FRAGILE: A Billionaire Romance (Part Two)

by Kimberly Malone

  I nod my head, wiping the couple of tears that had formed in my eyes. Eli takes my empty water bottle and box from me, tossing these in a small trash can tucked into a corner of one room as we walk, and then he leads me to his office. His office is no different than the rest of the corporate office, and it matches his condo, with subdued blues, grays, silvers, and dark wood. I take a seat in front of his desk and accept a glass of water from Eli, as well as a tissue.

  “Thank you,” I say.

  Eli nods as he sits at his desk, still observing me. I have no idea what he’s thinking; he’s hidden behind his barrier. I check my notecard and take more medicine and then jot the time down on the notecard. When I look up, Eli is frowning at me.

  “Do you still have a headache?” Eli asks.

  “Yeah,” I say. I take a breath, trying to steady my voice. “It’s pretty much all the time now.”

  “This doesn’t excuse your actions,” Eli says.

  “No, I know,” I say. “And I’m really sorry.”

  Eli looks down at his hands, clasped neatly together on the desk. Then, he lays his palms flat, sighs, and raises his eyes back to me. His expression softens. “And I’m sorry that we weren’t a good match for each other,” Eli says, his tone a little gentler.

  “I was demanding a lot of you really fast,” I say. “Just because my heart was ready doesn’t mean that you should be, and I jumped to conclusions.”

  “And I suppose such a fancy outing probably set the wrong impression,” Eli says. “I had thought it would simply be a nice time together, but instead I confused you.”

  “It’s okay,” I say. “I didn’t meant to get so attached so quickly. Really. We’d talked about it even. It’s my fault.”

  “Still,” Eli says, “I should have picked something more casual. More suiting to the ‘terms’ of our relationship.”

  I give a small smile before it disappears. I take a breath, trying to find some strength for the remainder of my apology. “I was also wrong to call you cold,” I say. “You don’t like people getting close to you, but you do care. In the brief time I’ve known you, you’ve handed food out to the homeless, donated money to a food pantry and soup kitchen, and saved a boy’s life at the risk of your own.” I tremble a little and use the tissue in my hand to wipe the additional tears that have formed in my eyes. “You have passion. It’s just different than mine, and you don’t like to show your passion. And that’s okay.”

  Eli stares at one of the windows in the room, quiet for a long time. “I don’t like people getting close to me,” he says quietly.

  “But you still care about people,” I say. “I’m sorry, Eli.”

  I really want to hold Eli’s hand, but I know I’m on thin ice as it is. So I set one hand on the desk, my palm up, but I let it lie there, waiting. It feels like a déjà vu from our last dinner, and I don’t know why I’m chancing this again. My heart’s already been burned once; why am I looking for more pain?

  Eli watches my hand for a long time. And then, to my astonishment, he reaches forward and takes my fingers into his. His hand is very warm, and I close my eyes at his touch, my body shuddering.

  “I really miss you,” I whisper. “And I didn’t mean to hurt you. Things have been really difficult for me lately. I’m so sorry.”

  Eli avoids my gaze, still staring at our hands. His fingers entwine with mine. “I want you, but I don’t want to be close. And frankly, I was really hurt after your outburst.”

  I flinch, but I’m glad he’s telling me this. He’s being open with me, and it’s more than I’d hoped for when I’d come to Marnvell Jewelers. I wait, sensing he has more to say.

  Eli’s eyes lift up, and I see a longing in them. “But I’ve seen you care for people, deeply, and your passion for your business is inspiring,” Eli says. “You have a smile that lights up a room, and a great sense of humor. And…I know I haven’t made it easy.”

  I give him a small smile, but I stay quiet. Eli is debating something, his eyes going from my face to our hands, and finally they rise back to my face. He puts his other hand over mine, encasing my hand between both of his.

  “So, what has been difficult for you?” Eli asks.

  “Well, Chargene Jewelers, for one, but the reason I was trying to talk to you Friday after you dropped me off was because Buttercup had died,” I say, my volume lowering as I talk.

  Eli blinks. “I didn’t know. Ruby, I’m so sorry,” he says, his deep voice gentle.

  A couple of tears break loose down my cheeks, and I wipe my face with the tissue. “I know, and I kept trying to tell you, but….” My voice fades away.

  “I wasn’t exactly stopping to listen to you,” Eli offers.

  I finally nod. “And then I just felt like you knew, and I was still upset about our conversation. It doesn’t make what I did right, but I wanted you to know why I just…blew up like that,” I say. My voice has started to crack, and I take a breath. “I’m really sorry.”

  “No, I can see….” Eli trails off, looking at my face, and he frowns a little. “Ruby, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I actually think something might be medically wrong with you,” Eli says. “Do you want to go to the doctor?” His tone is tender, and I have to stifle myself to keep from crying.

  “I have an appointment scheduled with a doctor next week,” I say quietly.

  “Alright.” Eli’s hands tighten over my fingers, his green eyes searching mine. He exhales slowly, but he doesn’t break his gaze from me. “I…I can’t stop thinking about you, Ruby.” He drops his head again, as if that was the hardest thing to admit. Then, he lifts his eyes to mine once more. “I can’t promise it’ll go anywhere. But…I’d still like to see you,” he whispers.

  My heart leaps with life. “Me too,” I say.

  And that’s the honest truth. While Eli still hasn’t accepted my profession of love or reciprocated, I realize that I’m so out of sorts that I might not have even really been in love anyway. This way, I get to see Eli while I work through the stress on my end, and Eli can make the moves in our relationship at his own pace instead of me trying to barge ahead.

  A light bursts in Eli’s green eyes, and it gives me hope and strength. He gives me a small smile, and we lean across the desk, kissing briefly. Fire courses through my veins, and now I’m feeling weepy with joy.

  “Thank you, Eli,” I say once I catch my breath. “I really appreciate your understanding, and the second chance.”

  “We all make mistakes,” Eli says. A real smile finally breaks the stone on his face. “You’ve just happened to make two rather peculiar mistakes, both around me.”

  Chuckling, I nod my head. “Yeah. At least the first one I had better intentions.”

  “Well, you intended to fix things the second time,” Eli says slowly. “Your emotions just got the better of you. Am I right?”

  “Yep,” I say. I snicker. “You know me pretty well.”

  Eli smiles again, and he open his mouth to speak. The phone on his desk rings, and Eli lifts his top hand off and picks the phone up. “Hello,” he says. There’s a pause, Eli’s eyes gazing far off. I stare down at our clasped hands. “Yes. Thank you.” He sets the phone down and looks back up at me. “So, how long have you been having these headaches?”

  “Hard to say, what with all the stress recently. Maybe a month.” The relief that Eli is even still talking to me is making me woozy, and I lean back in my chair.

  Eli frowns at me. “A month? And the headaches have been getting worse?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Maybe you should go to the ER,” Eli says.

  I roll my eyes. “I’m fine. It’s probably just that I’m lacking vitamins or minerals or something like that.”

  After a few seconds, Eli nods his head, gives my hand one more squeeze before dropping it, and then he stands, refilling my water and getting me another tissue. I thank him, and as Eli sits again, a pause hovers in the air.

  “Your gift was very thoughtful,”
Eli says. He gestures to the pin, which is lying on his desk. “I haven’t seen this design before. Is this your new line?”

  “Not the one I mentioned the other day, no,” I say. “But this is a new design. I created these pins just for you and your staff.”

  “That fast?” Eli asks.

  “I haven’t been sleeping well,” I say. “Sometimes I can sleep for hours, but then other times my headache keeps me up. Plus I really, really do feel bad about my outburst.”

  There’s a knock on the door. “Come in,” Eli says, sounding unsurprised.

  I glance over my shoulder to see a man step in, dressed in a black suit. He looks kind of like a surfer with dark blonde hair with sun streaks and tanned skin, though I add a few years to his age as I note some wrinkles in his face. He smiles at Eli and me.

  “Mr. Lambton,” Eli says, “this is Miss Jennings. Miss Jennings, this is my lawyer, Mr. Lambton.”

  “Miss Jennings?” Mr. Lambton’s smile fades a little before plastering into place, his posture stiffening. He glances at Eli. “I’m surprised.” His voice is higher than I had expected, but crisp at the edges.

  “Miss Jennings came to apologize,” Eli says. He gestures to the letter and pin on his desk.

  “Ah.” Mr. Lambton’s eyes take me in before he holds out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Jennings.” His voice has a slight hint of sarcasm to it.

  “You too,” I say.

  “Should I reschedule my appointment?” Mr. Lambton asks.

  “No, I can leave,” I say. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”

  Mr. Lambton gives a snort, but Eli ignores him.

  “Thank you for coming, Miss Jennings,” Eli says. He gives me a small but kind, sincere smile, and I return it.

  I had messed up, for sure, but it looked like things were going to be okay between Eli and I. Maybe, once I was feeling better and recovered, things would even be great again. “Thanks for letting me apologize to everyone, and for your time, Mr. Richardson,” I say. “And thank you, again, for being understanding.”

  “You’re welcome,” Eli says.

  I stand up, gathering my stuff, and stumble to the side. I feel off balance, and I blink a few times, as I right myself before reaching out for Eli’s hand.

  Eli frowns a little. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I say. When our hands clasp, I realize I’m shaking, and I feel weak. I had thought earlier it was because of nerves, and then later because of desire for Eli and relief that our relationship was going to continue, but now I’m not so sure. “Maybe I didn’t eat enough this morning or something.”

  “Do you want something to eat?” Eli asks. He walks around his desk and stands beside me.

  “I’ll just grab something from the café down the street,” I say. I turn to face Mr. Lambton, but the entire room spins.

  “Careful!” Eli says. I can feel his strong arms around me, and I squint my eyes, trying to straighten out in my head what I’m looking at. “Miss Jennings? Mr. Lambton, please get Kim on the line for me.”

  “It’s probably just a ruse, Mr. Richardson,” Mr. Lambton says quietly.

  “Please, Mr. Lambton,” Eli says.

  I finally see that I’m facing the door, leaning over. Eli is holding me up, and I manage to get my legs under me. “Eli, I don’t feel good,” I whisper. My headache is so bad now it feels like my head is screaming at me. I hold a hand to my forehead and find that my face is wet; tears are dripping down my cheeks involuntarily.

  “Kim? It’s Mr. Lambton. Miss Jennings seems to be having a hunger spell,” Mr. Lambton drawls from somewhere nearby. “Could you send for some food?”

  My legs give out, and Eli sets me on the floor. “Call an ambulance,” Eli says.

  “What?!” Mr. Lambton hisses. “Mr. Richardson—”

  “Now,” Eli says. I see Eli’s face in front of mine for a moment before my vision spins again, and I close my eyes. “Ruby, can you open your eyes?”

  I force one eye open. “My head,” I whimper.

  “Just relax, you’re going to be okay,” Eli says.

  “Mr. Richardson says to call an ambulance,” Mr. Lambton said, his tone one of disbelief. “Yes. Miss Jennings is complaining about her head.”

  I feel Eli pick me up into his arms. “Stay awake, Ruby,” Eli says.

  “Eli.” I moan as the sound of my voice echoes painfully through my head. I manage to strain my eyes open again, and I see the hallway passing by. Eli is carrying me, and I faintly hear the sound of the elevator bell.

  “Ruby, stay with me,” Eli says. His tone sounds frantic.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper. At least, I tried to say something. I’m not sure if I did.

  I want to say a lot more, but every time I speak the sound blasts in my ears and through my head. The pain in my head is so bad that it’s drowning out all of my other senses. I’m not sure how it can get much worse, and a part of me wishes someone would just shoot me in the forehead to put me out of my misery.

  “Ruby? Ruby!” Eli shouts.

  All sound fades to a single ring in my head. The lights around me blur into one bright shine. I close my eyes, and this time I can’t open them back up. Distantly, I hear Eli screaming my name.

  Then darkness overwhelms my mind.

  ~~~