AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I peeked back around the corner and whimpered. It was a veritable den of iniquity inside, with empty bottles, glasses, clothes, and sex toys galore. I mean, seriously. That swing, the whip, and the ball gag had definitely not been there Halloween night. I think I would’ve remembered them.
And holy yuck. Did I even want to know what that brownish-colored smear was on the dildo lying three feet away?
She really expected me to clean all this, didn’t she? What a bitch.
Chapter 19
Hayden
Nerves ate at my intestines as I approached Preston Estates after work.
I had worried about Gabriella all day, and it took everything I had not to either call or stop by on my lunch break to check on her.
Unfortunately, the Shoes department needed to finish up our portfolio for the presentation on Friday, so I hadn’t been able to leave work. But I’d been so distracted I couldn’t even tell you what kinds of decisions we’d come to. So I was inordinately pleased to see Gabby waiting for me outside at the curb when I arrived, looking completely okay.
She sat on the ledge of a concrete wall that housed flowers and plants, swinging her legs with a garment bag draped over one shoulder and her purse at her side as she sucked on a lollipop.
I swear, it was the most welcome sight I’d seen all day.
And fuck, she looked extra hot when she licked once, then winked at me before popping the sucker back in as she hopped down to the sidewalk and strolled toward my car.
Everything inside me surged with awareness. I wanted this woman. I wanted more from her than I was sure she was willing to give.
Opening the passenger side door, she slid in beside me, grinning as if she’d actually had a good day working for my mother.
I shook my head. But that was impossible.
Wasn’t it?
“It appears you survived,” I said dryly as I pulled back into traffic after she stowed her garment bag in the back, strangely disappointed that she wasn’t in any way upset. I think a small part of me wanted to sweep in and save her from something traumatic. But she’d clearly taken care of herself, which caused a completely different side of me to swell with pride.
“Did Lana give you a lollipop for being a good girl?”
With a laugh, she bumped her arm into mine. “Hell, no. I stole this off André’s counter when he wasn’t looking.”
“Devious.” I nodded my approval, only to sober. “But seriously, how bad was it?”
She shrugged. “Honestly, not at all. I don’t think she had enough time to come up with a proper list of really torturous cleaning tasks for me because it really wasn’t that awful. I’d even go as far as to say I preferred it to waitressing and having to deal with picky, messy customers all day. I could go at my own pace, take breaks whenever I wanted, not answer to anyone, and clean shit however I liked.” Then, making a face, she added, “I mean, aside from the part where she purposely left out every sex toy she owned in her bedroom, and they’d all clearly been used, it was—”
“Whoa!” I cut in, lifting my hand to stop her, all the while trying to keep my lunch from making an appearance. “No. Nope. I don’t wanna hear another word about any of that.”
Gabby smiled over at me. “She slept with Diego last night, by the way.”
I squinted. “Who?”
With a roll of her eyes, she explained, “Daffodils.”
Oh.
My eyebrows shot up. “Really?” Huh, I hadn’t seen that one coming.
“I know, right?” Gabby said, lifting a hand my way. “She did it just to get at me, too. She thought he was my ex because she tried to really rub it in my face this morning, until I explained to her that I’d never had any kind of romantic relationship with him and he’d always been more like a stalker to me.” Grinning, Gabby nudged my elbow yet again. “When I told her I was actually grateful that she’d taken him off my hands, she shut up real quick.”
“Heh,” I laughed. “The joke was on her, I guess.”
“Oh my God!” Gabby pointed at me and laughed. “That’s exactly what I said.”
I glanced over, and we shared a smile.
