The Billionaire And The Waitress (gxg)

50 - a rescue

Chapter 50!!! Good things are coming I promise.

MUSE picked at her sushi with chopsticks, nibbling each grain of rice one at a time. She loved sushi. But her stomach had begun to hurt the moment Grey had told Sherry she "needed to smile more."

     Sherry had sat down at the table for dinner, her face already pale and stricken. Beside Grey, her chair had slowly inched further and further to the other side of the table until Grey had noticed and, in one smooth motion, dragged it right next to him. Her shoulders had clenched, raising like a frightened cat. 

     "What's the matter, dear? We're at a beautiful resort on a beautiful island!" 

      "I've just been feeling a little ill lately," she had stammered out. 

      To put it lightly, the dinner had been excruciating so far. Muse and Adrien kept side-eyeing each other, their hands intertwined atop the table. They had ordered a platter of sushi to share, but Muse had only eaten two pieces of twenty. She could have demolished the whole plate normally, but Grey's remarks made her feel nauseous.

      "So, Adrien, how's it feel to be the CEO of Vitale Enterprise?"

      "I'm not the CEO yet," Adrien said mildly.

      Grey leaned over the table, his black eyes cold. "We grew up together, you know. You, me, remember the good old days? Playing basketball at the centre? Having crushes on the cheerleaders on the bleachers? You're basically my sister. You can be honest. How's it feel?" 

      Muse didn't realize she'd been squeezing Adrien's hand over the table till Adrien's knuckles turned white. The idea of Adrien having crushes on cheerleaders, even if it was in high school, warmed her blood. 

     We're just friends, she told herself, and forced out a laugh.

     Grey grinned broadly at them. 

     Sherry had to be right. There was something missing from him, something vital. Muse wondered what it felt like, crawling into bed with him, night after night. Knowing she was sleeping next to a psychopath. Knowing she had already been pregnant with his son. Knowing there was no way out.

     They had to fix that. They had to help her somehow. 

     "I can't imagine it would feel any different than being the CEO of my own company," Adrien said.

     "Oh, that's right." Grey chuckled. "You're a lady boss. I keep forgetting."

      Muse only had a grain of rice in her mouth, but she choked anyway at lady boss. 

     "Tell me, Grey." Adrien leaned over the table, her eyes glittering. "How's it feel being the senior executive? Always second, always knowing there's someone in charge of you?"

     For the first time, something in Grey's expression cracked. A twitch of his wide-lipped smile. 

     "Feels great, considering I have a wife and a child. Need to make time for what's important, you know?"

     Muse thought of how Sherry, voice breaking, had told her Grey never touched her anymore.

     Adrien leaned back in her chair. Her fingers flexed around Muse's, as if reminding her they were in this together, as a team. The light warmed her beautiful face. Her black hair glistened. With her legs spread wide beneath the table, her body language just as aggressively masculine as Grey's, Muse wondered just how many times she had been forced to defend herself against the men in the corporate world. It was almost as if she not only embodied their masculinity, but intensified it. Becoming a worse, more intimidating version of them.