I couldn’t afford to be sick. I needed to get better. I closed my eyes, not even bothering to look at the clock, and within seconds, I was out cold again.
62. Chapter Twelve
I didn’t wake up until I heard someone coming into the house. My heart skipped a beat. What time is it? I looked around for my phone but couldn’t find it. I jumped out of bed, rushed for the kitchen, and stared at the digits on the stove.
12:00.
I gasped, my hand shooting to my mouth. Crap. I hadn’t called in sick.
“Hey,” Adam said.
Wait, how? I spun to see him at the door. I stared, wide-eyed. How did he get in my house?
“What are you doing here?”
He kicked off his shoes. He wasn’t wearing a suit, just jeans and a hoodie. He held a couple of plastic bags in his hand as well as he crossed over to the table. “Figured I’d come check in on you. You’ve been out cold for a while. How are you feeling?”
“I … how long have you been here?”
He shrugged, not answering. I watched as he dropped the bags on the table and started to sort through them.
My brow furrowed. I didn’t like when people hid stuff from me, but I was too weak to fight with him about it.
“I got you some medicine. I also talked to the work nurse, she’s going to see if she can get you in next Monday if you’re still not feeling well.”
“I’ll be fine by then,” I snapped. I hated the idea of having to see a doctor. I just needed to rest, that’s all.
He didn’t say a word as he unloaded the bags. My brow creased as I watched him.
“Why don’t you go watch a movie or something? I’m going to make you something to eat.”
Why was he doing this for me? I mean, it’s not like I was actually his girlfriend. He was paying me for it; he didn’t have to act like a boyfriend. Maybe he just wants to tip the odds in my favor so I go camping with his family next week.
That was the best possibility I could think of.
“Fine.”
I wasn’t in the mood to fight with him, so I plodded over to the living room and dropped down on the couch. I was tired, and my bones ached. Being sick sucked, and if I wasn’t better soon, I’d have to go see a doctor. At least if I don’t get better, I’ll have an excuse not to go camping with his family, I thought. I knew it was a bad thing to think, but I didn’t feel bad for it.
Flicking through channels was boring as fuck, but there was nothing on. Eventually, I settled on something about some historical event that I didn’t really know anything about, but it was just nice to have the background noise.
I could hear him in the kitchen as he did something. It wasn’t long until he came out of the kitchen with a bowl of soup and a plate of grilled cheese.
“Eat,” he all but ordered.
I took the bowl from him without saying a word and dug in. I have to admit, it was good. Whatever he did to the soup made it better than any soup I’d had from a can before.
He dropped down beside me, staring at the TV.
“You don’t have to stay here, you know,” I said as I finished the meal and put it down on the coffee table.
“I know.” He didn’t look away from the TV.
I stared at him for a couple of seconds, not daring to ask what he was going to want in return for taking care of me while I was sick. I closed my eyes, resting against the couch as I took a couple of deep breaths. I wanted to rest but wasn’t sure I’d be able to get any sleep with him beside me.
Warmth filled me as I felt something being laid across me. A blanket? Probably. I didn’t open my eyes to see. I didn’t have the energy for that; otherwise, I would l have. Adam shifted, and my body moved in response to it. I didn’t realize how close we had been sitting together until my head touched his shoulder. I kept it there. I didn’t have the energy to move and didn’t’ care if he cared that I was resting on him. If he does, he can just leave.
His arm wrapped around me, pulling me closer. “Get some sleep. If you need anything, just let me know.”
“Mhm,” I muttered as sleep took me.
I dreamt about him the entire time. It sucked. I hated those dreams because in those dreams I didn’t hate him. In those dreams, he told me what was wrong; he told me what haunted him. I knew in real life he would never do that, though.
I woke up as he pushed himself off the couch, and my eyes widened. “Wh … where are you going?” He had his shoes on.
“I figured I’d head out before your roommate got back.”
He glanced down at me, a smile touching his face. My cheeks flushed. I really didn’t want Adam to meet my brother just yet—or er, ever. Adam reached out and touched my forehead softly. “You feel a little better, but you’ll still have to keep resting. Don’t push yourself. We’ll just assume you won’t be in all week.”
“But ...”
“Don’t worry about it, I’ve taken care of everything, alright.”
My heart skipped a beat. What counted as everything?
I watched as he headed for the front door. As he left, I have to admit I felt … sad. It had been nice having him here, even though I’d slept most of the time. I hope he wasn’t totally bored the entire time. Not that I should care. I was fucking sick.
I pushed myself up and padded towards the bathroom. Maybe a hot shower would do me good. I could only hope, right? I stripped as soon as I got in the bathroom, not bothering to close the door. I reached for the tap, adjusted it until it was perfect, and then stepped into the shower, steam coming off the water. I let out a soft sigh, closing my eyes and relaxing in the water.
The heat helped unclog my nose, and within a couple of seconds, I was actually feeling better. I reached for the bar of soap and quickly washed my body. I wonder why he bothered coming by. Had he been worried or something? How could he have really known that I wasn’t in today? I mean, it’s not like he had me on demand to clean his office—I just always got stuck with it.
I’d almost freaked when Cathy told me that she couldn’t send Fiona into my office today. It had taken all my effort to calmly finish the conversation with her before going to see if Fiona was okay. Thankfully, I had that spare key.
I made my way out to the car and headed out of the parking lot as much as I didn’t want to. I honestly wanted to stay longer, but I didn’t think that would be best right now. I’ve got to get her better before the weekend. My mother would be so disappointed if Fiona didn’t come camping with us, and I knew it. I just wasn’t willing to admit it to her or pressure her into it. I could just offer her more money, I thought.
I knew it was bad that she thought the only reason we hung out was that I gave her money, but that didn’t matter.
Once out of the shower I actually felt sort of okay, which was saying a lot after how I had felt.
“You look like crap.”
My brother had a way of not beating around the bush, that was for sure.
“Thanks, I feel it,” I retorted, turning to face him. He was staring at the table.
“Who was here?”
“Oh, um … a friend. When I didn’t show up for work, I guess …” I trailed off.
“That same friend you’ve been spending a bunch of time with?” He raised an eyebrow.
My cheeks flushed, answering the question for him.
He grinned widely. I turned away from my brother so he couldn’t see just how much I was blushing. He was convinced that we were more than friends, and, of course, I couldn’t tell him the truth. I mean, he wasn’t going to be happy with me making money on the side by pretending to be some guy’s girlfriend. I didn’t blame him. If I were him, I wouldn’t like my little sister doing it either, but it was good money. Really good money.
“Is it Matt?”
“What?” I snapped, turning to face him.
“The guy you’ve been sneaking around with, is it Matt? You know, I don’t mind him. You’re welcome to have him over ...”
“Nooo. It’s not Matt!
” My cheeks flushed even more. Although Matt would be mad at me. I honestly wasn’t even sure if he would want to be my friend anymore. I bit my lip for a fraction of a second. “It’s not Matt. Matt and I hardly talk these days.”
“Is it someone else from work?”
“Yea, he just needs my help for a little while.”
My brother nodded, clearly not believing me. “Well, if you want to have him over, that’s fine with me. I’d love to meet him, actually.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I lied, heading for the fridge.
“You know, Fee, he’s probably not aware that you’re just friends …”
“What the hell would make you say that?” My brow furrowed as I fished out a piece of leftover pizza.
“Did you go shopping today?” I turned to see my brother motioning towards the bags. “Or did he bring them over?” He didn’t even wait for me to open my mouth, let alone get an answer out. “Guys don’t just bring food over for a sick friend.”
“Why not? That’s kinda rude.” I raised an eyebrow. I mean, I was sick.
“And did he cook for you?”
I didn’t say a word, but I knew my brother already knew the answer.
“And stay here with you while you rested?”
Again, I didn’t say anything.
My brother smirked widely. “Told you. He’s more than just a friend; at least, he wants to be.”
I could feel my cheeks burning. “I highly doubt it. But thanks for the opinion, that I didn’t ask for. I’m going back to bed.”
I stomped into my room. I knew my brother had no clue what buttons he just pushed, but I was so mad just thinking about what he had said. Like he wants to be my boyfriend. The asshole all but told me otherwise. Not that I’d ever asked.
I flopped down onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Suddenly, the slice of pizza I had in my hand didn’t seem all that appealing. I set it down on top of a clean book and blew out a deep breath thinking about the time we had spent at his parents. Right after we got back from the dinner with the rest of his family, it had been clear he wasn’t okay. We’d even left early just to get away from everyone, and it had been a great night. He had been a total gentleman and everything. He opened doors for me and held my hand—until we got home. Then it was clear that something had happened. Now, I was guessing it was the fact that they’d been talking about Kurt, but at the time, I had no clue what it could have been, so I went to check on him. It hadn’t gone over half as well as I’d hoped …
“I just …”
“Look, it’s nice you’re pretending to worry about me and all, but there’s no one around. You don’t have to pretend that you like me or that you care about me. You can just leave.”
“Is that what you want? Me to leave?”
“Unless you’re going to suck me off or something.”
I’d left right after he said it. I still couldn’t believe he’d had the balls to say that to me, like I somehow owed it to him. Like, somehow since he’d paid me to be his girlfriend, I was going to go down on him.
Anger filled the pit of my stomach just thinking about it. If only he knew what Adam was like. He wouldn’t tell me he had a crush on me. There was absolutely no way Adam was to be anything but … What were we even? I lied when I told my brother he was a friend. I lied when I told his family he was my boyfriend. What does that leave? Business partners?
In an odd way, it kinda worked. That’s what this was, right? A business agreement. I got paid to pretend to be his girlfriend, and he paid me to do that. That was, like, almost the definition of a partnership, right?
I closed my eyes, blowing out a deep breath. Still, I’m not sure I can do another weekend with his parents. It might be too much. With his three sisters, who I already adored … And knowing that I was going to let them all down. Knowing that they were going to hate me within the next couple of months—if not weeks. Was I going to break their hearts more than his? I mean, I knew he wasn’t going to be fazed by it but would they be okay when he decided the relationship had gone on long enough?
It doesn’t matter, I tried to tell myself, but it did matter. A lot. I hated the fact that they were going to be in a crappy situation, and that I was somewhat to blame for it.
63. Chapter Thirteen
The next morning, I was feeling a little better. I didn’t bother calling work, though. Adam had told me he took care of it all, so I didn’t need to—right? Either way, at this point it didn’t matter to me. I was still sick, and I still felt like crap. I must have been overdoing myself. I always got sick when I overdid myself. It was a stress thing. I’d keep working and working and working—and then eventually, I’d get sick. In retrospect, I knew I’d been pushing myself. I hardly had any time to just sit down and relax these days. On the plus side, it normally only lasted two or three days, which meant tomorrow I’d probably be fine.
That was a good thing, except for the fact that I’d have to find a new reason that I couldn’t go camping with Adam and his family. I really had been banking on being sick for that. I bit my lip as I headed for the kitchen.
The door opened.
“How are you feeling?” Adam asked.
“I’m fine. You know, you don’t have to come here.”
“I know.”
So, he wanted to? I had no clue what that even meant. Why would he want to come see if I was okay? It is probably because he wanted to see if I am coming camping or something. Asshole. Not that I should be surprised.
“I brought you something.” He held out a white plastic bag for me.
I eyed it carefully. “What is it, and what will it cost me?”
“It’s some Indian food. I figured the spices should help.” He ignored my second question, but I didn’t say anything about that.
I took the bag of food, my stomach grumbling.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, not meeting my eye.
“I’m fine, thank you. Feeling better,” I said flatly. Guilt tugged at the pit of my stomach. Damnit. Why do I have to be such a nice person? I bit my lip. “By the way, thank you for taking care of me yesterday.”
“It was no hassle.”
“Are you skipping out on work?”
“Yes.”
“What about your dad? Won’t he be—”
“He thinks I’m worried about my girlfriend, remember?” My heart did a backflip. Did that mean his father knew I worked for the company? “He doesn’t care.”
“Wait, so your dad knows that I work there?”
“I don’t know. I mean, there are lots of people in the city. I’m sure you’re not the only one who is sick.” He kicked off his shoes and, without an invitation, made his way into the living room. “So, are you just going to be hanging around here all day?”
“Yes, I planned on it. Shockingly, I’m not up for anything too exciting.”
“I see you are feeling better, you’ve got your smart ass mouth back.”
I don’t think he meant it as a compliment, but I took it as one. I dropped down on the couch beside him and pulled out a plastic container of food, along with a fork and knife. My mouth watered as I lifted the lid and the scent filled my lungs. My stomach grumbled again.
“Thank you for bringing me something to eat,” I said as I dug into it. And God was it good.
“It’s no big deal. I just wanted to make sure you got better, that’s all.”
I bit my lip. He was being nice. I was weak and sick, and he was trying to take care of me. I wonder … I knew it was bad of me to do this, but maybe I could just pry a little … just to feel things out, right?
“So ...” I took a bite of my meal, trying to figure out how I was going to bring it up. My mind was fog. I couldn’t think straight at all. “What have you been up to?”
It was a lame thing to ask, and it didn’t get me anywhere near where I wanted to be, but at least, I didn’t sound like a total moron by trailing off.
“Working.” He looked over at me and raised an ey
ebrow. His head tilted to the left. “Are you trying to make small talk with me?”
“Yes. I mean, if you’re going to be my pretend boyfriend, I should know what you’re doing to keep yourself busy, right?”
He rolled his eyes.
“Have you seen your family recently?”
“Not since I saw them with you. Speaking of, are you going to be better by Saturday? I mean, I can get away with not bringing you tomorrow but …”
“I’ll probably be fine tomorrow.” I hated admitting it, but I said it before thinking.
“Great!” He beamed, his eyes still locked on the TV in front of us. “My mother will be pleased to hear that, I mean.”
Really? He looked a little bit too happy about it for me to believe that. Not that I minded the idea of him wanting to hang out with me. He was the one acting like he didn’t like me. I ate without saying a word, but I caught him watching me a couple of times, instead of watching whatever we had on the TV. I have to admit, with food on my lap, I wasn’t paying attention to anything else. When I finished my food, I set the container down on the coffee table. I’ll have to clean when I’m feeling better. The house was beginning to get messy, and I didn’t like it.
I was too sick to care, too tired. I hated the fact that all I’d done this past couple of days was sleep, but I knew that’s what I needed. I had run myself into the ground, and now I was paying the price for it. I grabbed a blanket and rested my head against Adam as I closed my eyes.
“Alright, I’m having a nap. Leave if you want.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” And for some reason, that made me really happy, though I wouldn’t admit it. Damn, I get so clingy when I’m sick, I thought, just before passing out.
“Shit.”
I woke to Adam muttering as he twisted. The door closed, and my heart skipped a beat. Shit. My eyes snapped open.
“Adam,” my brother said, “do you just want to do me a quick favor and tell me why my sister is cuddled up to you?”
Interview with a Billionaire: Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 41
