Ever growing 2

Chapter 35

My new responsibilities at work have been both a great challenge and a big stress factor when it comes to having to go to our Calgary office. As soon as I sit down, Jake knocks and walks into my office before closing the door behind him.

"Hello beautiful, hope you had a nice holiday? We have to work on the presentation for the investors that are coming Friday." He smiles. Suddenly I'm glad I wore a turtleneck today.

"First off, you will NOT call me beautiful! Second, I've already worked on it. I was about to email it to you. You may get back to me if you think I forgot something otherwise, have a nice day." I stand and show him the door.

"You're even prettier when you're sassy." He laughs and quickly leaves my office. "Fuck! I have to do something about him!"

Jake is still hitting on me. When Ryan told him to back off, he stopped for a day or 2 but then slowly started dropping comments like "Oh I like your shirt today" mildly inappropriate at first but now he's back to asking things like "Are you wearing lingerie underneath your skirt?" I've been trying to ignore him but I guess I'll have to do something about it.

I wish Ryan was here. I usually miss his physical touch and although I still do, I miss being able to talk to him about anything and everything. I miss his silly jokes, him teasing me, him planning a future with me. We started talking about our future house during the week when I imposed the no sex rule on him. Thinking about that week makes me smile, it was one of the hardest weeks for us and it ended on a bad note but we also connected on a new level. When I thought our relationship was strong, it got even stronger and more beautiful despite the incident we had on the last day. Still unsure how I found it within me to throw those bottles at the wall without running away, I'm happy I did. He needed me and although I was cold, I feel like not shutting him out completely shows growth. "You sound like your therapist now!"

The day gets busy when Mr. Samuels hears that I've already prepared the presentation, proud of me he then asks me to work on a new project. For a split second, I feel overwhelmed with all that's being asked of me but I'm also grateful to have a boss who never forgets to praise me.

As I'm walking out of the office at the end of the day, I hear Jake calling for me but I open the door of the Uber pretending I didn't hear anything. I'm so done dealing with him.

The hotel room where I always stay feels empty when I walk in. Ryan doesn't always come with me but I would usually get to at least talk to him. An hour later, there's a knock on my door, I look through the peephole and see Jake standing there. "What the hell?" Panicked I don't know if I should open the door or not.

"Ella, I heard you, I know you're there!" He bursts into laughter.

"What do you want?" I bark at him.

"I want to talk, come on just for a minute." He's so loud. I see someone open their door checking to see what's going on. Afraid they'll call the front desk to complain, I let him in.

"How the fuck did you find me?" I ask with my hands on my hips. Being married to someone famous, I've learned not to share information about what hotel I stay at.

"Your mother's last name was in our database so I figured I'd try and bingo I found you." he laughs.

"Stalker much?" I growl as my heart starts racing.

"So how can the amazing Ryan leave his sexy wife all alone in a hotel room? Too busy working I suppose?" His voice is mocking. I don't even bother answering his questions before he continues. "You know I tried to go out with a girl to forget about you but turns out she had seen the picture I posted and asked if I could help her meet Ryan Faulkner Taylor, dumb cunt!" His nostrils flare in anger.

"What did you think was going to happen when you posted the picture? What was even the point of posting it?" I yell at him.

"I posted it because you are on it, I'm in love with you." He takes a step in my direction and I'm suddenly very afraid.

"You're not in love with me, you barely know me. That's enough, get out before I call security!" I yell again trying to hide my fear.

"We've spent a lot of time together at the office, I do have feelings for you," he takes another step.

"I'm married, I love Ryan. Now get the fuck out of here," I get even louder.

Jake seems to be weighing his options for a moment before he turns around and exits the room. A sigh of relief leaves my body. Gathering all my belongings I book a room at a hotel on the other side of the city before running to the front desk telling them I must check out now. I get into an Uber taking me to the other hotel where I check-in under a fake name completely unrelated to mine.

Needing a distraction from the stress I just went through, I decide to Facetime my two friends. I wanted to tell them what happened but Maddy told us about a situation going on at her work. Emma and I try to help as best as we can giving her advice and letting her know we're here for her. After a while, we decided to go to bed. I'll update them on the situation later.