appointment with Michelle at eleven at the Royals. At one, you have an appointment with Mr. Henderson and-"

"Cancel the appointment with Michelle and send some yellow roses to her house. Confirm the appointment with Mr. Henderson. There's a stack of materials and documents on the desk that is temporary yours. The documents contain the latest trends and the theme of the upcoming gala. Pick out at least five pieces of fabric and return here."

"Is that all, sir?" Rachel bit her lip and nodded. The man was so hard on her, making her want to break down in defeat. 

"Did I say anything else?" Elijah cold eyes met the young woman before they darted to her lips. He shook his head, turning his back to proceed with his morning. "And you're still here."

Asshole much? Rachel left and did as she was instructed. She couldn't picture herself working for Elijah long term. However, she needs to pass the internship to be considered elsewhere.