Page 68 of Second Chance at Love (Chance At Love Duet 1)

Chapter Eighteen

The next morning I woke up with a pounding headache. I slept horrible, dreams of Jack haunting me and mocking me. My fears were coming back tenfold and I had to temper them down. My brain knew the situation with Kristoff wasn’t the same, but my anxiety wouldn’t listen to reason.

Since it was Friday, I ensured the girls had all their weekend bags by the door since they’d be spending it with their grandma. From the moment I arrived in the office, all of us were wrapped up with Kristoff’s latest purchases and had a vast amount of tasks on hand to complete. I saw Kristoff for a fraction of a minute first thing that morning when I took in his coffee.

I felt nauseated again, and I prayed I wasn’t coming down with a stomach bug. Not exactly what I needed right now. Between a pounding headache, upset stomach, and fragile mental state, I felt like I was falling apart.

I sipped on ginger ale trying to calm my stomach all day. Kimberly gave me a weird look as I sipped on it first thing this morning, but she didn’t say anything. And I was grateful for it. Last time I had a stomach bug, it lingered for two full weeks and I lost twenty pounds I couldn’t afford to lose.

I hoped Kristoff was going to bring up our discussion from yesterday, but I could see he was swamped. As I laid his coffee on the desk, he answered his phone. I just nodded to him and turned around to leave, but he gently grabbed my hand and kissed my palm. I met his eyes, and as always being in close proximity with him caused a thrill surge through me. He mouthed a silentthank you. I smiled, happy about that little show of affection and blew him a kiss, whispering back,you’re welcome. He let go of my hand reluctantly, and I left him to his business while going back to mine.

We barely saw each other for the rest of the day. But I saw plenty of Samuel Jr.

Although his father’s office was on a different floor, he kept coming to see me, making up request after request. Surprisingly, he was very nice and polite in all those encounters, not shamelessly flirting with me.Maybe yesterday was his off day and he is usually nice, I thought to myself, trying to justify him.

He was back for the millionth time. Kimberly was just leaving early to go celebrate her anniversary.

“Hello again, Gemma.” Samuel Jr. strode towards me with confidence. He was indeed good looking, in a kind of a lighthearted, boyish way. Although, it didn’t do anything for me. I wondered if I’d ever find any man attractive after Kristoff.

I firmly pushed the thought to the back of my mind and answered him with a smile. “Hello, Samuel. What can I do for you?”

He casually leaned against my desk, wearing a carefree smile on his face.

“Well, this time, I just came to say thank you for all your help today. Neither my father nor I could have completed our duties without all your assistance.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” I responded unsure of where this was going.

“Are you free after work?” Now that is the Samuel I met yesterday! He continued before I could answer, saying, “I thought we could go grab a few drinks, and you could give me some pointers of how things work here. There is a happy hour going on with a few people. ”

For a few seconds, I considered how to politely decline his offer, but just as I opened my mouth, I heard an answer on my behalf.

“Gemma is working late today.” If Kristoff’s voice could kill, I was sure Samuel would be dead. Who knows, maybe I would be dead too. Because Kristoff’s gaze on me was just as cold. “Gemma, do you have the documents I needed?”

“Yes, I do,” I answered and then turned back to Samuel Jr. “Hope you have fun at happy hour, Samuel.”

I knew Samuel was taken back by Kristoff. I was too. I really didn’t appreciate him answering on my behalf. It wasn’t like we were a couple. And even more irritating was that he didn’t trust me to reject Samuel’s offer to go with him to happy hour.

“That’s too bad.” To Samuel’s credit, he didn’t let his surprise show. “Maybe next time then. Have a good weekend, Gemma.” Then he addressed Kristoff. “Don’t work her too hard and too late into the night, Kristoff.”

I didn't know for sure whether his last comment hinted about Kristoff and I sleeping together, but my face burned nonetheless. Kristoff, on the other hand, remained like a cold statue that you should be afraid of.

“Bye, Samuel. Have a good weekend,” I answered for Kristoff since he decided to act like a caveman.

When the elevator door closed behind Samuel, the room was quiet as a graveyard. Kristoff turned around and went back to the office without another word. I grabbed the folder that contained the documents Kristoff needed and got up to follow him into his office. I took a deep breath. I really didn’t understand why he acted like a jackass.

“Here are the documents you needed,” I said quietly.

He took them from me and replied curtly, “Thank you.” And just like that he dismissed me. I almost left him to his business, but decided against it.

“Kristoff, what was that about?”

Looking up from his document, he leaned against his chair. His features were tense as he loosened his tie. The intensity in his eyes was even stronger than I'd ever seen. And that made me weak in the knees.

"You tell me, Gemma," he gruffed.

I’m too old and too smart for this,I thought to myself and just asked him. "Whatever is bothering you, just say it.”

Silence stretched between us, it seemed for hours.

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