Billionaire Nick

Chapter 3.2 : Can't Count

A frown formed on his lips as he walked behind his desk and sat in the chair.

I shifted in my position to face him squarely, so he wouldn't see the torn material at the back of my blouse.

All I had to do was get to the bathroom and come up with a solution to fix the shirt.

And if my brain didn't work, I would call Rebekah.

"So I'm supposed to go to Trent, right?"

I asked while taking a step towards the door.

"No.” His eyes narrowed for a moment.

"Why would you?"

"Uh—he said he was supposed to show me around."

"No, Ms.Stewart” he said.

"Trent is a little busy at the moment.So..."

He directed his gaze to the chairs across his desk, motioning for me to sit down.

Letting out a breath, I seated myself in one of the chairs and faced him.

He went back to typing on his laptop and I thought he would say something after finishing some work, but half an hour passed and I was just sitting in the same spot, doing nothing.

I cleared my throat to get his attention but he just kept looking at the screen.

Was he doing that intentionally?

"Mr.Sinclair?" I finally spoke.

He looked up from his laptop.

"Yes, Ms.Stewart?"

"Is there something I can do for you?" I asked.

"Not at the moment."

And with that, he went back to typing again.

Another fifteen minutes passed.

"Mr. Sinclair?" I called again.

He let out a breath.

"Yes?"

"Is there something I can do for you?"

"No—"

"I can fetch your coffee? Or send e-mails? Or go out to get someone in case you don't feel like using the phone?"

"Not really." I frowned.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" He thought for a moment.

"Yes." My eyes lit up.

"What?"

"Sit quietly."

My jaw dropped.

Did he really say that? That was so mean.

"Well, I'm not skipping my classes to sit here and do nothing."

I crossed my arms over my chest.

I regretted my words when his callous look fell on me, which was soon replaced by a look of amusement.

But it was gone as soon as it came.

"Blake said you were a very docile person.Seems to me he was wrong.’’

"He also said stuff about you.Guess he was wrong,’’ I said, knowing well that Blake had never said a word about him before.

I didn't even know his name until I met him in his office.

I seemed to have caught his attention.

"What kind of stuff?"

He placed his elbows on the desk and leaned forward, suddenly showing interest in a futile conversation.

"You know,’ I shrugged.

"Good stuff.Stuff that I really wish was true.’’ There was a glint of amusement in his eyes once more and a slight smirk forming on his lips.

"Careful what you wish for, Ms.Stewart.I'm nothing like Blake.’’

” What could he mean by that? "Clearly you're not.

Because, you see, I was actually learning something at his company.’ He pressed his lips into a thin line, then took in a deep breath like he was stopping himself from lashing out at me.

I'm one step away from being fired on my very first day.

That should be put on record.

Then, he got up from his spot and I held my breath as he rounded his desk to walk in my direction.

He finally stopped when he was standing a few inches away.

I found myself involuntarily getting up in fright and facing him.

"Turn around."

My eyes grew wide.

"What?"

"Turn around, go to that cabinet and get all the files from the first shelf."

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against his desk.

I turned around in confusion to find a sleek white cabinet in the corner.

Walking over to it, I collected all the files from the first shelf and walked back to him.

There were five files, each containing a large bundle of papers.

He picked up a few papers from his desk and placed them on top of the bundle in my hands.

"These papers have all the corrections.Go to my secretary's desk, which will be your desk for the next few weeks.It's right next to my office.Look for these files’ original versions on her computer and make these corrections.Print out five copies of each and arrange them in order like these files.Am I clear?"

I was too dumbfounded to nod.

"Am I clear, Ms.Stewart?"

he asked, this time in a more authoritative tone.I nodded and without wasting another second, I started walking towards the door while carefully balancing the files in my arms.

"Caroline” My feet stopped moving when his deep voice sent my name reverberating all around the room.

"Yes?"

I turned around and gasped when the files bumped into his chest.

I didn't even realize he had walked up to me.

He grabbed the files from my hands before I could drop them and placed them on a nearby cabinet.

Then he took his blazer off and held it out for me.

I stared at him in confusion.

"Take it, unless you want everyone to notice your wardrobe glitch.”My eyes grew wide as I remembered that my blouse was ripped.

How could I forget that? My cheeks heated up in embarrassment as I took his blazer and slipped into it, inhaling his intoxicated scent.

"Thank you” I muttered.

He picked the files up and handed them back to me, frowning in the process while looking down at his hands.

"What the hell is that?"

I noticed the dampness near the area where I was holding the bundle from.

Oh my God! That's my sweat.

I opened my mouth to say something but shut it again, having no idea how to confess something so gross.

No wonder I didn't have a lot of friends in high school.

"Mr.Sinclair."

There was a knock on the door.

"Uh, I'll go."

Without waiting for his response, I was out the door and facing Trent.

Nice save! Giving him a smile, I quickly ran over to the desk on the right and sighed in relief.

I should consider wearing gloves all the time.

People might think I have powers like Elsa.

Either way, ice queen trumps sweat queen.

Shaking my head, I started looking for the files on Penny's computer.

She was a very organized person.

I could tell by the way every file was named properly.

It didn't take me more than five minutes to find all the files.

I started working and it was finally 7 p.m. when I was done with all the five files and was ready to leave.

I walked up to Mr. Sinclair's office but found out through Trent that he had already left.

So I put the files on his table and left.

After about an hour-long bus ride, I was finally entering my dorm.

Rebekah was using her phone and she looked up at me—looked at the blazer I was wearing, more like, and a smirk formed on her lips.

"Ooh, saucy."

"About that."

I took the blazer off and turned my back to her.

"I owe you a shirt."

"What happened?"

she asked in confusion.

"Long story.’ I buried my face in my pillow in exhaustion.

"And I have to get this blazer laundered’’

"Whose blazer is that?"

I lifted my face up.

Recognition flashed across her face and her jaw dropped open.

"Nick Sinclair?" she gasped.

I nodded and buried my face back in the pillow.

"Care, I have to ask you now. How was your day?"

"Worst day ever, I mumbled into the pillow, counting the number of tires I had embarrassed myself in front of him.”

Can't count.

"Maybe we can talk over a few drinks,” Rebekah suggested. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I lifted my face up once more.

That didn't sound very bad.

"Only a few!” I stated.

She gave me a little salute.

"Aye, aye, captain"