Chapter 35

Hailey was sprawled out on her bed, lost in the events of the evening. She reached for her phone and sent him a quick text.

Hailey

Did you get home safely?

Valerian

I did thank you.

Hailey

Night, sweet dreams Sir. Xxx

Valerian

Night, my angel.

With that, she drifted off into a restless sleep. When she woke up the next morning, she was drenched in sweat and her nose was stuffy. She felt completely worn out.

The room was flooded with sunlight. She made her way to the cabinet and grabbed some painkillers—her head was throbbing.

She managed to crawl back into bed and fell back asleep.

She was roused from her sleep by a knock at the door.

It was already dark outside. She wondered how long she had been asleep.

Hailey made her way to the door and swung it open.

It was Valerian. He walked in without hesitation. “You look like hell, Hailey.”

She sniffled in response. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to her room, laying her gently on the bed.

“I’ll be back.” He left the room and she drifted back to sleep.

She woke up to Valerian’s voice. “Come on, sit up. You need to eat.”

She sat up to see he had brought chicken soup. He spooned some up and held it to her lips. She took a few bites.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick? I would have come sooner.”

“I slept all day.” Her voice was raspy.

“I see.”

He handed her some medicine to take and then helped her lie back down. She was already starting to feel better.

“Where’s your laptop? I brought movies.”

“Under the bed.”

He reached under the bed and pulled it out. “Interesting place to keep a laptop.”

“I don’t want it stolen.”

He turned it on and inserted a disk. “Scoot over.”

She moved over to make room for him. He kicked off his shoes and loosened his tie before climbing into bed next to her. “Aren’t you worried about catching my cold?”

“Not really.”

He wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. The medicine was making her drowsy.

Hailey woke up to the sun shining in her face.

“You’re finally awake,” Valerian said.

“How long have you been up?”

“Couple of hours. I didn’t want to wake you, so I let you sleep.”

“Thank you.” She gave him a small smile.

“I should get going. I need to freshen up and change.”

“Okay.” She walked him to the door.

“You look much better. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.” She waved him off.

She was feeling much better and had enough energy to clean up the apartment.

She took a long, hot shower since she hadn’t been able to the day before.

Afterwards, she realized she was out of groceries. The doorbell rang and she opened the door to see Valerian. “You’re back.” She greeted him with a smile.

“Yeah, I’ve been gone for three hours.”

“I need to get groceries.”

“No problem. We can order them online.”

That was a good idea. Why hadn’t she thought of that? They ordered the groceries and put them away when they arrived. She made a mental note to pay him back.

She started to make dinner.

“Need any help?”

“No, but you can set the table and open the wine.”

Once dinner was ready, she served it and they sat down to eat.

“This isn’t bad for a second date.” He took a sip of his wine.

“No, it’s not.”

When it was time for bed, Hailey said, “You should go.”

“Why?”

“We have work tomorrow. And I’m not the boss, unlike some people.”

“I could give you the day off.”

“No, get out, sir!” She pointed to the door.

“Alright, alright.” And with that, he left.