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I felt shitty about that. If I was going to pretend to be a better caregiver for her than Lance’s girlfriend, I needed to at least be there for her. But I’d been planning to head home late last night and check in with her. I hadn’t slept like that in months, so the last thing I expected was to pass out in Lola’s room and be gone all night.
I stretched a little in the chair, taking stock of how I felt. The headache that I’d begun to think was permanent wasn’t there. My brain felt remarkably clear, and my thoughts seemed like they weren’t being dragged through molasses. I’d forgotten how fucking good it felt to be well rested. Hell, I barely even felt like yelling at employees.
I looked towards Lola who was curled up in a ball under her blankets with her ridiculous, little dog tucked under her chin. Her hair was even more wild than yesterday. The hair-tie had broken free at some point and her blonde hair was matted with sweat and knots as it spilled in every direction. Most of her makeup had rubbed off and she was wearing the same oversized t-shirt under that blanket. I noticed last night that she couldn’t have been wearing pants beneath it, but I’d tried to be halfway decent and avoid looking too closely.
I noticed her lips were moving. I set my phone down and leaned a little closer, then found myself out of the chair and moving closer to her bed. She was talking in her sleep.
“Oh,” she groaned. “Let me touch it again, Stones.”
I grinned. Was she dreaming about me?
“Nipple…” she breathed. “So hard. Muscle nipples. So strong.”
I covered my mouth and tried not to laugh out loud. I imagined how mortified she’d be if she ever knew what I’d just heard and it only made me want to laugh more. I went back to my chair and tried to focus on the few emails I needed to reply to. Occasionally, she’d mutter something ridiculous and make me laugh.
A few hours later, the first of the people I’d called in began to arrive. I asked everyone to consider her bedroom off limits so she could rest and I stuffed a pillow under the door to dampen the noise of the cleaners and carpenters working in her living room. Maybe I should’ve had the work wait until she was better, but I had no idea what sort of toxic shit was in this apartment. It could’ve very well been the reason she was sick, and I didn’t want to take the chance of letting her breathe this any longer than she had to.
I knew she was close with two of the women at the office, so I had my secretary send for them as well. Cassie was an impressively muscular woman with short-cut blonde hair and an easy smile. Her other friend, Paisley, was red haired, pretty, and usually clad in some sort of girlish outfit. I’d unfortunately become quite familiar with the two because when I checked on Lola through the cameras, they were typically not far away.
Both women arrived at the same time and seemed afraid to look me in the eye. I was aware that I hadn’t showered and was still wearing a now-wrinkled white dress shirt and gray slacks from yesterday. I’d taken my tie off, rolled up my sleeves, and undone a few buttons last night. I knew my employees were used to seeing me in a full suit and tie, so they were probably uncomfortable.
“Thanks for coming,” I said.
They made small, unintelligible noises without lifting their eyes to meet mine. Behind me, a drywaller was removing entire panels of drywall to reveal the studs beneath. The carpenter was following behind him to check the wooden studs for signs of rot or mold between installing the cabinets he’d custom-built yesterday. They were trying their best to keep the noise to a minimum at my request, but it was still noisy. The designer was on a video call with her assistant while she walked around the apartment, pointing her camera at certain areas and brainstorming ideas.
“What is all this?” Cassie asked.
“I’m just having some work done. My assistant shouldn’t live in filth.”
Cassie’s eyebrows shot up. “You know, my apartment has this nasty smell in the bathroom. I think it could be mold. Technically, I’m your assistant, so…”
Paisley elbowed her in the side. Cassie shot her a look, then glared back up at me.
“Do all your assistants get this treatment, or just… certain ones?”
I set my jaw. I could see how this looked. “Get it fixed,” I said. “Send me the bill.”
“Seriously?” Cassie asked.
I nodded. “Do you need anything, Paisley?”
“You know my name?” she asked, finally looking up.
“I know the names of all my employees.”
