Treating Mr. Billionaire

~ 58 ~

Dating could be hard. Especially when her boyfriend was the president of the biggest technology company in the world. It had only been two weeks that she admitted how deep her feelings were for him, and decided to be in a relationship with him despite all odds, but it felt like it was difficult to get a hold of Jayden because of how busy he was.

They had not gone on any dates yet or had a real couple thing together (except for you know what), and the last time she saw him was right before he flew off to another country for a business trip, which was four days ago.

Nonetheless, that shouldn't come off as a complaint especially when she knew how he had been trying his best to carry her along with all of his schedules, no matter where he was calling from. Rather, she was more worried about his health and well-being, considering the hard time he was having after the incident with his company's stock price plummeting.

The unfortunate circumstance happened to knock in coincidentally right after the start of their relationship, thus leaving him in an extremely occupied position with little opportunity to pursue anything else that wasn't work-related matters.

A sigh broke through her rosy lips, giving herself a break from the endless thoughts swirling around in her mind. The cold of the night hit her skin, making her breath freeze before her in white puffs before dashing away into the black void above them.

She glanced down to see the lights of the bustling streets below twinkling like stars on a cloudy night, and an easy smile graced her features at the thoughts of strolling down the beauty of lights with him. 

"Hey, did you wait for long?"

Her head whipped towards the familiar voice, and her body started moving on its own accord toward the direction of her best friend.

"Nana wanted me to sleep over, so she bribed me with personal time with Toby," Ted added, his boyish grin spreading over his face, and it meant more than the whole world to finally see a smile on his face after everything that happened.

Maria responded with a light chuckle that bubbled up in her chest, and a loving smile stretched across her face. Her hands moved towards the front pockets of her oversized hoodie, an outfit that obviously belonged to him. "C'mon, I will walk you to the junction." she offered, shrugging slightly with one shoulder.

"Sure." He willingly gave in, stepping forward and allowing her to lead the way. 

A comfortable silence settled over the pair as they took in the sight of the streetlamps that lit with a gentle glow, illuminating the sidewalk they walked upon.

"You know..." Ted spoke first in a small whisper that carried over the quietness between them, "I am suddenly reminded of the night we snuck to a senior party as sophomores." he mused, a playful glint shining in his grey eyes as memories of their shenanigans resurfaced.

He looked down at her to find the corners of her mouth curling instantly upward and a genuine laugh emitting out of her. "Yeah, and then we got caught at some point. It was a night like this, running across the street, being chased by your...dad." Maria recalled fondly with a slight roll of her eyes as she thought back to those memorable moments, her chuckling tone laced with nostalgia.

"That wouldn't have happened if you had been more careful with the excuse you told your grandparents." He shot back with a slight smirk that tugged on the edges of his lips upwards.

Her eyes widened slightly, with another curt laugh passing through her mouth. "I thought I apologized for that many years ago. Don't tell me you are still holding grudges because I ruined your chance with that girl you used to be crazy about back in high school?" she questioned incredulously in an accusatory tone and stopped walking to turn her attention to him.