Page 43 of The Fool
“Shall we make our way up to my office?” Nathaniel asks Lucius. “It’s just going to be you, me, and Beatrice today. Cameron is on honeymoon.”
Lucius finally acknowledges me and shakes my hand politely, though his main attention seems to be elsewhere. It is most likely with the Carter sister who has just rushed out the door to get away from here as quickly as possible.
“Sure, but can I meet you in a moment?” he asks. “I just want to ask your sister something about Meriel. I haven’t heard from her in a while and thought Helena might know what’s going on with that cousin of yours.”
“Ok, sure, I’m at the top, straight ahead once you leave the elevator. I’m pretty much next door to Cameron’s office,” he explains, to which they both smile before Nathaniel leads me over toward the elevator.
“Was that normal?” I ask. “Between him and your sister?”
We enter the confined space of the elevator but this time he is standing in front of me; I am literally pinned to the wall, enclosed by his muscular arms. I’m not sure if this is an intentional move on his part, but now I feel a sudden throb of lust between my thighs. I don’t even feel guilty for it, not when I am close enough to be inhaling his delicious aftershave. The mix of woody and citrussy scents is enough to make anyone feel a little woozy and reckless.
“Who knows, who cares?” he says with his eyes suddenly appearing much darker than usual. “Kiss me, Bea.”
I look up, trying to keep my senses about me so as not to fall for his ridiculous muscular arm cage. When I manage to escape the first overpowering urge to give into his demand, I nervously shake my head. I have a feeling if any words escaped from between my lips, they might betray my more sensible thoughts. At my silent rebuttal, he places a hand on my waist and pulls me in a little closer.
“Kiss me, please, Bea,” he says again, sounding a little urgent, and I cannot help but look straight at his lips. He darts out his tongue to wet them, which doesn’t help my throbbing situation at all. As my mouth gets closer to his, with my lips begging me to just give in, I force myself to close my eyes and snap myself out of his seductive fog.
“Please, Nathaniel,” I whisper a plea, “you know this isn’t a good idea.”
“I know but every minute I’m with you, I no longer care,” he says, leaning even closer to me; so close, I think he’s going to actually make contact. Then…then I will be lost to him. There’s only so much willpower a girl has.
Thankfully, the elevator doors ping and open at our destination. He smiles at me before straightening up to redeem his normal composure, looking as though he hadn’t just propositioned me inside of the elevator. He marches out, so I shake it off and sheepishly follow behind, probably not looking quite as innocent as he is.
The rest of the afternoon is filled with meeting Lucius Hastings. I try to avoid eye contact with the man; I’d like to keep hold of my soul, such that it is. The man is very professional when it comes to talking business, but his eyes appear to have the power to lower your life expectancy. Other than his demon-like powers which I’ve made up inside of my head, the meeting runs as smoothly as any other. Still, I feel a huge weight lifted from my shoulders the moment we bid Mr Hastings adieu.
When the end of the day comes not long after, Nathaniel tells me I can go a little earlier, then simply says goodbye to me, just as he would with any other employee. I feel a strange mixture of relief and extreme disappointment. Maybe my refusals have cured him of his attraction to me. It’s probably for the best though. I can’t seriously date my boss, can I?
With these conflicting thoughts, I walk toward the door onto the street and see Helena sitting on a nearby bench with her head between her knees. She appears to be taking deep breaths, as though trying to ward off sickness.
“Are you ok?” I call as I rush over to where she is. She slowly looks up in my direction with a sickly-looking complexion and red, puffy eyes. “Helena, have you been crying?”
“Oh, no,” she whispers, even though she’s blinking away tears. “I think I’m getting a migraine. I used to get them a lot, but this is the first I’ve had since Evan. I’m just trying to breathe through the nausea.”
“Shit, er, ok,” I reply rather awkwardly, “let me get Nathaniel.”
“Oh, no, don’t…” she begins but then seems to slump in defeat. “Actually, yeah, could you? I don’t think I can drive in this state. Jess will be home soon too.”
I nod, then run inside to find him. He’s still in his office, talking away on the phone to someone. At first, I hold back, not wanting to interrupt. Such a thing would have earned me a verbal lashing not long ago, but then I remember Helena’s face just now, so I continue marching up to his door with determination.
“Yeah, still a no-go,” I hear him say with a sigh, “but I’m not giving up…Yes, I fucking know what I’m doing, it’s totally worth it!” He pauses to laugh. “Well, you don’t have to fuck each other every day and night of the honeymoon, Christ!”
Assuming the conversation isn’t urgent business stuff, I knock on the door and wait for him to respond.
“Yep, come in,” he calls. “I’ll see you when you get back,” he says into the phone as I walk in.
“Bea?” He frowns, looking deeply concerned.
“Sorry, but your sister is in real bad shape outside,” I gesture with my thumb over my back. “She says she thinks it’s a migraine and doesn’t think she can drive.”
“Oh, ok,” he says, now flustering as he grabs hold of his phone. “Let me call my mom, and then I’ll come down with you. Thanks, Bea.”
I wait in my office while he talks to his mom, arranging for her to be at Helena’s house for when he drops her home. He then turns off his computer and walks past me, gesturing for me to follow. He doesn’t say anything in the lift but keeps checking his watch. I find myself beginning to wonder, irrationally, if he’s supposed to be seeing someone. A female? Pools of jealousy begin to gather in my stomach and it’s not a pleasant feeling.
We find Helena in the same position as where I’d left her about ten minutes ago, still clutching hold of her head and trying to gasp for air to soothe her nausea.
“Hels,” Nathaniel says gently at the same time as he puts his arm around his sister’s shoulders. “What’s up?”
“Migraine,” she murmurs, the one word sounding like it’s painful to utter. She looks even worse than she did before. “There’re sparks in my eyes, and I’ve already thrown up in the bin. Sorry to be a pain.”