Chapter Seven - Abort Plan

Nick

Where the hell is she?

I told her to be ready by 8 a.m. and here I was, leaning against my car parked in her campus parking lot like a fool.

When she looked out her window, she seemed so surprised to see me. Did she not get my message?

I was getting bored of the number of girls throwing glances my way, trying to start a conversation and walking past my car to get my attention.

Their giggles were giving me a headache.

I almost pulled my phone out to call Caroline but then I finally saw her walking in my direction.

For some reason, she had a small smile playing on her lips.

I felt my heart warm at that and I wondered if I was the reason behind that smile. But no, she never smiles at me.

I frowned.

"Good morning, Mr. Sinclair."

"Morning, Ms. Stewart," I muttered.

As we got into the car, her smile slowly vanished and out of the corner of my eye, I could see her cutting glances at me.

"I'm sorry for making you wait. I was so tired last night that I overslept this morning."

Last night! When she was with that guy.

I suddenly felt my temper flare. Taking in a deep breath, I kept my eyes focused on the road.

"That's okay. The unexpected rain must have slowed down the bus service. And you probably reached your dorm late and slept late."

"Oh, no," she said. "The bus service was fine."

I pressed my lips into a thin line, waiting for her to speak further. It's like she's hesitating. "Okay," I finally said.

I cut a glance in her direction and she was looking outside the window.

Why wouldn't you tell me about the coffee shop and Liam, Caroline?

But then, why would you?

"Actually," she started and I quickly averted my gaze back to the road, "I work at this coffee shop near my college."

Was she a mind reader?

"Oh," I said.

"Yeah. And since I've been missing all my shifts recently, I need to fill in some extra shifts tomorrow and I also need to volunteer for something in the afternoon, so I was wondering if I could get a day off?"

Her eyes were hopeful, like a little kid asking for candy.

"I see. What kind of volunteering?"

"Oh, it's just for a stall at the college carnival."

"Okay." I nodded. "You can take tomorrow off."

"Thank you." She smiled.

I couldn't help but smile back. She looked so beautiful when she smiled. She always looked beautiful.

"What time does your shift start every day?" I asked.

"8 if I go in the morning or 6 in the evening whenever I used to intern at Mr. Andrews'."

I thought for a moment. "Do you like working there?"

"At the coffee shop?"

I nodded.

With a sigh, she leaned back into the seat.

I'll take that as a no.

"Everything's got its ups and downs. Some co-workers are so bitchy—I'm sorry," she apologized and I held back a chuckle.

"Some co-workers are really impolite and sometimes I don't even wanna go there but I need the money—"

"Quit it," I said.

She blinked at me.

Don't be so fucking blunt, Sinclair. "I can't," she muttered. "Like I said, I need the money."

"You're working for me, Caroline. I'll be paying you a lot more than you make at that coffee shop."

"Only until Penny comes back." She smiled.

I frowned.

How could I forget that she was only my temporary assistant and that after a few weeks, she'd go back to Blake's company?'

I won't be able to see her every day. That thought bothered me.

"Right," I said and looked ahead.

"Mr. Sinclair?" she called after a few seconds.

"I told you to call me Nick," I said.

She pressed her lips into a thin line. "Okay, Nick." She spoke as if testing my name.

"Yes, Caroline?" I smiled.

"Where are we going?"

"To a restaurant."

I smirked at the look of realization on her face. Maybe Rebekah filled her ears about this being a date.

It's funny how I knew she would do that for me.

She cleared her throat. "Is it a business meeting?"

"Of course, Caroline. Why else would I ask you to dress casual?"

She stared back at me blankly.

At this, I chuckled.

She was silent for the rest of the ride.

I probably scared her. Dammit!

I finally parked the car in the parking space and stepped outside.

Caroline had already stepped out of the car and was looking all around the place to avoid my gaze. I didn't know if she nervous or if it was a sign of I-do-not-want-this.

"Come on," I said and walked towards the building.

"This isn't a restaurant," she muttered.

"Nope."

"Where are we?" She eyed the delicious sweet items behind the glass counter.

And then, as unexpected as it was, a laugh escaped her lips. "I know you like sweets but coming this far in the morning just for some cakes and pastries? Seriously?" She looked up at me. "What are we doing here?"

"We're here for a cake tasting."

Her smile slowly dropped. "What?"

"Yeah. Big occasion coming up." I nodded.

"Oh! I didn't know you were getting married." She frowned.

"Because I'm not. It's for my birthday."

If I wasn't looking for it already, I might have missed the look of relief that crossed her face.

"Oh." She let out a laugh. "But why bring me along?"

"Because you're my assistant. Why wouldn't I bring you along?"

She nodded and looked around the decorated place.

"Nick," two voices, one of a girl and one of a boy, spoke in sync.

I turned around to find my eight-year-old twin cousins, Layla and Jack, running in my direction.

"You guys," I laughed as they literally climbed up my body together, one from each side and gave me a hug.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in confusion while setting them down. "Didn't you have school?"

"We did." They both spoke in unison and then stared at each other, rolled their eyes and turned to me.

"But Dad brought us along," Layla said.

Their dad, my uncle who owned this place, was my mom's younger brother.

Uncle James' family and my grandpa were the only close relatives I knew from my mom's side. As for my dad, he had no one else besides us, no relatives, just his friend Walter Reed, who he considered more than a brother.

The Reeds were good family friends. "Nick?"

I looked up from the twins at my uncle.

"Uncle James." I went forward and hugged him.

"How are you, Nick?"

"I'm good." I smiled and my uncle looked somewhere behind me.

I followed his gaze to find Caroline smiling down at the twins as they talked to her.

"That's Caroline Stewart, my assistant," I told him and Caroline walked up to us at the mention of her name.

"My uncle, Mr. James Price," I told her.

They shook hands.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Price." She smiled, seeming a little uneasy all of a sudden.

"Likewise, Ms. Stewart." He nodded with a smile, then frowned a bit as if trying to remember something.

"Have we met before?" he asked her.

I could see her nervous demeanour but she quickly concealed it with a smile. "I don't think so."

He nodded and then turned to his kids. "Come on. Let's go."

The moment they were out of our sight, I turned to her.

"Caroline?"

She looked up at me. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Her gaze broke away from mine and once again, she was looking around the place, this time to avoid my eyes. "Okay."

I directed her towards the table and a few slices of cakes were brought to us.

Whatever it was that she was worried about, she was now over it as she looked down at the slices in thought, tasting each one carefully.

I was on the third slice when I looked up and found her staring at me with amusement.

She blinked and looked away.

"I know what you're thinking," I said. "That tasting isn't tasting when you're literally gobbling down all the slice. That's okay." I chuckled. "It's what my mom says to me and my dad."

"I'm sorry." She let out a laugh. "I didn't mean to stare like that."

"I don't mind if you do." I smiled.

I could tell that for a moment, she couldn't take her eyes away from mine, and honestly, I liked it that way.

What I really wanted to do was reach forward and pull her in my direction—

Stop!

Clearing my throat, I looked away and went back to eating the cake.

"So," I asked once I was finished, "which one do you like the most?"

"The fudge cake," she replied.

I didn't know why but I expected her to choose that one.

"What about you? Which one is going to be your birthday cake?"

"I like them all." Placing the fork in the plate, I leaned back. "Honestly, I knew I would have a hard time choosing, which is why I needed a second opinion. So for my birthday cake, the fudge it is. Thank you, Caroline."

"You're welcome, Mr. Sinclair." She chuckled.

I raised a brow and she realized her mistake.

"You're welcome, Nick." She smiled.

Every time she said my name, it did something weird to me. Like I wanted to hear it more. Almost like I could hear it all day.

"Good." I nodded.

Once I had gotten a few pastries packed, since I was running out of them at my apartment, we were ready to leave.

"Do you have your shift at the coffee shop today?" I asked her while buckling my seatbelt.

"Yes."

"6 p.m.?"

She nodded.

I looked down at my watch. We had a lot of time.

"So," I started again while driving out of the parking lot. "Like you said, your co-workers aren't very nice to you."

"Not all of them."

"You have friends there?" I raised a brow.

"Yeah. I know a few people." She shrugged. "There's this girl, Ira, who is very sweet to me, and the other friend is my college mate."

"Rebekah?"

"No, no! Rebekah doesn't have time for work. She can barely pass her tests this semester."

"Then who?" I raised a brow.

"It's my friend, Liam."

She said friend.

"You might remember him from yesterday. He's interning at Mr. Andrews' company."

Oh, I remembered him all right.

"Yeah, I do," I said shortly.

"Liam and I usually do everything together." She suddenly sounded excited to talk about him. "There was this time when we decided to—"

She stopped abruptly when I turned to her with a cold look.

"You—you didn't ask. I'm sorry," she muttered.

She barely ever talked to me and now, when she was finally telling me something out of her own free will, I shut her up.

What an idiot I am!

"Oh no, no! I was looking at the other car. Stupid driver kept switching lanes." I made up an excuse.

"But," She looked ahead. "It's an empty road."

Fuck.

"You didn't see the car because you were talking to me. He pulled over a few seconds ago," I explained.

"Oh."

"You were saying?"

"Oh, nothing." She smiled. "Just that he is a very good friend to me and Rebekah."

"About that. When is that study night coming up?"

"We'll probably do it tomorrow or this weekend."

"You, Liam and Rebekah?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's the plan, but we might invite other friends too."

"I see."

I pulled over in front of a restaurant.

"Where are we?" Caroline asked.

"A restaurant."

"Uh, why?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe we'll sip some water or wine and eat something. Why, do you have something else in mind?"

She pressed her lips into a thin line and finally let out a laugh.

This day could easily be marked as the one where she laughed the most around me.

"I'm not hungry," she said.

"Then I guess we'll just have to go in there and wait until your appetite comes around."

I stepped out of the car, handed the keys to the parking valet and walked over to the passenger side.

"But, Caroline." I spoke and she looked up at me, her warm brown eyes boring into mine.

"Don't make me wait too long. You have no idea how hungry I am," I whispered.

I saw a glimmer of want in her eyes but it was gone in a second, and then a blush crept its way to her cheeks, her gaze no longer at me.

Resisting the urge to run my fingers over her soft face, I turned to the entrance of the restaurant.

"Come on." We walked inside the fancy place.

Caroline seemed a little uncomfortable as she kept eyeing the women in fancy gowns and dresses.

I wondered if she thought low of herself and then I considered myself stupid for the thought.

I was sure she knew that no woman in this room was even close enough to be compared to her. If she didn't, I would have loved to make her realize that.

We were guided to a corner booth, which was a little secluded from the rest.

"Whenever you feel like ordering," I said.

"You should eat. I'm really not hungry."

I opened my mouth to say something but my phone buzzed with a text.

I'm here x

My eyes grew wide for a moment.

I couldn't believe I'd forgotten to tell her that we didn't need that plan anymore.

Abort plan—

I was in the middle of typing when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Even before I could turn around completely, my face was grabbed in a pair of hands and then I could feel lips against mine, kissing me with passion.

Oh Fuck!

I cut the kiss short and pulled back to find Cassandra smiling down at me.

So that's how she looks.

"Hi, baby." She spoke in a sultry voice.

I immediately turned to Caroline and she had her eyes down on the table, an embarrassed look plastered on her face.

"So that's the backup date this time," Cassandra purred as she suddenly placed herself on my lap.

"Cassandra—" I started.

"Aw." She ran her fingers across my cheeks. "Why do you always think I'm going to stand you up? You don't always need to have a backup in case I don't show up. I'd never embarrass you, Nick."

Her fingers reached for my lips but I grabbed her hand and subtly pushed it away.

She probably got the message as she got up from my lap.

"Caroline," I called but she didn't look up. "I'll be right back."

Motioning for Cassandra to follow me behind a decorated brick wall, I turned to her in annoyance.

"What the hell!" I snapped.

"What?" She frowned. "I just did what you asked me to."

"First, you should have waited for my signal before throwing yourself at me like that. The plan was off—"

"What? How was I supposed to know that?" Her jaw dropped open.

"Exactly. Because I was in the middle of texting you that when you made an appearance."

"But—"

"And second, even if the plan was on, I asked you to make her jealous. Not embarrass her."

She raised a brow.

"Whatever. You owe me a date anyway." She smirked.

"Yeah, you wish." I rolled my eyes."

"What?" she snapped. "First you block my number after a one night stand. Then you unblock it to ask for my help and now—"

"I really don't have the time for this," I snapped. "You need to go, now."

"Fine," she huffed and walked away, her heels clicking against the floor.

I went back to the table but to my surprise, Caroline wasn't there anymore.

Where the hell did she go?

Caroline

It wasn't his fault.

It was my fault.

Because I'd actually believed that something good could happen to me.

How could I expect a billionaire like Nick Sinclair to feel something for me? To actually go out with me?

How could I be so naive?

Of course he was using me. I was just a backup. And that's all I'll ever be.

No one could ever love someone like me and those who did, died. I was a doomed person.

I was now sitting on a bus, trying so hard to hold my tears back and clutching my bag close to my body.

I couldn't stand the glances of pity people in the restaurant were throwing my way because as secluded as the booth was, everyone enjoyed free drama.

And I had made a complete fool of myself by sitting there as his backup date.

I couldn't believe I'd thought he'd actually planned this day. Well, technically, he had. But just not for me.

Why would he ever do that to me?

I'd always been nice to him, treated him with so much respect, and he'd just tossed me away like trash.

Why?

Why couldn't anyone ever see that I had feelings too? Am I that invisible?

Maybe I was.

A tear rolled down my cheek but I quickly wiped it away, looking around me to make sure that no one saw it.

As soon as my stop arrived, I got off the bus and practically ran my way to my dorm.

Once I was inside, Rebekah looked up from her books and frowned.

"What happened?"

I shook my head, not able to trust my voice.

In a moment, she was standing right in front of me, a serious expression plastered on her face.

"What did he do, Caroline?"

"Nothing." My voice wavered and her frown deepened.

Without wasting a minute, she had her phone in her hands.

My eyes grew wide. "Rebekah, no!" I reached for the phone but she pulled it back roughly.

"Caroline, don't," she warned.

"Rebekah, please."

"I'll consider not calling him if you tell me what he did."

I went forward and threw my arms around her neck, burying my face in her shoulder and shutting my eyes tightly to stop the tears.

"Caroline, it's okay," she whispered, hugging me back.

"Please don't call him," I muttered under my breath. "Can you do something for me?"

"Sure, anything."

"Just tell me that you love me. Even if you don't mean it. Please."

"Hey! You know I mean it when I say it. I love you, Caroline. I will always be there for you and I will never leave you. No matter what. You know that, right?"

Sniffling, I pulled back and nodded. "Thank you."

Thankfully, I had pushed my tears back. I had never been able to cry in front of anyone.

"Now will you tell me what he did?"

"I will. Just not right now. I hope you understand."

Sighing, she nodded.

"I have to go for my shift now. Just don't call him, okay?"

"No promises," she said.

Chuckling, I picked my bag up from the bed and walked toward the door. "Please don't call him, Reb. I promise I'll tell you everything sometime later but just don't call him."

She scowled and sat down on the bed, picking her books up. "Okay. I won't."

Nodding, I left.

Hey everyone!

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