“So you finally woke up”

“Fuck me!”, Donovan yelled as he brushed his hands through his jet black hair.

“What should I do now?”, he mumbled, undecided.

At this point, all he felt was regret. Why would he treat her like that? Did she even get to eat anything? Why did he care?

He felt a series of emotion. The capital one was disappointment. He’s blamed his grandfather for all the hard decisions he had to make and every form of pettiness he had displayed since age eight. But now, it was all him.

He paced the floors for a couple of minutes. A loud knock got pulled him from his contemplation.

“I’m coming in”, Kenny spoke from outside. He opened the door and walked in. He wore sweats and a hoodie.

“Ready?”, Donovan stood confused. “Ready to do what?” he asked for clarity’s sake.

“To make amends, get dressed”, Donovan had a rush of relief. He wondered at times what life would be like without Kenny.

Donovan took a quick shower and got dressed, causal like the occasion demanded. They got into the elevator.

“What?, Kenny asked Donovan, who was playing with his watch.

“Nothing”, he said flatly. He wouldn’t admit it, but his nerves were acting up. He never felt bad when he said things or made hard decisions. But with this girl, it was different.

They strapped themselves into the car.

“Where exactly are we going?”, Donovan was concerned. They had passed the hotel.

“To pick up Catherine”.

“What?”

“Over here”, Kenny parked the car at the side of the road and open the passenger’s door.

“Get down”, he said to Donovan as he also left the car. Donovan was stunned. He saw Catherine passed out on a street bench.

“Damn”

“Yeah, damn,”, Kenny made air quotes. “Hold the door open”

“Why?”, Donovan’s eyes twitched.

“So I can get her in,” he explained.

“No, I can handle that. You open the door”, Candace; Kenny smirked. He obeyed quietly.

***

Donovan couldn’t sleep at all through the night. Catherine was sleeping soundly in the pool house. He was told she didn’t even notice when Janet the help changed her clothes.

Janet had worked for the family for over fourteen years. There wasn’t much to salvage in the pool house, just a couple of Keila’s old shirts.

He could wait for the morning. What would his grandfather say? He had picked up the to-be secretary from the side of the road and brought her to the pool house.

A knock on the door got him to his feet. The door opened slowly. It was Keila.

“What time is it? Why are you awake?”, he asked, still rubbing his eyes intense.

“It’s seven O’clock. I should be asking you why you’re still in bed.” He turned swiftly to see the clock mounted on the wall, 7:10.

He quickly rushed into his bathroom and put some toothpaste on this brush. He walked back out with his teeth when he realized he had to get dressed.

Keila stood in his closet with a look, one he was very familiar with. “Why are you still here?”, he struggled to speak because of the toothpaste in his mouth.

“Wear that one”, she pointed a sky blue dress shirt that hung in the shirt section. He smirked.

“It’s pretty. Why are you here? Where’s your tutor?”, he grinned.

She cleared her throat as she pulled a drawer lined with watches. “7:35”, she glared.

“Yeah, that’s true, it’s,” early”, he said in a discerning tone. “Exactly my point, it’s early, you’re awake”, he continued.

“And so is your business partner in the pool house”, her grin was wider than his. Donovan glared as he ran into the bathroom to rinse his mouth. He went to the ground floor and speed walked outside to the pool house.

He entered through the huge passage and stopped in front of the first door. He checked his breath, then knocked. He opened the door when there was no response.

“So, you finally woke up”, he leaned on the door frame. Cathy was in less clothing than he had ever seen. His imagination began to run wild until the realization of invading someone’s privacy hit him.

He slammed the door and walked into the staff quarters to see Janet. She was already in the kitchen in the main part of the house, cooking.

He walked back to the pool house in the hope that she finally got something to wear.

“There are no clothes in there”, he mumbled to himself after taking the opposite direction and heading back into his room. Keila sat on the bed, patient.

She got up when she saw him. “Here”, she handed him a large hoodie and sweats. He looked at her, confused. “You have nice things”, she walked out with a wide smile on her face. Donovan went back to the pool house, but found the room empty.

He heard the faucet run and was hit with instant relief. “Good, she’s still here”, he muttered under his breath before dropping the clothes on the bed.

He stared at the Victoria’s secret underwear he took from Rachel’s closet. She had a box of clothes she hadn’t even touched. “Will this be her size”, he wondered as he picked it up from the pile.

He heard the faucet close. That was his cue.

He was back again with a hairbrush. She really needed it. The bathroom had all the essentials; a towel, shampoo, conditioner, soap, make-up remover, and even a hair dryer. His mum was in her most of the time when she needed to unwind.

He heard the door handle rattle and before he could leave; she was already out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her chest. He stared at her legs. They were slender and long.

“Get out”, she ordered. The only person he took orders from was Stanford and when the occasion called for it, Kenny, no one else.

“Make me!”, he growled. She was stunned.

“Donovan Smith! That was it right?”, she said, causing him to grow irritated. What was she trying to do?

He drew closer. She gulped hard, like she had a lump in her throat.

“Please, please leave”, her voice was more apologetic. Donovan slowed down and receded. He liked how she trembled like a little lamb. Just like his subordinates and business partners. He liked to be on top.

“Get dressed. I wasn’t interested in seeing you naked anyway”, he barked before leaving, making sure to slam the door, hard. He lied. A large part of him wanted the towel gone.