Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
Denise
I almost fell asleep in my classes this morning. And in between classes, as I was waking from one building to another, I felt, again, as if I was being followed. I looked behind me a few times, but didn’t see anyone really standing out.
I know that with the photos going to print a few days ago, that there could be reporters hiding in plain sight. Maybe that’s who is following me, too.
Students meandered along the pathways, settling down on any available surface, engrossed in their phones and holding them in multiple ways, including some that indicated they might be snapping photos.
But that’s not the issue at hand.
Someone was outside of my home. That can be scary.
My mind was too preoccupied with Miller’s drunkenness and his encounter with his ex-girlfriend to remember to tell him about it. However, when we talked about it, albeit briefly, he made it seem like the interaction bothered him more than anything, and not that he had done anything that would have been bad for our relationship.
And then, the next day, he told me he loved me.
Miller Davenport told me he loved me. No, not in the past tense, but in the presence tense. He loves me.
How did we get here?
I served him at a charity event. I ran into in the hallway. And then he was at the same restaurant that I work at.
He’s a freaking billionaire, and yes, I Googled him, a freaking billionaire. He’s a man who commands presence when he’s in the room, but also at the same time doesn’t. People are curious about him. He runs one of the most leading technology companies in Empire Bay, hell, in the world. And I’m a struggling student and a waitress. I have little going on for me at the moment, but for some strange reason, this man is in love with me.
I know that I’m a kick ass person. I know I deserve everything that I have in life. However, there is that nagging thought of, is this a trick that someone is playing on me? Making me fall for a guy like Miller?
I shake my head and take a seat in the back of the lecture hall of my last class of the day. I need to get out of my head. I need to stop thinking like that.
He loves me.
Miller Davenport is in love with me.
He didn’t ask me to sign his NDA. Which, if that’s his standard practice in dating, he would have done from the start of us seeing one another, right?
Right?
But ultimately, I knew that signing the document was the right thing. He has people looking out for his best interests, and I’m sure one way or another, he would be asked about the status of obtaining one from me. But the kicker is, it’s not a big deal to me.
But I’m officially in a relationship with Miller Davenport. He told me he loves me.
Shit!
Did I say it back to him?
Now my mind is racing and I’m freaking out.
Did I not reciprocate that?
I rush around my place after getting off of work. I hadn’t heard from Miller from any of my attempts to reach out, but he had his driver waiting outside my work to take me home.
The building buzzer had gone off in my apartment as soon as I got out of the shower, but when I answered it, no one was there.
He would have called if he was here.
I shake my head and resume getting dressed.
It’s prime time for a glass of wine, some crap TV and to do a lot of nothing. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a night where I just relax. Most nights, I’ve been with Miller.
And while the exciting start of a relationship is just that, exciting. I’m thrilled that I can still maintain my identity.
My phone buzzes in a pattern, and I smile, knowing that Jess is on the receiving end.
Jess: Hey bestie. I need to run something by you?
Me: Shoot.
FaceTime shows up on the screen of my phone, and I swipe it to answer the incoming video call from her.
“Hey girl, hey! How are you? I feel like we haven’t talked in forever!” she gushes upon seeing me.
“I know. Things have been crazy. Work, school… Miller.”
“Yeah, about this whole Miller thing. Are you happy?”
“Wow. Getting right into it, are we?”
“I’m not against the guy. But I haven’t seen you lately and I just want to make sure that you’re being treated right and also that everything is okay.”
“Why would anything be not okay?”
“Well, I saw the thing in the newspaper.”
“Yeah, that was something that neither he nor I expected.”
“Then I Googled him. The search didn’t turn up much. He doesn’t have social media, so I couldn’t do the appropriate stalking one does. So spill the beans,” she asks casually.
“Nothing much to spill. He’s a private guy. He has people to be in the limelight for him. But we’re happy. We hang out, we eat together, and sometimes he tutors me in math.”
“Ah, so you guys role play. Cool.”
“No, like actual studying.”
“That’s pretty boring.”
“We’re far from boring on that front as well.” I tell her with a devious grin.
“Oh, you saucy little minx. And he’s treating you well? You’re not being introduced to any secret sex clubs or anything?”
“No, Jess. We’re quite normal.”
“I mean, if he knows of any, I wouldn’t be offended if you shared the information with me.” She winks.
“I’ll let him know.” I laugh.
“The newspaper thing didn’t bother you?”
“Not in the slightest. If he didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t have known. I don’t read the newspaper.”
“True.”
“I do, however, feel like I’m being followed all the time, though. Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.”
“Do you need me to pretend to be a bodyguard?” she asks, half serious.
“I’m good. Honestly, everything is fine. I’m probably just being paranoid.”
“So, what’s he like? His net worth is freaking insane. Does he take to lavish places?”
“We’ve gone to one or two. But honestly, he’s just a normal guy. He likes his privacy, he doesn’t go out and spend frivolously, he’s super smart and very sweet.”
“No juicy gossip, then?”
“Sorry, nothing noteworthy.”
“Bummer.”
We resume talking for a while longer, before I run out of wine and am ready for bed.
The building buzzer goes off again by the front door. I press the button.
“Hello?”
No one says anything. It’s just static, but someone is holding the button down at the other end.
Or maybe I’m just hearing things.