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"He'll probably reply to your email or send you a message," I replied.
"Handle the time as well as the flight. We should be out of here later tonight or early tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Sir," she replied.
I couldn't remain in the room any longer, so I headed out and shut the door behind me.
Chapter Forty-Three
Madison
Ididn’t know what to do with myself. He left the room and I truly wished with all my heart that he hadn’t. It was his room, and I was the one that was supposed to leave, but before I could even get my mouth to work, he was already leaving.
Sighing, I headed into my room and sat on my bed. Well, everything was canceled. Every motherfucking thing. I wanted to just curl up in a ball and fall asleep forever, but I couldn't mess up any longer, so I started to make the needed calls in preparation for our departure.
First, I called the pilot again to confirm our departure time, and then I began to arrange with the flight attendant to ensure that she would be available.
After that was settled, I moved on to the conference organizers. We had already informed them that we wouldn't be able to make it for the panel later today, but there was a host of other absences that I had to explain to them. They were for sure going to be pissed, and I couldn't imagine just how much further this would annoy Hunter.
I thought about it then and wondered if perhaps I should suggest to him that we bring Mr. Boone to Thailand instead to resolve this. Since there wasn’t going to be a fight and he wanted to make sure that things went away as quietly as possible.
This was a risky suggestion, but I couldn't truly think of any other solutions, so I put on my shoes once again and headed down.
I could call him to ask where he was, but I truly didn’t want to bother him, and I was sure he hadn’t gone far. Just to be sure, though, I called our driver on my way down, and he assured me that he hadn’t been called yet, which meant that Hunter was still in the hotel. It was beyond huge, so I couldn't walk around just looking for him.
I thought then of all the places he could have headed to, and only the restaurant and bar came to mind. Or perhaps the gym? Maybe he went for a swim? Those places seemed more likely, so I headed to them immediately.
I couldn't, however, find him, so I only had one last option left, which was the bar. I was sure I was wasting my time, though, because he usually didn't drink at all.
However, when I arrived there, I found him seated at the counter. I stopped in my tracks and could feel my heart twist inside of my chest. He was drinking. There was a tumbler of what looked to be scotch before him, but that was not all that he was indulging in. Right beside him was a woman. She was wearing the shortest of dresses and was all legs. She was talking to him, flipping her hair over her shoulder, smiling, and he was watching her. I turned around then. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe, and suddenly, I couldn’t think.
I instantly slaked away and was nearly sprinting to head over to the elevator. When I arrived, however, I wondered why the fuck I was running.
Alright, he was talking to a woman. So? He wasn’t allowed to talk to a woman ever again? I tried to take a deep breath to calm myself. Maybe it was nothing. I still had to do my job, and this time around, I had to fucking do it well.
And for that, I couldn't not go to him. I had to go over there, and I had to ensure that right in front of her, right in front of the both of them, I had to be able to do my job flawlessly and without emotion.
So, I straightened my back, built my courage, and returned to the bar.
I couldn’t help but count my steps as I approached because I had to focus all my attention on them. My legs were trembling, and it was driving me fucking nuts. Still, I was able to head to him, and at my appearance, he looked up. I could see his frown, most probably from a mix of seeing me and being startled that I had suddenly appeared before him.
I didn't bother with a polite smile and got straight to the point.
“Sir, I was wondering if we could instead invite Mr. Boone over here,” I said. “I know you usually don’t like to break your commitments, and I'm trying my best to minimize the annoyance and frustration that this will cause you. Is this something you would consider?”
He listened to me silently, and then he picked up his glass.
He took a long sip, and to my surprise, he drained the cup.
The woman was still beside him, smiling and listening, and it pissed me off to no end.
“You haven’t apologized,” he said, and my heart stopped.
“I know you're sorry. Your remorse and contrition are oozing out of your pores, but you haven't apologized. Verbally.”
At this, I was sinfully too close to tears, but still, I managed to keep myself together, and I truly couldn't believe or understand how I was able to do that.
“Yes, Sir,” I replied, and briefly lowered my gaze so I could stabilize my tone. With renewed determination, I returned my eyes to his and apologized.
