Chapter 16

"Stop it, just stop lying to me. I saw it with my own eyes." I made my way up the stairs, towards him in anger. He stood near the elevator with a puzzled look on his face.

"What did you see? What the fuck are you talking about?" he grabbed my shoulders, once I was standing in front of him and looked into my eyes, trying to figure out what I was saying.

He looked genuinely confused.

"I---I came to your apartment the day you ended things with me. I wanted to surprise you and tell you that I got the internship. When I got out of the elevator, I saw this redhead, walking out of your door and I thought...I thought," I swallowed hard, trying to get my words outright.

"You thought I was fucking behind your back, Jesus Christ." He finished my sentence and let go of me swiftly. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration and I was stunned by his reaction. He didn't seem to look guilty at all.

What the fuck does this mean?

"Do you honestly think so low of me? Fuck, Emma. I can't believe you were angry at me all these days because of this. You could have fucking asked me," he kept pacing around and I looked at him in confusion, blinking back my tears.

"Who was that girl?" I asked in almost a whisper, afraid of his response.

What if I had been wrong all long?

"The previous night, Dan and I went to the club to have a drink but I got a call from the office and had to leave immediately. Later, he called me and asked if he could crash at my place since it was closer to the club and he had some girl with him," I felt my legs going weak and held the pillar in front of the elevator for support, already knowing the end to this story, "I slept in my office that night and came home the next day, around noon. It wasn't me, Emma. I wouldn't do that to you and you can even ask Dan if you don't trust me," he said, leaning against the wall with a hurt look on his face. I tried to process everything he said and felt like the air was knocked out of my lungs.

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

"You could have just knocked the door that day to find out the truth and all this misunderstanding could have been avoided," he breathed heavily, trying to calm himself, "Christ, I can hardly get over you now."

"Y-you texted me at that exact moment saying you wanted to end it. Wh--What was I supposed to think?" I stuttered as everything started to make sense.

"Fuck, that must have looked bad." He muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No shit," I wiped my tear stricken face and stood in front of him not knowing what to say. He walked past me to punched the elevator buttons and it came to life. I thought he was leaving me again but once the doors opened, he took my hand, pulling me inside the elevator and punched the button to the ground floor. Once the doors closed, he took my face in my hands and rested his forehead against mine. We both didn't say a word and kept breathing heavily. I closed my eyes, relishing the closeness, loving his touch on my face. Fuck, I missed this so much. All this time I was mad at him for no reason. He wiped the tear that slipped through my eyes, caressing my cheeks, softly.

"I don't like it when you cry, sweetheart," he said in a heavy tone.

"I--I just don't know what to say," I stammered. I had a million questions running through my head but I was at loss for words.

"Shhhh, do you trust me?" he asked and I opened my eyes, looking at those hazel brown orbs, staring at me with so much hope, hurt, and sadness? For some reason, I did trust him. He didn't seem to be lying and it was just a shit load of misunderstanding. I nodded my head and he sighed in relief.

"I've missed you," he stated, nuzzling my neck and I felt my entire body awaken as soon as I felt his hot breath on my neck, his beard tickling me. I melted against him and licked my lips which were dry.

"You mean the sex right?" I choked out, lowering my gaze. He pulled back and traced my lips with his fingers, sending jolts of pleasure to my core.

"No, I miss you. All of you." I flicked my eyes to see him staring at me with his penetrating gaze. I blinked back at him in disbelief, "I know I may seem a bit odd and confusing at times and I said I don't date... And it's just that....I've always been...I'm just...fuck, this is harder than I thought," he struggled with his words and I placed my fingers on his lips, stopping him.

"This is enough for me right now, you don't have to say anything and you have no idea....how much I miss you too," My voice broke a little and he smiled at my response, kissing away the tears from my cheeks.

"I know you miss me too," he scoffed and I rolled my eyes at his confidence, "FYI, I don't have a thing for redheads," he said, making me chuckle and I heard the elevator ding.

"What is your thing then?" I asked as soon as we stepped out of the elevator.

"Blondes, like you," he stated cooly, winking at me and I shook my head with a small smile.

"Let's go get something to eat?" he asked with a hopeful look in his face.

"From business lunch to business dinner," I teased him as we walked outside and he pulled me closer by my waist.

"You have no idea how informal this night is going to get, Emma." He whispered against my ears, placing a small kiss, just below my earlobe, sending shivers down my spine.

"Uh...I brought my car," I spoke, coming out of my daze.

"I know you did. I'll talk care of it," he gave me a small smile and got in his car. I got in the passenger seat and put on my seatbelt. He started the car and soon we were on the road. I thought about how fast this night changed from worse to better. I never would have thought I would be going to dinner with Austin today. Life is so fucking unpredictable. I smiled, thinking about the fact that he missed me. All of me. His words. I couldn't believe that he never slept with anyone since he met me and I was still in shock with everything that happened a few moments ago.

"How have you been?" he asked, breaking my chain of thoughts.

"Are you trying to have small talk, Mr.Williams?" I teased him and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm really trying here and you are making it hard for me, sweetheart," he chuckled and I felt my heart skip a beat. He looked so beautiful and I couldn't peel my eyes off him. I wanted to feel those muscular forearms that were gripping the steering wheel. He turned to his side and caught me staring at him.

"Stop making eyes at me if you want to eat," he smirked, looked ahead of the road. I blushed and turned to the other side, trying to wipe the stupid smile off my face. We reached a small pizzeria and I got down quickly.

"Thank God, you didn't take me to some Chinese restaurant." I sighed in relief as we walked inside and the place was almost empty, except for a couple of teenagers.

"I've had enough of your temper today, sweetheart," he replied, going through the menu, with his hands stuffed in his pocket.

"I don't have a temper," I gasped and walked away from him, sitting at the table at the far end of the restaurant. It was a small food joint and didn't look anywhere near fancy. He gave the order at the front and joined me shortly, sitting in the booth, opposite to me.

"Out of curiosity, with whom did you go on a date? And please don't tell me you are already seeing someone," he had a pissed look on his face and I had no idea what he was talking about.

"What date?"

"The hotel reservation?"

"Oh, that wasn't for me. It was for Liam and Anna," I tried to hide my smile and he narrowed his eyes at me.

"Well, that's a relief. Scoot over, I wanna sit next to you." He demanded and I rolled my eyes at his tone. I moved to the corner of my booth and he made his way towards my side and sat next to me, pulling me closer to him by wrapping an arm around my waist. I let out a small gasp and lifted my eyes to see his heated gaze.

"Need anything?" A grumpy looking man, placed the pizza in front of us and I broke my gaze immediately.

"No, thank you." I gave him a small smile and started eating, loving the feel of his arms around my waist. He brushed his knees against mine on purpose and had a small smile on his face as he stuffed his mouth with a slice of pizza. He looked so normal, sitting with me in a small pizzeria, looking like a regular person and not a CEO.

Fuck, is it bad that I wanted to jump his bones right here, right now?

"Umm...I'm sorry, Austin," I said, wiping my mouth with a tissue while he scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

"For what?"

"For being so rude to you and slapping you, I was so wrong and you didn't deserve it, maybe you did deserve that slap a little bit but I'm really sorry," I said and looked up at him. He grinned at me, wiping the sauce of my cheeks and I blushed in embarrassment.

Shit.

"Anyone would have reacted the same way in your position. Although, I was shocked when you slapped me but now I get it," he chuckled, wiping his hands with a tissue and drank some water. I shrugged, taking my last bite of the pizza.

"You do know you have a temper right?" he asked in an amusing tone.

"Are we back to this? I don't have a temper, jeez," I said a bit louder than usual and he raised his eyebrows, trying to hide his smile with his hands.

"That's what attracted me in the first place," he sighed and his grip on my waist tightened, "I love this dress on you," he pushed my jacket off my shoulders and kissed my collar bone, making my breath hitch. I squeezed my thighs as his lips were nibbling my neck. Oh God, I hoped no one was seeing us.

"What do you mean?" I purred, making him stop his actions. He looked straight into my eyes and pushed a strand of hair, behind my ears.

"The night we met, you slapped this guy who was all over you and yelled at him. I looked in the direction of that bold sexy voice and there you were, wearing a black dress that looked so fucking sexy on you. I wanted to see your face but you had your back towards me," he paused with a small smile on his lips, thinking back to that day and caressed my cheek softly, "Just when I was about to give up, you turned around and I swear I stopped breathing for a second. You looked so beautiful that I couldn't see anything else beyond your face and those beautiful emerald green eyes in that crowded club," he swallowed hard and I was speechless at his response.

Fuck, He still remembered every single detail from the night he met me.