Page 63 of Second Chance at Love (Chance At Love Duet 1)

Chapter Seventeen

The next morning, I woke up late, stressed, and feeling nauseated. I ran around like crazy trying to get ready, get my kids ready, and even managed to puke my guts out before we ran out of the house to start our day. There are people that ate when they were stressed out, but not me. I got sick and barely ate. If I didn’t get better, I knew I couldn’t keep delaying seeing my physician. I hated seeing her; as nice as she was, I cringed every time I had to go for checkups, just like a kid. She always found something questionable to send me for additional tests.

I sped down the highway. Of all days, today was not the day to be late. Kristoff was closing the deal on his newest acquisition today, and I should have been in the office earlier than usual.

I walked through the office door a little after nine.

“I know, I know,” I said to Kimberly, green in the face. “I am so sorry I’m late.”

“It’s alright, Gemma. You haven’t missed anything,” Kimberly answered in her calm voice.

I put my hand to my stomach, feeling the nausea coming again. I swallowed hard, trying to keep it at bay.

“Gemma, are you okay?” she asked me concerned.

“Yes, yes… fine. It’s nothing.”

“You don’t seem fine, Gemma.” Kristoff's voice came from behind me. I turned around to face him. I could swear my heart would skip a beat every time I saw him, like he was my first teenage crush.

“I’m sorry for being late.”Oh, crap! I’m going to be sick again.I swallowed hard again and again.. then I took a deep breath.

“Come to my office,” Kristoff demanded as he took my hand and walked me to his office.

He shut the door and hugged me. “Gemma, go home if you are not feeling well.”

“I’m fine… really! It is just stress, and all the rushing this morning.”

“Are you sure? Because you look pale to me.”

“Yes, I am sure. I’ll go grab your coffee.”

I turned around to leave, and he pulled me back to him.

“Don’t leave without a kiss.” Kristoff ordered with a smile and wrapped me back into his arms. I leaned into him and gently brushed my lips against his. My eyes fluttered shut, and I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. Kristoff’s hands grabbed me tighter, and his lips mashed against mine, as if he couldn’t get close enough.

I lay my hands flat against his chest and gently pushed him off

“You have a busy day, Kristoff… later.” I smiled and left his office.

Kristoff was on the phone when I returned with his coffee. He kissed my palm after he took his coffee from me. I bent down to kiss his cheek. And the smile he gave me when I bent down to kiss his cheek was young and carefree. Like we were teenagers again. Knowing it was a busy day for him, I turned around, leaving his office and him to his business.

The next few hours flew by in a blur. Update this, update that, change this, change that. I continued to feel queasy all morning, but with light crackers I kept it at bay.

That afternoon, Kristoff had his office full of people, powerful men like him, ready to sign the deal. I was impressed at how cold and collected he remained through the whole business ordeal. He didn’t back down from any of his requirements, and truthfully, he was merciless. I took a mental note to never enter into negotiations with him. The man was ruthless!

I got his guests situated around the conference table in his office, and Kimberly served them with drinks. I was ready to walk out of there when Kristoff stopped me.

“Gemma, stay and take notes, please,” Kristoff said. He was calm, like he was closing negotiations for a yard sale, not a multi-million dollar deal. His eyes were giving me no hints.

“Sure,” I answered, and I went to grab an extra chair to sit a bit away from the table.

“Sit next to me,” he added. Although I was surprised, I just nodded, grabbed my notepad with a pencil, and sat in a chair next to him at the round conference table.

On my other side, was an older gentleman. “I’m sorry, my dear. What did you say your name was? You said it when we came in but my hearing is pretty bad in my old age.”

“It is Gemma, sir,” I replied, smiling at him. You could tell when a man was a good soul. And this old man gave me a good vibe. It was written all over his face full of smile wrinkles.

“That is a beautiful name. Makes me think of lots of precious stones,” he said and extended his hand. I smiled at him and took his hand.

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