Done being friends, p.24
Done Being Friends, page 24
Then pulling her in for another quick kiss, he sat back and opened his door. “We should go.”
Taking Faith’s hand, they took walked up to Dylan’s door like they had a million times before, but everything was different, so much had changed among the three of them.
Zac gently squeezed her hand as they rang the doorbell and waited. “Don’t worry, he will be elated to see you here.”
“Hey!” Dylan exclaimed as opened the door. “Here to thank me properly?”
“Actually, she’s here to apologize. I don’t really see the need, you were after all, a complete ass,” Zac replied with a grin. “I am, however, here to thank you. So, thanks.”
Faith smiled. “I’m sorry Dylan. I shouldn’t have said the things I did.”
“There’s nothing to forgive, and I deserve every bit of it.”
“Shall we bring this conversation inside and order some takeout? I’m starving,” Zac stated.
They chatted while eating pizza and watching television, just like they had when they were in college. Dylan scanned through the channels and stopped at the news, broadcasting a press conference that Zac’s company held.
“Joshua Brown, head of PR,” Zac stated as they watched.
“Why didn’t you do the press conference yourself?” Faith asked.
The corner of his lips turned up. “I prefer to spend my time with you.”
Faith glared at him and both Dylan and Zac laughed. “I didn’t want to keep you waiting, and…There’s no need for me to personally make the threat of a lawsuit.”
“True. And it gives the sense that the worst is over when the big boss doesn’t bother to appear,” Dylan added.
Looking at the two guys, Faith was flooded with joy. She knew that Dylan was an important friend to Zac, and she was glad that they were able to mend the bridges and move on.
"With any luck, this thing will be over before the night is over." Zac draped his arm around Faith's shoulders. She smiled and leaned into his chest, glad that the whole nonsense would be over soon.
Dylan glanced over at the couple and returned his focus onto the television. It didn’t hurt as bad as he thought it would. Now that his bruised ego had finally healed, he knew one thing for sure - he was being a complete ass.
He was so focused on winning Faith that he had completely forgotten that the one person he was hurting the most was her. Plus, he never wanted to be subjected to her scorn ever again. “So, how was your afternoon of gossiping?”
Faith sniggered. "It's sharing of information."
They all chuckled. "Yes, yes. Sharing of information," Zac repeated as he ran his finger along her jaws.
Just slightly after dinner, Zac received a call from Mindy. She informed Zac that no official record had been found of the report and that Leonard and Hurst would launch an immediate investigation into the matter once they had cleared the situation with the authorities. They also promised that a press conference would be held the next morning to clear the air regarding the fabricated report.
The next morning, replays on the various comments made on the conference were made. Despite that, Zac had his own conference and informed the media that his team of people would still go ahead and conduct their checks and investigations.
Soon after, all the relevant authorities started coming up with statements on how everything was a mistake and that a separate investigation regarding the situation was underway.
The stock price that had taken a dive was soaring back up, and since there was no chance that shoddy materials were used, Zac considered the problem settled.
That afternoon, he took all the Preston ladies out for a nice lunch, thanking them for providing the vital information. No one harped on the subject. Instead, it was redirected to more wedding planning.
As the ladies chatted, Zac glanced around the table at his soon-to-be-official family. He smiled, feeling blessed to be seated at a table with people who cared, loved and trusted him. Catching Faith’s eye, he beamed the broadest smile at her, letting her know that she was his source for every ounce of happiness he felt.
“Where are we going?” Faith asked as she looked out the windows. She had always relied heavily on her GPS, but she was sure that the road Zac was driving wouldn’t lead to her office.
“My house. I’m doing an interview and I want you there with me.”
“Whatever for? I hate interviews,” Faith grumbled. “And I need to go back to the office, I have got a meeting.”
“I have already called and told Chelsea to clear your schedule.” Zac smiled when he saw the disgruntle expression on her face. “I’m going to announce the engagement. I want the whole world to know that I’m with you and you alone.”
Taking her hand, Zac kissed her fingers. “And, I want you there with me when I do that.”
Faith hated interviews, but she couldn’t say no to this one.
Stepping into the familiar living room, the reporter was already seated, with another man beside her. Both the reporter and the man stood up as they entered the living room. The young lady took a step closer and with a wide smile on her face, reached her hand out for a handshake.
“Hi, Mr. Hayden, Miss Preston. I’m Adeline, and this is Josh, the photographer.” Then turning to Zac, she continued. “We spoke on the phone.”
“Yes, we can start our interview. My fiancé will be joining us.”
Instantly, Adeline’s face glowed. They hadn’t yet announced their engagement officially. It had only been rumors and some photographs of Faith with her new ring. Adeline knew she would be the first person to have the news.
“That will be great,” Adeline announced as they all settled onto the couch. “Josh will be taking some photographs of the two of you while we have the interview. Is that all right?”
Zac nodded. Adeline then placed the recorder on the coffee table and proceeded with the interview.
She asked routine questions about how they got to know each other, how he proposed and so forth. Faith was slightly uncomfortable with having someone snap her photograph while having the interview. She looked toward Zac, not really expecting anything, but simply because she was uncomfortable and she always looked to Zac whenever she was feeling uncertain.
Zac saw her uneasiness in her glance, so he gave her hand a gentle squeeze and smiled at her. It was a small gesture, but the slight squeeze seemed to have infused her with comfort and she smiled back, leaning closer to him.
Throughout the interview, Faith smiled politely, letting Zac answer most of the questions. She mostly replied to Zac’s teasing, and they bantered lovingly like they always had since they were young.
Zac didn’t know when he had put his arm around Faith, and pulled her so close that her shoulder was overlapping his. His hand slide down to her waist so that she could lean on him comfortably. He couldn’t seem to get close enough to Faith, each time she was nearby, he would pull her in unknowingly.
While Faith was answering a question, Zac leaned down and planted a kiss on her hair. In response, Faith looked up and smiled at him. Zac leaned down slightly, wanting to kiss her, and then he heard a ‘click’.
Immediately, he straightened up. He had almost forgotten there were other people in the room with him. Thankfully, Adeline was much more professional than he was. She continued as though the moment didn’t happen, asking another string of questions.
Then after some soft laughter, Faith caught the slight hesitation in Adeline before she voiced her next question. Faith knew what the question would be before Adeline voiced it.
“I know this may be a little awkward, but I have to ask...not too long ago, there was a photograph with Mr. Hayden and a Miss Smith...”
“That was a case of a woman not knowing how to accept rejection. I had nothing to do with her. In fact, I was on my way to meet Faith when she pounced on me.”
Zac looked at Faith and smiled at her. Faith noticed that Adeline was looking at her too, expecting a reply from her regarding the statement that Zac had made.
“Yes, nothing happened. He met me right after that, and he was with me the rest of the night.”
“Oh...” Adeline smiled coyly and dropped that topic.
Faith blushed as she saw her response, knowing what was going through Adeline’s mind when she had said Zac was with her the rest of the night. It would just be odd to correct her. Faith glanced toward Zac, looking for some cues to react, but Zac only winked at her, making her blush a deeper crimson.
The interview then went on to the recent problems that the Hayden empire faced. Zac answered tactfully, laughing it off and refusing to answer those questions that would require him to reveal how he got the information about Leonard and Hurst.
After the interview, Margaret walked Adeline and Josh out. Faith slid her arms around Zac’s waist and leaned on his chest.
“Tired?” Zac asked. His hand released her waist and wrapped itself around her shoulders, pulling her closer.
“Nope, just feeling lazy,” Faith chirped.
Zac chuckled and brushed her hair with his free hand. “Then let’s just stay here the rest of the day. We can watch a movie.”
Faith nodded against his chest.
Zac went to set up the home theater room while Faith chose a movie from the huge collection that he had. She tilted her head as fingers brushed across the shelves of DVDs. Her fingers stopped on Phantom of the Opera. The last time she had watched it was with Zac, more than a couple of years ago. She pulled it out and strolled into the home theater room.
It was set up to be like a movie theater. The floor of the room was covered with a dark carpet. The room had two rows of cushioned chairs covered with soft red velvet, and a huge projector screen hung right in front. The lighting and sound system could be adjusted with switches on the various remote controls, which Faith could never figure out.
She had been in this room a couple of times, it was an indulgence to watch movies on a big screen at home. She narrowed her eyes as she searched her memories for a time when there were more than three people using the home theater room. Zac rarely had parties at his house. The business parties he had didn’t require the use of this room either.
She settled down on a seat, and Zac joined her shortly after. Pulling up the armrest that was in between them, Zac pulled her in to lean on his chest as the movie began.
“You want some snacks?”
“Nope, I’m fine,” Faith muttered, as she laid lazily against him.
As the movie played, Zac would occasionally kiss her hair and let his fingers run through them.
“Are you bored? We can watch something else.” Faith looked up and smiled at Zac.
Zac didn’t answer, his index finger tilted her head further up as he leaned in to kiss her. His mouth touched hers slightly, planting sweet and gentle kisses on her. His hand dropped from her hair and onto her waist, pulling her closer to him.
His lips parted, and his tongue gently teased hers. Faith sat up and leaned back, draping her hands over his neck. Zac’s kiss got deeper and fiercer as he pushed Faith further back, leaning on the armrest of her seat. His body was on top of hers as his hand ran through her hair, down the side of her face and cupping it behind her neck.
Faith’s heart sped in her chest as Zac leaned down on her. She could feel his hard-muscled chest over hers and the crazy thumping of his heart that seemed to match hers. Her hands grazed across his shoulders and down his chest.
As Zac’s lips left her mouth, he kissed down her jaws and then her neck. Faith let out a soft moan as Zac nibbled her neck. “I love you,” Zac whispered into her ears and nibbled at her lobes.
She tilted her head slightly away, giving him more room. Her hands fisted, grabbing his shirt and pulling him toward her even when there was no more space to close in between them. His hands moved down her waist and hips.
Faith gulped. It was difficult to have rational thoughts when he was kissing her that way. While his kisses continued down her neck, he told her how beautiful she was, and how he had wanted to kiss her like that for the whole day.
She bit her lips as Zac continued kissing down her neck.
“Zac,” her voice came out husky.
Immediately, Zac froze. Faith heard him sigh softly as he stilled for another few seconds before sitting up. He ran his hand through his dark hair, and let out a slow long breath.
Faith sat up, looking straight at the screen.
“Sorry, got a little carried away.”
Faith smiled and turned slowly to Zac. “I’m sorry. I...”
Zac narrowed his eyes and pulled her into his chest again. “Faith, I want you. I want you real bad. But...I promised to wait. You have nothing to be sorry about. I am the one who got carried away. I should be the one apologizing. I am sorry.”
His arms tightened around her as he said the last three words slowly and deliberately. Faith smiled and snuggled closer. “I love you,” she said softly.
“I love you too.”
Chapter Twenty
The next few weeks were routine for Faith and Zac. He continued to drive her to work every morning without fail, and spent as much of his free time with her. Faith had learnt the inside outs of the company, and was proving to be a worthy heiress and businesswoman.
Faith stood in her room, watching herself in the mirror as the noise from the crowd below buzzed. Everyone else was busy downstairs, entertaining the guests who had already arrived. She smoothed down her ivory silk dress, the one that Zac had gotten for her at the resort.
Her grandmother tried persuading Faith to get another dress, but she had already made up her mind. No matter what her grandmother say, Faith refused to yield from her decision. In the end, her grandmother had no choice but to let it go.
With the help of Faith’s mother and grandmother, Faith barely had to lift a finger for her engagement party. She did insist that it be kept small, and the guest list had to be approved by her personally.
Between her insistence of personally approving the guest list and her refusal to budge on the dress, her family had come to the conclusion that working in the company had made her bossy. Faith smiled as she gazed into the mirror. Yes, working in the corporate world was toughing her up in certain aspects.
“What are you thinking of?” A familiar voice came from behind her, and her smile broadened as she saw Zac in the reflection.
Zac beamed a brilliant smile in response to hers. He loved seeing her smiles, especially when it was directed toward him. Walking over, he wrapped his hands around her from behind and whispered into her ears, “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks to you.” Faith smiled, turning her head slightly to look at Zac.
Keeping one hand wrapped around her waist, he ran his other hand down her arm while he showered kisses down her neck and shoulders. “I can’t wait to announce to the world that you’re mine.
Faith chuckled softly. She turned around to face Zac and draped her hands over his neck to pull him down for a kiss. Zac broke into a smile as he tightened his grip around her waist.
The sudden clearing of throat jolted both of them. Faith took a step away, but Zac held her in place before turning around himself.
“Hi Aunt Michelle.” “Hi mum.” They both spoke in perfect unison.
“Both of you do realize that all the people downstairs are here for the two of you, right?” Faith’s mother spoke with consternation.
Zac laughed. “Yes, we get it. We will be down in five minutes.”
Faith’s mother narrowed her eyes and stared at Zac for a moment before breaking into a smile. She shook her head and sighed softly. “Fine, but only five minutes.” Then she turned and left the room.
Immediately, Zac pulled Faith in for a kiss. His hands held her tight around her waist, pulling her so close that their body lined each other’s. Faith’s hands resumed their position around his neck, kissing him back, meeting his passion with hers.
When Zac pulled away for a breath, Faith smiled and took a step back. Zac allowed her to put a small distance between them, but his arms formed a cage, keeping her close.
Zac looked at Faith, the ivory dress and her cream skin seemed to make her glow. Releasing one of his arms around her waist, he brushed a loose tendril behind her ears before gently tracing his finger down the side of her jaw.
It seemed surreal to have Faith in his arms, smiling as though he was the only person who mattered in the world. He leaned in a gave her a soft peck on her lips, then lifting her face with his index finger, he looked deep into her eyes.
“I love you, Faith Preston. I love you with all my heart; I love you more than my own life.”
The words came out in such gentle whispers that it felt like a caress. Faith tiptoed and lightly grazed her lips against his, whispering, “As I love you, with all my heart and soul.”
Zac wanted to stand right where he was and simply hold her in his arms for the rest of his life. He didn’t care about anything else in the world but the beautiful angel before him. With a sigh, he took a step back.
“We should go, before I decide to just kidnap you and keep you all to myself. And…Your mother will not be that kind if she has to fetch us again.”
Faith laughed softly, “Yes, it is not a wise idea to suffer her wrath.”
Zac took her hands and led her down the stairs. There were less than fifty guests invited for the engagement party, and the only people from the media were Adeline and Josh. Zac knew Faith would be more comfortable with people whom she already knew, and because of that, Adeline and Josh had exclusive coverage.
Faith would have preferred not to have any reporters around, but everyone else thought that it was a good idea to let the whole world know that Zac is taken. Her family was behaving that way due to the Nicole Smith photograph incident, but Zac had agreed with them; so Faith gave in.
Zac and Faith dutifully went around the floor, greeting their friends and close business partners. Zac maneuvered Faith around with his hand on her back. Knowing that Faith didn’t like such parties, Zac had kept her close. That was until Jessica came and tried pulling her away.
