Chapter Thirteen

It has been 2 days since she saw Gabriel, but she still can't keep her heart from fluttering in embarrassment every time she thinks about what happened in his office. Her mind went right to the gutter, and she almost thought he was going to kiss her.

Even worse, she was going to let him.

What is wrong with me?! Now is not the time to be thinking dirty thoughts about your boss!

She has much more pressing matters, like how her father showed up to her school yesterday, supposedly asking the staff members for access to Athena's school schedule and classes. What he didn't expect, was for her to speak to the Dean of the university, and spin a few tales about her terrible relationship with her father.

After informing the Dean that she has renounced her father as her permanent guardian and changed her emergency contact to her grandfather's name, he no longer has any right to know anything about her or her school life. He was turned down multiple times no matter what he seemed to say, and Chloe was informed of this before she was even able to attend morning class.

She has been waiting to hear from him about it, but he has remained quiet and hasn't been spotted near the house recently either. Margaret has hired a few bodyguards to hide around the main house and alert Chloe if her father is ever spotted near or on the property, but she can't stop him from entering.

Not yet.

For the past week she has been in contact with Mr. Collins, the lawyer. Even though she is still months away from her 21st birthday, there has to be some legal way for her to remove her father's name from the deed of the main house and put it in her name without seeing the will and knowing its contents.

The one thing he can't legally get around, is the reading of the will containing the part of what Athena is to gain when she turns 21. The only people who know this, are her mother and father, since he was there when her mother wrote her will, but Mr. Collins swears there is a separate document that was submitted when her death was confirmed, that he suspects her father hasn't seen, and that's why he is after.

But even Mr. Collins hasn't seen the contents of the document, the instructions that were in the main will specifically said it is addressed to Athena for her to open and read when she turns 21. Chloe assumes that Athena's mother obviously didn't plan to die before her daughter turned 21, so it is meant to be a surprise birthday present for when she comes of age.

But that moment has been stolen from her and Athena. Chloe can't help the heartbreaking feeling in her chest, like her heart is literally cracking from the pain of knowing she won't experience her 21st birthday with her mother, even though Chloe herself has already had that experience. Her parents were still alive in her past life, but they mind as well have been dead with how frequent she visited when she moved out at the age of 21.

Since she was still that age when she lived at home, it was the last birthday she celebrated with her parents. The realization that she never celebrated a birthday with them afterwards hits her heavily, and mixes with the emotions Athena experienced in the past, knowing her most memorable birthday won't be spent with her mother.

Why didn't I visit them once? Just for a few hours even?

The instant regret she feels is too much for her to comprehend, and to make matters worse, an overwhelming headache takes over her head, crippling her to her knees. Clutching her head, she tries to call out to Margaret, but the ringing in her ears doesn't allow her to hear her own voice.

The last thing she sees before blacking out, is the door creaking open.

***

Where the hell am I?

Blinking her eyes open, she looks around at the empty black space around her. She looks down and sees she is fully formed and still dressed in the last clothing she remembers wearing before passing out. She isn't see-through or passable, her arms and legs feel firm and warm.

"Is someone else there?"

A familiar voice calls out. She feels a sudden pressure around her.

"I can feel another presence. Who are you?"

The voice calls out again. What name should she call out?

"My name is Athena Rose."

"That's not possible, she is no longer alive."

"Who are you?"

The space falls quiet and the pressure she feels lessens but is still present around her.

"You aren't lying..."

"Who are you! Where am I?"

"I think we will see each other soon. Good-bye for now."

"Wait, come back!" Athena screams and jolts out of bed. She is gasping heavily, her chest heaving as sweat drips down her face and back, her covers equally drenched.

"Oh, Miss! Please don't move so suddenly," Margaret cries and rushes towards her, a cold cloth already in her hand. She places it over her face and pushes her back down on the bed lightly.

"What's happening? Where am I?" she asks, looking frantically around the room. "What happened before I woke up?"

"I'm not sure, Miss. I heard you cry for my name, but I was at the front door greeting your guest. When he heard your cry for help, he was the one who rushed off before me, and when I got here, you were passed out. He said he found you like that on the ground, so we put you in bed and you've been having a nightmare it seems ever since."

"How long has it been?"

Margaret frowns and thinks about it. "Only been a few hours I believe, Miss. Mr. Monroe is still waiting for you downstairs, he told me he will wait until you wake up and see if a doctor needs to be called, he has one that can make it here at this hour of night. Give me a moment and I'll go get him."

Athena reaches out and grasps her wrist before she can leave.

"Did you just say, Mr. Monroe?" she asks quietly, her voice trembling slightly.

"Yes, I did, Miss."

Athena bites her lip. "You mean, as in Gabriel Monroe?"

"I'm not sure what you're asking, Miss. You've been working for Mr. Monroe for almost a month now, he has been giving you tutoring classes in replace of your business classes from university. Do you not remember this?"

"No... I don't..."

***

The sound of footsteps echoing down the stairs has Gabriel on his feet at the bottom in an instant, but his hopes fall when he sees the housekeeper from before. Her sullen face doesn't give him good news, but he asks anyway.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Monroe. She still isn't feeling well, she has asked not to see anyone at this moment," she says.

"Is she alright? Should I call the doctor?"

Margaret nods. "If you could please still lend a hand in calling a doctor how can come here at this hour, it would be much appreciated and I'm sure Miss Rose will be able to compensate you when she is feeling better."

What the hell is going on?

He had simply meant to visit her because he couldn't shake the guilty feeling that he had done something wrong when she left his office earlier in the week and wanted to apologize for making her feel uncomfortable before he left for his trip. He has already postponed it by a day due to thing, not expecting to arrive and hear her cries for help the moment her housekeeper opened the door.

His phone rings in his pocket, Julians name flashing across the screen.

"Gabriel, where are you? You were supposed to be on a plane headed for the states over 12 hours ago! The system says you never checked your ticket."

"Something came up, I'm leaving at 5 this morning. I'll call you when I land." He hangs up and gives one more fleeting look towards upstairs, before giving Margaret the number for his personal doctor and instructions on what to say when he asks who is calling and why.

"He owes me a favor, make sure you mention this is to pay back that favor to Gabriel Monroe, he will be willing to do anything. If he isn't, give the other number a call, it's my personal number."

She nods and thanks him over until he leaves. Stopping outside the door, he is almost reluctant to go on his business trip at all, knowing it will last more than the week he is expecting it too.

Will she be alright during that time? This is the second time he has heard of her collapsing since they've met, not including the time she fainted after almost getting hit by his car. It's clear she has an unhealthy body, whether she was like that before her accident or after, it seems the tiniest stress on her body causes her to black out.

Is giving her such a stressful job in such a high energy and risky environment a good idea? Gabriel still has yet to visit the office that he has placed her in and makes notes to renovate when he gets back.

Letting out a deep breath, he checks his phone and realizes he doesn't have any time to sleep before getting on his plane, so he settles for driving around in hopes of clearing his mind from the impending thoughts of Athena Rose.

It doesn't help any, the mindless driving only allows more room to think of the mysterious woman who crashed her way into his life and seems to have been subtly changing him ever since. He's aware that there have been many times in the past where he has made a mistake or made someone uncomfortable with his manner of speaking and actions, but it has never bothered him to the point of personally visiting that person to apologize.

Since he has met Athena, he has found himself behaving and thinking in many strange ways that he never would have caught himself acting like in the past. He has found himself wondering odd things, like what her figure would feel like pressed against his, wrapped in a warm embrace.

Would she feel as small as she appears? Would her fragile health be evident in her frail frame? Or would her embrace give him the sense of security and comfort he has been craving since isolating himself with his position?

He tries to banish the thoughts as soon as they appear, but they always find their way back to him, especially when she is standing in front of him. It has become increasingly harder to ignore the overwhelming presence she holds over him, every time they have their tutoring sessions, and although he regrets not being able to spend the time with her, he is grateful for the break he received this weekend.

Who knows when he will see her next. This trip could be a week like promised, or a month. He knows very well he isn't going to New York for a business meeting.

His mother is waiting there for him, no doubt with his sister, and another woman.

They have been pushing Gabriel to settle down and at the very least get married. He is 23 already and has yet to even claim a girlfriend of any sort, burying himself in work and claiming he is too busy to date.

It isn't a complete lie, he has too many things at risk for him to occupy any time with a relationship, seeing firsthand with his own parents how much work a relationship and marriage take for it to work smoothly. He doesn't want that headache, having a woman constantly at his throat needing his attention, distracting him from his ambitions and achievements so far.

He has come too far and done too much for it all to be ruined over something as simple, yet complicated, as love. Maybe one day, when he feels has met all the goals he has set out to accomplish, he will consider dating and looking to settle down.

But he has a long time until then, and plenty of youth and looks to find a suitable woman to make his mother happy. He has been dodging her for too long that she has had to go to the extent of faking a business meeting with him, so that they could meet.

Gabriel is already prepared for there to be a blind date set up for him the moment he lands, and this time he isn't sure how he is going to get out of it, but he fears more what his mother might resort to if he doesn't show up at all, if she has already gone to this extent.

He can't risk her coming back and putting herself at risk. His sister has already experienced her own kidnapping situation, except unlike Athena's situation, this group succeeded in taking his sister and harming her. They only wanted money and for Gabriel to take down the new firewall security he had just introduced to online gambling systems.

The end result was a few arrests and one death, and his sister in the hospital with critical injuries. She recovered but hasn't been the same bubbly and care-free girl as she was before. From that day 3 years ago, he sent her and his mother to the states to live there until he can assure their safety, and his own.

He tried to have his father sent to a much better rehab facility in the states as well, but he refused, claiming he wanted to stay right where he was so he could watch the downfall of Gabriel and the company he thought he could run so much better. His father believes that Gabriel will fail and will eventually need to come crawling back to his father and beg for his help.

Regardless of what happens, he will never ask for his father's help or let him anywhere near the company.

Is that what Athena has been trying so hard to do? Keep her own father away from her company?

In her situation, she is too young to do anything about it. Gabriel was able to take over his father's company under the claims that his father wasn't mentally fit enough and he was. Athena's father is a scumbag and idiot, but he hasn't done anything to show he is unfit in any way to run the company temporarily, until Athena turns 21.

From what he researched; she will be turning 21 in just under 6 months now. So far, she has taken a serious business job as a bookkeeper and all but quit her modelling career. She has cut her business classes at the university and traded them for hands on tutoring lessons with him, and she has been spotted visiting the lawyer's office on more than several occasions.

Everything she has been doing points to the assumption that she is preparing to take over the company from her father when the rights are turned over to her.

The question and concern now is what her father is going to do when that happens. It's clear he doesn't want to give up the current power and position that he has, or he won't be able to provide for his mistress and secret daughter, and flaunt them around defiantly, with no one who can say anything against them.

If that happens, what will happen to Athena? Her half-sister has already bullied her in public and attacked her in private in her own personal home. What will happen if she has the power and backing of her father, and Athena has nothing? She won't even have the company income to help keep her going, it will more than likely all be given to Jaden Heroux and his new family. It's clear that is his goal and has been all along, ore he would have shown a bit more remorse when his previous wife passed away, instead of running around with his new lover almost instantly.

He thinks since the media hasn't caught him, that the rest of the cities company presidents aren't aware of his current affairs and scandals. Alexis Madden and her daughter Stella have also made it quite known that they will soon be recognized as the legitimate family of Jaden Rose, who plans to keep the last name of his deceased wife, no doubt to keep the wealth and fame that comes with it.

If he loses that name, he will lose all the loyal assets and affiliations of the Rose Group and be left with practically nothing, having to start from scratch with whatever wealth he manages to keep from the Rose Group company. If his new mistress and daughter don't squander it all first.

That's the problem with those who are poor and become rich, they're used to having to spend money when they have it, and therefore don't understand the concept of saving and investing their wealth. People like Alexis and Stella Madden will believe once they become rich, that they will always be rich, not understanding the work and effort behind the scenes that they don't involve themselves in, so that all that wealth can be made.

Even those born with a silver spoon in their mouth should understand that the wealth they are born into isn't always guaranteed for the rest of their lives. One wrong move could be the downfall of an entire company and bankrupt the family faster than they can blink.

The alarm on his phone goes off, telling him he has to head to the airport for his flight. Turning off the side road he gets back on the main road and silently drives off, not even bearing the sound of the radio, his mood not handling any sort of distraction at the moment.

He has felt a sullen and foreboding feeling ever since he saw Athena on the ground, and the reaction from the housekeeper Margaret afterwards, but there isn't much he can do about it and there was no use in asking. He might be her boss but that's all he is, and even that isn't an excuse to pry into someone's personal or medical life.

If I was more than her boss...

He slaps the thought away, physically adjusting his position to try and shake the uncomfortable feeling as he pulls into the airport parking lot. An attendant runs out to help with his bags and valet his car, getting a general date of when he will return so he can be billed for keeping his car there.

Checking his phone before boarding, he sees he has no new messages from Athena and fights the urge to call her before leaving, settling for asking the doctor how the examination went when he gets back.

This is going to be one of the longest business trips he has ever been on.