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The knocking gets louder.
Oh well, this will have to do. I walk like an elephant to the door, hitting each step hard as I go, and swing it open as Frank goes to pound on it again. He stops his hand right before it hits my face and drops his arm in relief.
“Oh fuck, thank God. I was about to break down your door.”
I stare at him blankly, unsure what he’s doing here.
“Can I come in?” he asks, looking past me. I motion with my arm widely, and he stalks in. Before I have a moment to say anything, his phone rings and he picks it up. “Yeah, she’s right here. I know, Cash. I just…fuck, just talk to her.” He slings the phone in my face, and I see Cash’s angry mug staring back at me.
“Why the hell haven’t you been answering your phone?”
I’m a bit surprised by his anger. I’ve had a horrible day.
A terrible, no good, very bad day.
I don’t deserve his attitude. I walk away without saying anything, leaving Frank holding the phone with a gobsmacked Cash in his hand.
“What the hell is she wearing?” I hear him scream to Frank.
I don’t stick around to hear the result of the conversation. I sneak back into my bed and under the covers as Tessa watches me. “Who’s here?”
“Cash’s henchman.” I slink under the covers farther, feeling the effects of the alcohol spinning my body in one direction while my head turns in the other. It’s basically how my entire life feels.
Frank looms in the bedroom, and I hear Cash talking. “Put her back on the phone.”
“I can’t. She’s in bed.”
I feel bad for Frank. It’s not his fault that his boss is an ass. Or maybe it is. They are technically best friends. I go to sit up and give them both a piece of my mind, but the alcohol sloshes in my stomach and I decide it’s better to remain lying flat.
Tessa hops out of bed. “And who are you?” she says seductively.
Poor guy doesn’t stand a chance. She is also wearing only underwear. I wish I could see the look on Frank’s face. He’s normally so stoic and tight-lipped. I imagine even he is allowing his eyes to travel over Tessa’s creamy skin which is freckled in all the right areas.
I try to keep my eyes open but feel the heaviness of the day sinking in on me. Voices continue in the background, but I tune them out. I’ve got enough voices living in my head to carry on my own conversation. But all I want is quiet.
Strong arms wrap around me, and I feel myself being shifted and lifted against someone’s chest. The smell is familiar, and I nuzzle my neck into the warmth. Almost as soon as I start to move though, my stomach turns and the world spins around me. Moaning, I try to open my eyes.
“Shhh, Gracie, I got you.”
I close my eyes and fall back to sleep.
Sunlight filters between the blinds, and I blink a few times trying to figure out where I am. As I try to move, an arm pulls me closer, and I have a moment of stark fear. What did I do last night? I’m in bed with someone I don’t know, in a room that is not familiar at all.
Oh fuck.
Memories from the day before flood me, and I remember every bludgeoning thing that was written in the article.
And then tequila.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
My stomach rolls, my eyes burn, and I feel my throat close up. If I cheated on Cash on top of everything else, I will never forgive myself. I don’t even want to turn over. I can’t face it.
“How are you feeling, beautiful?”
The tears fall as I hear his voice and feel his lips press against the back of my neck. I sigh out a sob, and Cash flips me so that I’m facing him. His hand holds my face, and he presses his lips against mine softly. This only makes me cry harder.
“Baby, it’s okay, I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” His whispered words of reassurance surround me like a pillow, and I burrow myself deep into his embrace. “We’re facing this together, you hear me. It’s all going to be okay.”
