Unwanted Heat

Kenzie

“Nicholas?” I lean against him and whisper his name. “Are you okay?”

He shakes his head indicating he isn’t. I move my chair a little closer to him and place my hand on the back of his neck. I try to make it look casual to anyone who would notice, although I’m sure it looks a little off. The moment I place my hand on his neck I can feel the heat radiating from his body and I quickly realize that he has a fever.

“I’ll have Carter get the car ready and we can leave,” I pull out my phone as he nods in agreement.

Nicholas isn’t feeling well. Can you get car ready to leave? Will meet you out front? Kenzie

Will meet you in back of building, you’re closer to that exit. Leave room, go down hallway, exit will be on the left. Carter

I’m thankful that I had thought to program Carter’s phone number into my phone after Nicholas gave me his number when he was worried about the press bothering me.

“We’re good,” I let Nicholas know.

“Ladies, Gentleman, if you will excuse us something has come up at PFS that requires my attention,” Nicholas announces to the table before standing up. He wraps his arm around my waist as we make our way across the room and for the first time I don’t think this gesture is for appearances but rather to help ground him. When we exit the conference room, I wrap my arm around his waist just in case he suddenly needs more help walking.

“We’re meeting Carter this way,” I gesture down the hall when Nicholas begins to head towards the front of the building. He closes his eyes briefly before nodding and following me slowly down the hallway. It takes us much longer than it should to finally reach the rear exit where I’m thankful to see Carter waiting with the car right in front of the door. He quickly rushes to us when he sees us approaching. As soon as the SUV door is open, Nicholas gets in and slides across the seat, placing his head against the window. I climb in next to him before Carter closes the door behind me.

“Are you okay? Can I get you anything?”

He just shakes his head and closes his eyes; Carter gets in the front seat and we pull out of the hotel parking lot.

“Mr. Parker… do I need to take you to the hospital?” Carter asks.

“No… home,” he mumbles.

“Are you sure?”

“Home… call my mother, Carter. See if she can get there tonight.”

“Yes sir.”

I sit next to Nicholas who still hasn’t opened his eyes. I’m not really sure what I can do for him but I feel a strong need to do something. I ask Carter for a bottle of water, which thankfully he has a couple cold on the front seat with him. Even though Nicholas didn’t ask for it, I open it and give it to him, encouraging him to take some. He takes a small sip, but quickly gives the bottle back to me, shaking his head.

“Sir, your mother said she meet us at home and should get there just after we do. Kenzie, she asked to speak to you after she meets with Mr.

Parker as she is concerned this could be food poisoning.”

“Oh… we didn’t eat the same main course, but I’ll talk to her just in case.”

We arrive at The Accord Towers a few minutes later and with Carter’s assistance we manage to get Nicholas to the elevator where he leans against the wall for support. He looks weak and he has barely opened his eyes since we left the hotel. I’m worried that I should insist Carter take him to the hospital instead of back to his apartment. He looks like he should be in a hospital. Maybe his mother could convince him to let Carter take him there tonight?

I barely notice the elevator stopping; the doors open into a large foyer and I’m immediately taken aback when I realize that this must be where Nicholas lives. Carter wraps his arm around Nicholas’s waist, as he leans on him for support as we walk across the vast tile floor. I follow Carter and Nicholas down a hallway to a large bedroom that is easily triple the size of the master bedroom in the condo I’m staying in. Carter helps

Nicholas to sit on the bed before leaving the room, I assume to wait for Nicholas’s mom.

“Can I help you take your jacket off?” I offer.

He shakes his head but when he struggles to coordinate his movements, I take over and slip the jacket off his arms. He falls back onto the bed, groaning when his head meets the pillow. I glance around the large room for a bathroom and spot a door next to the bed but when I open it I embarrassingly realize it is a large walk in closet and not a bathroom. There’s another door across from the bed where I finally find an incredible bathroom: a girl could seriously live in a bathroom like this. There’s a large tub that is just begging for someone to soak in, a walk in shower with dual shower heads and of course a double vanity with an area for a woman to apply her make up.

In a few of the articles I read about Nicholas it referenced a woman he previously lived with who I assume probably fell in love with this bathroom the moment she saw it. I don’t know why but the thought of picturing him with another woman bothers me even though there is no reason it should. Our arrangement is purely business; I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a woman that he keeps away from the press- he is a man after all. I quickly shake my head, pulling myself from thoughts of him with another woman and go in search of what I came in here for. Looking around I spot a basket filled with washcloths; I wet one and bring it back into the bedroom. He shudders when I place the cool cloth on his forehead but doesn’t say anything.

“Ms. Rose, Dr. Parker is here,” Carter announces from the doorway.

“Dr. Parker, it’s nice to see you again-”

“Please, no one calls me Dr. Parker unless I’m working dear,” she chuckles.

“Of course, Mrs. Parker-”

Yes, we met at the New Beginnings Gala but we didn’t have much of a chance to talk with everything going on that night. This is the first time I’m really talking to Nicholas’ mom and with him practically passed out on the bed, it’s a little unnerving.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“How about you call me Vivienne,” she suggests.

“Vivienne… thank you for coming so quickly.”

“Tell me what happened and more importantly what Nicholas ate tonight,” she requests as she sits on the bed next to him to take his pulse.

“He had a chicken entree for dinner, I think there was spinach and cheese on it. He ate about half of it and a few pieces of his asparagus; I don’t think he touched the rice. He gave a speech just after we finished dinner then we sat through two other ones. That’s when I noticed he suddenly looked pale. His leg was shaking and he was… his neck seemed hot when I touched him. I tried to get him to drink water but he really hasn’t had much.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“If you don’t need anything else, I’ll wait for you outside.”

“Thank you.”

“Ms. Rose,” Carter greets me as soon as I leave Nicholas’s room.

“Dr. Parker… I mean Vivienne is with Nicholas.”

“I want to show you around the main floor quickly,” I look at him confused as to why he would think I needed a tour of Nicholas’s apartment right now. “If Dr. Parker suggests you talk in the kitchen or Nicholas’s office it might be a good idea for it to appear that you have been here before.”

“Oh! Yes, you’re probably right.”

Carter quickly gives me a tour of the main floor: there is a large great room, also a room that is probably any man’s dream complete with a pool table and dart board, a large dining room with a table that seats at least 10, Nicholas’s office, a guest bathroom and a chef’s dream kitchen. I could easily live in just the kitchen itself… it’s easily double the size of the one in my condo and has everything a chef could ever need.

“Would you like a cup of tea, coffee or a glass of wine?” Carter offers.

“A cup of tea would be nice thank you.”