Slipperless Series (Book #2)(16)

“Grandmother,” I began, as I reached down and stroked her hair. “Are you okay?”

With her eyes closed, she remained silent for a few moments. Her breath rose and fell in a painful rhythm, if the constant wince on her face was any indication. My vision went hazy, glassy, as I looked down at her. It was then I felt warm streaks slide down my cheeks. With my free hand, I smeared them away, as I tried to keep my focus on her.

“Grandmother,” I whispered.

“It’s nothing, dear. I’m… I’m fine.”

“N-No you are not!” I snapped, as I tried to stem a full onslaught of emotion.

She just lay there. Expressionless. Exhausted. Where not seconds before, we’d been in an animated discussion about something as trivial as my fear of public speaking, the harsh reality of our limited time with one another came back in a flash. All of a sudden she wasn’t my grandmother but a living ghost, her soul still held captive in its fleshy prison. I couldn’t tell what I was fighting for any longer. Was it for me, or for her?

All I did know was I felt powerless. Helpless. I sensed my fingers curl, threatening to form fists.

“You are making me so angry!” I exclaimed at last. “Why won’t you go back for treatment?”

My grandmother rolled her head towards me and exhaled. “Because I want to die in peace, Fiona.”



GABE

I arrived at my office a little after nine a couple of days after making my demands clear to Fiona. As I exited the elevator and made my way across the foyer, Holly appeared from inside my office.

“Good morning, Gabe.”

I continued to walk towards her, never breaking stride or slowing my pace. “Morning, Holly.”

“You…” she began, as I passed by her. “… have an appointment this morning.”

I stopped and frowned at the update. “I do? I wasn’t aware of any.”

“Mmm, hmm,” she said with a nod. “Fiona Matthews. She’ll be here in about thirty minutes or so.”

I felt my brow hold its furrow. “Since when? And what’s the reason for the meeting?”

Holly shrugged. “I’m sorry, Gabe. She mentioned you’d know what it was about. I didn’t ask her for any more details. Should I call down to the lab and cancel it?”

I had to admit, I wasn’t exactly thrilled with Fiona feeling so comfortable as to schedule a meeting with me as she saw fit. On the other hand, it was out of character for her to be so assertive. I had demanded more of her in that regard. Who knew? Maybe this was her way of showing me she was making an effort.

“Gabe?” Holly said, as I ruminated. “Should I cancel?”

I looked at her, catching her gaze with silence for a moment. “Hmm, no. It’s fine, Holly. Send Fiona in when she arrives.”

It wasn’t long afterward when the time came for our impromptu meeting to begin. After Holly showed Fiona into my office, I reclined in my chair and slid my hands behind my head, interlocking my fingers together as I did. For her part, Fiona sat across from me in a posture I wasn’t accustomed to seeing from her. Legs crossed, lower back arched, tits pressed in my direction. Not only that, but she wore a blue-gray dress that hugged her curves in all the right spots. Whatever the hell she had in mind, the stir in my lower extremities indicated at least a part of me agreed with it already.

Gathering my wits, I cleared my throat and nodded in her direction. “Well?”

She hesitated for a moment and smoothed her hands across her lap. “Well what?”

I chuckled. “Let’s just get right to it, Fiona. I don’t have time for a social call.”

“Who said anything about socializing? I’m here for a work reason and only that.”

I nodded with a deliberate motion. While that was good to hear, I naturally assumed it was news of the worst kind. As CEO, ninety-five percent of all updates I receive on a daily basis are of the bad variety, so I had no reason to suspect this would be any different. I bit the inside of my lip as I readied myself for some disastrous revelation from the lab.

“Very well,” I began. “Tell me what’s happened. We can’t afford any delays right now, so whatever the problem is, let’s just get it handled as soon as possible.”

Confusion spread across Fiona’s face as she looked at me. “Problems? What are you talking about, Gabe? There’s nothing wrong.”

I countered her bewildered expression with one of my own.

“Well, if there aren’t any problems, why are you here?”

Just as I finished speaking, Fiona’s face brightened. Her beautiful lips spread wide as she smiled a mouthful of white at me.