The CEOs Possession

The first time Veil woke up, it was with a start. The bright light from the windows was blinding, but that wasn’t what made her jump up in a frenzy. It was the thought that she was late for work, and the fear of what Anders would do to her.

A ding on her phone caused her to search for it on the nightstand, and she let out a string of Spanish curses when she remembered that Anders had given her the day off. It was 10 am already but she still felt so sleepy so she went to bed a second time.

When she got up again, the sun was up, and the rays were shining in through her windows. She rolled to the other side of her bed, stretching her muscles until she decided it was time to get her ass up.

Since it had been a while she had the whole day to herself, her house was in a mess. She spent the first hour cleaning up and taking the trash out. Jane was returning to Mexico in a few days and it was imperative she met the house in a sane condition.

Exhaustion coursed through Veil’s bones as she threw herself on the couch. Her ankles felt better than they did last night, and she could dare to wear another pair soon enough. She toyed with the idea of returning to bed, but on second thought, she hopped into the shower.

The water hit her skin with a rush, and Veil gasped from the feeling. She couldn’t remember the last time she enjoyed a bath. She felt her muscles loosen from all the stress she had gone through these past weeks, and Veil wished she wouldn’t have to step out.

Once she was done bathing, she got dressed really quick, opting for a pair of blue jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and matching sneakers. Giving herself a quick look in the mirror, she put her hair up in a messy bun and bounded out of her house, hailing a taxi.

The hospital was quite a distance, and throughout the ride, she was scared of her reaction seeing her father laying there in pain. He had always been such a strong man that it was so hard for Veil to accept that he couldn’t even walk around on his own.

The name of the hospital came into view, and Veil got out of the taxi, took a deep breath then bounded through the waiting room and down the hallway. She met her mother in the ward, sitting beside the bed with a faraway look in her eyes.

Veil pushed the door slowly, and took in the whole scene, tears pooling in her eyes.

“Mom,” she breathed, stepping further into the room. “I’m here.”

“Veil!” Her mother got up and raced into her arms, staying there. Their whimpers got drowned by the beeping of the machines, but they connected where it hurt the most.

“I’m so scared,” her mother confided. “What if he doesn’t make it?”

“He will!” Veil said because she couldn’t imagine it going any other way. “He has to.”

Veil spent the rest of the day with her family, getting her mother up to speed with how work was going. Of course, she didn’t mention how her boss was hard to please or how he kept giving her different personalities on different days. She also saw the doctor, who assured her that her mother was fine now and just needed to be free from stress.

Before Veil left for the day, she gave her mother a sum of money for the continuous care of her father, pending the time she would get enough money to pay for the operation. Veil knew she would have to work an entire year, but she was hoping something would happen soon.

Rather than take a taxi all the way back to her house, Veil walked half the journey home, allowing the silence of the roads to soak through her. The lights twinkled all around her, giving her hope that everything was going to be fine, even though she didn’t know how that was going to pan out.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

When Veil reached her porch, she could see the silhouette of someone huddled in the dark. Her security instincts kicked in at once, and she slowed down her steps. The silhouette stretched out and seemed to have noticed her.

“Fuck!” Veil swore under her breath. “I didn’t imagine being robbed on my own porch tonight.”

“Veil?” The silhouette finally took full shape as he stepped away from the dark porch and approached Veil. “Hey! It’s Orleans. You remember me, don’t you?”

“Hey!” Veil breathed a sigh of relief. She was really scared she would have to part with the little money she had left. “How did you…what are you….”

“You promised me a dance,” Orleans said slowly. “Don’t you remember?”

Veil chuckled, and it felt so damn good to be able to do that after such a hard and gloomy day.

“I promised you a dance at a party last night. And I believe I gave it to you.”

“Er…I don’t think that counts. We were interrupted.”

“By my boss who needed me to help out with something.”

“Your boss doesn’t paint a very clear picture, does he?” Orleans said suddenly, causing Veil to narrow her eyes in confusion.

“A clear picture?”

“Never mind,” Orleans replied, waving his hand in the air as if dispensing his last statement.

Only if Veil could forget it that easily too.

“Aren’t you going to tell me to come in? I went through a really long ride to get here.”

“Of course!” Veil gushed, even though she still needed to know how he had found her house. The first time she met him, he had flagged his car down the road and not anywhere around here.

“Where are my manners?” She continued. “Come in!”

Unknown to them both, in a Ferrari parked in the dark on the opposite side of the road, was a furious Anders with fists clenching hard on the steering and a dark look on his face.