Chapter 25
974words
He pushed all he had to do today to the morning in order to free up his evening despite the issues it caused and the fact that he stayed up all night fixing the mess Charlotte created, and because of that he barely got any sleep.
His imagination of Lily's reaction to his hard work however kept him going. He didn't mean to, but last night, he noticed the look of defeat on her face after the frames were smashed into pieces, and though his body begged him to crawl to bed after he successfully threw Charlotte out, he found himself fixing the mess, and now he was looking forward to seeing her and hearing what she has to say about it all.
"Get it together, you're not a teenager." He whispered. Clearing his throat he returned to the last project he had to finish before the day ended, and forced himself to fixate all his attention on it like he wasn't overly aware of the clock ticking behind him.
All his projected focus, however got lost when his phone chimed with a familiar notification and he immediately reached out for it. Lily's name displayed brightly on the screen and he quickly opened the message.
His heartbeat slowly calmed down, the smile on his face gradually faded and he felt the strength sap out of him as he read her text.
He dropped the phone carelessly on the floor, and relaxed against the chair as he expelled a breath. All his hard work was for ... Nothing? He tucked his bottom lip in between his teeth and repeatedly nodded his head. Her reasons were fair, she was caught up with work. It's her first meeting, so of course it'll stretch out longer than expected.
His head knew all of this yet he couldn't keep the disappointment he felt at bay. Another text came in and he instantly picked up the phone, his hope skyrocketing tremendously but was hit with yet another wave of disappointment when he realized it was just another apology text from her.
Instead of sending a response, he clicked on the dial button.
Lily picked up almost instantly, her heart pounding in anticipation of what he has to say. She knew he spent an awful lot of time in doing all this but she couldn't afford to leave the meeting. They had a lot to go over and she underestimated it when she was setting up the meeting.
"Hey..."
"You sound scared. Is everything okay over there?" Lily chuckled nervously, wiping her sweaty palm on her pants as she nodded.
"Yeah... Yes, I'm okay. Just stressing over the meeting," she chuckled as she finished and was met with silence. She instantly cleared her throat and stood up straighter. "Listen, I'm really sorry about the... Date, I didn't know the meeting was going to span for..."
"Have you had anything to eat?" He asked, cutting in, and Lily frowned
"Sorry?"
Asher sighed and stood up, looking out his window facing the big city of New York. "Have you had something to eat with your teammates?"
"uhh..." Her eyes darted to her teammates that were talking in hushed tones as they looked over the pictures, and she cleared her throat once more. "No..not yet. We're going to order something later on."
" There's no need to."
Lily blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of what he was saying? Was he telling her to starve as a form of punishment?
"I'm going to make something for you guys and send it over?"
Lily froze as she tried to make sense of his words. "I'm sorry, what?! Wh-why are you making us food?"
He chuckled, and picked up his suit jacket, heading out the door. He was strangely enjoying the confusion and shock laced in her voice. "Just send the address, Lily, and focus on your meeting. Don't worry yourself over trivial matters."
"Trivial matters? Did you just say trivial..." She swallowed and took a deep breath. " You don't have to do this, really. I'm the one that bailed out on the date, you don't..."
" I still have to make up last night to you. Making you dinner is the least I can do, don't beat yourself up over it. The date was for you, not me."
"Do you even know how to cook?"
" Hey!"
She chuckled and raised her hand in mock surrender even though he couldn't see her. "I'll send you the address then."
"Good girl."
Her eyes instantly widened and heat crawled up her face. Did she hear him correctly? "What did you-?" A teammate beckoned for her attention the next second, cutting off her question. "I have to go now."
"Have fun."
The second the call ended, Asher got into the car and drove off to the next grocery store. His disappointment with the cancellation faded earlier when he realized he could just bring the date to her as well. His heart thumped with anticipation as he pulled into the driveway of the grocery store. This was the first time Lily would be trying his food, and he couldn't help the nerves.
As he was about to get out of the car after packing, his phone started ringing and he reached out for it, thinking it was Lily calling to give him the address but an Unknown ID displayed on his screen.
Frowning, he picked up. "Asher Allard speaking."
"Hello Mr Allard, this is Dobre speaking. I'm calling from Overview Hospital to inform you that Miss Charlotte Morgan was admitted earlier today as she was involved in a ghastly accident. Your number was on speed dial, and your presence is urgently required at the hospital. Thank you"
