Joan turned off the car engine as soon as she parked in the garage of she and Santiago’s new home.
She sat there in the car, thinking back to the conversation she had with her dad concerning selling the company. He was being sincere with her, but she can’t bring herself to forget what he tried to do.
…
'What if the company was actually acquired by a rival? How do we go about it?’ She asked him.
Gary had no answer to his daughter’s question; he just sat there on the sofa, his head bowing, feeling ashamed for what he made his family go through.
‘Dad’, Joan stood up from where she sat and came closer to him, kneeling on the floor and holding his hand. ‘I am mad that you wanted to take this big decision without asking me if I was okay with it. I am a shareholder in the company and would like to be involved in the decision-making process too.'
‘I’m sorry, dear, when the other stakeholders threatened to sell to a rival company, I was left with no choice.’
Joan smiled a little. ‘I’m your daughter; I will never leave you.’
She saw her dad relax, and it soothed her insides.
‘What’s the next line of action?’ he asked.
‘Buy the company back’
…
Joan let out a sigh and opened the car door, her purse in her hand and a document in the other. She closed the door and walked to the front door.
A thought occurred to her, and she nearly smacked her forehead.
“Damn it,” she hissed, then put the key in the hole to unlock the door. She opened the door to a slightly dark living room. She closed the door behind her and locked it.
Her palm went to the wall, searching for the light switch.
“Where’s that damn thing?” she muttered under her breath.
The light came up, and she blinked severally to adjust her sight to the now-lit room. Her eyes met with Santiago, who was standing beside a small bar a few feet from her, two glasses of wine in his hands and a bright smile on his lips.
"Hi,” he greets her, then puts the glasses on the bar counter and walks to her to help her with her purse and document. “How are you?”
Joan wondered what he’s up; a small frown rests on her brows.
“What’s going on?” She asked when he put her purse and document on the sofa and walked her closer to the bar.
He gave her one of the glasses and took the other.
“I wanted to apologize for what I and my dad did to you and your family,” he said, looking into her eyes. He touched her cheeks and let his fingers draw a line down to her chin, rubbing it lightly. “I never meant to hurt you,” he whispered.
“Really?” she asked, still staring into his eyes.
It captivated her like never before; his gaze on her brought some kind of warmth only he could provide for her.
She felt drawn to him; she wanted to close the distance and see where it would take them.
Santiago wanted so badly to bring her closer till there’s no space keeping their bodies against each other.
He wanted to trail his kiss from her lips down to her neck and back to her lips.
He wanted this burning passion between them to engulf them throughout the night.
He just wanted her in his arm and hers around his neck.
First, he had to make things right with her, and she has to be comfortable for them to be intimate.
“Yes, really,” he replied.
“You swear you never had an ulterior motive towards purchasing our company?”
“I swear,” he crossed his heart.
Joan sighed. “You would be willing to sell me back the company?”
Santiago broke eye contact for a second; he let out a sigh and looked back into her eyes.
“If you’re willing to buy it back, I’ll be happy to sell it to you.”
Her eyes lit up full of excitement. “Thank you”
He clicked his glass against hers, and they both took sips from it.
“You forgive me?” he asked after putting down the glass on the counter.
Joan smiled and nodded in response. “Yes, I guess.” She breathes out her response. She drank the rest of her wine and put the glass on the counter.
Santiago stepped back by a foot, then held his hand out to her. “Can I have this dance with you?”
She giggled. “There’s no music.”
“Oops!” He held a finger up to give him a minute to fetch his phone and play something from Ed Sheeran.
He connected his phone to the speaker, and ‘Photograph’ started playing through the speakers.
“Hmm, not so bad,” she said when he held his hand out to her again. She took his hand, and he pulled her closer to himself.
One of his hands held her waist, and the other entwined with hers.
Joan held his neck with her free hand and stared into his beautiful brown eyes.
They let the lyrics soothe their ears, the beat from the song dancing around them as they sway to its rhythm.
“You have beautiful eyes,” he said to her. Joan’s cheeks flushed.
“Thank you,” her response was light as a feather.
Santiago kissed her knuckles, and they continued swaying even when the song had stopped. The air was already tensed, and the air conditioning couldn’t cut through the warmth surrounding them.
“I…”
“I just want you to hold me tonight,” she whispered.
They stopped moving. Santiago nods, then moves a step away from her. He looked into her eyes for approval, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
He bent slightly, hooked his arms under her knee, his other hands holding her back, and he carried her bridal style.
Santiago walked upstairs to their room; he closed the door behind him and walked her to the bed.
Gently, he placed her on the bed; he went on his knees and removed her shoes from her legs.
“I forgot to have them taken off when you came in,” he wriggled her heels, then put them beside the bed.
“It’s fine; thank you for today. I am sorry I didn’t come to pick you up from the hospital. I had something I needed to talk to my dad about.”
He smiled. “I am happy we are cool now.”
“Me too”
Santiago went into their closet and fetched her his shirt, a short for her and his regular pajamas.
He waited for her to finish dressing in the bathroom before going in to dress up too. He was glad they had filled the hole in their relationship.
He just has to take things easy with her and wait for when she’s ready.
Santiago walked out of the bathroom and walked to the bed where Joan was lying with her back against him. He smiled and sat on the bed.
He switched off the lamp on the bedside table then got under the covers. He moved closer to Joan and whispered in her ear.
“Can I hold you?”
"Hmm,” she nods, and his hands slip under hers, pulling her closer to himself.
He kissed her hair, then closed his eyes. “I’ll never hurt you, Joan,” he whispered after a moment.
A smile made its way on Joan’s lips, and she sighed in satisfaction, “Goodnight, Santiago.”