Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
R upert
This week had been stressful. I ran into some issues with my project, and my latest lab work came backslightly abnormal. My usual doctor had called me for my six-monthly checkup. Normally, at this point, at my age, these kinds of visits were supposed to happen every few years, but I was very much a total control freak when it came to my health, and since I had all the money I needed, I made sure that my doctor ran labs on me every six months.
I was a little paranoid, but that didn’t mean I was going to stay healthy for the rest of my life. Sometimes I thought my cancer could come back at any time and I wanted to be prepared. During most of the week, I was in my office leading the team on all my current projects and in the evening, I normally swung to the club to make sure Rowan didn’t need any help. He’d told me countless times I didn’t need to do that, but I liked knowing everything was running smoothly.
Deep down though, it was just another excuse to see Veronica.
Things between us felt tense. I’d overreacted when she’d seen that photo of me, so I’d kept my distance. I’d seen her a few times, but we didn’t really have a chance to talk. She looked stunning, as usual, and my cock reacted whenever I saw her. For this reason, it was better to stay away from her. Also, she was probably still angry with me.
“Why are you so tense? Everything will go smoothly” I assured Rowan on Friday evening when we sat at the bar drinking a pricey whiskey.
One of the girls, Susan, was waiting for a client, seated in one of the booths. Most of our girls were booked up this weekend. There were a few important functions happening in the city this evening and we’d had a few late bookings because of that.
I was on edge because Veronica would be showing up soon. Rowan had arranged for her to escort an important client to the Middle East. I hadn’t even known about it until I’d reviewed her schedule earlier on.
“I don't know, man. Something feels off. I know we have been discussing it, but I want to go over the plan once again. Prince Abdullah might be one of our biggest and most affluent clients to date,” Rowan said, taking a sip of his drink. "This has go perfectly, Rupert."
I squeezed my glass tighter, knowing that he was right. This was a very important booking. Prince Abdullah’s personal assistant had called earlier this week to make sure that our club was able to cater to the client’s needs, and apparently the prince had a very specific taste.
This was fucking unbelievable. Veronica was going to fuck this guy, and there was nothing I could do about it. We both knew this would be a huge opportunity for the business, so we had to send our best and most suitable woman. Yet, I couldn’t stand the fact that my business partner wasn’t willing to pick someone other than Veronica.
“You're being paranoid. We have gone over this multiple times. Anyway, doesn’t he have like, three wives or something?” I asked, annoyed. Why was I even here? I had other things to do, people to see and places to be, and yet I was waiting for her to show up.
Rowan groaned, an unhappy sound, so I needed to calm myself down.
“Whatever, man. He can have forty wives for all I care. He wants to spend the weekend with one of our girls, and Veronica is the one he personally picked. She’s not yours, you said it yourself, so you need to stop fucking up her life,” Rowan ground out.
Veronica's entrance was commanding, her eyes hidden behind a pair of mysterious dark sunglasses. The room seemed to catch its breath as she glided in, her every step in that long, flowing red dress demanding attention. However, something about her appearance hinted that she might not be fully prepared for the much-anticipated weekend away with the prince.
She headed straight towards us, and my cock swelled in my trousers. This reaction I always had to her was becoming problematic.
“Where is your bag?” Rowan asked, turning to face her.
Veronica took off her sunglasses and I realised something was wrong. Her skin was pale and she had dark hollow circles under her eyes.
“I don’t think I can go anywhere, Matthews. I must have caught some kind of bug. I threw up right after I left the tube station,” she explained, then quickly brought her hand to her mouth and rushed straight to the loo.
I glanced at Rowan who appeared completely shocked and worried. This was bad, even though I was already thanking the universe for this unexpected plot twist.
“I’m going to check on her. You start calling Misha and Christina. We may have to switch around their schedules.” I smiled to myself. Maybe I was wrong, maybe the universe indeed had my back and wanted us to be together. Rowan knew that the prince had specifically asked for Veronica, but we couldn’t let her go if she was ill. Prince Abdullah was still expecting company for tonight, so we needed to act fast.
I rushed to the bathroom and then right into the first cubicle where I could hear Veronica. She was still throwing up. Grabbing some tissues, I handed them to her once she’d lifted herself up off the toilet and turned to get to the sink.
“You’re right. You can’t go see the prince in this state. I need to get you home to bed,” I gently grabbed her chin, so she couldn't avoiding looking at me. “How did you get here in the first place?”
“Tube, as I said. I was fine until like two hours ago, and then the vomiting started.” She turned the tap on and washed her mouth.
“Why didn’t you call? You didn’t have to come in,” I said, suddenly angry that she was willing to be stuck in the crowded train with other people. I felt fucking guilty that I’d overreacted on Sunday. We weren’t together, but from now on I needed to make sure she had a driver available all the time.
“I took some pills and I felt all right, but when I got off the Tube the nausea came back.” She breathed through her nose. “I feel so bad. I bet the prince will be pissed that I can't make it."
“Don’t worry about the club. I’m certain that Matthews will find the right replacement for the prince. We need to get you home, and you may be infectious,” I said, already thinking of calling my own doctor, but for that I needed to bring her home first. I figured she’d refuse, so I needed to play this by ear.
She touched her head and looked like she was going to pass out, so I grabbed her by the waist.
“Wow, steady yourself, sunshine,” I said, touching her forehead. “You’re burning up. Come on, we’re leaving.”
I picked her up and carried her through the corridor.
“Hey, hold on. What are you doing? You don’t need to carry me. I am perfectly capable of walking!”
“You nearly passed out. I don’t want you to fall and smash your head,” I muttered.
Rowan was still by the bar, and he hung up the phone just as I walked out carrying Veronica in my arms.
“What’s going on?”
“She’s feverish, so I’m taking her home. Did you find someone?” I asked him.
Veronica managed to wiggle out of my arms, but I had one around her waist.
“Working on it. Don’t worry, I think I may have someone perfect for tonight,” Rowan said, clearing his throat when the red-haired demon glared at him. “You should listen to Rupert. You are clearly not well, and I really don’t need another stomach bug. Let him take you home.”
“Gee, thanks, Matthews. It’s not like I’m an adult and can make my own decisions,” she hissed and then walked away from me but stumbled.
I caught her before she fainted. She didn’t even realise how weak she was.
“Stop fighting this. You can barely walk, sunshine,” I whispered into her ear, while I texted my driver to meet me outside the club.
Veronica insisted she wasn’t going to be carried, so I wrapped my hand around her waist until we stepped outside.
“You don’t have to be nice to me because I’m ill. Let me get to the Tube, Rupert. Laura is home, so she’ll take care of me,” she said, instantly raising my blood pressure.
There was no fucking way I would allow her to take the Tube. She could get sicker. Yes, I’d been acting like an arsehole lately, but I was ready to make up for it.
“Stop wasting your energy on talking and let me help you?” I growled, then a minute later, Chris, the driver, pulled up outside the club. “I apologise if that came out as a question, but the car is here and I’m giving you a lift home.”
“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Chris opened the door for us, and we got inside. Veronica needed to be taken care of. She had vomit on her clothes, so she needed to have a nice relaxing bath. Putting her head against the window, she closed her eyes while I texted Doctor Johnson.
He replied immediately, then we texted back and forth. He told me to stop worrying for now and advised that I needed to monitor her over the next twenty-four hours. I was a little pissed that he thought it wasn’t necessary for him to come, but he was right in a way. I had to fucking calm down. Veronica might simply have a stomach bug.
London traffic on Friday evening was a bitch, so by the time we arrived it was pretty late. Veronica must have drifted off for a bit because I had to nudge her a few times to wake her up.
“Where are we? I thought you said you were taking me home?”
“Change of plans. You’re going to stay with me tonight. I’ll take you home tomorrow,” I said, not wanting to explain why I’d made this decision.
Chris had said there was a major accident on the way to Camden, so it would have taken us another hour to get to Veronica’s apartment.
She opened her mouth probably to complain, but then her eyes widened and she flew out of the car, proceeding to vomit right outside on the pavement.
“Shit, sunshine, you don’t look good, so we must try to conserve your energy and keep you hydrated,” I said once she was done. “And don’t even think about arguing with me. I’m carrying you inside.”
“All right,” she groaned as I lifted her and brought her close to my chest.
Chris hurried to open my front door. Once we were inside, I carried Veronica upstairs, then went straight to my bedroom. Despite all the alarm bells going off in my head, I wanted her in my bed. Veronica was infectious, and I didn’t want to catch any illness from her, but there was no way I would leave her alone tonight. Laura could take over from me tomorrow, but tonight she was going to stay here.
I laid her down on the bed and started taking her dress off.
“Rupert, I like you so much,” she mumbled once I leaned over to take off her dress.
I touched her forehead again. She was burning up, and the fever made her a bit delirious. I pulled up her dress and told her to lift her arms. She was trying to say something, but whatever gibberish was coming out of her mouth didn’t make much sense. Then I saw her matching violet bra and panties, the sight of which made my throat dry. There was no time for ogling and fantasising what I could do to her though. I had to bring her fever down. She was probably going to throw up again at some point, so I needed to keep a bucket close by. Doctor Johnson had mentioned she should stay in bed.
“I’ll be right back with some clothes. Just don’t move,” I told her, then went to get something she could wear. When I came back with a shirt, she was already fast asleep. I stared at her for a while, admiring her and thinking what the hell I’d gotten myself into. This woman was so different from any other I’d ever been with, and yet I couldn’t seem to stay away from her.
I left my shirt on the bed and tucked her in. I still had no idea why I’d brought her to my bed instead of one of the guest rooms. This room was my sanctuary and I had never had any other woman sleep here before. I’d fought with my ex-girlfriend over this for a long time. She could never get it why she couldn’t spend the night at my place, so what the fuck had suddenly happened to me?
I didn’t even think, I reacted, and I should be freaking out right now—but I was fucking calm. Shit, I was standing here admiring this woman who was supposed to be fucking some billionaire Arab tonight, and yet she was here in my bed.
Maybe it was a sign that I was in love for the first time in my life.
And that thought alone filled me with crippling anxiety.