Quarterback: Bad Boy Sport Star Romance. (14 page)

“Really now...you prepared this?” Adelaide asks as she tries not to laugh.

When she opens the picnic basket, she’s surprised to see a whole assortment of food. From a variety of bread, meat, and cheeses to cooked dishes such as pasta and roast chicken. Adelaide and Grant lie on the blanket facing each other while looking at the random people jogging and walking in the park.

“Is it so hard to believe I can cook my own food?” he says, helping Adelaide open some of the Tupperware. When Ade nods her head and raises one of her eyebrows up, Grant tries to keep the guilty grin from surfacing and then says, “Fine, Laurent,” he says, referring to his personal chef. “Cooked the chicken and the Alfredo, but I came up with the menu…”

Adelaide starts laughing, and then she shakes her head in hopelessness. “Of course…” she says. “Of course you’ll come up with the menu, and let me guess, you cut the cheese and packed the food?”

Grant proudly sticks out his chest and nods his head, and Adelaide can’t stop chuckling. When she sobers up, Grant looks at her before he slowly leans his head closer to Adelaide’s. Their lips meet and Grant lays a hand on her nape to push her head a little bit closer to deepen the kiss.

When he pulls away after a few minutes, they both can’t stop looking at one another with boyish grins.

“Thank Heavens we don’t have a policy on inter-office relationships,” he starts, looking at her intensely. “I can kiss you all I want…”

“I’m sure you’re the one who thought of not having that policy,” Ade jokes, her tone mischievous. “Makes it much easier to flirt with the new hires, right?”

“Like what I’m doing right now?”

She nods and smirks in agreement. “Like what you’re doing right now.”

After an hour or two of lounging in the park and enjoying the heat, Grant and Ade finish their lunch, the whole assortment, and pack the empty containers and utensils back in the basket. Grant then asks his chauffeur to take the picnic basket in the car before he closes the door. When the car drives away, he reaches over to intertwine his fingers with Adelaide’s.

“Now, we can explore the city.”

“So what’s next on the agenda?” Ade asks, and Grant has a sly look on his face. “Or are we playing it by ear?”

He shakes his head.
Of course, Grant has a plan.
He runs an empire; the man always has to have a plan or process in mind. He fishes for something in his wallet and takes out two tickets to a musical Ade hasn’t seen. She squeals out in excitement before she snatches the tickets from his hand.

“But we look so casual, and we just literally rolled around the grass a while ago,” she then says, and Grant bursts out into a laugh.

“We didn’t
roll around
per say,” he says. “They’re not that particular anyway, and it’s the afternoon showing.”

With the park and rows of musical theaters a short distance away from one another, Grant and Ade walk the remaining distance. By the end of the musical, Adelaide walks out of the theater gushing about everything and anything related to the show, from the intricate set design to the vocal ranges of the singers. Grant can’t help but laugh at Ade who’s still rambling even when they’re already inside the car on the way to dinner.

Grant stops laughing though when he feels a vibration coming from his pants.

“It’s Nathan.”

Grant presses a button and holds the phone up against his ear. Ade remains quiet as Grant talks to Nathan. She sees him nod his head from time to time before he hangs up and turns to face Ade.

“Nathan says it’s an emergency, and he wants you to come as well.”

“Did he say why?”

“He says he’ll explain everything when we get there,” There’s a pause before Grant speaks again. “And he says he’s sorry for ruining our date. He says he’ll pay for the next one.”

“So there’s a next one?”

Grinning from ear to ear, Grant gives a quick nod before he tells the chauffeur to change route and head to Nathan’s apartment. When they enter the building, Adelaide’s trying not to marvel at the opulent interiors. Marble tiles and glass chandeliers mark the reception while plush maroon couches and wrought-iron tables complete the lounge. With a faux-salute to the receptionist, Grant doesn’t bother surrendering his ID and logging in as he heads straight for the elevators. Adelaide’s not surprised when Grant pushes the ‘P3’ floor button. A guy of Nathan’s stature is bound to stay in a luxury apartment such as a penthouse, just like Grant.

When the elevators doors open, Grant leads the way to the lone double door entrance of the floor. After a quick ring or two on the receiver, Nathan opens the door and moves to the side to let them in.

“Hey guys, make yourselves at home.”

“Don’t I always,” Grant can’t help but joke.

When they walk towards the expansive living room of the penthouse, Grant and Adelaide are surprised to see Melissa there looking like a mess. Her auburn hair is disheveled, though sexy still, and her usually bright azure eyes are void of life and stained with tears.

“Hey Mel,” Grant then says, aiming for a one-armed hug, but Melissa steps back. “Everything alright…?”

Then, the imaginary dam breaks, and Melissa starts sobbing hysterically. Grant and Ade turn to Nathan for answers. Suddenly, a dark feeling envelops the room, and Adelaide can feel the hairs on her arms start to rise at what’s about to happen.

“Mel…” Nathan says, prodding the woman to speak. When she doesn’t, more like can’t, Nathan continues, “Mel, remember what we talked about.”

Melissa tries to breathe in and out, and in and out to try and calm herself.

“Grant…” she begins, unable to meet the man’s eyes. Her head is tipped downward towards the glazed travertine flooring. All she wants is the floors to open up and swallow her whole. “I’m sorry…I was the one who sent you the note...”

In a flash, shock and anger register in Grant’s now-cloudy green eyes. He balls his hands into fists, and Adelaide notices the way his arms tense up and his jaw clenches into a lock. Adelaide lays a soft hand on his shoulder, but it does nothing to calm him down.

“Why?” he asks. And that one word is enough to increase the tension in the room to an all-time high. If there’s one thing Grant hates, it’s betrayal.

Nathan then walks towards Melissa. She looks to him for help, but he only prods her to continue speaking. Grant needs to hear it from Melissa, not from him.

“I saw you that night…shift during the outing. I was shocked, but I had no plans of telling anyone. Everyone will think I’m crazy…” she says, still sniffing as tears continue to stream down her cheeks. “But then you laid me off, so I blackmailed you because I knew you wouldn’t want anyone to know your secret…”

With his hands still clenched into fists, Grants makes his way closer to Melissa. When he’s close enough, Nathan steps in between them and puts a hand against his friend’s shoulder. Nathan knows there’s no way he can calm Grant down. When the man’s on a roll, he’s on a roll.

“There’s no need to act rashly,” Nathan then says, trying to push Grant further away from Melissa. The man looks like he’s ready to kill someone. “She won’t say anything. I promise. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Don’t fucking push me,” is the only thing he says.

Adelaide has seen Grant angry before. When he puts all his energy into a project only for the deal to go south, Grant drinks himself to oblivion after a whole day of cursing everyone and everything. Angry Grant is scary Grant, but harmless nonetheless. This time however, Adelaide’s seeing a different version of angry Grant. Failed projects and unclosed deals are easily rectified and forgotten; betrayal among friends however…it’s not that easy to forget.

“Grant…” Melissa tries to continue her apology, stepping closer to the man, but it only angers him more.

His shoulders start to drag up and down unceasingly, as if he’s trying to calm himself down. Harsh breaths leave his mouth as his eyes maintain their glare on Melissa.

“Grant…” It’s Nathan who speaks up this time.

He’s still standing in between his girlfriend and his best friend.

“Get out, Nate,” Grant says in a low growl. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

One moment Nathan shakes his head in disappointment; the next, he’s shifting…

He’s one as well?!

Adelaide and Melissa are both in awe and in shock at the sight of the predator before them.
What the fuck is happening?
Before Ade can ask any of the two men what’s going on, Grant bends on all fours and after a crackle of bones, a majestic powerful feline stands in Grant’s place.

The two lions eye each other as they walk in a circle. They’re in an offensive position with their front legs bent lower than their hind ones. They’re ready to attack at the first sign of an attack, and Ade and Melissa don’t know what to do. They can’t call reception and tell them there are a couple of lions in the penthouse.

Ade feels both frightened and protected. Frightened because the lions are ready to pummel one another, yet protected because Grant seems to be guarding her, never letting Ade get too close to both Melissa and Nathan.

After a few seconds of Nathan and Grant eyeing one another, Nathan lets a low roar. He’s moving his large head and facing it towards the door, his mane flying with his movements.
Get out
, Nathan seems to be telling Grant, but the latter’s stubborn. His glare never leaves Melissa. He wants to scare the fuck out of her, so she’ll never do something like blackmail him again. Nathan takes Grant’s threat the wrong way. He’s thinking Grant wants to attack and hurt Melissa, and so Nathan lands the first blow.

Nathan stands on his two legs and swipes his powerful paw across Grant’s face. Blood starts to seep out of his mane, and the injury is the fuel that pushes Grant over the edge to retaliate. He clamps his iron-clad jaw on Nathan’s neck, but the latter manages to wriggle away from his grasp.

Nathan and Grant don’t care they’re making a mess of Nathan’s apartment. Cotton flies out of the torn couches, and there are scratch marks marring the expensive flooring. At least a couple of vases and coffee tables are cracked, broken, and smashed to pieces.

Another roar comes from one of them, and Grant and Nathan are back to fighting. Adelaide, for a few seconds, has a hard time discerning which lion is Grant, but she knows Grant is larger in size than Nathan. Both women are fit into opposite corners of the room, trying to hide and avoid getting injured, but when Grant and Nathan head-butt one another, the both of them end up flying and landing a few meters away from the center with a large  and heavy
thud
. The distance of the fall is far enough that a portion of Grant’s body lands on Adelaide’s lower torso.

“
Fuck,
” Adelaide screams, when she feels the full weight of the lion’s body over her legs. “Please…” she says, more to herself, as she uselessly pushes the predator off her. Of course Grant doesn’t even flinch, and the only thing she can do is cry because of the pain and the weight.

Realizing what he’s done, Grant immediately jumps off Ade’s body before he shifts back into human form. Despite the fact that he’s naked, he rushes over to Ade’s to make sure she’s okay. He cups her face in his hands and searches her eyes for a sign that she feels alright. He kisses her forehead and then the bridge of her nose.

It’s alright
, he seems to be telling her.

“Can you stand up?” he says aloud, mad at himself for hurting someone he cares for. Ade tries to push herself off the floor, but her legs are still numb. When she shakes her head, Grant then says, “Just wait here. I’ll get some clothes, and I’ll take you home.”

Grant walks towards Nathan’s bedroom to get some clothes. As he passes by Nathan and Melissa, he notices that they’re in the exact same situation. Nathan’s injured a part of Melissa’s body when he flew and landed on her. He doesn’t bother asking permission from Nathan to borrow his clothes. He enters his room, fishes a few things from Nathan’s closet, and dresses up. When he’s fully clothed, Grant picks Ade off the floor and carries her bridal style down the apartment building and into his car.

The ride home is eerily silent. Adelaide’s still shaken at what happened earlier – Melissa betraying Grant, the two men shifting and fighting and ruining their friendship, and Grant unintentionally injuring her. She knows he never meant to hurt her, but she can’t shake off the scared feeling. When the car comes to a stop in front of her apartment building, Adelaide exits the apartment and walks up the steps without a word to Grant, and Grant’s kicking himself on the ride home for how such a wonderful day ended so badly.

Calm the fuck down, Grant.

He balls his hands into fists and tries not to harden his face so much. He can feel his teeth about to crack with how intensely he’s gritting them against one another. It’s been a busy day in the office filled with meetings and international phone calls, and Grant’s dying for a cup of hot tea to calm himself down a bit. When Nathan enters his office with a single knock on his door, he feels anything but calm.

Nathan draws the curtain to give the two of them privacy from eavesdroppers, and when he turns around, Grant sees the man looks like shit.

“Is there anything you need from me?” Grant asks. Nathan is one of the major shareholders of M-Tech, so there’s no ignoring him if he wants his company to operate smoothly. “Business-wise, that is.”

“I came here to apologize,” Nathan says immediately, noticing the way Grant’s right eye twitches at the mention of ‘apologize’. “It’s been a few days. We have to let it go.”

Grant shakes his head.

“Let it go?” he whispers harshly, crossing his arms over his chest. “Your fucking girlfriend blackmailed me, and you defended her. You stood at her side when you knew she could do the same to you. She can expose our secret.”

“She won’t.” Nathan’s tone is firm; he’s a hundred percent sure with what he’s saying. “I found out that she knew because she told me herself. That’s when I put the pieces together and realized she sent the note. We were eating when she told me. She made me promise not to tell anyone about seeing you shift. That’s when I immediately called you, and when you and Ade left, she told me how pathetic and despicable she felt. All she wants is to forget that ever happened…she’ll keep quiet. I swear.”

Grant doesn’t soften the least bit. He furrows his eyebrows closer together and glares at Nathan.

“Ade’s ignoring me,” he says, his tone full of acid. “She’s avoiding me like the plague, and it’s because of what happened. I physically hurt her, and she feels I’ll do it again when I lose control.”

“Grant…” Nathan matches Grant’s stiff tone with one of his own, but his eyes are soft and pleading. “We can’t let this ruin our friendship.”

Grant nods his head in agreement. He’s stubborn, but he’ll admit when he’s right and when’s he’s wrong.

“I know, Nate,” he starts, letting out a deep sigh. “I’m not mad at you. But I can’t forgive Mel just yet.”

That’s enough for Nathan, and he understands. He knows Grant really isn’t mad at him. He’s mad at himself for hurting Ade. He’s mad that Ade’s ignoring him, and there’s nothing he can do about it but wait – wait until she’s okay. Nathan understands, and he’s smiling on the inside at witnessing Grant slowly fall and open his heart. So Nathan turns around and closes Grant’s office door behind him. It’s just a matter of time until their friendship is back intact. For now, Nathan knows Grant needs to focus on winning Adelaide back.