My Dad's Billionaire Best Friend

Guarding My Heart

I get safely home, even though I was crying in the car. I thought that crying would make me feel better, but it doesn't take away the hurt that all of Mark's words pierced into my heart. I hear it over and over in my head, breaking me down even further. I sit down in the lounge, clutching my bag to my chest and I just cry. I can't even see anything, the way that my tears keep on falling. I jump at the sound of my phone ringing. I ignore it, and I sniffle. My phone continues to ring. I take it out of my bag and I answer without looking at the screen,

"Hello" I say between a sob and I try to stop. I'm getting there slowly, but what makes me get there fast is the voice on the other side of the phone.

"Gray, you forgot your purse on your desk, anyone could've taken it" Mark says calmly this time.

I sniffle " It's okay...you can keep it until tomorrow" I say trying hard not to sob.

"Are you okay?" he asks with concern.

I wipe my tears away. "Of course I'm fine" I say.

"I don't believe you. Are you at least home?" he asks, concerned.

"Yes, I'm at home, and not at the club, so you can relax" I say with a bit more anger to it.

"Gray..." he sighs on the other side of the line. " I'm coming over" he says.

"No, there isn't any need for that. I'm okay and I'm safe and I sure as hell don't need a babysitter" I say harshly with a scoff.

Another sigh comes from Mark "Gray-"

"No Mark, I think its best that I will see you tomorrow instead." With that I hang up. I get up from the sofa and I walk upstairs to my room. What I need to do is get over Mark. To get over this stupid crush because its only making things worse for me. Mark lost an important client because of me. Maybe I also need to go back to the web designing department. That should help me get over him.

I place my bag onto my bed and I sit down. A hot shower is what I need right now, but nothing will fill this hole of heartache, nothing will heal it. My mind starts to drift to resign from Sternpoint completely, but I really don't want to leave. Well, there it is again, my stupid feelings for him.

After my shower, I wrap a towel around my body. I have been crying again. Every time my mind goes back to Mark and the words that are stuck in my brain and I sob. I see Mark's name flash across my screen, but I don't answer. And then I hear pounding on the door downstairs. I would let the pounding go on, but my car is in the driveway.

The pounding wouldn't stop and my phone wouldn't stop ringing either. I decided to answer the door instead. I hurry down the stairs and when I open the door, I am met with concerned forest green eyes. Mark was staring at me, not saying anything. My lips are slightly parted, hope rises within me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask keeping my voice strong from breaking into a possible sob.

"I came to drop this off and you weren't okay over the phone and you -uh" he says, looking down at my body, I look down realizing that I am still wearing a towel. I don't care anyway. I look up at him, his eyes are softer and he looks concerned. He meets my eyes again. "You are still not okay" he says.

I hold out my hand for my purse. "Can I have my purse please?" I ask with a sigh. He hands it over to me.

"Gray, can I come in?" he asks, his eyes almost pleading.

"Fine, come on in". I open the door wider for him to enter and I close the door behind him.

"I can wait until you are dressed. I want to cook you dinner", he gives me a soft smile. I roll my eyes.

"So you're my chef now too", I state with sarcasm.

"Gray, I'm doing this because I want to" his expression turns to serious, holding my stare.

"Okay, make yourself at home while I change", I huff as I walk up the stairs. I did not expect my evening to turn out this way and I don't know what changed his side. He was a total rude ass the entire day, but it just takes my crying for him to soften up again. I wanted to forget about him and to forget about his harsh words. But it still hurts like a b***h and I'm doing a pretty damn good job at keeping my tears at bay. Let's not forget that I have this little hope inside of me. ugh.

I get dressed in black leggings and a black tshirt. I tie my hair into a messy bun. I go to the kitchen where it smells amazing. I wonder where he learnt to cook. There is still a lot that I don't know about him and my father's lives together as friends, what made them friends to this day. I sit down on the bar stool at the kitchen counter.

He turns around and places a type of sandwich on my plate that he made in the pan. It looks delicious. All of a sudden, I'm hungry. "Where did you learn to cook?" I ask.

"Your father taught me" he says with a soft smile. He places his sandwich on his plate. I take a bite of the sandwich and it is so amazing. I can't help but moan, and close my eyes. I open my eyes to see Mark has seated already and he is watching me with a smile.

"Its good" I say.

" I'm glad you enjoy it" he says as he starts to eat.

"You didn't have to come here" I say, I force myself to feel confident and to keep my hope right where it is because I let hope rise within me more than that could break me further.

"I was concerned, you were crying and I still want to be the person who you can talk to when something is bothering you or if anything happens. With your father away on business, he asked me to take care of you and keep an eye on you", he says.

"You didn't need to show up though, I made you lose an important client today, and I feel so much guilt about it" I say and tears start to blur my vision and I set my half-eaten sandwich down onto my plate and I stand up, not wanting him to see me like this again.

"Gray, I'm sorry that I said all of those hurtful things to you" he says as he gets up from his bar stool and he walks to me. "I followed you to the parking lot after work, after I found your purse on your desk. I also grabbed my things immediately to go home." He was in front of me now. "When I approached your car, I saw that you were crying and you got into your car. You were crying for a while. I didn't think you were okay then, you drove away. And here I am" he says.

A tear escapes and runs down my cheek. He wipes my tear away with his thumb, and I close my eyes. All of a sudden I feel his breath on my lips and I open my eyes. He is inches away from my face and I suck in a small breath.

" I'm sorry for saying all those mean words to you" he says. I shake my head, in this moment those words are long forgotten and I just want him to kiss me. It will not be me this time. His eyes move to my lips and his thumb brushes over my bottom lip. He opens his mouth as if he wants to say something but then he doesn't, his phone rings and then he pulls away. He takes his phone out of his pocket and checks the caller "s**t", he growls. He looks up at me again. "I have to go", he says. I nod.

"Thank you for the purse and dinner" I say.

"I will always be here for you" he says, looking at me with some type of longing in his eyes. "See you tomorrow", he leaves.

I know that he is feeling something towards me. What just happened was that he wanted to kiss me, and I could feel it, like he was pulled towards me. I have to keep my hope at a distance so that I can gaurd my heart too.