Chapter 12
Zariah
I wasn’t sure when consciousness came back to me, but it was a gradual awareness. The coolness of the AC on my bare back. The sheets that were tangled around my legs but didn’t cover my naked ass. The sunlight filtering through the slit in the drapes, casting a soft glow across the empty bed beside me.
Groaning, I reached out to touch the sheets where Nolan should have been and felt the chill of the soft material. Even with hundreds of millions of dollars to his name, he was still that poor boy at heart. Not even buying the higher thread count sheets because they would have been out of his mother’s budget when he was a kid.
The thought put a sad smile on my lips, and I flipped onto my back, not even bothering to pull the sheet up over my naked chest as I reached for my phone that was charging on the nightstand. Nolan had kept his promise, and we’d stayed in bed for over twenty-four straight hours, but it seemed our time together was over.
No doubt, he was at practice, and I was nothing more than an afterthought. My sad smile disappeared, and I shot a quick text to Tony, letting him know I was ready to go. I’d missed work yesterday and needed to get into the office to make sure my team wasn’t goofing off. My boss might ride my ass, but he expected me to make the others toe the line. If I wasn’t there, they thought they could play around, and nothing would get done unless my mom orZiocame down.
Then the fear of God would be scared into them, and while that would be amusing, I wasn’t in the mood to smell their spilled bodily fluids and human excrement all day.
I’d barely hit send on the text to my bodyguard when he responded that he was on the front step with a change of clothes for me and other items so I could get ready for work. With a grunt, I hopped out of bed, wrapping the sheets around me before hurrying downstairs to the front door.
It took a moment to get the huge door unlocked and open, but then I waved Tony in and asked him to make me some coffee as I snagged the garment and overnight bags from him and sprinted upstairs. I already knew the layout of Nolan’s connecting bathroom. We’d used it a few times during our sexfest, so I was acquainted with where everything was.
He didn’t have a curling iron, but there was a small hair-dryer. It took longer than usual to dry my hair, but it was better than showing up to work looking like a drowned rat with my hair in damp tangles. By the time I walked into the kitchen, Tony had my coffee perfectly prepared in a huge travel mug.
Handing over the garment bag that was filled with my dirty clothes, I hoisted the overnight bag over my shoulder and took the coffee. Humming my thanks at the first sip, I followed him through the townhouse and out to where the SUV was already waiting. My briefcase was in the back seat, and I pulled out my laptop while making calls on my cell during the drive to the office.
As Tony pulled up in front of the building, I got a text from Nova asking if I wanted to go out with her, my sister, and some girl named Cali on Friday night. A girls’ night with some of my favorite people sounded great, but I’d already allowed work to go unattended for one day, so I needed to use the time to catch up.
The fact that I was hoping to get to spend that night with Nolan had nothing to do with it whatsoever. I wasn’t aware of his game schedule, but I figured he would have one. If it was an away game, then there was no way I’d see him, but if it was home, then there was a chance he would seek me out.
Unless he was already bored with me.
With all the sex we’d had, it was a reasonable conclusion. Especially since I’d found myself alone in bed that morning with no text or even a note from the jerk. It wouldn’t have taken him ten seconds to scribble something on a piece of paper, telling me he’d see me later. Or that he missed me. Or that…
No, I wasn’t going there. I didn’t need or even want a note from that asshole saying he loved me. Whether he did or not was still undetermined, but I couldn’t be swayed by little love notes. Being upset because he hadn’t left me one was a me problem, not his.
Even if I was salty about it and wanted to take it out on him.
Walking off the elevator with Tony at my side, I felt a quick change in the atmosphere as soon as the others caught sight of us. Mentally whining at the bullshit I could already foresee having to wade through, I tightened my fingers around my cell phone and tried not to stomp to my office.
“Should I hum the Darth Vader theme song?” Tony muttered beside me.
“Please don’t,” I begged, nudging my office door open with my heeled shoe. “But ordering breakfast would be appreciated.”
“Second breakfast for me,” he said, rubbing his flat stomach. “Don’t let Kelly know. He’ll kick both our asses.”
“Make sure it’s full of carbs, and my lips are sealed.” I set my briefcase on my desk and then dropped inelegantly into my chair.
The sex had been mind-blowing, but I was running on very little sleep and my brain felt like I was wading through quicksand. The workday was going to suck balls, and I was already irritated enough.
“Chocolate croissants?” my friend suggested, licking his lips.
My stomach growled in instant agreement. “Yes!” I chugged from my borrowed travel mug. Or maybe I’d stolen it. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to return it or not. Deciding it was my consolation prize for not getting a note or text that morning, I opened my laptop. “Let’s go ahead and order lunch too, so we don’t have to wait for it.”
“Fuck’s sake, Z,” Tony grumbled, opening his phone to order all the food I wanted. “Didn’t he even feed you while he was fucking your brains out?”
I shrugged. “You ever go without for years, T?” I asked, opening my emails to start returning the ones I’d flagged on the drive to work.
“Been with Kelly for fifteen years. Can’t remember what it was like before that.”
“I was starving,” I admitted unashamedly. This was Tony after all. He knew more of my secrets than anyone in my family, including my own twin. Of course, I knew a good bit of his too. “Food was the last thing on my mind. We ordered pizza at one point, but I honestly don’t remember eating more than a slice.”
“Understandable,” he agreed, pocketing his phone once the orders were made for delivery. “I’m going to my office.”