Good night! :) Today it's Sunday, right? xD I've spent part of this afternoon to the story so you don't angry at me. :D I loved last week's reviews, because you seem to be enjoying the story and that makes me really happy, it really does. ;) I hope you enjoy this one and have a nice week you all! ;)

PD: I stopped proofreading 'cause I don't have time for that, so you'll have to get used to my mistakes. ;)

Herhers: Hahaha. This work trip is going to be a little bit tense, I know you'll hate for that. However, it's going to be worth it, you'll see. It's funny that you're predicting a love triangle because of the appearance of Alison. I didn't say Paige and Ali dated, I just suggested Paige may have had feelings for her. They just kissed. Anyway, I just wanted to mess with you. I won't come ahead of time. ;) Thanks! Have a nice week" :)

liekedk99: Thank you so much! I hope you like this chapter too. ;)

Theartofkeepingcool: The story needed an incentive and this came up. I'm glad you're enjoying the tension between them now that they need to act like there's nothing between them. Thank you so much for your nice words! :) You keep encouraging me to keep improving this story. ;)

Guest: Go, Em, indeed. :D

jofi: Thank you! About that last part of the story, the tension needed to be released. :D

MJ: Jason is so funny and nice that I love writing his character. Dad's point of view is partly understandable. I mean, he doesn't want her daughter to date any co-worker because that could create the impression that person would be above the rest of the workers just because who he's dating. Even though, I take the view that relationships between co-workers always turn out badly. :D Thank you! Have a nice week! ;)

CaliGrlFoLife: Hahaha. You were asking for an update, am I right? :D Spoiler… they won't share the room. If you want to know more just keep reading. xD

Enjoy the chapter, guys!

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

: Chapter 22 – Running Out of Patience:

I knew that we would share a cab, but I realize how whimsical the universe can be when we get inside and Paige ends up sitting next to Jason and I. I love the feeling of her legs touching mine, but she's making an effort to maintain the distance between us and that bothers me a little bit. She's being a little bit paranoid and I don't know how I will handle that the next two days. I understand that she fears her dad finding out about us. She says it's just because the co-worker thing, but I know she is terrified about the coming out, even though she insists on that being the minor problem. I don't judge her because of that, but this is hurtful and although I have patience, I am a human being and patience doesn't last forever.

When the cab pulls over, we grab the suitcases and enter the hall of the hotel. It looks nice from the outside. I have the feeling the rooms are twice the size of my bedroom. Mr. McCullers gives us the keycards and he tells us we're going to have dinner with the team that's going to decide whether we're going to develop the project of the skyscraper in a few hours. He recommends us to sleep a little bit and have a shower, but I rather spend time with her. The two men have their rooms in the fifth floor, Paige and I have separate rooms in the tenth floor. Luckily, the rooms are next to each other, like the universe is giving us a signal. I'd prefer to share the room with her, but I know proposing that thought is not a good idea. We take the elevator and both the boss and Jason say goodbye, meaning that we're finally alone. I look at her and she's looking at the floor. I understand she's tired, but this is making me feel angry.

"Will you please tell me what I did wrong so we can move on?" I finally ask, right when we get to our floor. She walks in front of me down the corridor, looking at the numbers of the different rooms.

"You didn't do anything, Emily. I'm exhausted, that's all." At least she had the decency to stop and turn around to look at me when she says those words.

I frown at her. I don't buy it, there's something else bothering her. "Can we talk in the room?" I give her my saddest look, but it doesn't work.

"I want to take a nap and have a shower before the dinner." She stops right in front of her room and uses the card to open the door.

I hold her arm, making her to look at me. "There's enough time for everything. I'm just asking for 15 minutes of your time." She sighs.

"We can talk after the dinner, okay?"

I would insist, I know it won't work though. I look right in her eye and don't say a word, but I know she perfectly understood the look of rage. I take the card from my pocket and I walk towards my room. She's starting to piss me off.

I take a brief nap. The long shower helps me to make me feel more energetic. I feel better now, even though I can't stop thinking about Paige's indifference towards me. I put the pants I know she loves on, a fit sleeveless black blouse and leave the room. Jason is sitting on a couch, so I walk towards him and he smiles at me.

"Hey!" I add, a smile showing on my face.

"If you chose that outfit to impress a woman, I can guarantee you will achieve that goal with no effort," he teases me. I elbow him and he laughs.

"You're looking really handsome too," I admit. I'm not lying, he's damn attractive although he's not actually my type.

"Are you nervous?"

I nod at him. "Just a little bit. This is just a dinner to meet them, though. We just have to be nice, and I think that won't be a problem for you." He grins at me. He's adorable and he is really good with people, and he knows it, although he doesn't like admitting it to avoid people thinking he's an arrogant. I love that about him. "I don't think we will want to talk about business until tomorrow. Maybe a few comments about it, but nothing serious." He smiles at me.

The moment I see Paige approaching us, my heart starts furiously pounding. If she wants me to suffer tonight, she chose the perfect outfit. She looks really hot, and I can see I'm not the only one that thinks that way, because Jason is looking at her like she's a goddess. I avert my gaze so Mr. McCullers, who is walking right behind her realizes I can't keep my eyes from her daughter.

"Let's go, guys!" Nick adds excitedly.

The place where we are going to have dinner is nice, but not so fancy. I actually prefer to avoid those places, everyone is so tight that I get nervous. After making all the presentations the waiter leads all to a circular table. I'm standing right next to Paige, when I see she has a fluff on her shirt. I instinctively take it, touching her shoulder in order to make it disappear.

She bends, like I had a contagious disease. "What are you doing?" she blurts unpleasantly. This is too much. I take a deep breath and walk towards the other side of the table. I don't want to make a scene, so I just don't say a word, although her reaction bothered me a lot.

Paige takes a seat right in front of me, making it look like she wants to be as far from me as possible. The British are four people, just like us, a boss, two young women and a young man. It's a coincidence, but we are practically the same age. I sit right next to Jason and a blonde woman sits next to me. She smiles at me and I smile back. She's probably a few years older, and she's quite attractive. I know not crossing looks with my girlfriend will be complicated, but I'll try to enjoy this dinner. After they order the food, Nick breaks the ice and starts talking about the trip. Even though he's a man that imposes respect, he actually seems nice. I mean, I only have talked to him regarding work matters and he always treated me fine, but I can see he has personality. The older guy, the one that seems the boss, changes the subject when there's nothing more to add about the plane trip.

"So, I know we will have more information about the project at tomorrow's presentation, but I'm curious about who the designer was." He looks at Jason, and then at Paige and myself.

"Don't look at me, sir. I'm just good with money, but the whole engineering and architectural thing are not my specialty," he jokes, making all of us laugh.

"Emily drew all those sketches," Paige adds, still avoiding my gaze although she's talking about me.

"She's a genius," Nick adds, making me blush.

"It was actually a team work. Wasn't it Paige?" I stare at her and she finally looks at me. I know I made her nervous, she hates bringing attention. I may have done it to get revenge at her, but I'm not lying. I made the sketches about the shape of the building but she perfected the finishing of the façade and I think that's why the final design is so good.

She blushes and I suddenly feel better. "They make a great team these two," her father adds, pointing proudly at the two of us.

When the waiter brings different plates of food, the conversation stops and we start eating. However, the conversation we were having originates into different conversations between the different dinner guests. Jason seems to get along with John, the only man besides the boss, Mike. Paige speaks with Mike from time to time, but the conversation is not really fluid because she's being shier than ever. I get a glimpse of her looks when I start chatting with the blonde sitting next to me, Pam.

"I don't want to sound bold, but can I ask you how old are you?" she asks, grinning at me at the same time.

"It's okay, I don't hide my age. I'm 29."

She frowns at me. "You look way younger," she adds, making me smile.

"Thank you." I blush a little bit. Pretty women kind of make me nervous.

"I didn't expect one of the architects to be like this," she points at me.

"You mean young?" I ask, curious about what she's talking about.

"I mean a young pretty woman. And I guess you're intelligent too." I don't know if I'm imagining things, but I get the feeling she's hitting on me. Her husky voice is kind of sexy. My cheeks get redder. I raise my head and I see Paige staring at me, a sour look on her face. I won't stop talking to Pam just because she's feeling a little bit jealous. She's been a pain in the ass although I didn't anything wrong and she keeps ignoring me, so she's going to get a taste of her own medicine.

"Thank you. What is your specialty? I mean, your work…" I ramble.

"I have a degree in Economics. My job right now is to compare the different options we're considering from the financial point of view." I nod at her. I don't look at Paige, but I know she's still looking at us, and it kind of feels nice after how she's been treating me.

"So you're the one I need to win over," I joke. She grins at me.

"That's right. And you're on the right track," she flirtatiously adds. I laugh and I feel a murderous gaze fixed on me.

After the dinner, everybody leaves but Pam insists on having a drink in a nearby pub. Jason is the only one that accepts the offer. The other young woman and man prefer to go to sleep, and both the bosses decide to go rest too. Pam is staring at me, waiting for my answer. I see Emily staring at me.

"I… actually… am exhausted," I add. I would love to have a drink with them, but I remember that Emily told me we would talk after dinner, and that is way more important to me. Jason and Pam leave the restaurant right behind us and I see that they enter the pub next door. I follow Paige, and I call her name.

"Hey!" She stops and turns around to look at me. "You said we would talk after dinner, remember?" She avoids my gaze and I instantly realize she's going to reject me again.

"I'm not in the mood."

"Paige, please." I hold her hand and she lets my hand go. "We're alone, okay? Nobody is watching us!" I raise my voice, letting all my anger go. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" I frown at her.

"I need to rest, okay?"

"Aren't you going to tell me what is going on? I'm starting to lose my patience."

"You already did," she responds, making me even angrier. I sigh. "You can go with your new girlfriend."

"You know what? I think I'd rather spend time with Jason and Pam if you keep being a jerk." I turn around and walk towards the pub, striving to keep back my tears.

After having two beers, I decide to go back to the hotel. I need to sleep to make a perfect presentation. While I walk through the corridor, I stop right in front of her door and stand there for a few seconds. I finally decide to knock on the door, even though it's already late. I hear footsteps approaching. She opens the door, her sleepy eyes stare at me. I enter the room and close the door. She doesn't react, I obviously woke her up and she's still half sleep.

I place both my hands on her hips and I give her a passionate kiss. "I love you." I leave her breathless, she's perplexed, she didn't see this coming. I open the door again and turn around before leaving. "Be ready tomorrow at seven. We're going to have breakfast together. Now go to sleep and rest so you don't make more excuses about being tired to be with me." I close the door and walk a few steps to get to my room.

The next day, I take a fast shower and get ready as fast as I can. I look in the mirror and I don't look so bad considering I didn't have a lot of sleep. I knock on her door and I smile at her when she opens the door and I see that shy look on her face.

"Morning," I say, grinning at her like a teenager.

"Good morning," she shyly answers.

We walk towards the elevator in silence. When the door opens, I frown when I see Jason.

"Good morning, girls. Are you leaving to have breakfast? I already did. I need a shower to liven up. See you later!" he cheerfully says. He suddenly puts her arms between the closing doors in order to avoid the elevator from going down. "By the way, Emily, you have the lady on the palm of your hand," she adds with a grin on her lips. Everything was going great until he opened his big mouth.

To be continued…

Stay tuned! ;)