Chapter 2 #2
Not that I would know anytime soon since a scent didn’t show itself immediately upon meeting your match.
It took time in each other’s presence. For pheromones to mingle and permeate before it surfaces.
Sadness coated my throat, making it hard to swallow.
It couldn’t be possible, we weren’t well matched, and a Scent Match meant .
. . perfection. A puzzle piece being returned to the other.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, I dove inside and tapped the first-floor button.
My head swam, so I dropped it in my hands.
Disgust at myself curled in my stomach and I hurried to grab the gold rod to balance myself.
Everything blurred and the descending elevator didn’t help my motion sickness.
Once at the bottom, I stepped into the lobby where I was greeted with more wall-to-wall windows, showing it’d begun to rain again.
The lights had also been dimmed. The security near the door looked at me and then returned to his phone.
Stepping into the night, I rubbed my arms, wishing I’d thought to grab my coat I’d left on my desk chair.
Wind fluttered my hair around my shoulders, making my shivers worse.
The front of the building faced a roundabout, strictly for this building, I needed to cross it and then the congested street to get to the bus stop.
I followed the rounded drive. I was halfway down it when a Rolls-Royce rolled up.
The glistening surface reflected the lights.
I hurried past as it stopped. The last thing I wanted was to get in the way of someone that could afford one of those.
“Miss Cervantes.”
I careened to a stop, rounding in the same motion.
Samuel Astor slipped out of the back seat and closed the door. He approached in two ground eating strides until he stood before me. I craned my neck to look up at him. I hadn’t realized how tall he was. My five-foot four stature likely didn’t help either.
“Do you need me?” I widened my eyes. What was I saying? “To do anything for you?” My stomach somersaulted and it didn’t make my dizziness any better. I rubbed the raised flesh on my arms.
“Are you walking home?” His eyebrows furrowed and his lips curled with displeasure.
I turned away from his intense eyes.
“Yes,” I answered. The next bus would leave if I didn’t get going.
Another shiver wracked my body, and the gust of wind whipped the drizzle into a flurry.
He moved to block me from the onslaught.
“I hope you have a restful day . . .” I trailed off and squeezed my eyes tight once more.
With a quick shake of my head, I collected myself and turned to leave. His next words stopped me once again.
“I’ll take you home.”
“I couldn’t, Mr. Astor,” I exclaimed, spinning around and taking one step back. He was standing by his car, holding the back door open.
“Miss Cervantes, get in my car.” The order had me straightening and dipping my head to the dominance in his tone. “Now, please.” The ‘please’ seemed to be an afterthought. I licked my lips, looked out into the drizzle, then back to him, and sighed.
“Yes, Sir.” My shoes slogged over the damp cement, and I hesitated at the door he held open.
“I don’t want to ruin a car worth more than my life’s—” I cut off on a squeal.
He took hold of the back of my neck and forced me inside.
A driver sat in the front, and he didn’t react to my presence or his boss’s behavior.
I perched on the edge of the seat, trying to keep my damp clothes off it. He slid in on the other side.
He clicked his tongue in a disapproving sound. I lowered my eyes. Again, I’d done something to bother him. Reaching over, he nudged me from my belly until my back flattened against the seat. He reached over to grab the seat belt.
“Address?”
I rattled it off. The driver detached from the round drive and into the semi-congested traffic. It wasn’t as bad as I’d seen it get in the evenings.
“Your shoes are wet,” he commented with a frown.
I scooted my feet together and cleared my throat. “Sorry.”
He sighed. “I’m not chastising you. Why are you walking around so late in the rain?” I didn’t want to get Judy in trouble, so I kept my mouth shut and offered a small shrug.
He settled back, arm stretched over the seat so his hand hovered close to my head. He tapped the leather, seemingly deep in thought.
Mr. Astor looked at me and I turned away. The tapping resumed. I studied the passing lights. The drive should take twenty minutes, tops, but on public transport, it usually took me forty minutes to an hour.
A low classical station played in the background. I peeked over at him again. From what I’d seen, most of his family held a regal air, but to me, he seemed the most elegant and attention-grabbing.
Then there was his charm, he was known to get his way in everything and it’d been attributed to that.
“Is something the matter?”
I jumped. I’d been staring at him, verging on gawking. How embarrassing. I couldn’t be warmer than I already was. I felt like an oven. He smiled and that dimple was devastating. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach.
I clasped my clammy hands together.
“Sir, I’m sorry for entering your office without knocking. I shouldn’t have done that.”
He nodded once with a hum. I didn’t know what he was thinking because I couldn’t bring myself to look at him again.
We settled into silence again. The driver pulled down the road and the closer we got to my building, the more downtrodden the conditions became.
“You live too far from Astor Industries.”
I kept my lips sealed.
“Mr. Astor, would you like me to continue driving?”
“No, pull up here at the front,” I said.
“Do as she says, Billings.” And just like that he pulled to a stop at the front of my building.
I hurried to unbuckle myself and hopped out. The heat coating my body turned unpleasant. I needed to go eat something, maybe I felt faint because I only had a granola bar today.
“Thank you so much—” I gawked when his door opened. “You don’t have to get out.”
He closed his door and walked to meet me at the back of the car. I tried to sidestep but he got in my way.
“Why are you staying in this area?” His eyebrows furrowed.
I opened my mouth and then closed it. He’s out of touch with poverty huh.
“It’s the only place I can afford,” I was embarrassed to say to my boss. “I’m not ashamed of what I have, I earned it on my own.” I lifted my chin. “I’m new to the city, but I did it on my own—”
He clasped my chin and lifted it up, stopping my ramble.
He stared down at me with a look in his eyes that I couldn’t describe.
I never thought my heart could threaten to pound out of my chest. I clenched my hands and jerked my chin out of his grip, dashing around him and toward my apartment.
The narrow stairs clanged with each step up, but I kept pushing until I reached the fifth floor.
I took care to close my apartment door quietly since the walls were scarily thin here. I slid into my tiny place and dropped face first on my bed.
I leaned back in my office chair, stretching my sore legs out under the desk.
Rocks seemed to have taken root inside each of my limbs, especially my legs, to the point that it’d been so hard waking. Showering had taken a bit of the strain away, but also left me with less time. I’d come rushing into the office with my head low, hoping no one would notice.
Since I’d walked through the front sliding glass doors I’d been on edge, even though Mr. Astor would be in meetings all morning. Another good thing? Judy was with him so she wouldn’t be yelling at me yet.
“Nina,” Ray said, approaching my desk. The Beta was the first person to show me patience on my first day and taught me how to use the scanner. “We on for lunch today?”
“I’m not feeling too good,” I admitted. His eyebrows scrunched close together.
“Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “I just need rest. I’ll be fine tomorrow, I’m sure. Raincheck?”
“Always,” he winked and a ding echoed on the heels of buzzing. He fished out the standard company phone.
“I’ll check in on you tomorrow then,” he said, distractedly walking off as he furiously typed across his screen.
“Later.” He grinned back at me again and disappeared around the corner.
As nice as it was being away from the hoopla of the open space where all the cubicles were, it sometimes got too lonely.
My head felt a bit fuzzy.
Maybe I should eat to recuperate some strength, but I wasn’t hungry, despite not having had anything yesterday. I rested my head on my bare desk, waiting for any calls to come in . . .
“Nina,” a low hiss shot me into a sitting position, jumpstarting my heart. I blinked quickly to clear my grainy, blurry eyesight.
“I’m here,” I blurted.
Judy stared down at me, and Mr. Astor stood at her back with his eyebrows raised. Amusement glittered in his gaze. I jumped to my feet. The clock over his door reflected the glowing yellow time—I’d dozed off!
“I am so sorry,” I gasped, a tremble starting at my hands.
Sleeping on the job was so unprofessional, surely I was done for.
My throat closed up. How would I afford my rent?
I had nothing to my name, and I wouldn’t go back to my elderly grandparent’s home to continue being a burden.
“I really didn’t mean to. I swear it won’t happen again. I’m not even sure what happened—”
“You cannot behave like this.” Judy turned to our boss. “I apologize, Mr. Astor, I will make sure she understands her position well.”
“No need for that today, Judy,” he patted her shoulder. I grimaced, forcing my gaze away from the easy touch.
His lips twitched and I dropped my head, horrified that he’d seen the face I made.
“It’s time to clock out.” With that he turned and climbed up the steps to his office. His body moved with such control, careful, practiced, and ready to pounce.
“We will deal with this tomorrow,” Judy threatened in a low whisper and jerked her brief case strap higher on her shoulder.
She stormed away. I watched her strut out with crisp strides.
I’d messed up. I groaned, rubbing my palms across my face, trying to scrub away the sluggishness, but it was no use.
My body hurt and I didn’t feel part of my body, almost numb to a dizzying point.
I waited a few seconds before following her path out. I didn’t want to get stuck in the elevator with her.
We were two people that were here beyond the time of everyone else, so there would be no need to smile and socialize on the way.
I sped to the elevator and exhaled in relief at the cloudy view facing the skyscrapers.
At least it wasn’t raining. My stomach pitched as the elevator began its descent.
I slumped against the cold metal doors, tipping my head back.
I arrived in the lobby and crossed past the security guard again, as disinterested as usual.
The outside air hit my face like a wall, heightening the wave of dizziness that I didn’t have the ability to give into.
I gritted my teeth, trudging onward. Every step became a little worse, but I managed to get to the end of the roundabout.
With the bit-by-bit progress, I would be fine.
The same polished car belonging to my boss slowed and the window rolled down. No! I had almost escaped without more of an interaction with him. Was he hunting me down to fire me? My already nasty-feeling stomach soured more.
The smidge of hope I’d had that it was just his driver was dashed to smithereens as his face came into view. His regal, chiseled, European features studied me. His expression was much too serious, as it had been in all the other interactions between us.
“Get in.” The low hanging sun caused his eyes to glint, almost a sparkling gold. There were the barest of smile lines framing his magnetic eyes. Just looking at him made me lightheaded.
“Mr. Astor.” I took a step back with my hands up in a ‘stop’ motion as I looked around. It was after usual work hours, but with the sky still lit up, someone could easily see us and recognize him.
“I need to speak to you,” he insisted, eyebrow cocking expectantly.
I pursed my lips, sweeping my gaze around, fighting the strongest urge to take off running.
The fact that he was my boss kept me in place, and that I’d likely trip and fall on my face with how I was feeling.
His door popped open. And his large hand wrapped around the doorframe as he exited.
I stepped back again. The car warbled . .
. I felt sick. I rubbed my eyes and sucked in a breath to hopefully chase off the vertigo.
Heat flushed my skin. He was coming much too close. I blinked to focus my vision, there were multiple of him. My legs crumpled—