23:15

I came downstairs to the dining room.
Caleb was sitting at the table, buried in papers.
Papers were everywhere.
The whole table was buried under them.
Folders, printouts, some tables, notes scribbled in the margins.
A few sheets were even lying on the floor — he must have brushed them off the table with his elbow and didn’t even notice.
I couldn’t help but smile.
The important ass is at work.
Work.
Work.
And a little more work.
I didn’t walk in right away.
I just stopped in the doorway for a moment to observe the important ass in his natural habitat.
Caleb wrote something quickly, then stopped, reread the line, frowned, and started writing again.
Then he ran a hand through his hair, sighed heavily, and stared at another sheet of paper as if it were personally responsible for all the world’s problems.
He really is handsome.
Even when the numbers are driving him crazy.
I quietly leaned my shoulder against the doorframe and kept watching.
Sometimes I think being an important ass is a role.
And quite a complicated one.
First of all, you have to keep your jaw tight.
Your face tense.
Your eyebrows slightly furrowed.
As if you’re constantly thinking about the fate of humanity.
Second, you have to sit there with the look of a man who has already been through all of this.
Everything.
Every crisis.
Every catastrophe.
Every disastrous decision people around you make.
And now you simply look at it all
with a kind of tired wisdom.
The third rule of the important ass —
keep your face as if you control everything.
Even if half of what’s being discussed
is something you’re hearing for the first time in your life.
Especially then.
At that moment it’s important to nod slowly.
Make a serious face.
And say something like:
“I see.”
That’s the universal phrase of the important ass.
It always works.
The fourth rule — pauses.
Sometimes it’s very important to fall silent.
Look at a single point somewhere in the distance.
And let out a heavy sigh.
At that moment everyone around you should think:
“Oh my God…
he’s making some incredibly important decision right now.”
And finally — the most important rule.
The important ass must always stay composed.
Even if the woman he loves
is standing right next to him.
Even if she’s looking at him and smiling.
Because, God forbid,
she might suddenly realize how much he actually loves her.
And that’s dangerous.
That’s power.
And power is not something to joke about.
Power must always remain
with the important ass.
I quietly smirked.
Caleb still hadn’t noticed that I was standing in the doorway.
He frowned again, flipped the page,
and underlined something with his pen.
Work.
Papers.
A stern face.
I watched him for a couple more seconds.
Then I couldn’t help myself.
“Ahem, sir.”
I laughed.
“Sweetheart?”
Caleb finally looked up from his papers.
“Hi.”
I walked up to him quietly, almost on tiptoe, and wrapped my arms around him from behind.
My long, delicate fingers touched his neck.
Slowly, almost lazily, they slid down to his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin and the firmness of the muscles beneath it.
I gently nipped his ear.
And immediately brushed my nose against his hair.
Caleb noticeably relaxed.
He let out a low, pleased hum.
His shoulders dropped, and his breathing softened.
I spread my legs and settled on his lap.
He looked at me.
I said quietly:
“When you’re not around… I miss you.”
Caleb looked into my eyes.
Tears started running down my face.
“When you’re near me… I feel calm.
And I know you love me.”
He didn’t say anything.
He only very gently tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.
And suddenly it seemed to me that his eyes had grown slightly moist as well.
I smiled softly through my tears.
“When you’re angry… it makes me laugh.”
He narrowed his eyes.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Because I know… you love me anyway.”
Caleb smirked.
I watched him carefully, almost studying him.
“When I scold you…” my voice grew quieter, “I cry too.
Because it hurts me that it hurts you.
But I have to… there’s no other way.”
The tears kept running.
I didn’t even try to stop them.
“I’m terribly jealous,” I admitted quietly. “And I don’t like that you go places without me.”
He smiled.
I raised my hand.
Placed my thumb on his lips.
Slowly ran it across them.
Across…
And back.
“Sometimes I think you’re mean…” I said thoughtfully. “And that you’re a troublemaker.”
Caleb laughed softly.
I smiled too.
Then I lowered my gaze to my hands and started fidgeting with my fingers.
“But I still…”
I faltered.
And finished very quietly:
“I still love you.”
Tears started falling from Caleb’s eyes.
One.
Then another.
I smiled faintly and sniffed.
“When you smile… sometimes it scares me.
I’m afraid I’m too attached to you.”
He looked at me as if he was afraid even to blink.
“When you laugh… I laugh too.
Even when it isn’t funny at all.”
Caleb’s tears kept falling from his eyes.
One after another.
“If you hold me… I fall asleep.”
I quietly rested my forehead against his shoulder.
“Otherwise I can’t sleep.”
I closed my eyes.
“Without you…”
“I…”
“Can’t sleep.”
Caleb pulled me closer.
I thought about the holidays coming soon, and how Caleb would probably ask what I wanted as a gift.
I would like him just to stay with me.
I don’t want presents.
I want him to be near me.
To hold me and kiss me.
I would like him simply to stay beside me.
Warmth spread through me, and my heart gave a small, sharp ache.
Whatever he might give me, I was already the richest woman in the world.
I have Caleb.