Love & Business: Part III

Just tell me!

Sophia's POV

As I walked out of the elevator for Lodge Enterprise, I was greeted with a few waves from the employees who were on their way out. The work day finished ten minutes ago.

Hunter asked me to come to pick up Blaze here rather than at home.

I walked up to the desk in front of his office where Jake was sitting.

He immediately jumped up. "Soph, what brings you by?"

"My kid. Go get him."

His face suddenly became serious as he walked around the desk and then stood in front of me. "You have to talk to Hunter."

"No."

"Sophia, offer him some help. He's gonna go crazy if he does this by himself. I would offer to help but I'm not as good as you are."

"I already tried to offer him help and he refused. Twice. Now, where's my kid?"

"Sophia, you know the board is going to make him resign if he doesn't fix this mess quickly then you'll have to run the company all by yourself. And who knows? Hunter might hate you even more for that."

I stayed quiet for a while. Am I willing to be embarrassed once more?

Hunter's door suddenly opened. "Jake, I need 4 photocopies of this document ASAP..."

He trailed off as he saw me. He raised an eyebrow, "What's going on here?"

Jake sighed, "look, Hunter-"

Before he could continue, I cut him off. "Blaze! I came for Blaze!"

Jake shook his head before angrily grabbing the documents and walking away.

Hunter pushed his head through his door, "Blaze, get your stuff; your mom is here."

Within seconds Blaze came walking out. He didn't look excited to go but he also wasn't asking to stay either. He came to a wrapped his arms around my leg. I used that as a sign that he wanted me to rub his back.

"Say bye to your dad," I said so we could leave and allow Hunter to work. However, Blaze kept his back turned to Hunter and didn't say a word. I frowned at his unusual behavior.

Hunter sighed, "come on Blaze, don't be mad at me. Daddy has a lot of work to do. I promised we'll have a blast when I'm finished."

Blaze sniffed before looking up at me, "can we go now, mommy?"

I looked at him with sympathetic eyes and then nodded. He started walking off before I was even finished.

I looked at Hunter who was stressed before turning around.

"Sophia, wait!"

I turned back to him without saying a word.

"Tell him I'm sorry," he said with eyes that confirmed his apology. I knew Hunter hated to be that dad and it took a lot out of him to cut their time short because of work.

"Fine," I simply said before starting to walk off.

"And also, you and Jake are shit actors," he added.

I hit him with the middle finger as I continued to walk to the elevator where Blaze was sitting waiting for me.

He looked so adorable with his mini Spiderman bag on his back.

...

"Are you sure you don't want any ice cream?" I asked Blaze for a second time. I didn't expect him to be so down.

"No mommy."

I sighed, "give your dad a break, he's trying his best. He's sorry."

He faked a smile, "okay mommy."

For the rest of the night, we just watched movies in my bed.

...

The next morning, I got dressed and kissed Blaze's sleeping body goodbye before I went to work.

When I reached my floor, I saw Jannette aggressively mouthing words to me. I couldn't understand so I walked closer.

"Your husband, Mr. Lodge, he's here."

"Really?"

What could Hunter possibly want so early in the morning? I asked myself before walking.

When I walked in, he was fast asleep on the chair. He was wearing the same suit from yesterday.

I pondered on if I should wake him or not. He looked so peaceful. What if he didn't sleep last night and this was his only free time?

Not your problem Sophia. Just wake him up.

I blew some air out my cheeks before gently shaking him.

He slowly woke up. "Sophia? What are you doing there?"

"Well...this is my office, Hunter."

His eyes widened a bit as he looked around, "oh, right. I came here."

He stood up and then checked his phone. I patiently watched as his body towered over mine close.

"I shall be leaving then," he said before starting to rush out.

I stepped his way to stop him. "Not so fast. What's going on?"

"Nothing, now move,"

"No."

"Get out of my way before I do something we'll both regret, Sophia."

I stood my ground.

He sighed, "fine, I just wanted to know if Blaze was okay."

"He's fine. Now tell me what it really is."

"I already said what it was. Now move," he ordered as he tried to go around me.

I moved too. "No, you didn't."

"How the hell are you going to tell what I wanted and didn't want to say?"

"I just know! Hunter, we've known each other for years. I can tell when you're okay and when you're not."

Hunter took a deep breath before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sophia...Move!"

I folded my arms and gave him a challenging look, "or what?"

Anger was now plastered over his face with a lot of annoyance. He stepped forward, pressing both hands against my waist, and hoisted me to the side. He quickly placed me down and for a moment, I was in pure shock. Such a simple act yet he made it feel sensual.

When I finally recollected myself, he was almost to the door.

"Fine, don't tell me! It's not like you ever tell me anything anyway," I simply said and that was enough to make him stop.

He turned around to face me. "What do you expect me to do Sophia!?"

"Just tell me!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "All I ever wanted was for you to just tell me!"

"I need help, okay!?" he shouted. "I can't do it on my own. All my employees are useless and-and the only people that can help me are you and my dad! And my not picking the latter!"

And for the second time in the morning, Hunter has left me speechless. Did he just ask for my help?

Regret suddenly filled his face. He closed his eyes for a second before turning around and leaving. I was only worried about one thing.

Can we even stand each other enough to work together?

...
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