He banged his hands on the steering wheel of his car, feeling like he was the dumbest person in the world. He ran his hand through his hair, wishing he could turn back time. But, of course, that was impossible. “He was...”
An idiot.
Stupid!
That was what he was.
His hand threw the phone to the passenger seat when all he heard on the other line was unreachable. He had tried calling her, but she had her phone turned off. He left countless messages, but she never responded.
“The most mindless prick.” He looked at himself in the rearview mirror.
Yes, he was! He could not stop calling himself names, hoping he would finally realize all the mistakes he had been making since meeting Amelia and stop doing it again and again.
.....
His grandmother was right. He already had the most wonderful woman in the world in his arms. And yet, he still managed to let her slip through his fingers because he was too afraid of his own shadow.
Now, she was gone. Why? Because he left her alone in that hotel room. She probably came up first with a hundred scenarios before deciding he was not worth her time because that was how great she was.
Admittedly, he panicked when he woke up with her by his side. He avoided sleepovers or waking up with a girl in the morning because it created complications he did not need. So, he took off before she opened her eyes.
“Damn, where are you, Amelia?” He had been racking his brain for answers, knowing that she was not yet supposed to go home today.
At the moment, he wished to rule out that she had taken the earlier flight. That was unlikely since she still had things to wrap up around here. He hoped that she had stayed where he could easily find her so he could apologize.
He grabbed the phone again on the other seat and dialed a number. It was his only hope of finding her. “Hi, Eida. I mean Sarah.” He quickly corrected, remembering he had to start calling her by her new name.
He could not risk someone hearing him say her name. It was not only uncommon, but many would immediately suspect that he knew where she was hiding.
“Hey, Evan. If you are calling about Angela, she is fine. You have nothing to worry about.” Eida quickly responded, thinking that was the reason he called.
But, of course, that was not. “Actually... I called because...” He hesitated slightly, but he knew he had no choice. “I am looking for Amelia. I am hoping that she might have called you by any chance.”
But if Amelia had called her and told her what happened this morning, he would have heard Eida’s wrath, but she seemed calm and unbothered. There was a likelihood that Amelia might not have called her at all.
“I have not heard from her. She had not called yet. Didn’t you run into her at the party last night?” Eida asked, sounding concerned. He could conclude that Amelia had not called her yet.
“Yes, I saw her last night. Anyways, she is probably still sleeping in her hotel room.” He told her, not wanting her to worry for nothing. Maybe she only relocated to another room or hotel because she was too mad at him.
“I will try to call her later. By the way, tell Grandmama that I might drop by next week to visit her. I am sorry I had to postpone this week because of work.” He tried to change the topic, hoping that Eida would not overreact and contact Amelia. Then, that would be a disaster.
He had to find her soon. He did not want this situation to escalate and worsen. As far as he was concerned, it was a simple misunderstanding. He could still fix this if only he could find and talk to Amelia and explain himself.
But where?
He quickly contacted his secretary to check the hotels for her name. But before he could call his investigator, his phone rang. He knew he could not keep dismissing his call. He had ignored his responsibility for the last hour, trying to find her.
“Yes, David.” His friend reminded him about the client he was supposed to meet in half an hour. “I will be there.”
In the meantime, he had better go to his next meeting before he also lost a client. He knew he could not keep damping his obligations to David. He was the managing head, not the other way around.
After more than an hour of dealing with their new client’s issues, he finally went to his office to work on his other cases. But he also had to check on his secretary if she had found out Amelia’s whereabouts.
“Any news?” He quickly asked his secretary as he passed by her table before going straight to his office.
“I have checked more than twenty hotels but had no luck.” His secretary told him, which did not help much. “Sir, Sir David is inside with a new client, waiting for you.”
He was not surprised since David had been working on acquiring several clients from left and right. He had no complaints since it was good for business, but the timing was not great.
“Keep checking.” He was not ready to give up yet. But at the moment, he had to concentrate on his job.
He greeted his partner and their new prospective client, discussing the pros and cons of going on board with them. Fortunately, it did not last long. The client excused himself and left but promised to do business with them.
“What is driving you insane this time?” David asked once they were alone. “Don’t deny it. You were barely here.”
His friend was right. He had been in and out of the conversation, unable to focus. His mind kept reminding him of Amelia and his actions.
Last night was everything he ever wanted. He could not say it was the best sex he had ever had. Not yet. But it was different, not because he was her first, it was just a bonus, but because she was an extraordinary woman.
However, knowing that she had abstained from any sexual act all this time put tremendous pressure on him, thinking she had saved herself for marriage.
Was she expecting him to marry her after their one night together? Honestly, it was too much to absorb when he hardly knew how he should deal with commitment yet.