Chapter 5 Curiosity

Christian gets up from his king-sized bed, where a naked blonde is lying asleep peacefully on the rumpled bedsheets. While the sex is hot and wild, Christian still feels unsatisfied. There has been a hole inside him that other women couldn’t fill since his trip to Dorothea Valley last month.

He walks to the living room in his naked sculptured torso and watches the city in lights from the floor-to-ceiling window. His penthouse in Wayne Tower has the best view of the city.

He feels an itch that is yet to be scratched, a desire that cannot be quenched. Mia flashes through his mind. He wonders how she tastes like, how she feels when he is in her plush mouth, and what her moans would sound like. He finds himself imagining her beside him, over him, and underneath him again.

"Fuck," he curses. He is rock hard again. He needs a swim. Maybe the water will help cool him down.

But the water doesn't help him as he expected. His mind keeps returning to the dirty imaginations he has had of Mia.

Out of anger for his poor control, he takes a deep breath and swims vigorously towards the finish.

Christian feels lots better after the 2km swim. He gets out of the swimming pool and wraps a towel around his waist.

The blonde is awake. She is leaning on the door of the living room, eying Christian's toned chest, lust simmering in her eyes.

"Yummy," she sways towards Christian, a hand reaching under the towel.

"Tonya, stop." Christian frowns. He is not in the mood for a second round.

His phone rings. Christian quickly picks it up and walks towards the window.

"I just got the news that the old man fired Lindsey this morning. She said she bugged the old man's office for curiosity. " It is his man Jack.

"I didn't expect her to be so loyal to that son of bitch Anthony. Did we have anything on her?" Christian asks.

A body is pressing against his back, while the hand is traveling from his chest to his abdomen.

"Get out of my apartment!" Christian turned and barked at the blonde. He doesn't like being interrupted when he is talking about business.

The blonde turns on her heels and scurries away, picking up her bra, thong, and dress scattered on the floor of the living room.

"Enjoying yourself?" Jack teases on the other side.

"Do we have anything on her?" Christian repeats impatiently. Jack is the only subordinate who has the audacity to tease or make fun of him. But he knows when to stop.

"Not right now. But we are digging it."

"Good. Anything else?"

"A new assistant is to fill Lindsey's shoes starting next week."

“Since when does he appoint an assistant this quick? Haven't it always taken half a year for the paranoid old man to hire his previous assistants?" Christian is surprised to hear his father quickly find a replacement.

Christian knows his father. He doesn't trust people easily. All his assistants have to go through a scrupulous background check. It is easier to pass an FBI check than that of the old man. The new assistant either goes way back with him or he knew Lindsey's betrayal long ago and had prepared for the dismissal. But as far as Christian knows it is not the second case.

The new assistant sparks Chrisitan's interest.

"I want the old man's birthday party invitation sent to me personally by this new assistant."

"Of course, boss. Speaking of the birthday party, rumor has that Mr. Powell will announce who his successor is."

"We all know that it is either Anthony or Simon. But they won't be behind the wheel for long." Christian grits his teeth.

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"Can we have a talk?" Calvin wheeled him to the doorway of Mia's bedroom.

"Yeah, of course," Mia stands up from her bed to help Calvin.

Now they are sitting face to face, Mia on her bed and Calvin on his wheelchair in her cramped bedroom.

"Are you sure you want to work for Mr. Powell?" Calvin looks into Mia's eyes, searching for signs of hesitation. Although only two years older than Mia, Calvin looks like 40 years old, with his long, disheveled hair, paled face, bloodshot eyes from constant insomnia.

Mia feels a pang of sharp pain piercing through her heart whenever she looks at her elder brother. She hates to see him waste away, engulfed by loss and depression.

"Yes, it pays well." This is a consolation that could set off the uncertainty she is about to face."You love your former job. You love your colleagues." Calvin points out.

"But it doesn't help pay our bill and debts," Mia sighs.

"We can cut down on our spendings. I could take more ghostwriting jobs. We can leave New York."

"We cannot be more frugal, Calvin. We didn't have any trip, recreation, or whatever that is out of basic needs." Except for the trip to Germany. It was the only luxury she enjoyed in eight years and she didn't pay any expenses except meals. Sophia's father planned the trip with his daughter but got canceled at the last minute due to business.

"And the doctor strongly advised against you committing yourself on anything that is not good for your health." Mia continues.

"My health is good. I can write for four hours without stopping. I can earn money." Calvin says stubbornly. Mia knows her brother is lying. He is in constant pain and has been relying on medicine after he woke up from the coma. The accident does more than confining him to the wheelchair.

"No, Calvin. I want to take this job." Otherwise, how she is going to pay their mounting bills of rent, utility, and medicine, let alone the debt they owe to Mrs. Coravos? She loves her co-workers at Salwater Publishing House. But the meager pay is not going to cover their daily expenses. She already indulged herself by choosing literature for her college degree. That is enough for her.

If she has to navigate the complicated world of the wealthy men so that they could live a better life, so be it.

“God. I hate myself! I’m so useless. I hate this! I hate them! I hate everything they’ve done to us!” Calvin’s eyes redden. His hand is pounding the armrest of the wheelchair wildly.

“Calvin, shush. It is okay. You are not useless. You are everything to me. We are the only two left. Remember? We’ll have a better life.” Mia croons, trying to comfort her brother.

After taking Calvin to his bedroom for rest, Mia plumps down on her bed. She couldn’t hide her tears anymore. It hurts to see Calvin thinks he is useless, weak. That accident took everything from her big brother, his laugh, his confidence. His college girlfriend broke up with him immediately after she knew that Calvin would never stand up again. He dropped out of school because the pain of his body was constantly troubling him and because they didn’t have enough money for two people to go to college at the same time. He chose to sacrifice himself.

Oh, the physical pain her brother has to endure every day since the accident. The pain doesn’t give him any rest and aggregates his insomnia. Sometimes even the painkillers cannot ease the pain.

It is her turn to protect her brother. She has to be tough for them. Mia wipes the tears from her face. She needs something to distract her mind.

Mia goes to her tiny closet, running her fingers over her cheap clothes. She doesn’t have proper clothes to wear for her new job. As Mr. Powell’s executive assistant, people would expect her to dress nicely.

Her eyes land on the jacket hanging in her closet. Chris’s jacket. She takes it off from the hanger and puts it on.

It felt like Chris. She closed her eyes, imagining Chris holds her, kissing her, making love to her, taking her pain away.

Mia is alarmed. She is fantasizing about the man she only met once and spent less than a day with. She never felt this kind of attraction before.

She thought she would forget him as soon as she returned to normal routine life in America. It was just a physical attraction. It would go away quickly. She told herself.

Yet she still thinks of him constantly. She turned down a blind date Sophia arranged for her after they were back in New York.

“Vincent is the nicest man I’ve known. He treats women well. And he is handsome. You can still have a love life even if you have to work and take care of Calvin. Give Vincent an opportunity. You will see how amazing he is.” Sophia nags her.

“Oh! Are you still thinking of that Chris guy? I knew there is more between you two than what you told me. I knew it!” Sophia exclaimed.

“No, I told you everything. I’m just not ready to date people.” The truth? She was and still is not ready to move on from Chris and the moments they shared.

“What is wrong with me?” Mia whines, burying her face in the blanket.

She wants to see Chris again. She wants to know who he is. She wants to love him. And she wants him to love her back.