Page 36 of Falling for the Bosshole

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A month after his surgery,Lash was back on his feet like nothing had ever happened. A small scar near the top of his head was the only sign of those dark hours Ana endured before he came out of his coma. He stayed at the hospital for nearly a week. Ana never left his side.

During his stay, the stream of visitors was endless. Jonathan Engels and the cast came. Friends and colleagues showed up. Everyone was concerned about him. Lash fell into the habit of teasing her by telling anyone who asked that she was to blame for the accident. It embarrassed her and elated her simultaneously that he had no qualms announcing to the world that he was in love with her.

Ana always longed for that time of day when visiting hours were over, and it was just the two of them inside the hospital room. Each night he would ask her to join him in the hospital bed. Ana would indulge him, knowing it would be a struggle to lie there locked in each other’s embrace. But she had to be firm for his sake, giggling at how Lash would sulk and throw a tantrum each time she rebuffed him.

No one was more elated than Lash himself when he was finally given the green light. A limousine came to fetch them outside the hospital lobby. Ana wondered why he rushed her into the penthouse elevator, down the hallway, and into his apartment. Once inside, he physically dragged her into the bedroom, where he undressed her.

“Lash, no.” Ana struggled, afraid that he hasn’t fully recovered yet.

“Ana, if you don’t let me fuck you, I swear to God, I’ll hop on another bike and crash myself into the nearest wall,” he threatened.

“A-alright,” Ana agreed hesitantly, “but you have to promise to take it slow.”

“I promise,” Lash answered readily.

It was a promise he had no intention of keeping. They spent the rest of the day and straight into the night in bed and were still wide-awake when dawn came.

As the days progressed,Ana insisted Lash should ease off of some of his responsibilities at the Foundation office and the dance studio.

“Jonathan and I will help you.”

She stopped upon seeing the look of exasperation on his face. “It will only be until you are caught up with your companies. You were away for quite some time. I’m sure your workload has doubled since you were gone,” Ana justified.

“Okay,” he agreed somewhat reluctantly.

Ana was elated that he agreed, but taking over his responsibilities at the studio was harder than she had expected. She was cooped up in a meeting with Jonathan and failed to notice his call. It was only hours afterward that she realized she had 12 missed calls … all coming from him.

On yet another occasion, she agreed to meet him for lunch. Ana was finalizing a deal with a European theater company, and she forgot to send him a message canceling the date. She returned to his apartment that evening, fully intending to apologize. His obvious annoyance made her wary, but she had great news and hoped it would compensate for missing lunch.

“Guess what,” she greeted him with delight.

“You missed lunch and didn’t even bother to send me a message,” he accused coldly.

Ana sighed heavily and replied, “I know, and I’m sorry, but wait till you hear what I have to say. I’m sure you’ll insist on taking me to an expensive dinner instead.”

Lash looked at her, saying nothing. Ana couldn’t read the expression on his face.

“That will change once he hears the good news,” she thought to herself.

She removed a Manila folder from her bag and brought it to him.

“What’s that,” Lash asked. The expression on his face hardly changed.

“Open it and read it,” Ana urged him.

Lash scanned through the document. Ana held her breath in excitement.

She couldn’t wait for him to finish and blurted out, “It’s an invitation from the England Center for Arts and Dance. They want to book us for a series of performances in London,” she shrieked excitedly.

Ana was surprised by his reaction. Lash tossed the invitation aside and headed for the bar. He poured himself a drink.

“Lash, what’s the matter. I thought you would be excited,” she exclaimed.

Lash turned and faced her. “Yes. Yes, of course, I am. You and Jonathan did a great job.”

Ana was certain something bothered him. She walked up to where he stood and placed her arms around his waist. She pulled him close and raised her face to him.