Sleeping With The CEO
Chapter 105: See You Again

Chapter 105: See You Again

When people described miracles they often spoke along regular lines, things like, it is a miracle that he made it through college, or it was a miracle, his cancer was cured overnight, or it is a miracle that they have a baby after trying for so long. That was what people thought of, when they thought of miracles. But for the longest time, Derek, had anyone asked him, he would have said that there were no such things as miracles. But now he knew better, afterall he had experienced a miracle himself.

His miracle was being able to sleep through the night, and he had experienced the miracle by sleeping next to Emily, but just a few short weeks after showing him that miracles did happen, she was gone, and he had no idea how to bring her back. He had given up on ever seeing her again, and then wonder of wonders, he had found her.

He had left the office late, late enough that every single employee had left except for the night staff, late enough that if anybody else were to see him, they would worry that he had no work life balance. But since he did not have one, Derek would not have been bothered by such an assumption. But leaving late ended up being the one thing that helped him even though he had not known that it would lead to him finding Emily.

He had taken his usual road intent on at least reaching the penthouse at a reasonable hour. His plan for the rest of the night being to just lay in bed and stare at the ceiling. Or maybe he would go up to the roof and swim a few laps on the pool there. But what had ended up happening was that he wound up being blocked by construction halfway there, so Derek had ended up having to look for an alternative route to take. He had done so, grumbling under his breath at having to change his routine, a journey that should have been over in under two minutes, now taking longer.

He had not driven for more than five minutes when he’d had to stop, the road before him blurring. Rather than risk an accident Derek had decided to do something that he mostly avoided because it never brought him anything good.

He had decided to go for a shot of caffeine. Seeing a diner, he had pulled over a block from it. The place had looked safe enough so he had not worried that is car would be stolen while he was away. He had walked the short distance to the diner, not really paying attention to much. He had almost been to the door when he had looked into the diner... and there she was.

He should have been unsure, should have doubted, afterall, the woman’s back was to him. But Derek had worked with Emily for years, he would know her anywhere. She had her hair in a loose ponytail, and was wearing an unflattering purple uniform. Her appearance was far from the professional Emily that he had come to know, but Derek had known that it was her.

Unable to stop himself, he had reached forward. Whether his intent had been to draw her attention, or reach through the glass, Derek’d had no idea, and at that time, it had not mattered, his mind had been stuck in a loop.

Emily, Emily, Emily, Emily... That had been all that he could think about.

He had wanted to walk in and touch her, to confirm that she was real. But he had also wanted to just punch through the glass, rush in, sweep her into his arms, and spirit her away.

But then as he had been watching, Derek had seen her body language change. She had gone from being relaxed to tensing all of a sudden, and then she had looked from side to side.

Oh... she can feel eyes on her, he had thought.

And right before she had turned around and seen him. Right before he would have had no choice but to go in an face her. Derek had done something that he had never done in his life. He had turned around and sprinted for the safety of his car.

Once he had arrived at the penthouse, Derek had not been able to fall asleep, which he had known would happen. But his plan to laying bed and stare at the ceiling had not happened either. Instead Derek had wound up in the rooftop pool, staring up at the pitch black sky. The light pollution robbing him of a view of the stars, but he had not cared. His mind fixated on Emily, he had thought of her until he had to get himself out of the pool and go get ready for work.

At work, everything passed in a blur, and the next thing Derek knew, he blinked and it was well into the night. When he left the office that night, he left with a purpose. He had used his usual road on his way to work that morning, he knew that the road was fixed. He could just take it and be at the penthouse soon. But even as he had the thought, Derek knew that he would not be making it a reality.

He had to see Emily again. Just to make sure that she was alright. She had gone from being his PA to working in a diner. And Derek knew exactly why that was. He had to go to her, apologize and fix things. Even if she did not want to go back to Haven group, which was understandable given how he had acted. He could at least make sure that she got a job at a better place where she could grow and thrive.

This time when he drove, he kept a careful eye out. Making sure that she was at least working in an area that was safe. Seeing the police department a short walk from the diner reassured him of her safety, and he found himself breathing easier.

This time when Derek left the safety of his car, he did so cautiously. Not because he was wary of criminals, but because he felt as though he was intruding. Like the area somehow belonged to Emily Molson because she had been there first.

But nevertheless, he carried on moving forward. He had an apology to give, afterall. His resolve lasted until he caught sight of her through the diner windows. Then Derek Haven, the man who loved to boast that he had never run away from anything, spun on his heel, and fled...again.

As he drove away he looked back only once. Emily was standing at the diner door, facing the direction of his car. Luckily it was dark enough that she would not be able to recognize his car. Even so, Derek still sped up. Putting distance between himself and Emily.

Too scared to just walk in and face her.