Chapter 38: Stressed

On the one hand, she's now working with Raphael, which was something she had really wanted. Plus it didn't hurt that the project was another feather in her cap. But on the other hand, this whole thing was turning out to be more work than she imagined! She liked that she was in constant contact with Raph. But the boy was more talk than action! Granted, she knew these startup types always spoke bigger than they actually were. But the requirements she had asked of him were late. Between him and Bianca, his partner got things done faster. But it grated at her how young and pretty and so familiar with Raph AND so efficient she was!

Dell checked her mail. No mail from Raph. He still needed to send back the form she sent him for signing. Then she would put together all the other paperwork. She looked at her watch. It was Friday, seven thirty in the morning. She needed to get the paperwork submitted by ten. Giving half an hour to traffic, she would have about two hours to finish everything. This is, of course, assuming Raph sends the signed form on time.

Dell let out an impatient sigh, zipped her bag, and went out of her apartment.

"Wow there!" Sean exclaimed when she almost hit him with her door. "Someone got out of the wrong side of the bed." He poked at the crease between her brows. She knew she was glaring. But she didn't care right now.

"Sean, I'm not in the mood," she said as she swatted his hand. "I'm stressed. I'm busy. And I'm already late." She tried to walk around him but he blocked her path.

"Hey, this'll be three mornings in a row that you've missed--"

"I don't care!" She screamed at him, which took him aback. He was hurt. She could see it in his face. These men and their aversion to rejection! But she really didn't have the emotional bandwidth to deal with this right now. She stomped past him and headed for the elevator.

And the day didn't get any better. She was stuck in a traffic jam for more than an hour due to a traffic accident. When she arrived at the bank, Raph still hadn't sent what he was supposed to send. She would really end up not making the deadline. Sighing, she picked up her phone. Might as well start asking the people in charge for an extension now.

Dell collapsed on her office sofa, tired and annoyed. What time was it? It was already dark out. Raph had sent in the rest of his requirements at noon. And she had to run around asking special favors from people just to get the loan approved on time. And all because she had a crush on this guy! She was beginning to question if this was all worth it. But what kept eating at her the whole day was what happened that morning. She hadn't looked back after screaming at Sean, and she hadn't heard anything from Sean as she headed to the elevator. She felt guilty at having hurt him like that. And she really felt annoyed at herself.

She looked towards her doorway when she heard a knock. William was standing by the open door.

"Stop glaring at me like that," he said. "I'm not the one who sent their requirements late."

Dell closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just been a stressful week."

"Get up and come with me."

Dell opened her eyes. "Why? Where are we going?"

"Now." His face was expressionless and his voice meant business. Without another word, he turned and started walking.

With a sigh, she stood up and followed him. He led her to the elevators, then down the basement parking. When they got off, there was a car waiting.

"Get in," William said.

"Why? Where are we going?"

William opened the passenger door. "Get in and I'll tell you."

To her surprise, she saw Sean at the driver's seat. "Sean! What are you doing here?"

He smiled cheerfully. "Paying you back for this morning. How was your day, dear?"

"Dell Santos," William suddenly said in his most business-like voice. "You are temporarily being taken out of ElemTech's loan project."

"What?! Why?!"

"Because you've been biting people's heads off the entire week. And today, you even made your secretary cry."

"I... I did?"

"Yes, the poor girl was so scared of you. So go take a breather and don't come back until you've cooled off." William pushed her into the car.

"Wait! I'm still waiting for one more document--"

"I'll take over from here." William closed the car door firmly.

Dell rolled down the window. "I didn't bring my things. In fact, I'm not bringing anything!"

William and Sean looked at each other and seemed to understand each other with the smirks they were sharing.

"Even better," Sean said.

"You'll only be out to get some fresh air," William said.

And before Dell could give any more retorts, Sean started the car and drove away.

With a sigh, Dell sat back in the passenger seat. "Where are we going?"

"To see the stars."

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