I checked my phone for the umpteenth time today. There was still no response.
I messaged him this morning with our usual good morning text messages while I was getting changed for work, but he still hasn’t responded, even though he almost always replies within 10 minutes.
I haven’t seen him all day at work either, but it was already almost noon.
Was he not coming in today?
But he would tell me beforehand if that was the case or at least let me know in reply to a message, right? Or was I expecting too much? After all, Rafael is a busy man. He’s the head of Cordova Industries, the wealthiest and most powerful man in the country. I couldn’t expect him to always think of me when he had other things to do.
Maybe I was just being overly paranoid, but I couldn’t stop myself from feeling antsy about his absence. He did seem to be growing increasingly tired over the last week.
Even though he still always came to my house to have dinner with Liam and me, I could tell that he was exhausted despite his warm smiles… Comforting touches… Soft kisses…
I blushed at the thought and quickly shook my head to clear my mind of such distracting thoughts. Sometimes, I really did wonder how I managed to get a man like Rafael to fall for someone like me. He was several tiers above me, and yet he always treated me with the greatest amount of respect, as if I was the one outside of his reach. He was like the fictional male leads that I had only ever read in books, nothing like all the other men I had met in my life.
No, I needed to focus.
I needed to make sure he was alright first. He hasn’t missed a single day of work since I started working with him, and he even said he would see me again today after he left last night. It was reasonable for me to be concerned.
Should I just call him? Or would I only be bothering him?
My confidence sunk once again at the thought. I didn’t want to give him any more reason to dislike me than I already had…
I quickly shook my head and reminded myself that Rafael wouldn’t be that mean. He said that I could call him anytime I wanted, with or without any emergency, because… because… he enjoyed hearing just the sound of my voice…
My cheeks immediately flushed red again when I remembered what he had said when we first exchanged numbers.
Sometimes I really wondered how he could say such embarrassing things without hesitating.
I quickly dialed his number before I could change my mind. It rang for four long tones without any answer before going into his voicemail.
I stared at my phone in surprise. He always kept his phone on him for work…
Feeling a bit antsy from the lack of response, I wandered out of my office toward the micro kitchen. I kept as close to the edges of the hallway as possible, not wanting to bump into anyone on the way there by accident. Even though I was comfortable around Rafael, I still couldn’t stop myself from reflexively tensing up whenever someone else was in the room.
I didn’t have the stomach for a meal, so I picked up a bag of sweet popcorn, hoping it would ease my nerves a bit. As I popped a few pieces in my mouth, I tried to get my mind off of him and wandered about the office in an attempt to calm my nerves.
Should I get off work a bit earlier to drop by his apartment to check on him? But would he even be home? Maybe I should just go home first and call him from there to see if he was still coming over for dinner. After all, it wouldn’t be all that weird if he was simply busy attending private meetings today.
With all the thoughts of Rafael floating about my mind, I ended up mindlessly drifting toward his office and found myself peeking into the empty room. My eyes drifted along the dark mahogany wood lining his office and all the books neatly lined against the walls. It smelled like him, the scent of some sort of deep cologne mixed with the familiar smell of the paper left inside of old books.
However, I was instantly snapped out of my daze when a dark shadow fell over me. I immediately pulled myself back from the doorway and backed up several steps, grasping my hands tightly against my chest as I timidly glanced up the owner of the shadow.
“Ms. Belcalis? Did you need something?” Joseph asked curiously as his body naturally filled up the door, blocking the entirety of my view.
I gulped nervously as I looked up at him. I knew that I was just short in comparison to most people, but he seemed really intimidatingly tall at that moment with the way the stood more than a head taller than me. He wasn’t nearly as tall or as broad as Rafael, but it was still more than enough to make my body stiffen up.
I knew that Rafael trusted him very much as his PA and told me that I could ask Joseph for anything if I ever needed anything, but the words just refused to come out of me.
When I didn’t say anything, Joseph suddenly twitched as if a light bulb went off in his head, and he asked, “Are you looking for Mr. Cordova? He texted me this morning that he wouldn’t be in today because of a cold.”
I nodded understandingly, still not able to fully relax in his presence.
“He’s not really one to get sick, but I’m sure he’ll be back by tomorrow. He’s quite the workaholic and rarely, if ever, takes a day off.
I unconsciously stepped back when he stepped out of Rafael’s office. I watched as he locked the door behind him.
He glanced at me worriedly. “Um… If you don’t need anything else, I’ll be going now.”
I didn’t move a single inch until he disappeared down the hallway. Then I let out a soft sigh of relief and unclenched my hands.
I thought I had been getting a bit better around men since I barely even stuttered around Rafael anymore, but I guess I haven’t actually made any progress after all.
Still, at least I knew what happened to Rafael now. But it was a bit worrisome to hear that he was sick at home, especially considering how sturdy his build seemed. He didn’t seem like someone to get sick, as Joseph had said.
But then, an image of his warm but weak smile flashed through my mind, and guilt immediately crept into my mind.
I had an inkling that he had been overworking himself, but I didn’t do anything to stop him.
I hurried back to my office and swiftly gathered up my items. Sending a mass email to cancel my afternoon meetings, I scurried out of the building without another second and dumped everything into my car.
It didn’t take me long to get to his apartment, but I must’ve looked like a mess running through the lobby of his luxurious apartment building in my work attire that was nowhere near as formal as all the other business personnels that seemed to be wandering about the lobby.
I wasn’t sure if this building only housed business directors, or something, based on the fact that almost all of them were men in suits, but I did my best to try to ignore the fact that I was surrounded by a bunch of strange men as I made a beeline for the elevator.
However, with my unfortunate luck, I found myself stuck at the bottom of the elevator without the passcode. My hand clenched onto the strap of my bag as I warily glanced around the lobby, wondering what I should do next.
“Miss, are you here to visit someone?”
I backed up into a wall and timidly glanced up at a man in a basic black suit with a name tag pinned to his chest with the word “Manager” in cursive.
Mustering up as much courage as I could, I shakily whispered, “R-Rafa-el Ach-illes C-Cordova.”
His eyes widened. “Oh, okay… Um… Many people try to meet with Mr. Cordova so he gave me very specific instructions to not let anyone up unless their name is on the roster. Do you mind coming with me so I could check for your name?”
I squeezed the strap of my bag and nodded mutely before following him to the receptionist’s desk.
Would my name even be on there? Technically, we haven’t been together for all that long yet, so it probably wouldn’t be likely.
I watched as he typed a few things on the keyboard before pausing with a surprised look on his face. “Hm, Mr. Cordova usually doesn’t have anyone on his guest list, but he actually has two name put down permanently this time, an Danary Jane Belcalis and Marliam Ace Belcalis. Are you Miss Danary?”
I nodded, relived that I was on the list after all.
“Can I get some sort of proof of ID? It’s just a precaution since people have tried to sneak up to his place before.”
I nodded again and pulled out my driver’s license.
He glanced at my ID and gave me a soft smile. “Thank you, Ms. Belcalis. He lives on the top floor and passcode for getting up there is 11-13-21.”
I repeated the numbers in my head. 11-13-21. Got it.
I bowed slightly to him as a thank you and scurried back to the elevator. Below the panel of buttons corresponding to each floor, there was a small keypad of numbers and I typed in the passcode. 11-13-21.
For some reason, the numbers seemed familiar to me, but I didn’t think much about it when the light turned green in success and I eagerly pressed the button for the 76th floor.
I anxiously waited for the elevator to make its way to the top. Once the door opened back it, I was faced with a short corridor that led straight to a single door corresponding to his penthouse.
My insides were so jittery that I felt like I could vomit at any moment. Would he be happy to see me here or would he think at me as a nuisance for not staying away? Maybe he ignored my messages because he didn’t want to see me and I was only going against his wishes by coming here like a fool.
No, no, no, Rafael wouldn’t be like that. If he wanted me gone, he would’ve just told me, right?
I took in a sharp breath and quickly knocked on his door before I changed my mind.
A series of heavy but unevenly footsteps slowly grew louder with each step until stopped just behind the door.
A moment of silence passed.
I anxiously chewed on the inside of my cheek, but before my thoughts could conjure up any bizarre assumptions, a deafening thud rang through the empty hallway.
My eyes widened when no other sound came after. I panickly pounded on the door and called out, “Rafael? Are you alright?”
There was no answer.
Fear quickly built up inside of me as I imagined the worst case scenario. I frustraingly jiggled the door knob, raking my brain for some way to open the door. Noting the small keyboard to the side of the doorway, I punched in the code that the manager gave me, praying that it would somehow also work for his apartment as well.
Luckily, the bolt in the door somehow unlatched with a distinct click. Thanking the stars that Rafael didn’t care enough to keep two separate passcodes, I hastily pushed the heavy door open and found a ginormous body collapsed on the ground.
He was only dressed in a pair of loose sweats with his bare chest on full display. Sweat was dripping down ever inch of his body as his chest heavy up and down with each shallow breath.
I immediately dropped down next to him and placed my hand against his forehead. “Rafael, why don’t you have anyone taking care of you? We need to get you to the hospital before your fever gets any worse.”
His eyes were screwed shut as he panted for air. “No… hospital…”
“Please, Rafael. You’re burning up too much for it to just be a cold,” I begged.
He stubbornly shook his head and repeated between each shallow breath, “No hospital… Too many people…”
I pressed my lips into a thin line, trying to figure out what to do next. He was barely coherent and completely sprawled out on the ground, unable to move.
I barely even hit the 85 lb mark at 4’11”. He was well over a foot taller than me and easily more than twice my weight in pure muscle. There was no way I could move him back to his bed by myself.
I glanced down at him worriedly, brushing his hair away from sticking to his soaked forehead.
I pulled out my phone and dialed the only person that I could think of who might be able to help us. Two rings passed before it was finally picked up.
“Hi, hi, this is Benedict Serman.”
I pursued my lips and let out a little sigh before replying, “Mr. S-Serman, it’s D-Danary.”
There was a moment of silence. Then a loud crash sounded from the other side of the phone before he suddenly exclaimed, “Danary?! You never call me. Is something wrong? Did Rafael do something to you? Do I need to come over to his company to smack some sense into him?”
A little overwhelmed by his overly energetic personality, I stuttered, “H-He didn’t d-do anything t-to me, b-but I d-do n-need your help.”
“Of course, Danary! Anything for my favorite little worker. I’ll be at your office in a few minutes.”
“U-Um… I-I’m not a-at the o-office. I-I’m actually at R-Rafael’s a-apartment.”
There was another moment of silence before he suddenly shouted, “Huh?!?”
“C-Can y-you just please c-come h-here as soon as p-possible? I-I’ll explain w-when you g-get h-here.”
He took in a deep breath before calmly sighing, “I’ll be there in 15 minutes, okay?”
“T-Thank y-you, Mr. S-Serman.”
He let out a small hum before hanging up the phone.
Mr. Serman had always been just a boss to me, so I couldn’t understand why he had always treated me so kindly like a friend even though I always kept him at an arm’s left.
Was it because of how much he treasured his friendship with Rafael? Even if that was all, I was grateful to have him drop everything on a whim for us.
Tossing my phone aside, I turned my attention back onto Rafael’s half unconscious body on the ground. He was still sweating profusely, leaving his entire body soaked through and beads of perspiration rolling down his hard chest.
Wasn’t there anything I could do for him?
I hesistantly got up from his side and walked into his bathroom in search of a small towel. After searching through a couple of empty cabinets, I finally found a drawer with a stack of hand towels and grabbed a few. I walked back into the kitchen in a filled up a shallow bowl with cold water before going back to Rafael’s side.
I kneeled back down next to the him and carefully lifted his head into my lap.
His face scrunched up a little bit in pain.
I quickly dunked one of the clean towel into the cold water and wrang out as much as water as possible before laying it across his forehead. He winced slightly upon contact but made no move to push me away.
He was still burning up so badly that I could feel the heat radiating off of his body, but this was all I could do for him at the moment.
Of all the ways that I wished to see him today, this was not how I expected us to meet.