Chapter 208 Call Me by My Name
Anastasia had been meaning to get disposable cups, but she always forgot about them. To date, she wasn’t sure how many times she had drunk out of the same glass as Elliot.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when her phone suddenly rang. She reached for it and put the call through after glancing at the caller ID. “Hello, Miss Chastain.”
“Miss Tillman, I’ve come bearing good news! We rounded up the sales for today at fifteen million. While the customers didn’t come in droves, they each bought more than a million’s worth of jewelry. Never have I seen such staggering business since I started working here!”
Surprise filled Anastasia’s pretty eyes when she heard this. She wondered how these customers came upon her shop in the first place. She was sure that she didn’t rally her friends or family for support, and she had yet to advertise the shop and the products. Could these just be customers who happened to drop by the shop?
It went without saying that she was elated by how things had turned out. She would like to think that fate was being kind to her. As the night breeze picked up, she suddenly remembered that they were in the depths of autumn now. To think that she had returned to this country in August, and in the blink of an eye, November was right around the corner.
Far too many things had happened in the last few months, the biggest of which was how Elliot had integrated himself into her life. He had shown up without warning like a storm no one could anticipate, and he was so demanding that he would not stand for rejection on her part.
The most frustrating thing about him, perhaps, was how he could make her feel like she was being devoured in flames, yet she didn’t mind it at all. She wanted him to do all those things to her; she wanted such pleasure to crawl under her skin and consume her. Am I truly so desperate to feel a man’s touch?
She started to wonder if her loneliness had made her feel such primal urges whenever they were alone, and she also questioned if the same would apply if she was with another man. If that were the case, it would only go to show that she was lonely and that this had nothing to do with Elliot’s own charisma.
At the thought of this, she suddenly became inspired to find a decent man that she liked and have a fling with him. It could be a platonic fling, and it would be sufficient to distract her from the effects that Elliot had on her. That way, she wouldn’t spend every waking moment thinking about that man. She was already terrified that she might become overly dependent on him one day.
When it was around 9.00PM, Elliot returned to the apartment with Jared in tow. The little boy was already drenched in his own sweat, but he was clearly enamored with playtime, for he turned to look at Elliot seriously as he said, “Mr. Presgrave, you have to bring me to the playground again tomorrow. I want to try out the monkey bars!”
“I promise I will,” Elliot said with a gentle smile.
Anastasia walked up to them and pointed out, “Jared, you can’t have Mr. Presgrave coming over every day just to play with you. He’s a busy man, and it isn’t right for us to take up his time, okay?”
She had only just said this when she felt a sharp look being thrown her way.
Elliot was a sensitive man, and while she had kept her words vague, he could still pick out the implication behind them. She was trying to stop him from getting too close to Jared.
“Really? Alright then,” Jared replied with an obedient nod.
Anastasia took his hand and said, “Come on, go get your pajamas before I give you a bath.”
The little boy went into his room to do as he was told.
Presently, Anastasia turned around to see that Elliot had taken the full glass of water she had poured out earlier, and he was drinking it thirstily.
She blushed and decided that she was going to have to get him a mug if these visits were going to be frequent.
“President Presgrave, it’s late, and you should be getting home,” she reminded firmly but courteously.
“Why do you keep calling me President Presgrave? You can just call me by my name when we’re alone,” he said unhappily, not at all liking how she kept up formalities with him.
There was a steely look in her eyes as she insisted and said, “I will not. As far as I’m concerned, you are my superior, and this is the only way I see you.”
Elliot found her exasperating at times. He couldn’t lecture nor argue with her, and he couldn’t even be too harsh with his words for fear that she would only retaliate even more passive-aggressively. However, for some reason, he was extraordinarily patient with her even when she was snapping at him or being stubborn.
“In that case, I’ll be leaving now. Give me a call if you need anything,” he said. When he sauntered over to her, she felt her chest tighten, but thankfully, he didn’t do anything to her and merely opened the door to leave.
When the door fell shut behind him, she let out a sigh of relief. She went on to bathe Jared and tucked him into bed with a bedtime story. At last, he fell into an easy sleep in her arms.
It was only during moments like these when her son had fallen asleep that she could stare at his little face and let her mind wander for a bit.
