Enraptured

Chapter 25

I checked my phone for the umpteenth time today. There was still no response.

I messaged him this morning with our usual good morning text messages while I was getting changed for work, but he still hasn't responded, even though he almost always replies within 10 minutes.

I haven't seen him all day at work either, but it was already almost noon.

Was he not coming in today?

But he would tell me beforehand if that was the case or at least let me know in reply to a message, right? Or was I expecting too much? After all, Demetrius is a busy man. He's the head of Nikolaos Industries, the wealthiest and most powerful man in the country. I couldn't expect him to always think of me when he had other things to do.

Maybe I was just being overly paranoid, but I couldn't stop myself from feeling antsy about his absence. He did seem to be growing increasingly tired over the last week.

Even though he still always came to my house to have dinner with Theo and me, I could tell that he was exhausted despite his warm smiles... Comforting touches... Soft kisses...

I blushed at the thought and quickly shook my head to clear my mind of such distracting thoughts. Sometimes, I really did wonder how I managed to get a man like Demetrius to fall for someone like me. He was several tiers above me, and yet he always treated me with the greatest amount of respect, as if I was the one outside of his reach. He was like the fictional male leads that I had only ever read in books, nothing like all the other men I had met in my life.

No, I needed to focus.

I needed to make sure he was alright first. He hasn't missed a single day of work since I started working with him, and he even said he would see me again today after he left last night. It was reasonable for me to be concerned.

Should I just call him? Or would I only be bothering him?

My confidence sunk once again at the thought. I didn't want to give him any more reason to dislike me than I already had...

I quickly shook my head and reminded myself that Demetrius wouldn't be that mean. He said that I could call him anytime I wanted, with or without any emergency, because... because... he enjoyed hearing just the sound of my voice...

My cheeks immediately flushed red again when I remembered what he had said when we first exchanged numbers.

Sometimes I really wondered how he could say such embarrassing things without hesitating.

I quickly dialed his number before I could change my mind. It rang for four long tones without any answer before going into his voicemail.

I stared at my phone in surprise. He always kept his phone on him for work...

Feeling a bit antsy from the lack of response, I wandered out of my office toward the micro kitchen. I kept as close to the edges of the hallway as possible, not wanting to bump into anyone on the way there by accident. Even though I was comfortable around Demetrius, I still couldn't stop myself from reflexively tensing up whenever someone else was in the room.

I didn't have the stomach for a meal, so I picked up a bag of sweet popcorn, hoping it would ease my nerves a bit. As I popped a few pieces in my mouth, I tried to get my mind off of him and wandered about the office in an attempt to calm my nerves.

Should I get off work a bit earlier to drop by his apartment to check on him? But would he even be home? Maybe I should just go home first and call him from there to see if he was still coming over for dinner. After all, it wouldn't be all that weird if he was simply busy attending private meetings today.