Chapter 3 #2
I decided to forget Noah’s confusing retreat from the gym and focus on getting Timothy ready for school.
I squared my shoulders and moved to open the cereal cupboard.
I gave Timothy two cereal options, and he picked the Fruit Loops—just like his dad.
Once a bowl had been retrieved from the cupboard and filled to the brim with cereal and milk, I followed behind Timothy, who was holding a spoon up as he led the way to the table.
With him now settled, I turned back to the kitchen. Noah was still camped out in front of the coffee machine, which had hummed to life. The sound of liquid falling into the glass pot filled the silent air.
I walked toward him with a battle warring inside of me. Part of me wanted to stay on the outskirts of the room until he was finished and left. The other part of me—and the part that was currently winning out—needed caffeine, stat.
I forced a smile as I approached him. “Can I get a cup?” I asked, nodding toward the warm amber liquid.
Noah glanced over at me and then dropped his gaze. “Sure.”
In that moment I cursed Jane. She’d reorganized my entire kitchen and put the coffee mugs in the cupboard above the coffee machine.
At the time, her suggestion had seemed like a good idea.
Store things where they’re used. But in this moment, it meant I was going to need to stand dangerously close to Noah to get a mug.
And then I felt stupid. Why was I overthinking this? This was Noah. Carson’s childhood best friend and my forced-upon-me bodyguard. There was no reason for me to be analyzing things this deeply. All I was doing was retrieving a coffee mug. That was it.
Maybe it was because it had only been me and Timothy for so long. To suddenly have someone—a man—interrupt the status quo had me out of whack. Before Noah, my gym, my kitchen, and my house were…mine. Now I was sharing it, and I was struggling to adjust.
I steeled my nerves and moved to reach past Noah so I could open the cupboard.
Noah froze. I could feel his gaze on me as I reached in and pulled out the mug that said World’s Best Hug Dispenser.
My body flushed as I took a few steps back.
Distance seemed the best course of action right now.
The last thing I needed was for Noah to notice my red cheeks and draw incorrect conclusions.
Thankfully, Noah didn’t look at me. He kept his focus on filling up his mug. Once it was topped off, he set it down on the counter and then turned to face me.
“Want me to…?” His voice trailed off as he extended his hand.
I glanced from his hand, back up to his face, and then back down again. It took me a moment to realize what he was asking. Once it registered, instead of handing him my mug gracefully, I basically shoved it in his direction.
“Um, sure,” I managed out.
Noah took the mug from me and proceeded to fill it up.
“Here,” he said. He started to extend it toward me before he stopped mid-air and moved to set it on the counter, like he realized that handing me a steaming hot mug of liquid might be a bad idea.
But then, he stopped and started to move it toward me once more like he’d talked himself out of setting down.
He did this one more time before I held out my hand.
“I’ll just take it,” I said.
Noah paused and then glanced up at me. I gave him an earnest smile, hoping that would ease the worry I saw etched on his face.
I didn’t have to ask him again. He handed it to me, and I gingerly took it.
Our fingers brushed momentarily, and it took all of my strength not to pull back.
With a mug of hot coffee that would be disastrous.
Once I had both hands firmly wrapped around the mug, I retreated to the other side of the kitchen and set it down.
I waited while Noah put a splash of creamer and two sugars into his coffee. Then he lifted it to his lips and took a sip. His gaze fell on me from over the rim of the cup. He studied me for a moment before he brought the mug back down, nodded at me, and walked out.
With him gone, I slowly let out my breath.
I was never going to get used to having this man in my house.
Charles and the board told me it was for my safety, but I was beginning to wonder if it was more to babysit me.
Noah never expounded on his presences, and the fact that he was here told me that he didn’t fight them on it.
It was hard not to feel like everyone had agreed to these arrangements but me. Yet, I was the one who was impacted the most.
Our quiet, peaceful moments as a small, broken family had been invaded, and I wasn’t dealing with it well. My reactions to him this morning was proof of that.
Thankfully, getting an almost five-year-old ready for school had a way of making me forget everything that had been plaguing my mind.
Timothy was vocal about how he didn’t want to get his socks and shoes on.
His volume only increased when I informed him that it was raining, so he was going to need to wear his rain jacket.
It took all my mom patience that I’d cultivated since becoming a single parent to get through drop off. Thankfully, Noah drove so I didn’t have to worry about what he thought about my abilities as a mother while my child melted down in the back seat.
When I got back into the car after practically dragging Timothy into school, I kept to myself and stared out the window as Noah pulled away from the curb and merged into traffic. Tears clung to my eyelids as I stared at the school’s red brick building.
I was a failure. Why else would my son behave that way?
I wanted to be enough for him. I wanted to make up for the hole in our lives that was created when Carson left. But as each day went by, I was starting to realize that I could never be everything for him, no matter how desperately I wanted to.
I angrily swiped underneath my eyes, forcing the tears to disappear.
Crying didn’t help, and the last thing I needed was to walk into the boardroom with my nose running and my eyes puffy.
I was the CEO of Torres Investments. There was already an entire board of people who doubted my ability to manage the company.
I didn’t need my appearance to add fuel to that fire.
I felt a gaze on me, and when I looked up, I saw that Noah was watching me from the rearview mirror. He held my gaze for a moment before he turned his attention back to the road. I took in a deep breath and steeled my nerves in preparation for him to drop me off in front of the Torres building.
I didn’t wait for Noah to get out and open my door. As soon as he pulled up next to the curb, I pulled on the door release and stepped out. I kept my head raised as I weaved through the throng of people walking on the sidewalk, my heels clicking on the concrete.
All of my unchecked emotions, which had bubbled to the surface while I was in the car, disappeared as soon as one of the doormen opened the large glass doors.
The people inside the lobby all quieted their conversations as I passed by.
Once I was in the elevator, with the doors shut, I relaxed against the wall as it brought me to the twentieth floor.
Cadbury, my assistant, was waiting for me with a cup of coffee as soon as the elevator doors opened. I shot her a thankful smile as I took it from her.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said as she shuffled her papers into her other hand now that it was free and followed after me.
“Yeah?” I asked after taking a sip of coffee.
“Gladys called me.”
I paused and glanced back at her. “Charles’s assistant?”
Cadbury nodded. “He wants you to come by his office as soon as you get in.”
I hated how my stomach dropped every time Charles summoned me to his office. Sure, I was the CEO, but he was chairman of the board. Whatever he wanted from me wasn’t going to be good.
But he was the only person I couldn’t avoid, so I gave Cadbury a quick nod. “Tell Gladys I’ll be there in a minute.”