Broken, plus-size and feisty

Chapter 5

Annabella POV

My way down to the first floor seemed to last ages. Him saying my name was still echoing in my head, like a bad dream. Or a a good one? Why do I even get so emotional about that? Get a grip, Anna!

I have to remind myself that I despise people like him. People who think they stand on the top of the world and are untouchable, privileged. They look down on everyone, treat everyone like slaves and lack the most simple emotions. That's why I was scared about all these cliche butterflies in my stomach whenever Sebastian got near me. I must be better than that, I can't become yet another slave to play with.

I try to push these thoughts away while on my way back home. I have more important stuff to be worried about.

I got home still all dizzy. I kicked my shoes off, threw my keys on the table and plopped onto the sofa. It was then that I realized something is not entirely right. Something had changed. 

Roses. A huge bouquet of red roses right in the middle of my living room.

I noticed a card laying right next to the flowers. I got excited like a schoolgirl on a prom night, but I shouldn't have.

It's from Bruce.

The card said nothing else, no explanation, nothing. 

I took the bouquet, stormed to the trash bin and put it right where it truly belonged.

"How does he even have the nerve..." I muffled to myself, still taken aback. Soon shock was replaced by memories of his words and tears began to fall. Once again, a behavior that was so out of character for me.  

I was crying right there, next to the trash bin filled with red roses. I became a total mess. 

After gathering the last drop of strength to stand up, I did my best to waddle to my bedroom and fell into a soft white cloud.

***

"Annabella?"

No, it's too early, I don't want to wake up...

"Annabella? Hello?"

No no no, what's happening... Five more minutes...

Wait. I live alone.

I opened my eyes at the speed of light and jumped out of bed as if someone just bit my ass.

"This is not okay! You should know some boundaries", I was almost shouting at Sebastian while trying to gather myself and get something to cover myself with. "And you talk about professionalism? What a bast..."

"You do know it's 10 a.m?" He just scanned me head to toe with no expression on his face. "There's some coffee and food in the kitchen. I will be waiting for you downstairs."

What?

Shit. Shit shit shit shit. We were supposed to go see the lot for his house 2 hours ago. He probably thought I had died or something.

Without getting a chance to apologize for being a complete mess, I just heard him say: "You have 20 minutes." And gone he was.

I still could not believe I just screwed myself over like that. Any other client would fire me instantly in this situation.

It took me a minute, but I came back to planet earth and rushed to the bathroom. What I saw in the mirror was a horror movie, but I had to fix everything in record time. Hopped into shower, applied some mascara, lip balm, and went on to find something reasonable to wear. Since I had absolutely no time to think, I chose dark blue trousers and a light blue off-shoulder top, finishing off with a pair of loafers as we were going to have to walk on grass. Since the day started extra awful, I also grabbed a bright yellow leather handbag. All good.

I sprinted into the kitchen to get the coffee and decided to skip the food. I was already late enough. I continued my sprint to the first floor, and here he was, Sebastian Hunter. Just standing there like a statue. And next to him - Grace.

"That was quite quick." They said in unison and gave each other an amused look.

"Listen, Mr. Hunter, I'm very sorry about what happened, but how did you get into my apartment?"

"Well I went to your office, as we scheduled, and you were not there, so Grace was kind enough to take matter into her own hands."

I looked at Grace with a big "sorry" on my face. "Thank you, Grace."

"No worries. I will see you at the office. Have a good day." She nodded and left.

Sebastian opened the car doors and even waited for me to get in so he could close it. I painted him as the devil in my mind, but now I see that I was a tad bit too harsh. Just a tad. 

I felt so embarrassed. This is out of character for me. He came to me for the project and I feel like the image that he had in mind is proving to be completely false. Anna, you can't lose his money, get a grip.

The location that we chose to view was a bit outside the city. I never saw him as the kind of man who would exchange a busy and bustling city for the suburbs. But here we are, after a long and very silent ride through the traffic jungle of Chicago, we arrived at one of the poshest residential areas. It was a bit higher than the city, so you could see all of it from here. Not going to lie, a nice view to have. And very expensive.

Sebastian helped me to get out of the car and gave me a small smile. Not sure what that was about. He was probably thinking I'm terribly hungover and felt sorry for this miserable creature.

"Welcome, Mr. Hunter. We were lucky to even get a viewing for this lot, the demand for it is crazy, you can probably see why," I said as I waved to the direction of the city center which you could see clearly from this spot. "It looks even better at night."

Another smile slipped through his lips, and I think he even... giggled? I might be hearing things.

"Do you like it?" Sebastian suddenly asked.

"I mean... It's a gorgeous location, and there's enough space for your needs and to develop the project so..."

"Tell the agent I'm taking it then."

"What?"

"Did I stutter, love?"

No you didn't, but I might. 

Did he just call me love?..

He walked around a bit, hands in his pockets, and then stopped for a second. He was admiring the view of the city, like a true romantic. But he isn't one.

"I don't have a lot of time. Let's get back to the city, unless you want to stay here. Annabella?"

I didn't even say anything. I just awkwardly waddled back into his SUV and hoped to disappear. Why does Annabella, a woman who doesn't take crap from others, turns into a puddle in front of this man?