in his car last night.” My phone? I hadn’t even missed it.
Taking the items, I wonder what the blue box contains. I don’t remember leaving anything behind at the hotel.
“Have a wonderful day, miss.” The man tips his hat to me and pivots to leave.
I open the box and part the light blue paper that covers the item. It is the black and white silk robe that Ben had bought for me.
“Um, sir?” I call out to the man before he steps into the elevator car.
“Simon,” he says by way of telling me his name. “Yes, ma’am?”
I close the box and shove it into Simon’s hand. “Kindly inform Mr. Hayes that I will not be accepting any gifts from him.”
The man stares at the box in his hand, hesitating; but the intense, no-nonsense scowl I give him sends the message loud and clear , that no matter what he says, I will not be taking the box.
“Ma’am.” He gives me a curt nod and a tight smile before disappearing into the elevator.
Closing my door, I start feeling bad. What if Ben chews his head off? Or worse, what if Ben fires him for not following his instructions? Poor Simon. That’s why he hesitated. If Ben fires him, that would be so draconian and asinine of him…and also my fault.
I plop down on the couch and pop my phone out of the bag it came in. Thirty-one missed calls and two messages. I open the call log. Three of the missed calls are from this morning from Rachel, and the rest from last night. Three calls are from a number I’ve never seen before and twenty-five from Ben. I ogle his number. Twenty-five ? What the hell?
I check the messages. One is from Rae saying that she hoped I was feeling better and that I enjoyed my stir-fry. I type a quick response:
I loved it, Rae! Sorry I missed ur calls, didn’t have my phone. Will explain l8r.
Butterflies flutter through my stomach as I open the other message. It is from Ben:
I’m sorry.
I squeeze the phone in my hand. I feel a tightening in my chest and I know I’m going to cry. Why? I don’t know. Forcing myself not to respond to him, I decide on calling the unknown number.
“Fielding House Business Enterprises. Simone Lawson speaking.”
“What the fuck?” I hadn’t realized I’d said that out loud. It was just a thought. “I’m sorry.”
“Sullivan?” Simone says.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Sull, what’s going on with Mr. Hayes?” she asks, sounding worried.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I really don’t. He shouldn’t be the one in a funk. He dissed me , not the other way around.
“He’s been snapping at everyone all morning. He practically chewed through one of our heads of department this morning. He called Jamison a fucking coward because he couldn’t land a small-business account they’d been pursuing. An account that they didn’t really want anyway. He gave Jamison the day off and told me to cancel all his appointments. Everyone’s been tiptoeing around him all day,” she explains. “He’s been great these past few days, now he’s back to his old self. What happened?”
My throat becomes dry. What is his problem?
“I don’t know what’s wrong,” I tell her. “He’s a powerful Chief of Operations. Aren’t men of his prominence entitled to mood swings?”
I quickly change the subject, “Hey I gotta go. I’m heading to the spa with Mrs. Wade.”
“That hot, old divorcee on your floor?” she asks.
“Yup, same one. She’s treating me.” I giggle, excited that I am going to be doing this after the night I had.
“Girl, I would give anything to go to a spa and escape this sour mood Mr. Hayes is in. Have fun girl.”
Hanging up, I contemplate calling Ben to ask him what was up his bu tt, but I decide against it. He’s no longer on my radar. I shouldn’t even feel this way. I’m a love ’em and leave ’em type of girl, aren’t I? Or am I upset because I didn’t get to say it first? He was a good lay after all.
Or maybe…
Nope. Not giving that another thought. I
Taking the items, I wonder what the blue box contains. I don’t remember leaving anything behind at the hotel.
“Have a wonderful day, miss.” The man tips his hat to me and pivots to leave.
I open the box and part the light blue paper that covers the item. It is the black and white silk robe that Ben had bought for me.
“Um, sir?” I call out to the man before he steps into the elevator car.
“Simon,” he says by way of telling me his name. “Yes, ma’am?”
I close the box and shove it into Simon’s hand. “Kindly inform Mr. Hayes that I will not be accepting any gifts from him.”
The man stares at the box in his hand, hesitating; but the intense, no-nonsense scowl I give him sends the message loud and clear , that no matter what he says, I will not be taking the box.
“Ma’am.” He gives me a curt nod and a tight smile before disappearing into the elevator.
Closing my door, I start feeling bad. What if Ben chews his head off? Or worse, what if Ben fires him for not following his instructions? Poor Simon. That’s why he hesitated. If Ben fires him, that would be so draconian and asinine of him…and also my fault.
I plop down on the couch and pop my phone out of the bag it came in. Thirty-one missed calls and two messages. I open the call log. Three of the missed calls are from this morning from Rachel, and the rest from last night. Three calls are from a number I’ve never seen before and twenty-five from Ben. I ogle his number. Twenty-five ? What the hell?
I check the messages. One is from Rae saying that she hoped I was feeling better and that I enjoyed my stir-fry. I type a quick response:
I loved it, Rae! Sorry I missed ur calls, didn’t have my phone. Will explain l8r.
Butterflies flutter through my stomach as I open the other message. It is from Ben:
I’m sorry.
I squeeze the phone in my hand. I feel a tightening in my chest and I know I’m going to cry. Why? I don’t know. Forcing myself not to respond to him, I decide on calling the unknown number.
“Fielding House Business Enterprises. Simone Lawson speaking.”
“What the fuck?” I hadn’t realized I’d said that out loud. It was just a thought. “I’m sorry.”
“Sullivan?” Simone says.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Sull, what’s going on with Mr. Hayes?” she asks, sounding worried.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I really don’t. He shouldn’t be the one in a funk. He dissed me , not the other way around.
“He’s been snapping at everyone all morning. He practically chewed through one of our heads of department this morning. He called Jamison a fucking coward because he couldn’t land a small-business account they’d been pursuing. An account that they didn’t really want anyway. He gave Jamison the day off and told me to cancel all his appointments. Everyone’s been tiptoeing around him all day,” she explains. “He’s been great these past few days, now he’s back to his old self. What happened?”
My throat becomes dry. What is his problem?
“I don’t know what’s wrong,” I tell her. “He’s a powerful Chief of Operations. Aren’t men of his prominence entitled to mood swings?”
I quickly change the subject, “Hey I gotta go. I’m heading to the spa with Mrs. Wade.”
“That hot, old divorcee on your floor?” she asks.
“Yup, same one. She’s treating me.” I giggle, excited that I am going to be doing this after the night I had.
“Girl, I would give anything to go to a spa and escape this sour mood Mr. Hayes is in. Have fun girl.”
Hanging up, I contemplate calling Ben to ask him what was up his bu tt, but I decide against it. He’s no longer on my radar. I shouldn’t even feel this way. I’m a love ’em and leave ’em type of girl, aren’t I? Or am I upset because I didn’t get to say it first? He was a good lay after all.
Or maybe…
Nope. Not giving that another thought. I
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