Chapter 85 Airsick
Nathaniel sat back in his chair, staring at the stacks of paperwork on his desk, but his mind wasn’t on business. It was on Christina. On her eyes, her soft laughter, the way she seemed to get under his skin in ways no one else ever had. He could push away the distractions, keep everything under control—but Christina? She had the ability to unravel him with just a look.
He couldn’t understand why it bothered him so much. She wasn’t like the women he usually entertained, who came and went with no real impact. But with her… it felt different. She wasn’t playing his game, and for some reason, that only drew him in more. He wanted her attention, but not in the way he was used to. It was deeper, more consuming.
His phone buzzed on the desk, interrupting his thoughts. He glanced at the screen and saw a message from Bailey, one of his trusted employees.
Mr. Hadley, there’s an issue with the shipment scheduled for tomorrow. I suggest you review the details.
Nathaniel groaned inwardly. His focus was already scattered, and now he had another problem to handle. But there was no escaping it. Duty called. He pushed the thoughts of Christina to the back of his mind, though he knew they wouldn’t stay there long. They never did.
Meanwhile, Christina was back at her desk, her fingers hovering over the keyboard as she thought about the designs she needed to rework. Julia’s words echoed in her head. “If your designs fail to satisfy me, we won’t be collaborating anymore.”
The pressure was mounting, but she wasn’t about to back down. She would prove herself, even if it meant pushing through exhaustion. She had always been good at handling pressure, but this time, the stakes were higher than ever. It wasn’t just about the designs—it was about her future.
She looked down at her phone, distracted for a moment by a new message notification. It was from Nathaniel.
Are you okay?
Christina felt her heart skip a beat. The message was simple, but it carried weight. She hadn’t spoken to him much since the flight, and the distance between them felt heavier now that she was back in her own space, alone with her thoughts.
I’m fine. Just a bit of work to catch up on.
She paused, staring at the screen before typing again.
Thank you for earlier. It helped, more than you know.
She hit send before she could overthink it. It was strange, this bond they had. It wasn’t defined, not in any traditional sense, but there was something undeniable between them. Nathaniel’s presence in her life was complex, but it wasn’t unwelcome.
The message from him was quick.
I’m always here if you need anything.
A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. There was something comforting about his words, something that made the weight on her shoulders feel a little lighter.
Back in Nathaniel’s study, he stared at his phone after sending his message to Christina. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to check in on her, but the thought of her struggling with the designs and the pressure from Julia bothered him more than he expected.
He glanced at the time. It was getting late, and his work still wasn’t done. But a part of him was distracted, wondering how Christina was doing, if she was truly okay. He had told himself to focus on his own problems, but his thoughts kept drifting back to her.
Nathaniel sighed, standing up and moving toward the window, gazing out at the night sky. There was a lot he needed to figure out, and a lot of things that remained unsaid between him and Christina. The question was whether they would ever confront them—or if they would simply remain lingering in the background, adding more complexity to an already tangled situation.
The pull between them was undeniable, but the consequences of acting on it… well, that was a different story entirely.