A Millionaire, His Suit, And Poor Me

Sunday mornings were supposed to be quiet and relaxing, they were supposed to have the sun shining through the f**** windows or something. Instead, it was snowing outside, there was the sound of pots and pans in my kitchen and I had fallen asleep crying. So, that was it. I ended up crawling out of bed and into the kitchen a few minutes later, only to find Louis there trying to cook while Jace, sitting on the counter, was watching with obvious amusement. Her blue eyes turned to me as I walked in before turning back to her boyfriend. “Then... I looked at your Google search history,” he said nonchalantly. I froze on the spot. “What?” “Well, actually, I used your laptop to look at something and your google history was right there." “Jace He brought his knees back to his chest. “Henris Steve. Style companies. The best trends of autumn. How bald eagles are i danger. Why..." “You are joking" “How to forget your ex-boyfriend” was the most recent. Is there anything you would like to tell me?” “rd like to tell you to fuck off, I joked as I slumped against the door frame. “And maybe I broke up with Henris. OF, let's sz I told him it was either stay or be over. After I told him to leave. I was in a very emotional state and everything was very confused...” The two boys were strangely silent on the subject. I wasn't quite sure what to do with these two people who were looking at me like I should keep talking, so I walked over to the coffee machine and started making the pot under their curious looks. The mixture began to flow out of the machine, filling the room with its refreshing aroma, and the guys still hadn't said a word. Which, considering the fact that they were the most talkative people I knew was really strange and slightly terrifyin 50," 1 said slowly, taking a cup from the cabinet, “we're going shopping today, or... 7" There was a small pause. “Are you sure you're okay?" I looked over my shoulder at the two boys. “Yes?” “Do you need anything?'Jace asked. “Not that I know of” This time it was Louis. “Jace, aren't you going to tell? I think you should say itA pause and a look. “Well, anyway. Noras, w aren't you in depression mode right now? Damn it, you hit a piece of furniture after you told her you loved her. And now you're not saying anything?” I turned to the boys, my eyes narrowed. “Henris and I are different. He can't be there for me, and I can't accept him. I'm obviously needy and I drink too much coffee and we're different. 1 don't know what else to say about it, except that he to me he was coming and he didn't. So that's it” “Jesus Christ," Jace breathed, shaking his head slowly. “I am so grateful to be gay." My lips puckered into a thin line. “The stitches on your forehead are visible, a****e." In fact, I didn't know what to do with this whole breakup thing. It didn't seem real. Screaming at Henris in the middle of t hospital corridor, watching Jace’s blood gush, crying on Liam's shoulder, giving Louis a hug and listening to my mother tal about the chickens seemed like a big weird nightmare.” I was emotionally exhausted at that moment. Cosmo's “10 ways to forget an ex-boyfriend” had told me that I had to be sa for a while and then a bitch, but the fact is that I wasn't sad. I was just a little listless and all I could think about was the old Henris warnings about relationships. More than anything, I didn't want to talk about it. Because it seemed like a fucking big joke that all 1 wanted was a relationship with Henris and that I was also the one to end it. Of course, I ended up gorging on waffles before going shopping with Louis and Jace. “Blue or green?"Jace asked, lifting two caps. I tilted my head to the side. “Green, definitely.’ “I knew it” We went through all the racks of clothes next to each other, sliding into a silent silence because Jace and Louis were bott acting as if one bad word from their mouths would be enough to bring me down. I was humming to myself as I pulled out tight red dress. “What do you think about it?" “Well,” he reflected, “I'm not sure about the neckline? I like the color, anyway, and the pattern. But not the neckline.” “Yes, yes" I agreed, resting the dress on the shelf. “Only, I remember that Henris liked the style of the dress, anyway, 50 - mean. I liked this stille. Me. Have you taken your medication this morning?” “Oh my God." I turned to the shelf and pulled out a piece of clothing that I had found at random. “Maybe this one?” “Noras.’ “Is it really that bad?” Jace gave me another puzzled look and shook his head before heading to the other side of the shop, where Louis had picked out a set of hats and was motioning for him to approach. I stuck out my tongue, taking another dress to try it on. The two guys were now whispering about me from the other side of the shop, but I decided to ignore them and go back t looking for what I should buy, because Cosmo told me to slightly modify my look. And that's when everything turned upside down because I was following advice to break magazines. “It's happening!”l heard a voice screaming. Then I was dragged out of the shop into the cold New York air, where they hail a taxi and pushed me into the backseat. “Noras," Jace hissed, touching the side of my cheek. “Hold back the nervous breakdown until we get out of the taxi.’ I brought my nose back against his shoulder. I haven't cried since he left. And 1 really, really thought he was going to stay. wanted him to stay even when I wanted him to leave.’ “Ym 50 confused,” he whispered, wiping away my tears. “And in case you're worried, I've put these hats on hold so I can g get them when your depression is over” “save the hats.’ He wiped away another one of my tears. “This is our new battle cry: save the hats, cover Jace’s points!” “It doesn't help much, honey."Louis intervened from the front of the taxi. “Actually, not at all” “Can we order a pizza?" “We are in a mental decomposition mode. This is obviously a yes." I let out a quiet laugh after that and the taxi continued on its way through the city, finally stopping in front of our cozy apartment. We went out one by one and began to climb to our floor. Even before we entered, Louis had already ordered food. The sofa had become our little cuddly corner and we were piled there with blankets covering us and 2 Chainz stretched o on our legs. Once we were all settled in, Jace spoke up. “What do you mean, he never came?” I shrugged my shoulders. “I called him, and he said he was coming. And he didn't show up until, like, four hours later” “Moron move,” Jace admitted. “What was his excuse?” “Work. Do you really need to ask?” On the other side of Jace, Louis emitted a small whisper. “Listen, I'll be the impartial voice of reason, because I like Steve. Doesn't he run a fucking company? That he founded himself? When he was about 12 years old?” I hit him with the tip of my foot. “Twenty. Yeah, I mean, I know. But I think it would have been nice if he had just told me that he wasn't coming. It was just worse to worry about him besides Jace, you know? I just wanted to think about Jace." “Good girl’ Jace inserted himself. “But 1 will try to be another impartial voice here. Maybe the two of you need some kind compromise? He needs to learn what a relationship is, you need to stop expecting him to know everything. Just because Liam was literally the nicest boyfriend in the world doesn't mean everyone else is." “Henris sent me a ton of f*****g flowers but he can't tell me he’s not coming to the hospital? It doesn't make sense.” Jace shrugged his shoulders and leaned under the covers a little more. “Maybe you should talk to her” “He's the one who's gone.” “It was you who pushed him to do it” My mouth opened in horror. “It's not - I haven't - shit, is itz” “I'm not Henris," Jace said. “Just, think about it? I haven't got a clue. I think you both need to think about it. You're both stubborn.” POINT of VIEW of Henris When 1 woke up on Monday morning, the first thing I thought was that I shouldn't have gone that far. It wasn't about getti to the point where holding her hand had become a habit, or making her coffee in the morning, a routine. It was not planned to get to a point where being in a relationship was routine. But somewhere between the frustrating dinners and the evenings with his friends, I found myself looking forward to waking up by his side every morning. I found myself appreciating every aspect of the dynamic relationship we had. I always knew it wouldn't work, but I was too overbearing and selfish to keep his hands from mixing with mine. For the same reasons, it was easier to move away from Noras and surround yourself with work to forget. It was the only thing I ha absolute control over, so when everything was out of my control, it helped me. So, on the second day after leaving her in the hospital, I had slept five out of forty-eight hours and examined all the financial bases of my business over the past three months to see where I had gone wrong. Except I couldn't find the problem. I was getting more and more frustrated, which led me to want Noras, which led me to frustration. Even though she was F****g annoying at times, she was definitely what I needed and if she needed me, I couldn't be there for her. My office was practically laughing at me. It was cold and empty and represented everything that Noras hated. The only 200d thing that had happened there was the day she let me fuck her on her desk and that - that was exactly what I didn’ want to think about. Except that Noras’s words keep repeating in my head: I need you to be that person. I clicked the mouse and turned on the Mac Book on my desktop, which was already notifying me of a meeting I was going to have in thirty minutes and of the endless stream of emails that had begun. Everything in me was asking me to check them and make sure everything was fine. Instead, I walked away from my desk and walked with long strides to my secretary without even realizing what I was doin “Laura I blurted out, walking until 1 was leaning on her reception desk. “How long have you been working here?” The young woman looked at me, blinking. Almost three years. Sir. Mr. Steve.” “Perfect. I need you to do two things. First, I want you to make a list of all the women employed here that I've fucked. All them. Do you understand?” asked gently. She swallowed and slowly nodded. “Then I want you to see them. Every one of them." If possible, her face paled even more. “Every one of them?” “Yes. If they have any complaints to make, tell them to contact Claire Carter. OKAY?" “They won't," she replied humbly. “We are all too afraid of Mrs. Carter. No one wants to talk to him." I frowned as I looked at the young woman. “Exactly. Tell them they have one day to pack up their shit and get out of my building. Then, among the other receptionists, choose your absolute favorite. Your best friend, or whatever, I don't care. She will be your new assistant. The more secretaries there are, the more shit will be done. Got it?” His fingers move quickly on the keyboard and he nods solemnly. Understood. Anything else, Mr. Steve? “That's all. When you finish both, I need you to come to my office. Knock first. And if you're having trouble doing the homework I just gave you, you can also pack your things. Thank you, Laura.” with that, I left quietly, leaving a very confused secretary behind. But as long as she was doing her job, I couldn't care les about how confused she was about my attitude. Nothing interested me at that time, except to figure out how to be more efficient” Once I was safely in my spacious office, I settled into the smooth leather armchair and put my feet on the desk. There we already hundreds of emails in my inbox, a pile of documents to file, meetings scheduled throughout the afternoon. I didn’t want to face any of them. More like I don't need to deal with one of them. Half the shit on my desk could be handled by someone else. The emails were probably all uninteresting. The CVS could have been sent to another floor. Making sure to stay as calm and composed as possible, I pressed the call button. I knew the number by heart and dialed without hesitation. I settled into my armchair when the phone rang, my legs crossed at the ankles and my forehead on m hands. There was a little snap when he answered the phone. “Claire Carter” “Clear” She took a surprised breath. “Mr. Steve. I wasn't waiting for your call” “I don't really care what you expected, or what you were doing, for that matter. I need you to get in touch with all the members of the council. And I want the CFO, the marketing director, the technical director. All members of the executive. Tell them that we have a meeting in my office at 14 o'clock sharp. What about Claire? “Yes?” “I won't hesitate to send you back if you cross the line again. The only reason you're still here is because you're great at what you do, and God knows Mac won't be. Got it?” There was a pause on the other side of the line, a pause that lasted far too long for my taste. Just when I was about to attack, her teasing voice crossed the line, calm and sweet. “understood, Mr. Steve. Is that all?” I hung up the phone in response. Too much discussion with Claire meant that she had too much time to provoke with her words, too much time to pout and widen her eyes. Too much time with Claire meant that she could have everyone under her control without anyone noticing. Unfortunately, that's exactly why she’s so good at what she does. I threw my phone on the desk in disgust before getting down to work. Before 14 o'clock, I had a lot of stuff to sort out. Because Noras was right. I should have been there for her. It turned out that there was a certain type of rich man in Ireland who was determined to invest in all the companies he could find, and before my 14-hour meeting ended, we had already established a profile and discovered the best way to make Malik believe that he was impressive. So even if Noras wasn't going to be home after work, at least some things were falling into place. Instead, Mrs. Jennifer w: already there with dinner already prepared and a tired smile on her face. I knew she was definitely wondering why I was home so early. “Henris?"she called when the door opened. His eyes then widened when I entered the apartment. “You're coming home early” “Tired,” 1 said softly. “What did you do for dinner?” “Just chicken and rice. And I didn’t know if Noras would be there or not, but I thought she would come, so I made enough for two. Do you know what wine she likes? And shes okay with brown bread?” “The bottle on the top shelf in the cooler. There are a lot of them because it's her favorite, so I bought a lot of them? And she claims to like wholemeal bread, but she never eats it. I think she's too polite to complain. Don't make breakfast for ty anymore.” The housekeeper stiffened from her seat to the cook. “What have you...” “Jennifer. No." “Do you want to talk about it?" I slowly tap my fingers against the counter, my lips pursed. “I can't be what she needs. I have too many things to do. It wa never going to work. No more questions.” “Did you do something?” “I said no more questions,” I blurted out. She lifted the spatula defensively before turning back to the stove, stirring the rice slightly. I could practically feel the curiosity emitted in waves, and as soon as she moved to put the food on my plate, she spoke up again. “I see that you ar exhausted.’ I narrowed my eyes at the older woman. Unfortunately, it was practically impossible to be hard on her, because she was t kindest person I had ever known and who probably never existed. “I worked late last night," I said abruptly. “And thank yc for dinner” “That's what I thought. Does this have anything to do with Noras?” “Jennifer.” “You need someone you can tell things to," he said softly, turning to remove the toast from the toaster as he spoke. “I knc I work for you, but you are like a son to me Henris. I care about you. And you look exhausted. What's going on?” Frowning, I stuck my fork in a way that could be considered a little too violent. “He broke up with me.” “Why?” “I have already told you. I can't be what he needs” The housekeeper laughed softly, the corners of her eyes rippling to each other. Henris, she said, you are the most determined man I know. If you love her, and I know you do, then you can figure out how to become what she needs. If yo! were able to start your own business when you were in your twenties, you can do it too.” My mouth opened wide, and I was about to crack when she walked around and pulled me into a proud, maternal embrac Her wrinkled hands ran reassuringly up and down my back and she pulled me towards her. “What about Henris?” “YES?'I whispered. “You don't have to control everything, okay? Let yourself breathe. I squeezed her a little tighter. “I have never been in such a situation.” “Because you never allowed yourself to be there," he said simply, leaving me from his embrace. “Understand well, Mr. Ste And 1 will not tell any of your employees that you have feelings.’ “Henris," I corrected him. “Besides, I wouldn't want to destroy the reputation I've built up over three years. When you hav time, could you bring me some tea in my office? I have a few files to go through and things to finish before I go to sleep.” He gave me a sad little smile before nodding and turning to making my drink. I went up to my desk to immerse myself in the work, because if I worked hard enough, maybe I could forget why I was doing this.

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