Once again, I was asleep when he got home and found that he was up before I awoke. I don’t know how he was so stealthy, but I never heard him. I’d never thought of myself as that deep of a sleeper either. It must have been all that work I was doing. It was exhausting being so thorough and detail oriented with documents that I didn’t know everything about. Luckily, I had the fortune to call up my dad’s firm a few times for some resources. It was a blessing having my dad and a few of the other people at the office at my disposal when I had a pressing question.
Working non-stop through the files made me lose track of time. Day and night began to blur, and I was falling into a routine, but beginning to understand the entire case much better.
The next day proved to be another day devoted to business, not being able to get an audience with Marshall about the merger, and getting some awesome massages that sent my hormones into frenzy. I didn’t know how long I’d be able to take this. I needed to get a release and I wanted it to be Marshall. My own hands were not cutting it any longer. No matter what, I was longing for Marshall’s touch. Craving him to make a move on me…so much so, that I didn’t care if it would interfere with our working relationship anymore.
Chapter 10
Something changed in Marshall after a few days in Vegas. It wasn’t noticeable in the waking hours, as he was actually becoming quite easy for me to understand and keep up with. The changes occurred during the night time hours, when much needed sleep came. He started to have dreams. They didn’t seem like nightmares necessarily, but he’d mumble in his sleep and whimper, sounding like a young boy more so than the in control billionaire. Naturally, the sounds would wake me up immediately and I always looked over to him to see what I could do.
The look on Marshall’s face during these haunting dreams captivated me. He looked like a sweet and innocent child, but one that had been hurt by the actions of another. The pain in his voice would grow as his dream intensified. I remembered what he’d told me about his mother being a drug addict, a prostitute, and not a very good mother. I wondered if that was what he dreamt about. Were those memories still that vivid?
During these moments my hands went over to Marshall’s back and I would rub it gently, hugging him closely as he slept, hoping that my embrace would let him know that someone was there who did care and would protect him. After the first night of these dreams I wanted to ask Marshall what the dreams were about so badly too, but decided against it in case it would embarrass him. That was the last thing I wanted and knowing that I could provide some sort of comfort to him during them was enough for me.
One night, after Marshall had drifted back off to sleep after an episode I couldn’t fall back asleep. I thought about what his childhood must have been like and how much pain it must have still caused him despite his success. Maybe he’d never had the chance to heal or recover from it. My mother had passed away when I was twenty. It had been unexpected and in a car accident, but for Marshall, his mother not only kept him when she was in no condition to be a good mother, but she’d never told him he had a father—a father who may be known as a great eccentric when he was alive, but could have made a difference. It was so selfish and I just didn’t understand how someone could do that. Problems or no problems, how could you not look at the man before me now as a small boy and see that he needed you?
The very next night Marshall’s nightmare was really bad. He was asleep, but sitting up in bed and I had my arms wrapped around him, hugging him tightly and gently stroking his hair, hoping to provide him some comfort. A tear was trickling down my cheek as I worried about the pain he must be feeling to start having these nightmares so suddenly. He didn’t have them the first few nights that we were here in Vegas, only the past three.
Marshall’s eyes suddenly opened, looking startled and frightened. He stared at me, trying to process what was going on.
“It’s okay, Marshall. Just calm down. I’m here for you,” I said, continuing to rub his head and back.
Marshall didn’t respond, but I could hear his breathing start to calm and his chest stop pounding. He put his head down and looked away, acting embarrassed that he’d been caught in the nightmares. I wanted him to know that he didn’t need to feel that way. I was there to help him.
“I’m here for you, Marshall. I only wish I could stop you from having these nightmares. I’m so sorry you have them.” I was aware that more tears were trickling down my cheeks, and I didn’t want Marshall to think that I was pitying him, but I wanted him to know that I cared—that someone cared.
“I’ve had them all the time, even as a child,” Marshall blurted. He’d said his words so quickly. He was rushing to get them out and just release the information now that his secret was out.
“And as an adult?”
“Only when I get really stressed out. Maybe it’s this merger or something like that. I’m not really sure.”
“You need to trust your gut instincts if you have a bad feeling about the merger, Marshall. You’ve been so busy that we haven’t had a chance to talk about it. I’ve found some things in the paperwork that definitely concern me, making me think it’s a bad idea for you.”
There was a look of relief in Marshall’s eye and he tried to lighten the mood, showing his smile once again. “Well, it appears that I have a free moment right now and I definitely won’t be able to fall back asleep. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve learned?”
I laughed. “Okay, I’ll tell you everything I know. Even if it is 3 a.m.”
Marshall laid back down and rolled over to one side, showing his muscular chest to me and I did the same, plopping my head up on my elbow. I began to unfold everything that I’d been learning about the merger that was a definite concern to me.
I started with the executives that seemed to orchestrate everything for the merger with Silver Fern Productions more than his father, showing that they must have some motive for doing so. I told him that I’d checked into the executives that had done so and all of them except two were no longer with Foothill Studios since Marshall took over, but they were advisors to Silver Fern Productions. This made it pretty clear that they had a financial interest in the merger, something that would profit them. Also, there was no evidence that his father had ever signed any of the agreements for the merger, only his executives. However, there was no agreement or Power of Attorney granting those executives power to do so that could be found. I’d told him how I also had double checked the courthouse records to make sure and there was nothing there either.