Chapter 14- On his turf

I wake up with a startle, my heart is beating so fast I place my hand on my chest to calm myself. I was dreaming about the accident, only this time I got hurt so bad. I look around the room trying to figure out where I am. The last thing I remember is Gabriel picking me up from the hospital, the rest is nothing. I lay in the bed for a few minutes waiting for my heart beat to back to normal. I take my surroundings in, the big king size bed. All the white linen and the royal blue headboard. The room is painted in a faded blue or is it green? I don’t know what colour it is but it’s calming. The floor to ceiling windows have white drapes and the is huge. In front of the bed is a fireplace and to the left of the fire place is a sitting area with books on a side table. To the right of the fireplace is a door, I look at it wondering if it’s the bathroom.

I need to go and I’m hungry. I haven’t had anything to eat since lunch yesterday. The hospital food was bad. I only ate the fruit and now my stomach is fighting with me.

I sit up testing my body, it feels like I was hit by a bus. But the good news is my heart has stopped pounding. I swing my legs to the floor and stand up slowly. I walk to the door and open it, my eyes go wide. The bathroom is the size of my whole apartment. I walk in and go to the toilet. I try to remember how I got here, am I in a hotel? I’m pretty sure Gabriel said he was taking me to his house.

I finish in the bathroom and walk back to the bedroom, I put shoes on and a sweatshirt. I walk out of the room to go look for Gabriel. I blink hard trying to figure out if I’m in a dream or what? This house is incredible, I’m used to being around money in my professional capacity but this is scary. I’m here as me I don’t have the Personal Assistant Armour on. I feel out of my depth. I walk down the long hall from the bedroom. At the end of the hall I hear people talking, I keep walking until I get to the living area with even higher ceilings. My eyes trail up and then down the tall windows. The view is breath taking, I look to the far end of the room. Gabriel is staring at me, there is a woman with him. She staring too, I slowly walk into the room, Gabriel stands up and walks to me.

“You okay?” he says when he gets to me

“Yeah, I got hungry” I say feeling the hunger a little more stronger.

“I’ll get James prepare something” the woman says from the far end of the room.

“Ah, where are my manners. Ryan this is Macy my PA” Gabriel says turning to her.

“Hi, nice to meet you. Please excuse my bad manners, I’m a little out of sorts” I say walking to shake her.

“Oh no, I completely understand. I’ll get the food ready for you. Is there anything in particular you would like?” she asks smiling.

“I don’t know, something light I guess.” I say feeling Gabriel’s eyes on me.

“Should I tell James to prepare anything for you?” she says looking at Gabriel.

“A sandwich will do, thank you” he says to her and then looks at me.

“On it” Macy says and walks out of the room.

“Do you want to sit?” he says moving to a seat.

“Yes thank you” I sit on a seat far from his.

“Did you call your brother? He’s losing it” he says after a moment of silence.

“Shit, no” I say standing up too quickly and I lose my balance .

“Where are you going?” he asks standing up to catch me. He steadies me and I sit back down. My head is spinning.

“I was going to get my phone” I say breathing slowly to get my bearings

“Take it easy, call him with my phone” he says handing me his phone, I place it on the seat afraid to drop it. I press the loud speaker function.

“Gabriel” my brother says after 3 rings.

“No its me, Ryan” I say after moments pause.

“Hey, I’ve been worried about you. Mom and dad are freaking out. He says sounding so worried.

“I know, it all happened so fast and the doctor gave me these pain pills. I just woke up and I’m not even sure if I’m awake. I would have called sooner.” I say feeling my eyes water, I don’t want to cry in front of Gabriel again. And I definitely don’t want to cry with Zan on the phone he’ll lose it and be here in 30 minutes. There’s no need for all of that, I’m going home tomorrow anyway.

“We should be there” he says

“No, I’m good. I wasn’t badly injured and besides I’m coming home tomorrow. I’ll catch a plane and you guys can pick me up from the airport.” I say hoping that will ease his worry.

“No, I’ll come pick you up today and we can drive up together. You shouldn’t be alone.” He says not hearing me at all.

“Zan, I’m not alone. Gabriel has been with me the whole time. Trust me I’m good. Tell mom and dad not to worry I’ll be home tomorrow. I just need to call my boss and let him know what happened.” I say the thought that I didn’t even show up to work hitting me right then.

“I already talked to Max” he says after a long pause. “You should call him, he’s worried. I guess we’ll see you tomorrow. Let me know when you leave for home and tell Gabriel thank you” he says conceding.

“Okay will do, Thank you Zan” I say and he ends the call. Macy walks into the room

“Your lunch is ready for you in the garden ” she says and walks out.

“Shall we eat?” Gabriel says standing up and offers me his hand. I take it and we walk out of the living area through a door into the garden. I take a deep breath of the air, the flowers are in bloom. Sunflowers, roses, daisies and all types of flowers are swaying in the soft breeze. The lawn is freshly green, suddenly I feel the stress of the night before ebb away. I look up at Gabriel and he’s smiling, that beautiful infectious smile of his. I smile back at him as we enter a greenhouse with a dining table set for two. We sit down and I take on the smell of the vegetables, I can see tomatoes, carrots, spinach and herbs. I have so many questions for him but I don’t ask. I’m afraid if I do I will want to know more and I don’t think I can ever stop asking.

“May I come in” a man says at the door, he’s casually holding three plates like its nothing.

“Yes, James come in” Gabriel says to him. He walks in a smile on his face. He places Gabriel’s plate down first and the walk around to my side and places a fragrant bowl of salad.

“Macy said you wanted something light fresh tuna salad, to get you started off and if you still have room a nice grilled cheese sandwich.” He says looking at me his smile bright.

“Thank you so much, this smells amazing” I say picking up the utensils to eat, my stomach is growling, my mouth watering.

“You’re very welcome” he says and steps out. A minute later Macy comes in with a pitcher of iced tea and my phone.

“Thank you” I  say reaching for my phone. She nods and smiles then walks away. The whole time Gabriel is silent. I look at him wondering what’s up. He hasn’t said more than 3 words to me at a time.

“Do you mind if I make a phone call?” I ask not wanting to be rude.

“Not at all” he says pouring us the iced tea.

I look at my phone surprised it has no scratches at all. I dial Max’s number and put him on speaker so I can eat. He answers at the 2^nd ring. We have a long conversation about the accident, where I am and he gives me a whole week off. I can tell he’s stressed out but I’m not entirely sure the stress is all about me. He has to work with a temp for the next week and he hates having temps. There’s a reason why we’ve been working together for so long.

“I feel for him” I say after we end the call.

“Your boss?” Gabriel asks surprised.

“Yes. He hates working with temps” I say as explanation.

“I get that, it’s really hard to find a good PA “he says thoughtful.

“Macy seems alright” I say using the opportunity to pry without being too obvious. Now that I’ve had a glimpse into his life I’m curious.

“We’ll see” he says looking at me serious. I raise a brow in question. “She’s on probation” he says after a moment.

“Oh” I say knowing full and well that means he’s not happy with her.

“Do you have any advice?” he asks leaning forward on the table.

“I don’t know” I say, I don’t want to have a say in whether she should get fired or not.

“Sure you do, clearly your boss found an excellent PA, you’ve been gone less than a day and he wants to cry. Help me” he says and looks at me intently.

“What are you looking for?” I ask him digging into the sandwich and man it’s good.

“What do you mean, I’m looking for a PA” he says looking genuinely confused.

“I know that but, look at this as a you looking for a partner. Someone you can rely on, someone you know has your back no matter what. If you spend more than a day with them and you don’t feel at ease they’re not the right pick. The truth is you rely on her to stop a disaster before it begins and that can’t be taught in school.” I say looking him in the eyes, I want to make sure he understands.

“That sounds like a commitment” he says getting my point.

“Exactly” I say finishing off the last piece of my sandwich.

“Good huh” he says smiling.

“You have no idea.” I say smiling back.

“Oh I do” he says laughing.

“A private chef? I ask  still curious.

“It’s convenient, with what I do I need as much time freed up as possible. Besides before I had James I would forget to eat.” I make a face at his statement.

“Exactly” he says making a face too.

“What do you do?” I ask him leaning back in my chair, I look up through the transparent roof. The sun showers me with the right amount of rays, I love it. I could exist here for ever.

“I provide cyber security for companies” he says and I can feel his eyes on me.

“So you’re really smart” I say looking at him and he shrugs.

“And you’re moneyed” I say and he shrugs again.

“How are you single?” I ask a look of confusion on my face.

“is that all women want? Smarts and money? I must be doing something wrong. Is that all you want?” he asks turning the question on me.

“I want… Kindness, respect, consistency and patience.” I say looking back up at the roof.

“That doesn’t sound like much to me” he says looking up at the roof too. I look back at him and he’s smiling softly.

“No?” I ask still looking at him.

“No.” he says looking back at me.

We remain silent look at each other.

“I think I should go, it’s been a treat but…” I start to say.

“I was thinking you would stay the night and tomorrow we drive home together. I’m long overdue for a visit with my parents.” He says before I can finish my sentence. I open my eyes wide in protest and he gives me this look.

“I don’t know Gabriel…  I…”

“I promise you, this is only so I can keep an eye on you. And I promised Zan I would get you home safe and is he finds out you’re alone, he’ll kill me and you know it. He says making a valid point.

“ I don’t want to be a burden on you.” I say finally.

“Nonsense, I’m doing this because I want to. If I didn’t you would know.” He says seriously. He looks to the door and I follow his gaze. Macy is standing a few paces from the greenhouse with a phone in her hand. He looks at me not moving, I look at Macy then at him as if saying are you going to get that? He raises his brow in question.

“Okay” I say and he stands up smiling.

“I have a few things to get done for now” he says stopping before the greenhouse door.

“It’s alright, I’ll take a shower, go do what you need to do.” I say waving him away, Macy looks stressed out.

I walk out of the shower and reach for the overnight bag Gabriel packed for me. I wonder if it’s too much to wish that he packed my skin care products. I mean he thought of everything else. I smile when I find my cosmetic bag stocked with all my stuff. He’s thorough! I think as I get myself together. I feel so much better now that I’m clean and refreshed. It’s now late afternoon and I haven’t seen Gabriel since lunch, I decided to stay out of his way so he can work and so I can catch my breath. It’s not easy being so close to him. I have been ignoring my thoughts, body and heart the whole day. It’s all taking a toll on me, seeing him, smelling him and being in such close proximity is all a bit too much.

Now that I’ve had time to process the night he fucked my brains out, I wonder what it would be like to do it again and that’s a dangerous place to be. I push that thought out of my mind and get dressed, I need to get out of this room.  I head for the door and a knock sounds on it. I open it and Gabriel is standing there. In his sweats, the same sweats he was wearing in my sex dream.

“Hey I was thinking about you” he says smiling. His mood different, he seems relaxed.

“You were?” feeling my cheeks flush.