CHAPTER 83: STRANDED IN THE RAIN

"Good." He finally said, nodding his head, "Bringing her to stay with us will allow her to see how well suited Morgan is for Christian. We will finally show the Amato family that we are not beneath them!"

Morgan wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry. The news of her rival coming to visit her lit a fire beneath her feet.

"I will not allow some slut to snatch Christian away from me!" she roared.

"MORGAN!" my mother scolded, displeased at her choice of words, "This is exactly the type of thing that makes you sound like you were raised in the slums! When Cherie visits, you must ensure that these words do not escape your mouth!"

My father held his head in annoyance. Morgan’s nonstop crying was taking a toll on him.

"Leslie, when is this girl coming?" he asked me.

"She didn’t say exactly when, but I assume very soon. Tomorrow or the day after," I replied calmly.

"Good, you’re all dismissed," he waved his hand, signaling for all of us to leave him alone. My mother pulled Morgan out of the room, allowing me time to escape to my room, where I could finally get some rest.

That was too close. Thankfully, Christian remembered to tell me to wear sunglasses whenever we were out.

-

The moment I entered my room, I collapsed on the bed. The fear of being found out was still fresh in my mind, and my heart was still beating at an increased rate.

What I wanted to know was how my father got hold of those photos. Did someone send them over to him? Or did he hire someone to follow Christian on his own?

It was strange to me that he would go to such great lengths to hire someone to follow Christian...or what it me that he was following?

I tried my best to think, but it was difficult to fight the sleep that was slowly consuming me. It only took a few minutes before I fell into a deep sleep.

-

A loud knock sounded against my door, causing me to jump out of bed. It sounded like someone was trying to break into my room.

I did my best to look around, but it was so dark that I could barely make out the features of my room.

"Leslie, wake up!"

Morgan? Why is she banging on my door in the middle of the night?

I looked at the bedside table’s clock, realizing it had just hit four. I walked over to the door to see what was going on.

"Morgan, what’s wrong? Why are you banging on my door so early in the morning?" I asked, slightly agitated.

"What’s wrong? The fact that you’re not awake and ready to go to the office! Don’t you remember what Christian asked you yesterday? Good thing I woke up to remind you. Now, hurry up and get dressed. I already let the driver know, he’s waiting for you outside."

I looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

"I don’t think he meant four in the morning..."

She rolled her eyes. "This is precisely why he asked me to make sure that you were awake on time. You’re so unreliable."

Flinging her hair, she turned around, yawning. "Hurry and get ready, I’m going back to bed."

The door was slammed shut in my face, leaving me to digest what just happened in the darkness of my room.

A part of me was impressed that she was able to wake up so early. Since I was already up I let out a sigh and resigned myself and began to get ready.

Since it was so early in the morning, I didn’t try too hard with my hair and makeup, knowing that my mother wouldn’t be up to check me over. I put on a simple white blouse and black pencil skirt before walking out to the car.

"Good morning, Miss. You’re going out early today," the driver said as he opened the door to the car.

"Yes, Morgan said that I needed to go in early today, so here I am." I didn’t bother explaining more and stepped into the car.

The drive was quicker than usual due to the empty streets. Only the brightly lit streetlights could be seen through the foggy air.

-

I took a step out of the car and approached the entrance to the company. All of the lights were off, and there were no signs of people inside.

Is it even open?

Before I had a chance to check to see if the doors were open, my driver took off, leaving me completely alone.

Sure enough, as soon as I pulled the handle, I realized that the building was still locked.

"Of course. Why would they open the building so early in the morning?" I mumbled, looking around. It was very wet and foggy out after last night’s rainstorm, and the chilly air quickly enveloped me.

What do I do now? It’s not like I can just walk back home.

I tried to look around to see if there was a nearby open coffee shop, but the surrounding darkness told me that there was not. To make matters worse, the next moment it started raining.

With nowhere to go, I hid myself from the rain under the small overhang of the building. I was cold, tired, and miserable, with nowhere to go.

"If I didn’t know any better, I would think that Morgan did this on purpose," I mumbled under my breath. The whole situation was overwhelming, and I honestly felt like crying.

The rain intensified with every passing minute, and even the small overhang couldn’t prevent me from getting wet. My thin white blouse was quickly becoming so wet that it clung to my skin. I regretted not taking the time to bring a jacket, but I was honestly not awake enough to think it through.

I squatted in hopes of keeping myself warmer while watching the raindrops form into small puddles on the ground.

This really sucks.

Just as I thought I would get fully soaked, someone walked in front of me, holding an umbrella over my head. The first thing I noticed was a pair of black leather dress shoes.

They looked new and were made of high-quality materials. I glanced upwards to see Christian’s outstretched arm.

"I’m sorry I’m late," he said, looking down at me with concern.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I was so happy to see him that I didn’t waste any time and accepted his hand before throwing myself into his embrace.

"It’s okay, I’m here. Let’s go up and get you warmed up," he said as he draped his coat over me.

His lingering warmth on the coat helped me regain feeling in my arms. It felt like a warm hug.

Christian walked over to the front door and unlocked it using his key, all while holding me beside him with his other arm.

The lights turned on automatically, lighting up the surroundings. As soon as we were inside, Christian lifted me off the ground and into his arms.

"You’re so cold. How long were you out there?" he asked, frowning. "And where did your driver go?"

I shook my head, "Not too long, and he left as soon as I stepped out of the car. He must have been too tired to realize," I said quietly.

The heat radiating off Christian was a warm welcome. I snuggled up as close to him as possible as we made our way upstairs. He carried me all the way to his office, only placing me down when we were in his hidden bedroom.

"Go take a warm shower, I don’t want you to get sick. I’ll bring you some clothes."

I nodded at him gratefully and walked over to the shower. The hot water quickly warmed me up, and by the time I got out, I was at a normal temperature.

Hearing that the shower was off, Christian walked in and handed me a set of clothes.

"What’s this?" I asked, looking at the comfortable-looking sweatpants and hoodie.

"There’s no need for you to put on something uncomfortable. We have hours before work starts," he said with a smile.

My heart felt warm. I accepted the clothing, putting it on immediately. It was oversized and comfortable, but I didn’t remember seeing this set of clothes before.

"Is this new?" I asked curiously.

Christian nodded, "Yes, I decided to bring a few things from home that were more comfortable. Plus, you look so hot when you’re dressed casually." His lips curved up into a big smile.

He walked over as I finished getting dressed and lifted me off the ground once more.

"Come, let’s get some sleep. I could barely sleep last night without you," he said, and carried me over to the bed.

We both snuggled together under the covers. Initially, I didn’t feel tired, but after the warm shower and lying comfortably by Christian’s side, my eyes quickly found themselves closing.

Christian seemed even more tired than I was, and almost immediately fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

I wonder why he can’t sleep...

My last thoughts were of him as I quickly drifted off to sleep.