chapter 67 Meeting With Friends
Natalie’s POV
Once I got back to the office, Rosalinda ran up to me, exclaiming, “Miss Natalie, the CEO almost demolished the company over our heads.” Her voice was shaking.
“Why? What happened?” I asked, confused.
“He was looking for you. He tried to call you, but your phone was off. He called the office phone almost every three minutes,” she said, and then the office phone rang.
In horror, she picked up the handset and, with a shaky voice, answered, “Hello, this is The Rela…”
A growl I could hear cut her off. She looked at me and said, “Yes, sir. She’s here.” Then she handed me the phone handset as if it were a piece of hell.
“Where the fuck have you been, and why was your damn phone off?” he roared through the phone, forcing me to move it away from my ear a little.
Without waiting for my reply, he ordered, “Come to my office, NOW!” and hung up.
I blinked, staring at the phone handset in my hand. “What’s wrong with him?” I thought.
With a faint smile, Rosalinda took the handset from me and, motioning to the door with her eyebrows, said, “It’s better you don’t let him wait.”
I shook my head in disbelief as I took the elevator. “This man is unbelievable. Who’s dealing with a pregnancy and hormonal fluctuations-me or him?”
Once I exited the elevator and went directly to his office door, his secretary stood in my way with a troubled expression on her face. “You can’t go in. The boss is angry and…”
Rafael’s office door swung open, and his secretary froze in place. She stammered, “Boss, I… I…”
“What the hell were you thinking, not letting her in immediately?” he growled at the frozen woman.
He walked toward me in two steps and grabbed my arm. Before shutting the door, he turned to his secretary and commanded, “Don’t let anyone disturb us; we have a closed meeting!” Then he shut the door.
Once he shut the door, he pushed me against it and kissed me furiously. He rested his forehead on mine and said, “Where have you been? I almost went crazy.”
“Yeah, that’s obvious,” I chuckled.
He held my chin firmly and said, “Don’t ever do that again! I was scared to the core.”
I felt his reaction wasn’t normal. Why would he be so scared on me to that extent?
“Why? What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Your phone was off, and I needed you. That’s all,” he said, caressing my cheek.
“Hmm, is that so?” I said, running my fingers over his chest. “Then, what’s the closed meeting we have?” I asked.
“We can discuss that later, after we grab a small snack,” he whispered and kissed my neck.
The small snack turned into a hot intimacy on the couch. He took off my blouse and bra, licking every part.
Suddenly, the door opened and closed.
I froze, and Rafael growled, “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Oh, for God’s sake. Don’t you have a bed at home?” Jack sniffed.
Rafael covered me with his body and roared, “Get lost, Jack!”
The latter took a long breath and said, “Believe me, I want to. I don’t want my innocent eyes to see this, but a couple of employees are here. It’s not convenient to let them go after they’ve gathered all the information you need and craved for.” He cleared his throat and added, “You can finish this at home!”
Rafael threw the small pillow from the couch at him and snapped, “Go to the bathroom, don’t come out until I tell you.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “Just don’t keep me waiting for long!”
My cheeks were burning. Why did Jack always catch us red-handed?
Rafael helped me put my clothes back on, then he kissed me on the forehead and said, “Once I finish this meeting, I’ll call you. Charge your phone.”
After three hours, it was the end of the working day, and yet Rafael hadn’t finished his meeting nor called me as he promised. I waited for another hour, but it seemed like the meeting wouldn’t end soon.
I scrolled through my social media and saw Rebecca running a live stream from a nearby cafe. I drove to the cafe and found her sitting with Fello. I joined their table, but they didn’t recognize me as I was wearing a big hat and sunglasses to avoid any paparazzi. Once I took off my sunglasses, they screamed in happiness, and Rebecca turned off the live stream.
“Where have you been? After that night, we tried to call you several times, but your phone was off,” Fello asked, with a worried tone.
“I even went to your house several times, but the maids told me you weren’t home,” Rebecca added.
“I’m sorry, I should have called you, but I lost my phone that night,” I said apologetically.
“So, where have you been?” Fello asked eagerly.
Her question made the place feel hotter as memories of Rafael and me rolled through my head, and the hat I was wearing only made me warmer. I opened the front buttons of my blouse to cool down.
Rebecca asked with amusement, “Do you finally have a boyfriend?” She stared at my neck.
My eyes widened. “A boyfriend? Why would you say that?” I asked.
“Your love bites,” she said, gesturing toward the edge of my breasts.
Oh.
“Love bites?” I said, my cheeks growing warmer.
“What love bites?” I asked, acting dumb and feeling hesitant about whether I should tell them now or not.
Rebecca raised an eyebrow. “Don’t play coy. Those marks are unmistakable.”
Fello unlocked her phone screen. “Let’s see what love bites mean,” she said with a grin.
“Don’t!” I said.
She ignored my protest, cleared her throat, and read, “Typically, a ‘love bite’ refers to a mark on the skin caused by biting, sucking, or kissing, often on the neck or other areas, usually during passionate moments between romantic partners. It’s also known colloquially as a hickey.”
Rebecca leaned her head closer to Fello’s phone and read, “It’s a sign of affection, usually between two people in a relationship. It can also be a sign of dominance and used as a form of control. In some cases, it can be a sign of violence.”This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
Fello put her phone on the table, raised an eyebrow, and questioned, “Won’t you confess?”
I hesitated, glancing at Fello. “It’s complicated. Let’s just say I’ve been seeing someone, but I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”
“Who’s he? Is he Rafael?” Fello asked, holding my hands.