Done Being Friends (29 page)

“Then?” Jessica pushed, “What’s wrong.”

“Why didn’t you ask me anything about the picture regarding Zac and that Smith girl?” Faith returned.

Jessica leaned forward in her chair. “Faith, I read enough gossip magazines to know that most of what they run are nonsense, I’m not going to call you and get you all upset over it.”

Faith sighed softly. “I think Dylan had something to do with that.”
 

Jessica narrowed her eyes, and asked, “What do you mean something to do with that?”

“I don’t know, it’s just a hunch. Everything seemed too coincidental, and when Dylan came over, he was so full of himself, he was so sure that we would no longer be together.”

“He went over to your house?”

“You didn’t hear? I thought it was because you didn’t want to talk about it.” Faith bit her lips, wondering if she should have kept her suspicions to herself.

“What? I’m completely lost. What are you talking about?”

“Why do you think I haven’t been here all week, Jess?” Faith asked.

Jessica rolled her eyes in the most dramatic manner. “You were spending your pre-honeymoon with Zac. I figured both of you were so incandescently blissful that you shut the rest of the world out.”

She really doesn’t know.
“It wasn’t like that, Jess, Dylan came over on Sunday, and I guess he was expecting to find me crying my heart out and not hand-in-hand with Zac.” Faith shook her head as memories of that day flooded her. “He looked...flabbergasted. And when he saw the ring, he flew into a rage.”

Jessica sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I guess that was to be expected. He was absolutely confident that Zac would be moving on to another woman in no time.”

“I got that too. But it was the things he said. He was obviously lying. I could tell. He blatantly lied, suggesting that Zac was indeed cheating on me and even said he witnessed it. He even went on to suggest that Zac spent the night with the Smith girl. The things he was saying, it was as if he had planned for the photos to be captured. He had a story prepared.”

Faith leaned back against her chair and stared into space, thinking. “Then that night, Zac didn’t text me at all. When I asked, he said Dylan told him that he would drop me a text....which he didn’t.”

“Maybe it was just a series of unfortunate events that led Dylan to assuming certain things,” Jessica said, trying to convince herself more than Faith.

Not wanting to upset Jessica, Faith nodded. “Ya, perhaps I was being paranoid.” Faith too, had assumed that the events were merely unfortunate coincidences that bore disproportionate effects, but the things that Dylan had said. His words simply did not add up.

Reaching over, she gave Jessica’s hand a squeeze. “Ignore me, I’m just thinking too much.”

That afternoon after lunch, Faith was taking a few minutes break from her work. She switched on the television and scanned through the different news channels until she saw Zac’s office building in the background.
 

She stopped and listened to the reporter. She had tuned in halfway through so she couldn’t really grasp what was going on. Something about the houses built by the Hayden empire being unsafe, their stock plummeting and many angry tenants who were demanding explanations.
 

Something was wrong, and thanks to the wonders of Internet, it wasn’t difficult to find out what exactly was wrong. She googled ‘Hayden empire’ and immediately all the information she needed presented itself before her. She spent the next half an hour reading through all the different news reports about a
reliable source
stating how shoddy materials were used in all Hayden’s apartments and office buildings. A report on the buildings being unsafe had surfaced, and the authorities were stepping in.

Faith stared in disbelief. Zac would never do such a thing; he would never risk people’s life to save cost or increase profits. There must be a mistake somewhere.
 

She leaned back in her chair and allowed her brain to digest all the information she had read. If it were just rumors, the news wouldn’t state that a report claiming the building to be unsafe had surfaced. Whoever had fabricated the report would know that there would be severe consequences when the truth unfolded.
 

Whoever he or they were, they had already gotten the results. The stock was plummeting, and the reputation of the company was hanging in the balance. Though Zac held the majority of the shares, he would still have to solve this whole problem quickly, or there would still be trouble.

Deep in her thoughts, she had forgotten that her television was still switched on to the same channel. The voices from the television had been reduced to nothing but a buzz in her mind until a familiar voice brought her eyes back to the television. It was Zac, holding a press conference.
 

That was fast.
Yes, Zac would have no problem solving this.
 

He promised the investors and tenants that the report was fabricated. In order to appease them, he had set up a team of experts made up of engineers to ensure that the building structures were safe, and private laboratories would be testing the materials used, before generating their own individual reports.
 

Faith wished there was something that she could do, but Zac was an astute businessman, and had more experience than her. He would be able to settle the problem, and she shouldn’t get in his way.
 

After work, Zac had called to tell her that he still had work to do so he got George to fetch her. Even though Zac had stopped staying over after the week, she knew he would drop by to see her after work. She couldn’t help him at work, but she could cook him his favorite meal, so she stopped by the groceries store and got the ingredients she needed before heading home.

As expected, Zac arrived at Faith’s house slightly after seven. His tie was pulled down, and despite the smile he had on his face, Faith knew that the problem was weighing heavy on his shoulders.

Faith could tell that he had an awful day. She tiptoed and gave him a peck on his lips before pulling away to get back to the stove. But Zac pulled her back in and kissed her fiercely, holding her tight against his chest. His arms held on to her like she was his life support, kissing her without caring about the audience in the kitchen.

Faith kissed him back, understanding the need in his kiss. After a few minutes, Zac loosened his grip on her waist and stepped back. She smiled warmly at him. Then with another peck on his lips, she gestured for him to sit before putting the food onto the plates and serving them.

She wanted to ask him what was wrong, to tell him that everything would be all right and what a capable person he was. But it wasn’t the right time. She didn’t want to stress him any further, so she held her tongue.

“You cooked?”
 

Faith nodded as she handed him the fork. “Eat.”

They mainly ate in silence. Zac would occasionally reach over to touch Faith’s arm or hand, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand or letting his fingers slide down the length of her arm.

When they were done with the meal, Faith didn’t know if she should accompany Zac or let him go home to work, but Zac seemed happy to stay. “Love, can I take a shower?”

“Yes, silly. Go ahead. You still have some clothes here; I told George to leave them in the wardrobe.”

Zac nodded and jogged up the stairs. When Zac came out of the bathroom, he saw Faith sitting down on the couch in the guest room. She patted on the empty space beside her and he strode over, settling down.

Turning Zac slightly, Faith placed her hands on his shoulders and kneaded the tight muscles. She used more strength than usual, knowing that he wouldn’t feel anything if she were to use her normal strength.
 

Zac closed his eyes while Faith gave him a massage. After awhile, he pulled her hands from his shoulders and pulled her onto his lap, tugging her head into his chest.
 

“It’s not a big problem. Don’t worry about it.”

Faith nodded, stretched her neck up and kissed him on his cheek.

“Everything would have been fine if the authorities hadn’t stepped in this quickly. No one is talking. If I can find out who submitted the report in the first place and get the report refuted, then everything else will run smoothly.”

As he spoke, he brushed Faith’s hair. “Is there anything I can do to help?” Faith asked softly, already knowing that there was nothing she could do.

“Yes. Just stay in my arms. Having you in my arms makes me feel as if I can move mountains with one hand. So, just let me hug you.”

Zac’s voice softened toward the end of his sentence, and Faith sensed just how dire the situation was. Again, she wished that there was more she could do to help.
 

“It’s seems like the universe doesn’t agree with our relationship. First the Smith girl, now your company.” Faith sighed.
 

He chuckled. “I thought you don’t believe in that sort of stuff?” He ran his hand through her hair, playing with her smooth strands as he spoke. “I don’t care if the universe doesn’t agree. I’m keeping you.”
 

“Keeping me?” Faith nudged him in his chest. “I’m not a pet.”

“Phrase it however you like, you know what I mean.”

Faith wasn’t sure how long they sat there in silence, but she eventually fell asleep in his arms. She felt Zac putting her into bed before his arms encased her and pulled her into his chest again after a few moments.
 

Over the next three days, Zac stayed over at Faith’s house. Every morning, he still drove her to work and got mobbed by reporters who were there because they knew Zac would be. At night, he still found time to have dinner with Faith. He smiled and chatted as though nothing happened, but Faith knew that the situation wasn’t getting any better.
 

During those three days, Hayden’s stock price continued tumbling.
 

Though Zac didn’t mention anything, Faith knew that every creditor of the company would start pressing for payment way before it was due. With all the project on hands, there definitely would be many people pressing him for payments.

Every day, her sense of helplessness doubled. Whenever she was in trouble, Zac was there to help her. Now when he needed help, she was completely useless.

At night, she would go to bed wondering what Zac was doing next door. She would walk to his room and hover outside his room for a few minutes before turning around to go back to her room. She wanted to check up on him but was worried that she would be disturbing him.
 

So once again, she found herself hovering outside his room with a cup of hot tea. With the cup in one hand, she bit her lips as she raised the other and hesitated. Then, the door flew open, and Faith gasped.

“Were you going to walk away again if I didn’t open the door?” Zac’s brows were raised, and the corner of his lips were turned up in a wry smile.
 

“Sorry, I didn’t want to disturb you. I just thought...thought you might want something to drink.”

Zac took the cup from her hand and pulled her into the room, closing the door behind him. Setting the cup down, he ran his hand through Faith’s hair. Then cupping the back of her head, pulled her in for a kiss.
 

“Love, you have to stop worrying about disturbing or bothering me. Just come in whenever you want. And...” Zac smiled and bent down, leaning his forehead on hers. “I can always take a few minutes off work to kiss you.”

Despite the teasing, Faith could sense the tension in him. As his mouth took hers, his hands tightened around her, and it was as though he couldn’t pull her close enough. He seemed to be clasping onto Faith to get a hold on things.
 

“Will you stay? I just...it would be nice to hold you to sleep.”

Faith wanted to so much to ask, to get the details of what was really going on and understand the apprehension and silent frustration that he was keeping to himself. She knew that the answers would only satisfy her own curiosity rather than provide any form of comfort for Zac.

He wasn’t one who liked to dwell and complain about how bad a situation was. He needed solutions, solutions which Faith couldn’t provide.
 

Nodding, Faith leaned her head onto his chest and wrapped her arms around him. “Zac, you can do this. No matter what happens, you will find a way out of this.” Then lifting her chin up to look at Zac, she continued, “I know you can and will. I love you.”

Zac looked back at her with a genuine smile before lowering his lips to hers again.

Chapter Eighteen

When she woke up, Zac wasn’t in bed. She sat up and saw a note on the pillow.
 

‘Got to get to work early. See you tonight. I love you.’

Something was wrong.
Something must have been really wrong. She took in a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. There must be something she could do.

The whole situation is fabricated. Someone did this deliberately to hurt Zac.
 

Deliberately hurt Zac. Those words were like light bulbs flashing in her head. Dylan, it had to be him.
 

Getting out of bed, she got dressed and headed straight for Dylan’s office.
 

Even though his assistant was there, Faith marched right past her and into Dylan’s office. His head snapped up and gestured for his assistant, who had come running after Faith, to leave the room.

Out of courtesy, Faith waited for the door to close behind her before speaking. “You’re despicable. You’re a complete ass.”

“Whoa, that is the most vindictive words I have ever heard you say about me.”

“I’m not the vindictive one. You are.” Faith shook her head. “You planned the whole Smith girl thing.”

Dylan opened his mouth to speak, but Faith already knew he was going to lie. “I know you and Zac well enough to know when you guys are lying to me.”