Chapter 5. Morning Feelings.

Patrick woke up the following morning with a headache. He sat up in bed and stared around, trying to remember the hot, stupid dream he had the previous night. 

"F*CK!" he cursed out loud. "What happened here?" he asked himself. Just then, he heard a knock on his chamber door, pulling him out of his reverie. As he looked toward the door that flung open, Jeff Hudson stepped in.

"Good morning, boss," Jeff greeted, staring at Patrick in surprise. He saw Patrick sitting on the bed, clutching his head with his right palm to support his aching temples.

Patrick wanted to slide out of bed but realized he was stark naked. Jeff immediately turned away, even though he was older than Patrick; Patrick was still his boss.

"Get out!" Patrick commanded. Jeff promptly responded, "Yes, boss!" and exited the room, wondering what went wrong with his boss.

Jeff went outside to receive calls from private clients inquiring why the young Anderson had missed the meeting with their members the previous night. Meanwhile, Patrick slid out of bed, trying to recall the dream he had. He remembered a beautiful fair woman in his arms, and they were both making love, but he couldn't remember her face. "But her eyes..." Patrick muttered, frowning as he looked back at his bed, wanting to pull the bedsheet away. When he saw the stains, he exclaimed, "Oh my! What happened here?"

Startled, Jeff, who was still standing behind the door after having excused himself, immediately darted back into the room, ending his call. He stared at his boss in shock, noticing Patrick was fully naked and the stains on the bed.

Jeff was confused as he gazed at Patrick. 

"Get out and give me some privacy," Patrick spoke sharply.

"I'm sorry, boss; I heard you scream," Jeff said, swallowing hard as he quickly exited, not really understanding his boss's bizarre behavior.

Ever since Patrick graduated and took over as CEO to manage all his father's secret businesses and public affairs, he had become bitter. Jeff wondered why the young billionaire was feeling this way, especially when his parents had left him a billion-dollar fortune.

Jeff shook his head as he exited his boss's sitting room and walked into the elevator, heading down to the ground floor. He went outside to wait at the garage, realizing it was already past 8 a.m. on a bright Wednesday morning.

"Wasn't it a dream?" Patrick asked himself as he flung the bedsheet away, irritated by the sight of the dried red stains on his white bedding. He walked to his large, exquisite bathroom to shower, believing he might have injured himself and bled the night before.

Patrick switched on the shower tap and quickly bathed, aware that he was already late. He was the boss, so he wasn't afraid of anything. He owned the mega Anderson Hotel and Suites, along with other fashion and blog magazines. He also ran his father's oil business and had many personal ventures.

After showering quickly, Patrick stepped out of the bathroom and walked back to his room. He glanced at the bedsheet he had thrown to the tiled floor, avoiding it and trying not to dwell on the stains.

Patrick walked to his wardrobe and pulled out a blue suit with a white inner shirt, dressing rapidly. He put on his shorts and undershirt first, then held his blue trousers and slipped them on. Just then, he heard another subtle knock on his chamber door. He knew it was his mother's maids arriving to clean his room, as he had woken up late—unlike his usual routine of waking at 7 a.m.

Patrick walked to the large wall mirror hanging brightly on his right side, taking a moment to admire his handsome reflection. Just then, an image flashed in his mind, causing his heart to race.

"What was that?" Patrick asked himself, shaking his head. He remembered someone had burst into his chamber the previous night while he was unclad and looking into the mirror. His eyes narrowed at the recollection as he angrily walked to the door and opened it to confront the intruder, still believing that everything that happened the night before was merely a dream.

Patrick swung the door wide open in anger and saw two slim maids of dark complexion dressed in pink uniforms standing before him, causing his anger to boil.

"What do you want here? Can't you wait for me to leave before you barge into my room? Get out!" Patrick slammed the door hard on them. 

He walked back to his reading table and saw a covered tray of food there, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Obviously, it wasn’t a dream," Patrick said, frowning as he placed his hands on his waist, trying to remember who had brought the meal the previous night.

"That new maid. My goodness!" He exclaimed, walking back to the bedsheet he had throwned to the floor. He picked it up and sniffed it again, touching the stains.

Patrick's fist tightened as he realized it was no dream. He tossed the bedsheet onto the floor and returned to his study table, opening the plate of food.

"She brought it last night, and she dared to peek at me. But how come?" 

Patrick shook his head in denial, grabbing his briefcase and holding his blue suit in his arms as he walked out of his chamber.

Patrick paused and looked at the two maids waiting for him to finish and realized neither of them was the maid he had seen before, as they both had flat chests. He averted his gaze from them and walked toward the elevator, heading down to the last floor. When he reached the first floor, his mother was already seated in the dining room, smiling at him as someone sat across from her, engaging in conversation.

Patrick placed his briefcase down on a nearby couch and put on his suit to appear professional. Just as he grabbed his briefcase again, he looked up and saw Willow Albert smiling at him; she was the one sitting with his mother.

"He's here already, Ma," Willow said, winking at Patrick. 

Patrick narrowed his eyes at Willow as he clicked his black shoes against the tiled floor, approaching the dining table where his mother sat.

"Good morning, Mother," Patrick greeted as he approached her, giving her a warm hug. His mother pulled away and smiled, happily.

"Son, your baby is here! I’m so happy to see her!" his mother said, beaming at him, but he wore an expressionless face, trying to figure out why Willow was suddenly at his family home.

Patrick's mother knew how much he loved Willow, and he never told her about their breakup.

"Son, what's wrong? Didn't you eat your dinner last night?"

Patrick's eyes darkened at his mother’s question. Just then, he saw a familiar-looking maid step out from the kitchen holding another tray. She looked like sunshine in her pink maid uniform—a simple pink dress with a white apron tied around her waist.

Earlier, Loveth was in the kitchen preparing her madam’s tea with an assistant maid named Aria Jameson, who had been working in the Anderson home for ten years and was now 28 years old. As Loveth carried the herbal tea to serve her madam, she hadn’t expected to see her madam's son standing next to her in the long dining room.

Loveth's grip tightened on the tray as it contained the last of the medicinal tea, and she didn’t want to drop it. 

She walked slowly to the dining area, feeling all eyes on her. 

Willow stared at Patrick and noticed him gazing at Loveth. She was equally shocked to see such a beautiful young woman in the Anderson's mansion.

Loveth approached the dining table and greeted them, "Good morning, ma’am, good morning." She blushed nervously, and Willow shifted her gaze away to look at Patrick.

Patrick maintained his expressionless face, and Willow sensed that he was angry with her. Willow hadn’t thought of Tony recording their escapades and sending them to Patrick.

She had genuinely wanted to be with Tony after he sent her an explicit image on his member to her chat app, but she still loved Patrick very much.

Willow hadn’t anticipated that her secret affair with Tony would leak, and her reasoning for traveling with him, without informing Patrick. 

Tony had made it seem like she had purposely dumped Patrick for him when he exposed their illicit affair in New York City.