He responded much more quickly this time. “Oh, because Del said she saw you leave with Lizzy.”
My eyes closed, but there was no hiding. The downside to knowing someone your whole life is that any chances of lying to them are pretty much shot.
I leaned back, throwing my hands up in mock surrender. “Okay. You got me. Something might have happened with Lizzy.”
“I had a feeling it might,” he said arrogantly.
I couldn’t resist repeating his words in a snarky tone. “Oh, did you? Well, great, man. Thanks for inviting me along then. Now I have to be responsible for breaking that poor girl’s heart. I could already see it in her eyes this morning. I only made her thing for me worse.”
“So, here’s an idea…” He leaned forward, lacing his fingers together. “How’s about...just don’t break her heart?”
“What do you mean?”
“Try...having a girlfriend for once? If it doesn’t work out, fine. But why do you have to automatically write Liz off like that?”
I laughed. Maybe a little too hard. “Me? A girlfriend? You remember the last time I tried that. Jeneane. That woman threatened to burn my whole apartment building to the ground.”
“You weren’t exactly trying with that one,” he quipped. “You did cheat on her constantly.”
“Not constantly. Just whenever I couldn’t resist.”
“So you’re saying you’re incapable of fidelity?” His brows raised.
I started to answer, but then realized the absurdity of this morning session on the black leather couch. “Hey, man. What is this? Therapy hour? You saw what just went down. I’m buying a club. I am about to be overseeing the construction, opening, and running of an entire nightclub, with a whole string of them coming after that. Going international, remember? I don’t have time for a girlfriend or whatever mess you’re over there thinking.”
He still wasn’t convinced. “I don’t know. I didn’t think I had time for one either. But everything’s going great with Del. And Lizzy is her best friend, so maybe...just maybe...things would be just as smooth sailing with you two.”
“This is crazy. Absolutely crazy. Whatever you’re suggesting....just stop. What happened with Lizzy was a drunken moment of weakness, and that’s it.”
“Okay,” he answered slowly. I could tell he was going to give it up for the time being, but he still didn’t believe me.
For the second time that day, Nick had gotten to me. First, the club. Now, Lizzy. If he said I should go for it, there was no reason not to. But this time I wasn’t going to give in so easily. There were a million reasons, very good reasons why I had no business getting tied down by a woman even before I decided to pull the trigger on such a massive project. Within one hour, the prospect became even more ludicrous than it had been just earlier that morning.
Thankfully, the spotlight moved from my love life to my career as Ben’s guys came in to present us with all the paperwork. For some people, deals like this would take days, even weeks to go through. But the beauty of having so much money meant that we barely had to wait for anything we wanted. The owners of the old building were there with documents in hand in no time. Our lawyers weren’t far behind them. Beyond that, it was just a matter of having one of our assistants order lunch and more champagne.
By noon, I had bought a nightclub and was celebrating with my friends. By that night, I could be celebrating with any woman I wanted. Three of them at once if I felt like it. I saw a flash of Lizzy’s innocent eyes and sweet smile. What place did she have in all of that? She was too nice for my world. And I was on the way to too many bigger and better things to be slowed down by anything.
8
Lizzy
I was confused when I woke up to silence instead of a beeping alarm from my phone. I sat up in bed and stretched, feeling hit with a mild panic that maybe I had slept through my alarm or forgot to set it. But no, that was when I felt the blissful wave of realization that it was my day off. Finally.
Working two jobs didn’t grant me many days off, so when I randomly got one, it was a special treat. I squinted at the sunlight coming in through the window and listened to the birds chirping outside with a smile on my face. What can I even do with a day off? Maybe take a walk in the park? Do some shopping? Go out for lunch?
Or maybe I would just stay in bed for a few hours. The possibilities were endless. Or so they seemed until my phone started ringing. I almost didn’t answer out of fear that it might be Del or Mr. Harold calling to say I needed to come in after all.
I reached for the vibrating phone just before it wiggled its way off the nightstand. It was Del. But that was the tricky part about being best friends with one of your bosses. You never knew when the matter was personal or when it was business.
“Good morning, sunshine,” I yawned through answering.
“Lizzy! I need you to come to the shop right away.”
My shoulders slumped as I let out a big groan. “Noooo. Really?”
“Yes, really. No time to explain. I’ll talk to you when you get here.”
And with that, she hung up. I sat frozen in bed for a moment like a kid that someone had just dangled a perfectly-wrapped present in front of and then snatched it away.
“So much for a day off,” I shrugged before slowly climbing out of bed to start getting ready.
I studied my skin in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. My pores were a nightmare. My eyebrows overgrown and in desperate need of plucking. I had dark circles under my eyes from stress and all the lack of sleep. While I was thin, my stomach and arms had a sort of saggy elasticity to them that told me I wasn’t drinking enough water throughout the day.
As sad of an assessment as it was, I was happy with my body. I was in fair enough health with no glaring problems. I had working legs, arms, and fingers. But with no time for self-care or exercise, I wasn’t exactly in the best shape. I might have been able to tend to things like that if I could have actually enjoyed a day off as planned.
Oh well, I thought. No use dwelling on what could have been. I threw my hair back in a ponytail and grabbed my purse to head out the door.
Angel and Del looked way too eager from the moment I walked in. I found them huddled around the back of the shop, pulling out clothes from the racks. They were throwing around jewelry, shoes, and bags to pair with the outfits.
“Who are you styling for today?” I asked, feeling confused by their enthusiastic smiles. Maybe a celebrity had asked for a private appointment and that was what all the fuss was about. Those days were always a little more exciting than the normal flow of things, so if I had to be called in, that would be a fun reason for it at least.
“You!” Del exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air in a sort of “ta-da!” sort of motion.
“Me? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Well, I talked to Nick this morning,” she sang out slowly, as if this meant something to me.
“So what. Don’t you talk to him every morning?”
“Let the woman talk,” Angel huffed, waving Del to go on.
“He says he can tell Damon has a thing for you,” she squealed with a big smile.
My heart instantly responded to the words. It swelled but then quickly shriveled up again. I wanted to take hope in them, but I knew better.