Pulse 3 (Pulse Series) (16 page)

Rafael was everything I imagined he was. Over the past few weeks, more than anything, the hard-working aspect of his persona was a greater part of him than I realized.

Our night of celebration ended just as quickly as it began. I suddenly found myself back in the office and at my desk. It was early in the morning and I was still trying to gain my bearings. I sipped on a cup of coffee and looked across from me. The couch on the other side of the office was a glaring addition.

“
What’s that?” I asked Rafael.

“
What’s what?” he said as he shuffled through some papers on his desk.

“
That couch. You had someone bring a couch in?”

“
Oh, that,” he said as he looked up at it. “That’s right. I figured that with the amount of time we spend in here, it would be nice to have something a little more comfortable than the same chair you spend all day in.”

“
I suppose a bed would have been a little too obvious.”

He smirked at me before returning to his work. I stared at the couch
and I imagined all of the things we would eventually do on it.

“
Just when I thought this office couldn’t get any kinkier…”

I finished my cup of coffee then started with the day
’s proceedings. Even though I enjoyed working side-by-side with my boyfriend, it wasn’t enough to hide the fact that I was still sitting at my desk, in front of my computer and looking at nothing but numbers and information.

Despite Rafael
’s blockbuster deal, he was back at work like there was still something to be done. You would hardly be able to tell that he was celebrating the night before. I knew that there was nothing I could do to slow him down. Instead, I embraced his enthusiasm for his work and did my best to focus on the task at hand.

It was still early in the morning when my
phone vibrated in my purse. I thought it was strange because nobody ever contacted me in the office. The message was from my brother Brian. He told me that he was stopping by with my parents for a visit. It was the end of the week but it was still unexpected. My family always knew how to surprise me.

I put my phone down and sighed then looked over at Rafael. I thought about it for a few moments before finally making my way over to him. I stood next to his desk, my hands resting behind my back.

“Rafael?”

“
Yes?”

“
Can I talk to you for a second?”

“
Of course. What is it? Do you have that report you were working on?”

“
No, that’s not it. I wanted to ask you about something else. Something not business-related.”

“
Oh?”

“
Yeah… My family is going to be in town this weekend and… I was wondering if… you might want to meet them.”

Rafael looked up from his desk and raised an eyebrow.

“You want me to meet your family?”

“
Well, yeah… I mean, you don’t have to. I was just thinking that maybe it’s time…”

I couldn
’t say it exactly. The thought of Rafael and I actually taking another step forward in our relationship gave me a nervousness that made me feel giddy at the same time.

“
You want me to meet your family?” he repeated the question.

“
If it’s too much trouble—”

“
No, it isn’t too much trouble. It’s just unexpected.”

“
I know. My brother just sent me a message and told me they were coming into town. I figured now would be as good a time as any. I know it’s not much but—”

“
Alice.”

Rafael stood up and took my hands in
his. I didn’t realize that I was actually shaking until I looked down and saw my hands shifting.

“
Relax,” he said to me. “This isn’t a big deal. You’re not ashamed of me, are you?”

“
No, of course not. It’s not you. It’s them.”

“
So, you’re afraid your parents are going to embarrass you?”

“
I know they will.”

“
Alice, do you really think they’re going to do something that would make me think any less of you?”

“
You haven’t met them yet.”

Rafael snickered at me but the anxiety I was feeling didn
’t go away.

“
So, you don’t want me to meet them then?”

“
I do…”

“
Then it’s settled. When will I get to see them?”

“
Tonight. Maybe we can go out for dinner.”

“
I’ll make some reservations.”

He kissed me softly on the lips and squeezed my hands before quickly returning to
his work. I slowly made my way back to my desk, excited about the thought of him finally meeting my family. This was what I wanted. I was sure my parents would feel the same way about him as I did.

* * *

I put on a nice dress for tonight. Something I didn’t usually wear when I spent time with my family. I didn’t look completely out of place in the restaurant, since I’d been there many times before with Rafael. But my family wasn’t ready for the type of experience I had for them.

“
Why are we here exactly?” my father asked me.

“
It’s a special occasion,” I told him.

“
Special? Usually you can’t wait for us to get out of here when we stop by.”

“
Dad—”

“
Oh, come on, Alice. You don’t have to hide it from us. We know you’ve got your life out here and built yourself something special. But that doesn’t mean you’re not part of our family.”

“
I know, dad. But you don’t usually stop by this often. I figure since you’re here we might as well have a little fun.”

“
Is this your idea of fun?” my mother asked me. “Are you sure you can afford a place like this? How much money are you making?”

“
Mom, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. It’s being taken care of.”

“
I already assumed that. Please don’t tell me that you actually spent some of your paycheck on that thing.”

My mother pointe
d at my wrist. The diamond bracelet I wore was more excessive than anything she ever owned in her life.

“
I thought you were still dealing with your student loans,” she said to me. “How can you afford something like that?”

“
Mom,” I said, beginning to laugh. “Let me explain, okay. I’m glad that you’re here. I wasn’t expecting it. But tonight, I… I want you to meet someone. Someone special in my life.”

My parents stared at me skeptically. My brother seemed as disinterested as he usually was but he was still pa
ying attention to every word I was saying.

“
So, you have a boyfriend now?” my mother asked me.

“
Yes, that’s right. He’s great. And now that you’re here, I think it’s time you met him. You’ll love him. I promise you.”

“
Well, where is he?” my dad asked. “How can you invite someone out to dinner and not be here.”

“
He’s busy. With work. Don’t worry. He’ll be here. Besides, it’ll give you a moment to enjoy yourself. Relax. You didn’t come out here just to give me a hard time again, did you?”

“
If someone else is paying for this, I say we enjoy it,” my brother suddenly chimed in.

We all turned and looked at him. My brother shrugged his shoulders and motioned for one of the waiters to come to our table. He acted like he
’d been here before. As the waiter took his order, I put my hand to my forehead and shook my head. I chuckled to myself, the sight of at least one of my family members enjoying Rafael’s wealth made me smile.

The waiter happily took Brian
’s order and eventually, my parents joined in. Seeing them relaxed in the atmosphere of a fancy restaurant made me feel a bit easier but the anxiety wasn’t gone completely. I was still waiting for the moment when Rafael would finally walk into the restaurant and I would meet them.

An hour passed. My parents asked where t
he man I gushed over was. I told them that he was working late. He always worked late. I didn’t bother sending a message to him to ask him where he was because I knew that he would finish whatever it was he was doing.

Another hour passed. The waiter served
us our dinner and there was no point in waiting any longer. I enjoyed the meal as much as I could. But it wasn’t enough to stop me from anxiously tapping my heel against the floor. I reached into my pocket and sent Rafael a message. I knew that his assistant wasn’t in the building and this was the only way to get in touch with him. At the same time, he was probably too busy to respond.

He
’s busy. Something important came up. He didn’t forget.

I convinced myself that Rafael was on the verge of something big
. He was the CEO of the company. These types of things happened. And he couldn’t afford to take a day off.

My family was completely stuffed. While the waiter took away their empty dessert plates, I looked around the restaurant for any sign of Rafael. Sudde
nly, I felt my mother’s hand fall upon mine. I turned and looked at her and saw the concern on her face.

“
What’s the matter, dear?”

“
Nothing,” I said. “Nothing. I was just checking to see if he was here.”

“
A man doesn’t have the decency to get out here and meet his girlfriend’s parents,” my father said. “We’re sitting in this restaurant for hours and—”

“
What does it matter?” I interrupted him. “You enjoyed the meal, didn’t you? He was just stuck at work, that’s all. I…”

I sighed with disappointment.

“I just wanted to show you a good time,” I said. “And I think it would have been special if you got the chance to meet him.”

“
We’ll meet him some other time,” my mother said. “You don’t have to take us out to a restaurant like this. We really just came out here to stop by and say hello.”

“
I know… I just…”

I didn
’t know what to say. My mother squeezed my hand to try and comfort me. I looked around the restaurant one last time but Rafael was nowhere to be found.

“
Thanks for coming,” I said to them. “I’m glad you guys decided to visit.”

“
Next time we’ll let you know ahead of time,” my mother said to me. “I’m sure we’ll get a chance to meet him then.”

“
Yeah… Maybe…”

Chapter 18

My parents left the next day after I treated them to more of the luxuriousness that Rafael’s wealth had to offer. I enjoyed my time with them more than I expected to under the circumstances. I knew that I had sprung the idea on Rafael so suddenly. But his missing out on this opportunity meant that there was something more important he had to deal with.

After my parents left, I had the rest of the weekend to myself. And that
’s exactly how I spent it. I stopped by Rafael’s suite to see if he was there but eventually fell asleep before he would get home. When I woke up in the morning, he was undoubtedly back in the office. I searched his suite in the hopes that he was lingering but his work inevitably came calling back to him.

Sunday night approached. The end of the weekend was here and another workweek in
Rafael’s office was just ahead for me. Knowing that Rafael was in his office, I took the initiative and decided to stop by and see him. I picked up something for him to eat and I was back to work before my next scheduled shift.

The building was empty excep
t for a few security guards who were roaming the halls. I took the elevator up to Rafael’s office and when I stepped inside, he was sitting at his desk. He didn’t look as worn-out as one might expect. His breaks were just long enough for him to sleep long enough to re-energize himself.

I walked over to my desk and placed his late dinner upon it. Then I made my way over to him, his attention still focused on his work. I took a moment to enjoy the view.

“The view is different on weekends,” I said. “The sky is still black. The moon is out. The lights from the buildings are shining. But you can still tell it’s a weekend. It just… feels different. Do you know what I mean?”

“
Not exactly.”

“
Maybe you should look to see what I’m talking about.”

Rafael slowly raised
his head up from his desk and looked up at me. I gave him a half-hearted smile and he did the same. He sighed as he pushed himself up out of his chair.

“
When is the last time you took a break?” I asked him.