Her Untamed CEO

Chapter 10

“Noah!” His mom shouts, and he rolls his eyes looking at his smashed phone.

“Here.”

“Why aren’t you answering your phone! How dare you fire the nurse?”

“Mom, calm down. My phone is broken. I’m fine. I don’t need the damn nurse.”

She puts her hands on her hips and looks at him lying in bed with two beer bottles on the nightstand and his tablets next to them.

“Why did you fire Gilda, the poor woman is in tears and is refusing to come back?”

“Good. I don’t need her. Especially since I will be paying for her.”

“Noah, don’t be like that. Of course, your father and I will pay for her service.”

“I don’t understand. I got injured on holiday, and you won’t pay my staff, but you will pay for my health care? Mom, I think you need to re-evaluate your standards. My staff needs their salaries more than I need a live-in nurse.” He gets up moving past her to the kitchen.

He needs something stronger than beer, but getting it from the living room and taking it anywhere other than there is just too much of a drag at the moment. He grabs two beers and hands one to his mom while sitting down in the kitchen.

“This will only be temporary. I’m sure your dad will have everything sorted out soon. With Liam’s help…”

Beer comes flying out of Noah’s mouth and nose.

“Liam can’t find money even if it jumped into his lap!”

Liam was at college with Noah, but he is a couple of years older. Since the day Liam stole a girl that Noah was interested in, they have been in a silent rivalry of who can get the best girl.

“Wait a minute… Has Liam been to the office yet?”

“Of course, he had to be at the board meeting.”

Noah throws his arms in the air.

“Do you know if he’s made dad another offer to buy the company?”

“Not that I know of, why?” His mom looks confused.

“Then why would he be there? He never goes to the meetings. He is far too busy taking apart other companies than to check in on our meetings.”

“I don’t know son. You will have to ask your father. He had another meeting with him and Alicia early this morning to look at her new format of the financial statements.”

After two hours of showing his mom he can take care of himself, she leaves the apartment, and he can finally go back to bed. What would Liam be doing at the office two days in a row if not to make an offer?

“Oh no!” It hits him like a ton of bricks.

“It can’t be.” Could he possibly be interested in our young Miss Moonvalor?

She isn’t anything like the girls he usually dates. In fact, she is the complete opposite! The more he thinks about it, the more it makes sense.

“That bastard!” Liam probably thinks now that his dad has a new secretary, he can use the opportunity to get to his dad through her.

***

Alicia walks into her little apartment feeling infuriated that Noah would think he can treat her as his own personal assistant! Then those grey eyes of Liam Phillips come to mind, and she feels her knees going weak again.

“Dammit, Alicia!”

She swears at herself. She might be working in that environment, but men like that usually like using girls like her, and when they are done, they throw them away like they are nothing. She wasn’t planning on becoming another notch on his belt! No matter how sexy he is…

She calls her mom before her mind decides to wander into places she shouldn’t be thinking about. She isn’t planning on saving herself for marriage. She is planning on never going there and building a comfortable life where she can also take care of her parents.

“Aaachoooo!”

She sneezes the moment her mom answers her phone.

“Oh, honey, are you okay?”

“Yes, mom. I will be fine. It’s just a silly cold that I can’t seem to shake. How are you doing?”

“I, uhm.” Alicia hears her father talking in the background.

“Is dad home?”

“Yes, remember I told you about the possible retrenchments. The company is busy sending out letters to what they call the first round of employees.” She hears her mom’s voice waver and closes her eyes, putting her forehead in her palm.

She pulls her legs up close to her.

“Has dad received a letter?”

“No, not yet, but his department was sent home early today.”

Alicia doesn’t know what to tell her mom and gets up from her bed, starting to pace the floor.

“Okay, so he hasn’t received a letter yet. Has anyone else in his department?”

“Yes, quite a few of them did.”

“Okay, good. I mean, sorry, mom. Usually, the management hands out these kinds of letters all at once. If dad didn’t get one yet, you should be okay.” She tries her best to comfort her mom.

Making a mental note to send them some money through her internet banking. They spend another couple of minutes talking and then say their goodbyes. Alicia feels drained, and her body aches all over. She doesn’t know if it’s because of this bug she can’t shake or if she was just that tired.

Deciding to take a shower in the morning, she slides underneath her covers, realizing that she is going to crease her outfit and would then have to send it to the cleaners sooner than she planned. That would make a huge dent in her budget, and she can’t afford it.

Dragging herself out of bed, she takes a coldish shower, puts on her fluffy pajamas, and climbs in bed. Her phone receives a notification, and she checks to see who would be looking for her at this time of night.

Finding an email, she opens it.

“Dear Miss Moonvalor,

I would like to thank you for your help today. I’m sure my mother will fix the problem when she returns to the office.

Have a lovely evening.

Noah Bartlett.”

What the hell? What did he mean by this?

***

Noah looks at his laptop, happy with the email he sent, and is waiting for a reply, but when nothing appears after an hour, he slams the screen shut and swears again.

What if she agreed to go out with slimy Liam?! He knows his father will frown upon something like that, but does she know that it won’t be accepted by his parents? His pain medication kicks in and he leans back into his pillows feeling how sleep grabs hold of him.

A soft knock on his door wakes him up, and he notices that it’s morning already.

“Mr. Bartlett?”

He opens his eyes and tries to focus on whoever just walked into his apartment.

“Glenda.”

“It’s Gilda, Sir. I’m simply here to clean your wound.” She stands just inside the door looking all prim and proper in her nurse’s uniform.

He blushes bright red remembering how awful he treated her the day before.

“Gilda, I’m sorry for my behaviour yesterday. It was uncalled for.”

“It’s fine. I’m used to patients going through tough times. I’m sure that your wound is healed enough that you won’t need my services after today. May I?”

He nods and pulls his leg out from under the covers.

“Uhm, mind getting dressed?” She quickly looks away.

Noah was too tired to get dressed after taking a shower during the night and forgot that he was naked underneath his covers.

“Oh, sorry, yes. I will be right out.” He grabs the covers, covering up his body and she makes a quick exit out of his room.

When he is dressed, he walks out of the room and finds her waiting in the living room.

She didn’t even make herself a cup of coffee, making him feel like even more of a bastard than before.

“Can I get you anything to drink?”

“No thank you, I’m in a bit of a hurry if you don’t mind. I do have other patients to attend to.” She helps him to the couch, and he feels a little agitated.

She was meant to be looking after him for a day or two, who else would be needing her right now?

She opens the bandages and the cut looks good. Cleaning it to be sure, she throws the items in a biohazard bag she brought with her and gets ready to leave.

“Wait! Aren’t you going to bandage it again?” He looks at her in amazement.

“No, it’s healing nicely. You should be able to put weight on it by tomorrow.”

“What about the stitches?” His voice sounding slightly squeaky.

“Mr. Bartlett, don’t be a baby. The wound is closing and healing nicely. I’m sure you will be able to get back to your normal routine in no time.” She pulled her lips into a thin line.

“I will make an appointment for my next visit to come and remove your stitches when it’s time.” She states matter-of-factly and, without even saying goodbye, walks out of his apartment.

“Guess I deserved that.” He sighs.

Another knock on his door makes him shout for whoever it is to come in.

“HEY!” Gab shouts, and he is followed by the people that went on the boat with him.

Melinda immediately rushes to his side, leaving a kiss on his cheek.

“I’m so sorry, babe, how are you feeling?” She slides her arms around his neck, and he notices her glare at one of the other girls in the group.

“It hurts like hell, babe. Don’t you want to grab us a beer? I wouldn’t ask if I could walk on my own.” He says with his hot breath blowing just below her ear and smiles as he notices goosebumps coming out all over her skin.

“Come on, Joy.” She gets up, grabbing the other girl’s hand to drag her along.

“Oh, and something to eat would be great.” He shouts, tilting his head back.

“Sure, thing, babe,” Melinda shouts, and he hears her moving about the kitchen.

That is one of the reasons he likes having her around. She might not be the marrying kind, but at least she can cook.

“Dude, you have to be careful with that one. She has been telling everyone that you guys are an item.”

“Since when?” He huffs.

“She knows the agreement.”

“Dude, I’m telling you. Ever since we came back from holiday, she has been making it clear that you are off-limits, and with your current injury status, some people are starting to believe her.”

“That’s ridiculous. Just because I’m stuck at home for a couple of nights doesn’t mean I’m out of circulation.” He huffs at his friend, but Gab doesn’t look convinced.

“Fine, I will keep an eye out.” He finally agrees, knowing that his friend has only his best interests at heart and doesn’t have any reason to lie to him.

The two girls come back with a tray filled with sandwiches, and they all dig in. His other friends don’t stay long, saying they have a party to attend, and he feels slightly neglected.

“But we can have a party here? Everything you need is right here.” He tries to convince them to stay, but the only people who are willing to stay are Gab, Joy, and Melinda.

Melinda hasn’t left his side and also hasn’t let go of him. He didn’t notice before, but thinking back, every time they’ve been together, she has always acted like a girlfriend more than just a friend with benefits. Even if she agreed to no strings, she still caresses his arm.

Damn! It’s going to be sad, but he will have to let go of her and quickly. He needs to find one of the other girls, meaning he has to be seen in public with a new girl on his arm. As soon as possible.