71
DAYS LATER
Madiana was engrossed with the work she was doing on her laptop. She was distracted when there was a knock on the door.
She looked up and saw it was her Boss, Lawrence.
He came in and took a seat opposite her.
"I have to leave for Luis's Doctor's appointment. I will be back as soon as I can."
"No problem." She replied and before she could say anything else, they were both interrupted by the door opening and someone entering.
It was Ethan. He was holding a gift bag.
"Hi, buddy." He greeted Lawrence as he took a seat beside him.
"And here's for the birthday girl," Ethan placed the gift bag on the table and pushed it towards Madiana.
"It's your birthday?" Lawrence asked, shocked.
She nodded.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked slightly upset, which made Maddie nervous.
"Calm down dude. Do you expect her to start announcing it to everybody?" Ethan chuckled. He could sense that his best friend was jealous.
"But she told you and besides, I'm not everybody," Lawrence grumbled as he glared at Ethan.
"Omo told me. So I thought of buying her a gift." Ethan shrugged.
"I have to go or else I will be late for Luis's appointment. I will see you guys later." Lawrence said, then took his leave.
"Do you think he's angry with me?" Maddie whispered as soon as Lawrence left.
"Don't be worried about him. I think he's just jealous." Ethan smiled.
For the past few weeks that they have all been together. He noticed the attraction between Lawrence and Madiana. He knew they liked each other. It was pretty obvious.
"Go ahead and open your gift." He encouraged a moody Maddie.
Madiana opened the gift bag and smiled at what she saw. It contained her favorite chocolates, a Two-body fragrance, and a silver wristwatch.
"Thanks, Ethan." She stood up and hugged him.
"You are welcome, cupcake."
"Don't worry about your Boss. He will come around." Ethan assured with a smile after which he took his leave.
.........................
LATER THAT DAY
Even though it was Madiana's birthday, she felt kind of sad and moody. Though she still got calls and text messages from her family members and friends, she felt incomplete.
The only time she kind of smiled today was when her elder sister, Linda, face-timed her and she spoke to Kyle and Stormi who sang a birthday song for her. She couldn't help but smile at that. Her niece and nephew were so adorable. They also promised to bring her a gift the next time they come to visit.
Madiana was moody because Lawrence, her Boss, had been behaving coldly towards her since he came back from his son's appointment. He didn't even wish her a Happy birthday and that alone was making her go crazy. Deep inside her, she felt hurt and concluded he didn't care about her.
Maddie was already prepared for bed. She was in her comfy pajamas dress getting ready to cry herself to bed when she heard the sound of the doorbell.
She grumbled as to who that might be. She was not in the mood to talk to anyone. In fact, she had rushed her conversation with her Mom who called before she took a shower. She even skipped dinner because her appetite was nowhere to be found.
She sighed as she reluctantly walked out of her room to go open the door and she cursed softly when the individual kept on pressing the bell non-stop.
She opened the door and was about to shout at whoever it was before she went mute when she saw who it was.
It was her Boss, Lawrence Earl Williams. Never had she thought she would see him standing in front of her door. At least not tonight.
He was standing there with his casual clothes looking more handsome than she remembered. He was also holding two bags.
"Won't you invite me in?" He said with a small smile.
"Come in." She whispered and opened the door wider for him. She was still shocked as to what he was doing in her apartment.
Maddie's apartment was a normal size apartment with a spacious living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom.
Lawrence walked in and made himself comfortable on the grey couch. He dropped the bags he was holding on the floor beside the couch.
He turned to look at Madiana and saw that she was standing far away looking at him.
"Come take a seat." he offered, pointing towards the empty spot beside him.
She walked slowly and sat beside him.
Lawrence turned towards her and took her warm hands in his as they looked each other in the eye.
"You have every right to be mad at me. I'm sorry for the way I acted today,"
Maddie playfully rolled her eyes at him which caused him to chuckle.
"The truth is that I was jealous and angry with myself. It's your birthday and I felt I was supposed to know. I should have been the first person to call you, wish you a happy birthday, and give you a gift ." He said. Maddie could not help with the smile that found its way to her lips.
"But again, it made me realize that I don't know much about you and I really want to. So will you go out with me this Friday night?"
"Like on a date?" she whispered shyly.
"Yes. And to celebrate your birthday. So what do you say about that?" He asked, hoping she would give a positive reply.
"Yes, I will." She replied.
"So, does that mean I'm forgiven?" he asked and she nodded.
He released her hand as he took one of the bags from the floor.
"Happy Birthday, Madiana." He kissed her cheek and handed her one of the bags which was a gift bag.
Maddie was blushing like crazy. This was the first time he was kissing her. Even though it was on the cheek, it still made her go frenzy.
"Open it." He encouraged and she did as he said.
The gift bag contained a pair of red heels from a notable brand. She tested it and saw it was her size. She smiled and took a glance at Lawrence who shrugged back at her. She wondered how he knew her size.
She could feel something else in the bag. She dug into it and her hand came in contact with a small black box. She opened it and she awed at what she saw. It was a diamond necklace that came with a bracket with her name engraved on the bracelet.
Madiana was overwhelmed. This was the first time she was receiving gifts that were as expensive as this. She closed the distance between her and Lawrence and pulled him in a hug.
"I love my gifts. Thank you.." Lawrence chuckled as he hugged her back.
"I'm glad you love them." He replied.
He pulled away from the hug and he caressed her left cheek with his right hand. Maddie could not help but lean into his touch. She felt at home.
"I think you are amazing and you deserve every good thing life has to offer. I wish you a long life and prosperity." Lawrence said with a smile. He leaned towards Maddie and kissed her lips.
Maddy blushed and hid her face in his chest which made Lawrence smile.
"I also brought food and wine for us to celebrate." He handed over the second bag to her.
She thanked him after which they moved to the dining table and dished out the food and Wine. They ate their dinner with small talk in between.
Lawrence could not help but watch Madiana as she ate. She ate freely without caring that he was there and he loved that.
They finish dinner and settle down on a brown sofa in the living room, with Maddie's head on Lawrence's lap. As he kept on stroking her hair.
"How's Luis? How did his appointment go?" She asked, concerned.
"It went well. And Luis is fine. I asked his Nanny to help me look after him for a while." he replied.
After battling with so many thoughts in his mind, he decided to open up to her.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Sure." She encouraged.
"I like you, Madiana."
What he said made her happy and scared at the same time. She sat up immediately and turned her attention to him.
"I really like you Maddie and it feels so good letting you know. Do you feel the same way about me?" he asked as he caressed her face.
She bit her lower lip and nodded which made Lawrence grin like crazy.
"I know this might seem too fast but would you like to give us a try? Please, will you be my Girlfriend?" He asked as he shyly scratched the back of his head.
