Six years ago....
One beautiful summer day, a twenty two year old Xavier, a newly appointed C.E.O of Frost Corporation had a meeting with a client in one high end restaurant. At that time, Zach had taken a temporary leave of absence from his position as Chairman because of his enrollment in the FBI.
Should he succeed in becoming team captain, he would completely step down from his position and focus on the new job. Zach knew Xavier would handle the company matters alright, and used this time period to groom him and have him get used to such a weighty responsibility. Of course, Xavier didn't mind. He liked that his brother had his own thing going on.
So on that day, as he walked into a restaurant, his encounter with Irene felt like something picked out straight from a movie. She was a waitress and was not watching where she was going with a tray of drinks when she bumped into none other than Xavier, spilling the drinks on his expensive suit.
"I'm-I'm so sorry, sir", she said with a hint of panic as she took napkins to wipe the juice stains off him.
Xavier was mad for a second until he took in her features. Raven black hair, chocolate brown eyes, perk nose and thin pink lips. Beautiful, was all he could think in that moment. Then he saw the way her hands shook as she dabbed napkins on him.
"It's okay", he said.
"No. No. I'm really sorry. I don't have money to compensate you but if you take your clothes, I'll handwash this for you and return it to you", she promised.
The panic was still there in her eyes. So Xavier stepped forward and leaned in closer to her ear to whisper. "We just met and you're asking me to strip for you, quite bold of you Irene."
She gasped softly and shuddered from his effect. Xavier smirked when he saw her ears color red. He learned her name from her name tag. Hurried footsteps could be heard approaching.
"Irene!"
Some lady came shouting from the kitchen making the girl to timidly step back from Xavier. She was the restaurant manager and saw the spilled drinks on the floor and Xavier and Irene together. Putting two and two together, she grew extremely angry.
"You must be the manager", Xavier said with a laid back attitude.
"Yes. I am so sorry for this. I'll have her-"
"I should be the one to apologise", Xavier cut in, earning a surprised look from the manager.
"Excuse me?"
"I wasn't watching where I was going and bumped into her. I'm sorry, Irene", he said with a grip on her arm before letting it go.
She was shocked from how he turned things around but also taken by how her name rolled off his tongue and the way he held her gaze when he spoke to her. It awoke the sleeping butterflies in her stomach.
"I'll compensate you for the drinks once I'm done with my business, for now, excuse me", he told the manager before giving Irene one last look then walked away.
Although Xavier attended that meeting, his eyes never left the beautiful woman. She was so innocent and so.... She just excited him. Thus, from that day, he became a regular at the restaurant and pestered her into becoming friends with him though her timid self had turned him down a few times because she was intimidated by his status.
Xavier assured her it was fine a couple of times until she agreed. But friends they became. Friends who would get lost in each other's eyes dreaming about ripping each other's clothes off just with one glance exchanged. The sexual attraction was there but they remained 'friends'.
Of course, the friendship didn't last until Xavier actually ripped her clothes off in the back of his car one time and both finally fulfilled their fantasies.
"Where were you?" The manager scowled when she saw Irene come into the restaurant a little disheveled.
"I had to make a delivery", she lied with her head down, and caught Xavier's car leaving the restaurant premises from the corner of her eye.
The manager looked her up and down before walking away. Irene smiled to herself, thinking back to her little tryst, she could not help but blush. And that was the beginning for the many more that came. He would come to steal her away from work and spend time with her. It wasn't just sex, they actually got to know each other.
"Are you sure you're okay with that?" She asked, while eyeing him carefully.
"Five years difference, not a big deal to me. I like being with you, Irene. Age doesn't matter", he said. "So, once you're done with school, what's the next step?"
"Getting a real job?" She said with a chuckle. "Waiting on tables won't get me anywhere. I feel like.... I feel like I'm stuck whilst everyone else is on the move. I also want to get a good job, buy an apartment, a car.... Just a comfortable life, you know?"
Xavier fell in thought. He could not help but feel his life had been too easy. He was already a C.E.O at twenty and here is someone working hard just to get a regular job. This is why he valued his work, he had learned to appreciate what he had. With this in mind, he helped her out with some things like getting her the apartment she wanted and a car. She jumped into his arms all excited when she saw this and repaid him the best way she knew he liked: with her body.
"Thank you", she said, staring at him with a complex gaze as they lay in bed naked.
"You're welcome", he kissed the top of her head and relaxed, basking in the aftermath of their lovemaking.
Their relationship grew stronger, he frequented his visits at her place, sometimes slept over and just enjoyed her company. But as the days went by, something happened.
She disappeared for more than a week without a word to him. There was nowhere else he could look except for her apartment and the restaurant. It threw him into a mess not knowing where had gone. That was the first time he had been apart from her for that long and without knowing why.
One day, he received her call whilst he was at work telling him she was back home and he quickly rushed over.
"Irene!" He rushed to bring her into his arms. He took a good look at her and she looked like she had lost a ton of weight overnight. "What happened to you?"
She let out a nervous chuckle and held his hands that had cupped her cheeks. "I scared you, didn't I?"
"What do you think? What happened to you?" He asked, getting a little agitated.
"I had to run an errand."
"An errand? For a whole week? Your phone wasn't working and I couldn't find you anywhere. What kind of an errand were you running?" He was highly suspicious of this.
She closed her eyes and sighed. He thought she was fighting back tears but it was anger she was suppressing. She opened her eyes and they had cleared while his silently demanded for answers.
"Fuck me, Xavier. I want you to fuck me", she whispered, expressing her need and want.
He was a little thrown off by the change of subject but she didn't give him time to think as she kissed him and helped him strip out of his clothes. He melted under her touch and succumbed to his desires. Two hours of fucking later, they lay in her bed silently. There were so many questions he wanted answers to but he wouldn't push her. But there was something else he noticed.
"Did something happen to your car? I didn't see it on my way in", he started quietly. She fell silent. "Irene?"
"I..... I-I sold it", she said quietly.
Xavier fell quiet, not sure how to process the news. "What? Why?"
"I-I needed the money... for school."
"Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you", he frowned at this.
"I'm sorry."
"Next time you need help, don't hesitate to ask me. That's what I'm here for." He felt her nod against his chest. "And promise me something."
"What?" She looked up at him.
"That you won't disappear again. I don't think I can live without you", he confessed.
She kissed him in response, completely unaware of the weight of his words or how deeply he had fallen for her. Because seven months from that day, Zach and Henry just happened to walk in on Xavier who was collapsed in a pool of a blood and a gun in his hand. His life was slipping away....
"Xavier!"
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