Sleeping With The CEO
Chapter 176: We Need A Plan

Chapter 176: We Need A Plan

If Emily were to be asked if Mondays at work had a taste, not that anyone in their right mind would ever ask that. But on the off chance that somebody did, Emily would answer them honestly.

And her response would be this. Mondays tasted overly buttery. With a hint of sourness added to them. That was the best way that she could think to describe Mondays. There was really no getting around the depression of the day.

The only people who ever seemed to dodge it, were the eternal optimists or those who after being unemployed for a long time had finally managed to get a job. Emily, unfortunately, was not one of those people. She was more pragmatic than optimistic. And even though she was new in a sense, to the job, it was still her old job. So nothing about it was shiny, and unfamiliar to her.

It was all just things she knew. And to make it worse, the Thursday and Friday that she had spent being able to sleep back to back had spoiled her.

Now that she knew that there was better out there, that there was a way for her to close her eyes and go to sleep, stay asleep and then wake up refreshed. Emily wanted that and she wanted it on the regular.

The only thing that was keeping her upright at her desk was sheer force of will. And when her mind began to wander as she tried to go through her tasks. The only way she was able to keep on track was by looking over at the door to Derek’s office from time to time. Reminding herself that her solution was close by.

It was not a good thing to console herself using him. But it was working, because as bad as Emily felt. Derek looked like he was having a whole lot of difficulty. Even more than she was, with the lack of sleep thing. Which Emily supposed made sense. After all, she could close her eyes most nights and get a little bit of sleep before a nightmare woke her. But for Derek, he got nothing at all most of the time. So that had to affect the body a whole lot more. It did not in any way take away from Emily’s own struggles.

At the end of the day both of them were still suffering. She was just suffering a little bit less. It was like the two of them were those students at the bottom of the class. The one who got ten percent in a test feeling better because they did better than the one who got her five percent.

Both of them were still in hot soup, but ten felt a bit better than five. That was how Emily saw it. And to look at Derek, it was very clear that he was the five in their situation.

His beard seemed to be trying to eat his face. And every once in a while when Emily went into his office, it was to find him squinting at anything and everything. Clearly his eyes hurt. And whenever he had to do something that required him to stand. He did so with a deliberate slowness that spoke of aching joints and muscles. Anybody who did not know the truth would think that Derek had had a wild weekend. But now that Emily knew of his problems.

She knew that it was not because he had been out somewhere having fun. The man was struggling and even through her own pain, Emily could not help but feel bad for him. It was not right seeing him hurt like that. Seeing him suffer in that way. And the fact that he was trying to keep it all quiet.

The way that he only showed discomfort when he thought that Emily was not looking. It hurt. Derek was in pain. He should have at least allowed himself to express it, to make it known, especially in her presence. But even then, he was still trying to protect her. It made Emily sad, but it also made her angry at the same time.

They were supposed to be partners in this. He had no reason to lie anymore. With her, he could at least be honest about the whole thing. But a man had his pride. Emily understood that, and so she did not bring it up during the day. She simply let him go on thinking that she was fooled by his false displays of being alright. But despite pretending not to notice his pain. Emily was already coming up with a plan.

By the time lunch rolled around, she had managed to wrangle things to the point that the two of them were booked in at one of the expensive restaurants nearby. And when it came time to go and eat, she had to forcibly drag him out of his office. Promising him that it was something work-related. Since the restaurant was close by, the two of them opted to walk, and it was only once they were outside the building, that the error of that occurred to both of them.

While Emily might have been doing marginally better than Derek. The lack of sleep was still affecting her as well, and just being around so many people, all of them moving about during their lunch hour...it was a lot. The two of them, after sharing an understanding look, just gritted their teeth and bore it. They made their way to the restaurant in silence. Once they got there, they did not even have to wait for a table. The staff were literally falling over themselves in an effort to appease Derek. And in the process, Emily was pushed over to the side, completely forgotten.

As the staff did everything in their power to try and get Derek to notice them. Emily would have been alright just standing back there. But then, as the manager tried to gently steer Derek towards the private booth that Emily had booked earlier on, the man spoke up.

"Apologies, but this is not a social call. I am here with my PA to discuss business during our lunch hour," He said.

It was not a command, but the way that he said it, let it be known that it was also something that could not be ignored. And the manager instantly put his hands up, letting Derek go. The staff had the decency to back off after that, seeming to only remember Emily’s presence then.

The manager gave her a light bow as they made way for her and Derek. Personally getting their orders after they sat down.

Then the two of them were left alone as the staff closed the doors and made their way out. Seeing no need to beat about the bush. Emily just said what she had come to say. "For this sleep thing to work Derek, we are going to need a schedule. And not only are we going to need a sleeping schedule. We also have to come up with something that will be a plausible excuse that we can give to our loved ones," She told him, fully expecting some sort of disagreement from him. But instead, all that Derek did was nod, a smile stretching his face.

"It is as though you can read my mind," He said, smiling softly. For some reason, instead of relaxing, Emily felt on edge, things were going too smoothly.