Nico (The Rossi Mafia)

Chapter 14 - Kennedy

Six weeks later

I looked at my wristwatch. It was five-thirty, time to pack my bags and go home. There was a pile of papers on my desk which I still needed to go through. I hadn't really been paying attention at work. In fact, I hadn't been getting much work done in the past four weeks.

I was behind on everything. I'd messed up an important presentation and I was late to work on most days.

Granted, I had never been super enthusiastic about coming into work every day, however, I used to be interested in keeping my job.

In the past three weeks, I'd lost interest in that too. All I wanted to do was lock myself up in my apartment and stay on the couch watching movies. It was the only thing that brought me comfort. It probably reminded me of that night Nico and I had fallen asleep there, in each other's arms.

Now, Nico was gone. It was like he had suddenly dropped off the face of the Earth. Exactly the way he'd disappeared back in high school.

That night at my apartment, after the opera, I felt an actual connection. I'd seen sparks of something real in his eyes. When he didn't just get up and go after sex, I thought maybe he wanted more. He wanted to cuddle and watch movies all night. Something a boyfriend did. Not something a one-night stand would be interested in.

Unfortunately, after that night, I got my hopes up. The time I spent with him was so special; that I couldn't help myself. We'd decided on a casual relationship, but it seemed like it could be possible that Nico was changing his mind.

I was excited and happy the next day. I was going to tell Ava that I had hopes of a future with Nico. That we weren't just going to keep it 'light and sexy'.

But then I waited, one day with bated breath...two days with anxiety, three days...now beginning to worry. When it was a week and I still hadn't heard from him, I called his number. Nico didn't answer and I didn't have the heart to leave him a voice message either.

My initial reaction to his behavior was anger. He didn't even have the decency to call and let me know that he was ending things! He didn't even have the balls to answer my call!

I had to do everything in my power to not call him again, to not just turn up at his apartment. I was angry and upset, but that didn't last long. Soon that anger turned into something else. I was miserable and sad. Nothing seemed the same again.

I knew I should have paid attention to Ava's words. With Nico gone, I was left in pain and alone. I thought I could handle a casual relationship with him, but how wrong I was.

Sighing and literally forcing myself to get up from my chair in my cubicle, I collected my things and headed for the elevator.

"Kennedy!" I heard a voice and grudgingly turned. It was my manager, Keith, and I knew exactly what he was about to tell me.

"Did you complete the working papers for the Donovan account?" he asked and he didn't look happy.

"I just have some finishing touches to look over, just taking care of some queries," I replied and Keith breathed in deeply. He looked like he was frustrated with me. I'd been late in delivering everything these past few weeks.

"Look, Kennedy, I'm not sure if you're going through something. You still need to get your job done, you understand? This is work, doesn't matter what's happening in your personal life," Keith dictated.

I pursed my lips and nodded. I didn't like hearing him say it, even though I knew he was right. If I lost my job now, what was I supposed to do? Nico was going to ruin my life!